Are you a phone-phobic freelancer?
“I dread days where I have interviews scheduled.” “I’d rather give myself a root canal than call an editor.” “I’m so much better on paper than I am on the phone.” I’ve heard this, and variations thereof, from dozens of freelancers, many of whom are extremely successful professionals with hundreds of clips to their names.
I admit, my pulse rate goes up a little before calling sources, but it’s a good thing for me: I use that energy to project enthusiasm into our interview. Within a couple minutes of talking, my heart rate slides back to normal. Only once did I really and truly dread an interview, and that was because I was cold-calling Jeffrey Steingarten at the behest of one of my editors. If you know anything about Steingarten, you know why my armpits were drenched: mercifully, the interview went well.
If you’re on the path to a long and successful career as a freelancer magazine writer, the phone isn’t something you can avoid. Most writers I know conduct the majority of the interviews with it, and when you need a quick, immediate response from an editor, it can’t be beat. If you’ve been freelancing for awhile and you can’t shake the jitters, some tips from someone who kinda enjoys conversations with interesting people:
- Your source is probably more nervous speaking to you than you are speaking to him, so focus on putting him at ease rather than focusing on your insecurity. Remember, he’s worrying about how he’s going to sound to you — after all, those are his words that will end up between quotation marks in a national magazine.
- Schedule interviews for the first thing in the morning. So many productivity experts advise writers to get their creative work done first thing, but there’s another train of thought that says it pays to get your “frogs” out of the way first. I know I feel much more energized when the tough stuff is off my plate (in fact, I always eat the least compelling food on my plate, and save the yummy stuff for last!)
- Set one day a week to do all your interviews. This can be helpful if you work yourself up into a tizzy before each interview. You get them all done in one fell swoop and relax for the rest of the week.
- Call sources on the fly. This can work if you spend the week looking in calendar in dreadful anticipation of an interview. I do this a lot, especially with people who can be hard to reach. I ask them for a few minutes of their time, and usually they give it to me. And then I’m done!
- Identify and write down what it is about phone work that gives you the heebie-jeebies. Do you stumble when you speak? Are you afraid the person on the other end of the line will treat you badly? Is it hard for you to write and conduct interviews at the same time?
- Now write down some ideas to help you get over those fears. If you feel inarticulate, write out a script for your call, right down to your introduction, and practice it out loud before you call. Write out a sign with the words, “Speak Slowly” and post it in front of you. If someone gives you attitude, you can ask them when it’s a better time to talk — or if it’s a source, you can find someone else (nicer) to talk to. Start taping your interviews, develop some shorthand, or tell sources ahead of time it helps if they speak slowly and that you’ll probably interrupt them to get a quote right.
Do you dread phone work? What tips and tricks do you use to help you get through your phone phobia? Post them below. [diana burrell]
If you liked that post, you might also like:
May 20, 2008 Advice, Interviewing, Reporting, Sources
I get so nervous on interviewing days (I’ll try to do a lot in one bunch) that I find it hard to eat.
That may sound silly, but I’ve recently discovered I have dysthymia, chronic low-grade depression, which explains why I get anxious and why I find it much easier to write than to talk to people (*any* people). I’m just hoping interviews will get easier with practice, and trying to be nice to myself when i find it rough going… it helps to know I’m not the only one! x
All sound advice, thanks so much for this — I used to be so phobic I wondered why I went into a profession that required phoning people every day.
I did read Susan Jeffer’s “Feel the Fear and Do it anyway,” one of the points she makes is about the deep fear we have that somehow we can’t handle what will come up.
So on the phone, for me it was often the fear that if someone “rejects” you (doesn’t want to talk, is rude whatever) that you won’t be able to handle it.
Working on some stock responses to these helped a lot (or even just learning to take a breath and ask “why?” simply) because then I could handle it.
Just today, I had one of those silly scenarios where you interview someone by phone, then they don’t want it “on record” — after clearly stating who I was & what I was doing, and nothing even remotely secret was said. Guess what? I handled it.
Practice is also key, it does get better eventually…
This is such a great post Diana. I fall into this category and hide in the electronic world far too often.
I find that what works for me is to make “the call” when I’ve just gotten off the phone with someone safe (like a close girlfriend, my mother, my husband, whoever) — I’m in the chatting groove and I feel more relaxed about using that handset.
[...] Are you a phone-phobic freelancer? [...]
I have to join the party and say that practice-practice-practice will get you through any nervousness you may have about phone interviews. I began working for a small weekly newspaper in 2002, and I was leaping into a pretty tight community where many, many people have known each other (and each other’s families) for decades. I had *no* prior experience with interviewing people over the phone, and I was so naive that it really didn’t occur to me to be nervous about phone interviews. I was far more nervous about in-person interviews than phone interviews. Preparing question lists helped me get beyond that discomfort. Now I’ve been doing this for so long that I can call or approach pretty much anyone for an interview or photos, and it is rare for me to get nervous about it. (Kinda freaks out my introvert DBF when we’re out and I go up to people I don’t know, though.)
In a way, I really think that being as naive as I was helped me. I simply looked at it like, ‘Okay, I have a job to do,’ and just jumped in. I’ve made mistakes and I’ve had situations where interviews weren’t exactly comfortable (the former superintendent of schools was a major solid waste excretory orifice, and was notorious for behaving as if you owed him money when you tried to talk to him), but you just have to be *human* about it. My best advice is to be as prepared as you can, be polite but be willing to push a little (especially when you’re trying to catch up with someone who has a busy schedule), be flexible (I’ve had people call me back as late as 11:00 at night because that was the only time they could talk), be willing to laugh at yourself – and, as Diana indicated, bear in mind that the person you’re interviewing is probably nervous, too.
