As more workers return to their offices, they will face IRL challenges one simply doesn‘t deal with at home. One of them is answering the phone — specifically, one’s office phone. These bulky ancient devices perch on the edge of your desk, and when they ring, your soul will leave your body and your fingers will clench through the fiberboard edges of your desk.
It is monstrous. It rings like a car alarm and you have to answer it. But how?
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Answering the Phone Is a Serious Point of Anxiety
Just go to r/anxiety on Reddit and scroll down through the endless entries with titles like “Answering the phone is the bane of my existence!” and “Answer Phone How? NO!” People hate it. They’ve been dodging calls from the safety of their kitchen table for the last four years. Back in the office, there’s no way they’re going to answer a blind call on that plastic dinosaur of a phone. Why so many buttons!? Where is the screen? Siri? SIRI!
How to Answer the Phone Is a Question That Vexes Gen Xers
In much of the professional landscape of Generation X, telephobia reigns with a spiked glove. Until facing that faceless contraption in the office, the new professionals just used their cells and knew exactly who was calling. They could answer friends’ calls any way they wanted. They could send unknowns to voice mail. They could stare at the incoming call and think, “Why the hell don’t they text?”
Science backs this up. A 2019 study from AB labs showed that answering a call from an unknown number took an insane amount of effort. If you’re wondering if this applies to you since you don’t have social anxiety but still have a hard time answering the phone, the answer is yes. Telephobia is not necessarily part of a larger social anxiety, but a condition all by itself.
Telephopia is less about the anxiety of the actual call than it is about the basket of unknowables that come with a call. All you have to go on is the sound of the caller’s voice — and to be clear, it’s the sound reproduced for you through the telephone. You can’t see their face. They can’t send an emoji to clarify. You have to guess if they’re being funny or weird or if they’re mad or if they don’t like you, or … I think I need to lie down.
It’s also about the pressure of being live. You can take all the time you want to answer a text. But if you freeze in a call to think about what you’re going to say, the other person is likely to misunderstand that silence or, worse, take it as a cue to keep talking.
But now these same call deniers are at work where they are required to snatch that receiver off its cradle when it rings, whether or not caller ID is available. If you employ Gen Xers, do yourself a favor and be patient with their awkward answering.
In the meantime, here are some helpful hints for those of you who suffer.
Hello? Here’s How to Answer the Phone
Flip-phone, iPhone or desk phone, here’s help conquering phone-answering anxiety.
Keep It Simple
Just say hello. You don’t have to think about it, and it’s pretty standard. This puts the burden of identification on the caller who must navigate their own clumsy opening line. Below, you’ll see some hacks with notes and stickies and such, but right here at the top of the story is the quickest, easiest, least anxious method for how to answer the phone:
Just say hello.
Go Formal With Your Deets
Another tried-and-true method for answering the phone is to go with the name of the firm or your department or jail cell or whatever. Try this:
- Hello, International Turtle Breeders of America, Candice speaking.
- This is Candice of the National Picture Straightener’s Union, Local 803.
- Accounts Malleable, Lorraine speaking.
Just Use Your Name
Again, we’re talking the easiest, most informative and simple method. You know who you are. Nothing to memorize here.
- This is Lorraine.
- Lorraine speaking.
- Hello, this is Lorraine.
Or Use Theirs
If your desk phone has caller ID, answering should be easier, except it’s not. Again, saying “hello” is perfectly safe and acceptable. Senior partner or your best pal, keep it professional and avoid other one-word answers like “yeah?” or “what” or “hey.” Somebody else may be using your friend’s phone. Consider:
- Hi Chris, how are you?
- Hi Chris, nice to hear from you.
Company Mandatory Answer Templates
Your firm may have a standard way to answer the phone. (We’ve all watched “Suits.”) If you’re nervous about nailing it, write the script on a sticky note, stick it to your monitor and read it every time you answer the phone.
Practice How to Answer the Phone
This may sound silly, kind of like role playing to get your sales pitch right. But role playing is brilliant and practicing answering the phone is equally effective. You might want to do it at home so you don’t disrupt the workspace. But just, well, answer the phone. Go through all the motions. Pick up a fake receiver (unless you have an actual tabletop phone) and say your line. Do it nine hundred and eighty-seven million times. Or three or four times a day for a week. Do it until answering the phone is second nature — until you don’t even think about it.
But It’s a Recruiter and I’m Losing My Mind!
Chill. Every recruiter knows that everyone they talk to is nervous and anxious. It’s part of their job. They’re trained in how to recognize and relieve your anxiety. Besides, being anxious on a recruitment call is normal. It’s real. Answer the call. Let the awkward roll.
But Wait, How Do I End the Call?
This is just as hard as answering the phone. How do you tap out? If you find yourself at the end of your presentation, pitch or whatever conversation you’re in, it’s time to finish. It’s important to have a clear, defined stop to a call; otherwise, you fade out, as if you’re talking to your cousin from Indiana who won’t shut up about the Pacers. All the work you’ve put into your pitch won’t matter if the end of your call is vague and lingering.
Don’t Do That, Do This
- Indicate the call is over.
- Commit to a follow-up if required.
- Say thank you.
- Say goodbye.
- HANG UP.
Here’s what it sounds like:
“Alright, Steve, this has been a great call. I’ll get back to you by next Thursday. Thank you for your time. (Steve will say something here). Talk to you soon.” CLICK.
What If They Won’t Stop Talking?
You may find yourself stuck at the end of a call with someone with a slow fade. They linger and hang on and meander and repeat all the points you’ve already made. There’s no need to be curt or rude, but you have 43 other calls to make, and then there’s that pickleball game on the roof at 4 p.m., so you need to jet. Steve is still talking, so here’s what you should do.
“Steve — hey, this is fascinating, and I want to keep this conversation going, but I have a call in three minutes. I’ll call you back on Thursday. Thanks. Talk to you soon.” HANG UP.
What If I Can’t Stop Talking?
When you’re rambling, there’s always that moment of metacognition when you realize you’re talking as you’re thinking. Oh lord, oh crap, shut up! When that happens, then just shut up. You don’t have to apologize for rambling, though if you do, that’s OK (but it’s just more rambling). Just stop talking, take a breath and then go into your goodbye schtick (see above).
I Answered and Goodbye’d — Now What?
Here’s where you can shine. If this was a call from a recruiter, a potential employer, a cherished or potential client, or anyone else you wish to impress just a little bit, then send them a card. Not an email. Anyone can do that. They’ll trash it before they read the re-line. No, be different. Stand out. Send a card.
Image © iStockPhoto.com.
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