Phone conversations

[Nick]

Are you good at talking on the phone?

I don't know what it is about it, but talking on the telephone is so hard for me to do. I stutter. I stop mid-sentence, rethink what I'm saying, and say something else. I talk really really really fast, or I talk really really really slow. I say ummmm more times than I can count. I fiddle around nervously. Unless I write it out beforehand, chances are I'm not going to get it right when it matters. UGH!!! It's so frustrating.

What about you?

 

[Kano Shuuya]

Sounds kinda like social anxiety. I'm a bit the same way, even though social anxiety via a phone call seems so silly to me, buuut that's how it goes. :/ I'm like that sometimes, or I dunno what to say, but also depending on who I'm talking to I can be just fine. It's almost a level of acting, rather than actually being that confident, though. I think my gender issues play a factor, since I dislike my voice some of the time.

I'm more of a face-to-face to person, which somehow is a LOT easier for me.

I don't usually call people unless I have a legit reason.

 

[Alex]

I used to really, really hate talking on the phone. I can answer a phone easier than I can call someone though. Listening to it ring, I repeat the first thing I'm gonna say over and over in my head, getting more and more nervous after every ring. I tend to hope it goes to voicemail or there's no answer. Understandably, back then, I loooooooved texting. So much easier. So much more what I was used to.

Lately, I've started to hate texting. It takes way too damn long to type out what you want to say (I'd prefer not to use idiot's language), and then you have to wait for the person to reply, which is at their own discretion. I always read texts and forget about them. So, I've started calling more. You just call and get what you need to say overwith. And then you say goodbye. It's pretty simple. If I'm talking to my guy friends, we both know we don't want to be on the phone with each other so we say what we have to and we're done. It's nice, actually.

 

[Chikara]

I hate talking on the phone. I always try cutting the conversation short. I dunno, it just kind of bugs me when people call me just to talk, I don't know why myself ;_;

 

[Esper]

I'm fairly good at it. I have to talk a lot on the phone for work and at first I hated it and did whatever I could to avoid it. Now I still hate it and try to avoid it, but at least I can do it without getting all worked up over it.

It really is like acting to talk on the phone. You always have that wonderful bit of control by being able to say "hold on a minute" if you need to catch your breath and collect yourself. In general it's just easier to convince people of something when they can't see you, so feigning confidence is a lot easier and makes the conversation go a lot smoother.

 

[Sheep]

I absolutely hate talking on the phone but I'm not too bad at it. It's funny because I stutter a lot more when talking with friends than people I don't know... probably because I'm unconsciously trying to make a good first impression. :P

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I'm really good at talking to people on the phone... in fact, I'm probably better at phone conversation than I am at talking to certain people in real life! Especially strangers, for some reason. If I don't know a person on the phone, I can see them looking at me and (potentially) judging me, so I feel less inhibited about what I say and how I say it and become much more confident as a result. I've gotten into so many more arguments on the phone than in real life, although these experiences were more a case of me yelling at call-centre operatives who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer!

 

[Uecil]

I'm not really good at talking on the phone because I don't like talking on it and I tend to say "erm" or mess up whilst thinking of an answer on how to reply back to the person.
Also, if I don't know who I'm talking to on the phone, I go really quiet or I pause a lot.

 

[Daydream]

I don't so much mind when people call me, unless it's someone I'm unfamiliar with. Then I feel a bit awkward. I don't mind calling other people, if it's a relative or a close friend. But when I have to call someone to say, ask about a job (rarely happens, though) or just to order a pizza or something I feel stupidly awkward and don't know what to say. I worry about how I'm phrasing my pizza ordering. Which is kinda stupid.

On the whole though, I prefer texting/IM. At least then I have more time to think about what I'm saying.

 

[Kayges]

I'm not that terrible at phone conversations, but i dislike them very much. It might be convenient if you just need to talk to someone real quick, but I can't do conversations. There are just too many occurences when I have no idea what the person said or vice versa. I dislike asking the person over and over again what they said, or even worse hear something completely different from what they were trying to convey. I'd rather send texts since, most of the time, it's understandable and to the point. I try to avoid phone calls!

 

[Patatas Fritas]

I'm good at talking full stop. I love phone conversations~ I prefer them to texting haha it's so much more personal in my opinion...

I'm the sort of person who creates conversation even in places where most would have an awkward silence because I always have something to say! I never avoid phone calls unless I don't like you or I'm in a bad mood if I realise my phone is ringing I will answer and I will talk... And talk... And talk.. You get the picture.

 

[Kroso]

I'm not good with cellular conversations sadly,I'm fine in a normal conversation but in a conversation via phone just makes me very nervous,most words that I repeat would be um..,plus I casually change the subject every two minutes or so,but I'm not one for a phone conversation.

 

[Maka Chop]

Not at all. I usually get nervous and talk too fast. I would rather talk to somebody via email or face-to-face. :x

 

[-Jared-]

Bah, I hate calling people on the phone. For me though, it is more the likelihood of getting an answering machine than actually talking with someone that bugs me. :\ I always feel like I end up sounding all weird leaving a message. I just can't seem to do it without feeling all weird. xD

I much prefer talking in person. xD

 

[Alice]

I HATE talking on phones... almost bordering on a phobia. That said, if someone hands me a phone with someone already waiting on the other side, or otherwise tricks me into talking on one (which sadly does happen) I always handle it really well, and never have any problems. I'm not really sure why I hate it so much.

 

[Meganium]

I hate talking on the phone, but there are times that I just well...have to. :P But I'm actually good at talking on the phone... well sometimes. It depends on how nervous I get or how shy.

Like most people here, I'd rather talk in person. It's much better that way.

 

[Natiya]

To be honest, I'm so awkward on a phone. Face to face
is fine, texts/IM's are fine, but talking to a disembodied voice
just freaks me out x.x

Not to mention when I call home from somewhere and leave
a message, then listen to myself later it sounds like I'm just
going "herp derrrpp =3="

 

[Saryka]

I never liked talking on the phone, even before texting became the new big thing. I can't explain why, though. Every time I'm on the phone, I tend to stutter, lose my train of thought, and just get anxious for ~whatever~ reason. Leaving messages on people's answering machines is the worst, though. That's when I really eff up my sentences.

I love texting and Skyping. I find it's actually easier to talk to someone face-to-face than over the phone so I can Skype with no problems. And with texting, I can at least take some time to think about what to say rather than having to say something and stutter over it.

IM's are also kind of awkward for me for reasons that I honestly do not know.

 

[Yoshikkko]

I'm kind of relaxed on the phone actually, while I am pretty socially awkward in general, phone convos are no problem to me most of the time because I can just pretend to care/be interested very well, the only way someone on the phone could see through you is by your voice and I can mask it pretty well so no problem lol. Uhh yeah other than making my friends think I'm interested in their stories, I just keep a cool on the phone in general.

 

[Alley Cat]

I can talk on the phone to people... quite easily. But for whatever reason I build up a lot of anticipation/nervousness prior to the phone call that makes it extremely difficult to handle. Occasionally... I'll get a little shy and nervous when talking to someone on the phone and stumble over my words, but only if I'm talking to someone attractive ;]. Plus on the phone... unlike in person... I can say "Hey. I'll be right be back." And then set the phone down and think about what I want to say. Can't really do that in person...