The Phone

I have a confession to make: I hate calling people on the phone.

Not so much with people I know. I do like talking to friends and family. Although sometimes, even with these folks, I have a moment of anxiety, worrying that I'm interrupting something and they *gasp* won't want to talk to me.

But the bigger problem is in calling people I don't know. Straightening out utility, credit card, loan issues on the phone, making reservations, ordering food. If I can do it online, or talk someone else into doing it for me, I absolutely will.

Why on Earth does making calls give me anxiety? Possibly a manifestation of my introvert nature. I'm not good at small talk, and interacting with new people usually involves small talk.

I'm too nice, so I have a hard time with sales people. Sometimes calling for routine things involves people trying to sell you stuff.

Also, I'm sensitive, and I don't like people being irritated with me. I worry about bothering them by calling at a bad time, or bringing up something they don't want to talk about.

I did work for a call center briefly, and this probably didn't make things any better. It was okay during the summer when I was giving high school students surveys over the phone. But as soon as I had to start asking for donations I had plenty of people angry with me.

The point of all this isn't to explain why I haven't called you. It is to say that this is one area of my life in which storytelling is providing some unexpected healing.

My volunteer work results in phone calls. I've called to remind people to renew their membership. (This especially frightened me after the call center experience.) I now quite regularly participate in (and lead! eep!) conference calls. I talk on the phone to connect with storytellers across the country who have some ties to the work I am doing.

I've learned a couple of interesting things:

1) Scheduling calls removes most of my anxiety. If I know I am making a call at a certain time, and I know the other party is expecting my call, I'm much more at ease.

2) Storytellers are just great people.

If you have to face your fears, it really helps to face them in a warm and loving environment. That isn't always possible, but for me, in this case, it has worked out that way. Every storyteller I talk to, no matter what I'm talking to them about, is kind, helpful, and not at all scary.

Who knows, after a few more years of storytelling-related phone calls, maybe I'll be cured!

Well I'm not holding my breath on that one. But in the mean time, if you want to talk to me, let's schedule a call!