Is anyone else phone-shy?

[Amzey]

Ack! My future roommate is supposed to call me and every time the phone rings I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack! I never know what to say to people on the phone.. especially to people that I don't know. Does anyone have any advice on not being such a nervous geek on the phone? And on what kinds of things I should ask my roommate/discuss with her before we arrive? Besides the obvious who is bringing the TV, etc. She left one message on my machine (and then I called back and got her machine) and she sounded so nice, but I'm still nervous, LOL.

 

[ShuisFan584]

I know exactly how you feel. I like talking to people much better online, because at least you have time to think about what you wanna say, and you're not actually talking, you're just typing. I only talk to my best friend on the phone, everyone else I talk to online. I guess you could pretty much talk about your interests, like sports, subjects your taking, or tv or something.

 

[AngieBelle]

Oh I'm exactly the same way! drives my mom nuts...I won't even order pizza. I'm still waiting to find out who my roommate is. I'm terribly shy about calling someone I don't know. My sister is trying to talk me into calling an old friend from CA...but I don't know what I'd say to her or if the number we have is still the right number.

 

[jimmybop]

yea... i hate talkin on the phone...the internet is so much better!!!! i get so nervous when i go to call people (not as bad if someone calls me unexspectedly)

 

[Dan Murphy]

I should call all of you and get you over your shyness.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I hate using the phone! Sometimes I won't even answer it! We have caller-id, so I atleast usually know who is calling! And, I hate calling people!

 

[helenabear]

I am terribly shy. I hate talking to people I don't know and I swear I get very nervous before I talk to someone for the first time ever... and sometimes even for a few times after that. Once I know them I am fine, but I am like Angie, I hate even ordering a pizza. But over the internet I am fine. For some reason I think I am "hidden" enough here that I don't seem to worry about what I say or what is said back to me.

As for what to talk about, start off by talking about what kinds of things you'll be bringing to the dorm, what classes you might be taking (if you don't know), study habits, sleeping schedule and your real life cleaning habits. From there you usually can find things to talk about (at least I did). Good luck

 

[Kermit]

I also can't stand talking on the phone. For some reason it terrifies me. I always put off making calls.

I used to be a tech support person for a software company. You can't even imagine how much I hated that job. I wanted to crawl under my desk each time the phone rang.

 

[SPAGo 98]

i'm worse on the phone than i am in person..

 

[Kallison]

No I could make friends with a door knob - or so my best friend always tells me. I guess not growing up with the internet helped me to communicate better on the phone. When I used to work at Princeton I would have to talk to all kinds of people, I always enjoyed talking to people on the phone before meeting them. Of course they never looked as I pictured in my mind.

Just say Hi, let's figure out who is bringing what? What do you like to do with your spare time - what tv shows are your favs - what movies did you see this summer - yada, yada, yada.....You'll do fine!

 

[cotye]

At work, I sometimes have to make calls, but mostly I receive calls. Just hate having to talk on the phone especially with my co-worker right next to my office. UGH. And when I have to make calls, I try to do it when I think that the person might not be there (i.e. lunch). LOL>

 

[browneyes]

It doesn't really bother me to talk on the phone. I'm a lot better there than in person, that's for sure. On the phone, the caller can't see me fidget.

 

[FunkyRooster]

I remember when I got my roomate assignment last year and was so nervous to call her. She ended up calling me first. You'll find out that you both are very nervous about going to school and you'll end up also talking about like family, intended major and stuff like that.

I'm also a wuss when it comes to phone calls. Someone always has to order if we are doing food orders, yet I'll always pick up the food. Today at work, I had to call people to tell them that they won a contest and I was having such a hard time figuring out what to say next to them.

 

[dancergirl]

I dont like the telephone either! I would rather talk on the computer or in person for most things. It seems like most guys dont like the phone, except for this one guy I dated once. We would see eachother and band, get home like 5 mins later, and he would call!! It was crazy!! For a while it was nice, then it just got old...i mean, we were together most the day at school, then 3 hours at band, and still have stuff to talk about when we got home?!?! hah Guess I got what I "wanted" the next one was terrified of the phone!! He hated it more than i do!!
I'm sure yall will find plenty to talk about! Good luck with the new roommate!

 

[Mish19]

Sometimes I'm shy and sometimes I just can't shut up, LOL.
When I first started to look for a job after college I purposely looked for jobs where you fax instead of calling the employer. Eventually I just got very used to it and realized it's not too bad.
I'm still shy when it came to calling up companies to request info for my projects at work. One day I was asked to call a list of companies and didn't let anyone know I was freaking out about doing it, my boss overheard how nice of a phone manner I have and saw how many emailed responses I got compared to the other workers so unfortunately I was appointed as the one to call people (UGH!)

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Ok this phone shyness of Amy's...This is why she lives right near me and we have never talked on the phone nor met..yes weird I know.
I am not very phone shy but it takes me a while to call people for the first time.
My ex...TERRIFIED of the phone!

 

[supercarrie]

I am scared of the phone, too! I never answer it, and it drives my parents nuts - I wait for someone to start leaving a message before I pick it up if it is someone I want to talk to. Luckily cells have caller id otherwise I would never answer my cell phone. Just a couple months ago I worked up the nerve to finally order pizza, but I still can't call stores or anything like that. When I know the person well, and I feel comfortable with them, I can talk a lot, but when I don't, I am so bad on the phone.

 

[Ranatra]

I'm more talkative on the phone than I am in person.
DD had to call her roommate and she was VERY nervous!

 

[Amzey]

Eeek I'm supposed to call her tonight.. I'm sooo scared. Yes, I am pathetic. And the sad thing is that I don't even know what I'm so scared of, I'm just scared.

 

[Amzey]

Aww, I just talked to her and she was so nice. I did tell her as I stumbled over my words that I wasn't a phone person, LOL. She's going to Tisch (which is the performing arts school at NYU) as a theater major, which is so neat because I love theater, and she's planning on double-majoring in pyschology, which is what I plan on majoring in, so that's also neat. I just feel so relieved to have called her and gotten it over with, LOL.