If you’ve got a crippling fear of talking on the phone, good news: you’ve now got a diagnosis for your condition—and a potential way to cure it.
Telephobia, which is basically extreme phone anxiety, is an increasingly major issue among young adults—so much so that one college is offering phone confidence training sessions for Gen Z students.
Liz Baxter, a careers advisor at Nottingham College, has begun teaching students the importance of phone etiquette, stating that younger generations “simply don’t have the confidence” to formally and properly use the telephone. In her class, she allows students to role-play different phone conversations (like interviews) or even practice calling actual establishments to ask simple questions.
It’s no surprise Gen Z isn’t big on using the phone, considering text messaging and social media have become the primary forms of communication for most.
“Phone anxiety is something we come across regularly,” Baxter said.
Some symptoms of telephobia—like racing heart, nausea, and shaking—can be pretty severe, causing individuals to procrastinate or avoid making phone calls altogether. But with training sessions in place, Baxter hopes, students can overcome their anxiety and improve their performance while on the phone.
This might all sound a little OTT at face value, but phone communication skills are are a pretty necessary skill for a good number of jobs. Victoria Bari, a recruitment expert, said that while messaging via email or text might be a preferred method of communication for many, it’s also a less effective one.
“There is certainly a generational divide, and for younger, more inexperienced consultants, emails and messaging are the first route of communication,” Bari said. “But talking to people remains the most effective method of building relationships.”
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