Telephone-a-phobia

True confession: I suffer from phone phobia. Yes, that is a real thing. As I have read, symptoms of phone phobia include:

• I avoid making calls.

• I delay making or answering calls.

• I obsess about what was said after calls.

• I stress about embarrassing myself.

• I worry about bothering the person I am calling.

• I worry about what to say.

The problem with this phobia is that the Field Team Organizer for the Laramie County Democratic Party can’t have phone phobia. Very soon the “preparation” step of Field Organizing will be complete and I will be making dozens of calls per day to find volunteers, keep volunteers engaged, and make plans.

So, what am I to do?

I found these coping strategies on a site called verywellmind.com, and I am going to give them a try:

Smile. Before making and receiving calls, put a smile on your face. This may sound silly, but it helps you to relax and conveys a sense of pleasantness to the person you are speaking with.

Reward yourself. After making difficult calls, reward yourself by spending some time doing something that you enjoy.

Visualize success. Imagine a positive conversation and feeling good afterward.

Ascertain availability. If you are concerned about interrupting someone when you call, ask whether you are catching the person at a bad time. If the person is in the middle of something, this gives her the chance to offer to call you back.

Don’t overthink it. If someone says “no” or turns down a request, realize that it could be for many reasons that have nothing to do with you. Try not to read too much into someone else’s actions.

Prepare. Do a bit of preparation before making a call, but don’t go overboard. Know generally what you are are going to say but try to anticipate that the conversation may not go exactly as you have planned. If there are important points that you need to bring up, make sure to write those down and keep them handy.

They also say that exposure therapy can be effective, so I may be better after I make the first 1000 calls or so! This gentleman has the same fear of me and writes about overcoming it here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90477960/how-i-conquered-my-fear-of-phone-calls-and-you-can-too

The first calls I need to make before January expires are calls to our Precinct Committee People just to make an introduction and learn a little bit about them. This should be easy. They all have the Laramie County Democratic Party in common with me and I know many of them personally. Still, I dread it!

I thought it might help me to develop a script in advance for these calls. Please tell me what you think: “Hello, I’m Ted Hanlon, a Field Organizer for the Laramie County Democratic Party. Is __ __ there? Is this a good time to call? I would like to thank you for being a Precinct Committee Person and get to know you a little bit better. What made you decide to be a Precinct Committee person? (After each question, repeat the answers back to them to make sure you heard correctly and give you time to take notes)

What issues matter to you right now?

What worries you?

What would you like to change?”