Encourage yourself to make a difficult phone call with these tips

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Getting yourself to make that one phone call you don’t want to make can be hard. You may be dreading a serious conversation you have to have with a loved one, you might be putting off a sales call that you know isn’t going to go well, or you may simply have phone call anxiety, which can make any phone call feel daunting!

Whether it’s a single conversation or a general dislike of talking on the phone, you can’t avoid it forever. Eventually you will have to dial that number. When you do, you can ease your anxiety with these tips.

Adjust the Volume Settings

There’s nothing worse than having to ask someone to repeat themselves when you’re already feeling nervous about a phone call. You want to make sure you can hear every word the other person utters, which is why you should take a look at your phone’s volume setting before you dial.

Err on the side of caution and turn up the volume. You can always hold the phone away from your ear and turn the volume down if it’s too loud. If it’s too quiet, you run the risk of missing part of the conversation, which can cause you to fumble with the volume controls as you ask them to repeat what they said.

If you’re hard of hearing, you may want to consider making the phone call on a hearing impaired phone that features decibel boost and enhanced noise reduction toggles to enhance audio quality while limiting interference. If you know you will be able to hear the other person on the line clearly, you are more likely to call.

Limit Distractions

Talking on the phone, especially if the call is making you nervous, is not the time to try and multitask. There are a number of things you should do to limit distractions so you can concentrate on the phone and the person on the other end of the line.

A few ways to limit distractions include:

  • Turning off the TV
  • Avoid browsing the internet
  • Find a quiet room by yourself
  • Get someone to watch the kids
  • Let the dog outside

Limiting distractions also means carving out enough time for the phone call. You don’t want to make the call right before you have to pick the kids up from school or right before your spouse gets home. This will cause you to watch the clock and your nerves will ramp up as the time ticks by.

Know What You Want to Say

Have you ever had a conversation and realized that you didn’t get a chance to say what you really wanted to say? Make sure this doesn’t happen to you by knowing exactly what you want to say ahead of time.

If you’re struggling to organize your thoughts, consider putting them in writing. Putting pen to paper can clarify your thinking, enabling you to condense what you want to say in easy-to-understand language so the other person isn’t left confused.

Choose one or two things that you want to make sure you say, then make sure you say them before the end of the conversation.

Don’t Rehearse the Dialog

Just because you should know exactly what you want to say doesn’t mean you should rehearse the conversation. Conversations rarely go exactly as you planned, which can leave you fumbling and frustrated. Not to mention, rehearsed conversations tend to feel contrived, which can make the person on the other end of the line uncomfortable or defensive.

Instead, it’s much better to speak from the heart. Know what you want to say and let the rest of the conversation flow freely.

Stand Up While You Talk

If you’re making a sales call, you should stand up while you talk, but it’s not just sales representatives that can benefit from standing and talking.

Not only does standing put less pressure on your diaphragm and lift your head, making your speech more clear, you’ll also feel more in control of the conversation. In addition, it encourages you to gesticulate with your arms, which will make the conversation seem more natural to you, but it will also come across to the person on the other end of the line.

Whether it’s one phone call or you avoid talking on the phone as a general rule, the fact is, you can’t avoid it forever. Although you may never learn to love having a difficult conversation or talking on the phone, there are things you can do to make your next phone call a little less nerve racking.

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