Smile and Dial, or How to Make That Call You're Avoiding

Will you do just about anything to avoid picking up the phone and calling someone?

Calling for a haircut is one thing, but what happens to you when you need to call someone to ask for something, or call your boss's boss, or call someone with news they're not going to like?

Many of us dread making these kinds of calls. Of course email can help us along with telephone anxiety, but it can only take us so far in relationship building.

At least that's my old-fashioned-I'm-sure perspective, which is shared by the bloggers at Hiring Revolution. Their post on this topic mentions this good article on how to put an end to phone phobia.

Key tips:

• Know your purpose for calling
• Imagine a successful outcome to the call
• Ask if you're calling at a good time
• Actively listen
• Smile to add warmth to your voice
• Practice a lot

I had a telemarketing job right after high school, which I absolutely hated. My office cleaning job that same summer was a pleasure compared to selling a long distance plan over the phone. I also held a job after college which required making telephone sales calls. Again, it was awful.

While I never felt it important enough to get over my call reluctance while working for others, selling things I didn't really care about, I knew that being able to make calls in support of myself and my goals would be a key skill to learn.

The more I made calls, the less nervous I became. This is because I found out that while not every call went my way, many did, and many led to opportunities and relationships that were even better than I imagined.

I learned that calling prospective employers, or long-lost people from my professional network, or a contact whom I didn't know who was recommended by a friend, often resulted in something positive. And when it didn't, I survived intact.

It does take courage to push out of your comfort zone, especially when you know you'll get sweaty palms in the process.

When you know you need courage to make that call, try one of these ideas:

• Put on music that pumps you up
• Stand up when you make the call
• Call a friend to fire you up with a pep talk
• Sketch out a script of what you want to say
• Exercise and then make the call
• Just go make the call without thinking too much
• Decide to do something enjoyable right after the call, no matter how it goes

Heather Mundell
Dream Big Coaching Services
www.dreambigcoaching.com
heather@dreambigcoaching.com