I have never been very comfortable with phones. It’s funny, because I’m a most gregarious person. But I tend to get all flustered on the phone. Particularly when I have to ring someone I don’t know and try to explain something to them (eg, change a booking for something). Maybe it’s because I prefer face-to-face contact?
So, I don’t tend to call people often, even when I know them very well. It has to be a conscious effort to pick up the phone. (The exception to this is my parents, whom I call daily).
In recent years, I got over my phone shyness. I think being a practicing solicitor was instrumental in this. I had to deal with all kinds of people over the phone – including some pretty angry and upset individuals.
Anyway, I’ve been out of legal practice for over a year now, and I just noticed that my phone shyness has returned. I had to ring and change a booking, and I’ve put it off for a week now. Ridiculous, I know. But I took a big deep breath and made that call this morning. It didn’t go too badly – the person on the other end understood my request, even though I was a bit garbled. Whew. Maybe I now have the courage to make all those other phone calls which I’ve put off making…
The Legal Soapbox 