Do you have issues/dislike talking on the phone?

[Geordie]

I don't listen to phone calls unless I'm asked to.

They cost money, I am not really good in processing auditory information, and more importantly, they are not documented. For future accountants and auditors... if something is not documented, it is not evidence. Lol

I am not gonna have anyone close to me that wants me to use the phone, other than my folks. Hats off to phone receptionists

 

[Daniel]

They cost money, I am not really good in processing auditory information, and more importantly, they are not documented. For future accountants and auditors... if something is not documented, it is not evidence. Lol

I had a job (for a few weeks) where I learned a trick like this from the ops manager. He would call you on the phone and chew you out, and then follow it immediately with an gracious, supportive email. So the only records showed that he was being super nice. I realized that's how it worked there, so I quit the next day.

I also had a phone sales job once (also for a few weeks) where

Yes--not a fan of the telephone. I was one of those kids who was scared to make phone calls unless a protocol had been clearly established. I remember being five years old and calling my best friend to see if he wanted to play, but I couldn't imagine doing that now!

I have one friend who I enjoy conversing with on the phone. He calls me, but never the other way around. I don't ever feel like chatting as way of passing the time, and I do most of my talking with my wife.

 

[Geordie]

I realized that's how it worked there, so I quit the next day.

Indeed, this is the sort of thing that passes me by as hypocrite. Glad that you quit the job.

 

[Kuribo]

I don't have issues with it myself ... but my sister, who is also Autistic, cannot stand to be near phones, as she is scared of ringtones. She also finds talking over the phone alienating.

 

[anne.bc]

Even as a high-functioning diagnosis, I still DREAD phone calls. I prefer speaking in person, text, email or Facebook. Something about speaking on the phone just freaks me out.

 

[Daniel]

Whoops...just noticed an incomplete sentence back there!

I also had a phone sales job once (also for a few weeks) where I had to learn how to take control of a conversation. I had to cold-call executives and figure out my way past gatekeepers.

I hated it, and I was mostly terrible (I could find good leads). But I learned a brief taste of what it's like to be confident on a telephone. I couldn't keep it up to save my life, but I'm still aware of conversational power dynamics and stuff like that. It's weird to me that there were these three weeks of my life where I did that.

 

[Franss]

I couldn't agree more with the initial post! I feel the same way. The fact that you don't see the person their emotions reactions, it makes a big deal of a difference! I hate dealing with people over the phone whereas I'm very comfortable with them in person :-/

 

[Pusteblume]

Exept for a few of my familymembers and my beloved, I can't talking on the phone.
I can't always talk with they either, it's about 50/50 of the time when they try to call me.
I have no idea why it is like this, it just give panic, and it have always been like this.
Fortunatly I have helpers/aids/personel (what ever it?s called in english) that, among other things, help me with phone calls.

 

[Aalo]

I had, as a kid, tremendous problems realizing how to talk to phone. Funny actually, I don't believe I that much do pay attention on facial expressions of discussion partner, but it was what I needed in phone. Nowadays that works even better than IRL in coincidental encounters, but my problem is forgetting phone. Specially after my mother died I felt none really is calling for me, so I might forget my celly behind bookshelf on a silent mode even more often than before. But it's something I've always done. It's hard to figure how many jobs I've missed because of that.

 

[_Josh_]

I can talk to the people I'm comfortable with on the phone with no problems. Talking to family members that I don't see often is entirely uncomfortable, much more uncomfortable than talking with them in person which is also uncomfortable. Talking to total strangers on the phone is the worse form of communication possible that I've ever done. The only thing that I can imagine would be worse than talking to strangers on the phone would be conversing with strangers on a video form of communication such as skype which I've never done. I've never really tried to make much sense of it though. That particular aversion strangely doesn't bother me much. I've never owned a cellphone, and phone calls for me are very rare. I've never asked family about it or told them anything but they must know I dislike phone conversing and never try. I'm thankful.

The manifestations of the anxiety while conversing with a stranger on the phone I could only describe as losing 9/10's of my vocabulary. I only answer questions and the whole phone conversation consists of how ever many yes and no's, uh huh's, nope's, ok's, uhhh's, sure's, thank you's and no thank you's are required to end the call.

 

[LgndKllr24]

I hate phones in general and try to avoid having to use them as much as possible. When I talk to my parents, I really have no choice but to use the phone, because they don't really use the computer at all. I don't really have a problem with talking to them on the phone though because I do it all the time. But in general, phones really annoy me. I think they are really disruptive. When I'm in the middle of doing something, I don't want a ringing phone to interrupt me. I have that problem at work when I'm busy with something and my phone rings.

