Most of us have been there, the moment of panic during a very important phone call. Whether, it’s the stress of a phone interview or a big conference call-phone fright can happen to the best of us. As voice the on the other line asks you questions you may find that it’s difficult to get the words out, or even put them together. You know that you are smart and capable, but you feel like your fear is making the other end of the line doubt you. Why can’t we just text, IM, or email this in? How have we become so afraid of the phone? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I do have some tips to help with your phone fright:
- Remember fears and anxiety happen-Whoever you may be talking to, or preparing to talk to, has felt the same way before. Everyone gets nervous for one reason or another, it’s human nature; even the biggest celebrities feel anxiety or pressure from different situations. For all you know the person you’re preparing to speak with may feel the stress you are. It may even help to imagine the other person feeling stressed too! Just remember that what you’re feeling is completely normal.
- Take a few minutes to relax- The minutes leading up to the call can be the most stressful, so do what calms you. Try mediating, breathing exercises, listening to calming music, or even a game that will distract you from the anxiety-like a word search or cross word puzzle. You know yourself best, and you know what works for you.
- Make a few notes before the call-When we get nervous we tend to forget to bring up important points, and we remember them the second the call ends. This is incredibly frustrating. To avoid this self-annoyance write down the major points you want to make beforehand. This way you can look at the card, and work these points into your conversation. Also, removing the fear of missing something may reduce your phone fright.
- Ask a friend to rehearse with you- We practice for presentations, games, performances, and you can also practice for the big call. Find a friend who has some knowledge of the call-maybe a friend in HR if it’s an interview or someone on your project if it’s a big conference call. They can create questions, and simulate the call. This will help you be prepared to answer questions that you may not anticipate coming your way.
I hope these tips help you take back the phone! Because unfortunately you can’t SMS your way out of everything!
