How To Overcome Your Fear of Making Phone Calls

Many individuals dislike talking on the phone and will avoid phone calls when possible. However, if your reluctance to initiate and take calls produces feelings such as extreme anxiety, difficulty breathing, or a rapid heartbeat, you may suffer from phone anxiety or telephobia. This fear is especially problematic for entrepreneurs who will need to field calls from suppliers and customers alike. Learn how to overcome your fear of making phone calls by following these steps.

Ranking Your Fears

Acknowledging your crippling anxiety over phone calls is the first step to bettering yourself. The next step of the process should help ease your mind. Write down the level at which some elements of a phone call bring the most fear, and start your list of what gives you minimal apprehension.

Completing a small goal and working yourself down your list ensures you have the momentum to keep going. One of the best ways to start is by calling someone you feel comfortable with out of the blue. A family member that knows this is a part of your mission is a good place to start. You can try calling a restaurant for a pickup order or contacting other businesses with more complicated questions.

Restructuring Your Brain

A common theme of folks that are afraid of phone calls stems from the fact they have a petrifying fear of the unknown. An inner struggle may ensue that keeps you from making the call, such as wondering what they will say or if they are busy.

Reprogramming your brain to become more rational goes a long way in curbing your negative feelings. This premise is extremely vital for those who are in sales. Making cold calls is horrifying for anyone who hates talking on the phone. Thus, restructuring your brain to be more rational is a crucial tip to becoming a cold-caller extraordinaire.

Give It a Try

With a new mindset, you can tackle your fear rankings and cross them off your list. Like an employee going through training for a new job, you should put yourself through a training program. The more you practice your new skills, the more they will become instinctive. Before you know it, you’ll make calls as if chatting on the phone is second nature!

Knowing how to overcome your fear of making phone calls will help you live your life more freely instead of doing everything you can to avoid dialing and answering your phone. You can’t expect to fix this behavior immediately, but with time, you’ll think it is humorous that you were afraid of something so simple.