 

[shinyedge]

I am very uncomfortable with the phone, which is a problem because I do freelance work and need to be making phone calls to get work. I don't even like talking with my wife on the phone.

One reason is that I don't know how to end the call. I usually have to wait until the other person says it is time to go, and then I silently rejoice. Another reason is that, as with all conversation, I never know when it is my turn to talk. It is even worse with the phone because there are no visual cues. So if I have something important to say, I often interrupt the other person. Or, more often, I let the other person go on and on and I just listen. That's my secret with all conversations. If I keep my mouth shut and let other people talk, most of the time they never notice. I get bored because the conversation is all about them, but it works.

 

[Cuppa' Tea]

I hate the phone with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. I get incredibly anxious when I have to make a call to someone I don't know. There are a few exceptions to the rule, my mom, and two of my friends. Other than that, I text. I never know when it's my turn to speak, so I interrupt them because anything I want to discuss is obviously much more important. But I know that that's rude, so I usually I just don't speak and let them ramble and then spend the time wondering when it would be polite to end the conversation. Then they expect me to keep the conversation going and it's just incredibly awkward. That and it's really hard for me to filter out background noises and distractions so I wind up missing most of what they say. Too much of a pain if you ask me.

 

[Madame Catfish]

Unless if a person is being particularly witty or deep, I dislike talking with anyone at all, phone or otherwise.

 

[Beverly]

I don't mind phone calls for the most part but, I dread having to call a business and ask a question, especially stores. I will, invariably, get an idiot who does not know how to listen and, when I do finally get them naming the correct product, they can't find it, can't give me a price for the item, don't know if they have any in stock and, cannot tell me if it comes in the specific variety I need. Calls to store about products end with me yelling at the person, calling them and idiot, and then calling the manager to request the removal of said idiot from their job.

If you are going to work in a store, do not answer the phone until you know where things are in the store, what the store carries and, how to look up details such as price, sizes available, colors, how many are in stock, etc... If you cannot do those things, do not answer the phone in the store.

 

[Walsie]

I get a headache. Every. Single. Time. Doesn't matter if I enjoy talking to the other person and I know it will be over in 2 minutes, I still get a headache. I have no problem when to talk but I detest it all the same; it requires a degree of concentration face-to face interactions do not.

As a kid, the phone was a terrifying monster with a shrill, atrocious blare that blasted my brains out like the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs (those old-fashioned dialed phones, remember those?). I was so grateful when the button phones came out.

When my brother started his business, he gave to customers the home number (he'd moved back home), which meant I had to play secretary cos my bedroom was right next to the phone room, and I was more often home than out. Half the time I would forget to write the message or get their phone number wrong, then he'd yell at me. Finally, he got the hint when my mother told him off.

 

[Harrison]

I'd be happy with just email and text

 

[Slithytoves]

Harrison wouldn't believe me, but I actually hate the phone. It's a necessary evil in my world, though, since my friends, family and partner all live a zillion miles from me. I don't have phone communication problems as such. Maybe just a little trouble knowing when someone is finished with a thought, and of course there's always a little bit of Aspie Interruption Syndrome going on, though I keep chipping away at that.

What I really dislike is video chat. There's just no way to look good doing that. Not that I'm vain, but there's a limit. I feel like I have to look at least bathed and groomed for that, whereas by phone I can look like hell and not care. When I'm home alone, I'm invariably in "hell" mode.

I'd be happy with just email and text

If that's what you'd prefer....

 

[cherryq]

I dislike talking on the phone. I am an avid call-screener and only answer if it is a close family member, like one of my parents. If they really need to get in touch with me, they will either leave me a voicemail or send me a text. If they don't, then I consider that to be their problem. Talking on the phone just causes too much anxiety. I have slightly better success when video calling because I can see when the other person is finished speaking and I can see their facial expressions to try and match the tone of voice to their expression. Overall though, I prefer texting or email.

 

[tree]

It depends on who's on the other end.

My sister is ok. She calls me on her way home from work, so she can stay awake.
My aunt & I can talk pretty ok. She gets really involved with details (recipes, exact number of
bags of leaves she has gathered, where things are).
One cousin is affable, but expects a call to last maybe 5 minutes.
The other cousin is too interested in making up facts to be fun to talk to.
Another relative is better on the phone than in person. He is ADD adult and talking
with him on the phone, he can remember/stay focused on the conversation, since
there is the constant reminder that talking is the point of the phone being in his hand.

My friend in Florida and I typically have conversations of 1 or 2 hours.

On the other hand, I practice for making a call to the dentist or doctor.
And some people...having to talk to them on the phone makes me sweat.

I can get lost in the fluidity of speech.
I like to be able to see the words.