If you’re inexperienced, *don’t* let yourself dwell on that and build it into a huge obstacle.
And don’t be afraid to sympathize with your interview subjects. There have been times when I’ve had some rather cagey reactions from people I’ve finally caught up with after X number of days of trying. Sometimes saying something to the effect of, “I know you’re really busy, and I imagine you’re probably tired of getting messages from me, so I appreciate your taking the time to talk. I’ll try to make this a quick and painless as possible,” can prompt someone who is cagey, tense or annoyed to relax a little. On occasions where I’ve had someone who is very tense, I’ve actually said, “I promise, I don’t bite, and I’m not working for the National Enquirer,” which has led to a brief laugh and a complete change in the subject’s demeanor.
Interviewing and magazine writing generally still stressed me out like crazy after 6 years or so, so I just gave up working for magazines that don’t interest me and focused on other kinds of writing and editing. So far, I’m making more money than ever. Ya gotta know when to fold ‘em.
Oh, heck no. I love the phone. There’s no way to get those spur-of-the-moment follow-up questions off without hearing the weird hesitation in your interviewee’s voice. Also, on paper, it’s harder to figure out where there might be more to a story that the interviewee didn’t think was relevant, but that your readers might find funny or interesting.
Though my web guy won’t talk to me on the phone. Flat-out refuses. I suspect he is secretly a robot.
Great post! I loathe the telephone, which is kind of strange since I don’t consider myself a shy person. I hate to admit this, but I once turned down a decent paying writing job because all articles required an interview. I’ll get over this fear…one day.
I don’t mind calling for interviews – but cold-calling to find new clients for my copywriting and ghost writing is a nightmare for me. I’ve never done it. I make money without using this so I wonder if cold calling is really necessary? I should hope not! In my case, I choose the styles of marketing and promotion that work with my personality and not against it. But, you have excellent tips here for those who dread the phone in general.
Such a great post! This was one of my greatest hang-ups (forgive bad pun!) at the beginning, and I would write elaborate phone scripts and still I would be scared.
A couple of things helped me. One, in my first year freelancing (just out of college) I temped as a maintenance dispatcher at Cornell University. First, this convinced me that I *really* wanted to make a go of the writing thing so I would not have to temp anymore, and second, I had to talk to maintenance guys on an open radio all day long. That gave me practice talking to people who were strangers. Derisive strangers, at that!
The other thing that helped me was something I called “warming up the cold call”. I would send an email ahead of time to whoever –source, editor –and said hey, this is who I am, this is what I’m after, and I’m going to give you call at xyz time unless there’s a more convenient time. That way, I’ve got an “appointment”, they have some clue about who I am , and/or can tell me if they’d rather talk a different time.
I’m not really intimidated about calling people anymore, but I still like to warm up my cold calls, mostly because I think that people really appreciate it. I know that I don’t like it when my phone rings and someone launches into something that I’m not really prepared for!
I love, LOVE this idea! Thanks!!
I have a different reason for hating phone calls. It’s called using a relay service. When you use a relay service, the interviewee will be stuck hearing silence while the operator relays (types) what the interviewee said back to me. It also makes the call last longer. Knowing how weird it must be for the person on the other end — it just bugs me. Sometimes I wish I was obtuse to this fact!
On the other hand, I had to talk to some folks yesterday and they were trying to sell me a membership. It’s a heck of a lot easier to say no repeatedly through a relay than a regular phone call
It might help to record your conversations so you’re not working hard on taking notes. Focus on your questions and listening to the responses. Write down new questions that come up based on the person’s answers and ask them when the time is right. So you might have a document open on your computer — this way you only focus on what the person says and quickly type new questions instead of multitask in taking notes and come up with new questions.
Great points! Some people are really good with words through writing, but find themselves out of words when it comes speaking with other people.
Going back to your comment Diane, interview anxiety anxiety is extremely common as is depression. What you said does not sound silly at all. I have heard it many times from my clients. The best advice I could give without any treatment is to not negatively forecast the interview. You see anxiety is a subconscious response tied in with the fight or flight response. The reason for the response is actually to keep you away from danger. It is the mind and bodies way of getting you on alert and prepared to either run or fight. So, if you negatively forecast an interview or anything else for that matter. The subconscious mind will perceive that scenario to be a danger. The closer you get to the interview the more anxious you may become because the subconscious mind wants to keep you away from it. Your body will be running on adrenaline and your mind will be hyper -vigilant. Hypnotherapy is an effective treatment that you may want to consider.
I was glad to find this. Its nice to know I’m not the only one with this issue. I love researching in books, online, and everywhere else, but when it comes to talking to people and asking questions of them… I freeze. I’ll definitly try these tips.
Looking at your own definition of rejection can also make a tremendous difference. If for example, “rejection” means “anyone who rejects me”, then you are setting yourself up for a negative outcome.
If however you understand that there will always be at least one person who humours you (a spouse for example), then its not a far stretch to realies that not “everyone” will reject you.
Having made that highlight, its only a small step to then reframe your definition of “rejection” from “anyone who rejects me” to “five out of ten people who reject me”.
This small reframe gives your subconscious mind the understanding that the next person you call has greater chances of agreement than rejection. It becomes a numbers game instead of a give-up-first game.
Then, over time, reframe again to “one in ten that says no” and so on
I know what you mean , I’m a bit phone-phobic as well. I do well with Emails and Online messengers like Skype and YM , but I tend to freeze up when it comes to the phone. I even find it difficult to call my friends in fear of being answered by the others living in their residence.
It’s irrational I know but at least it’s comforting to find out that I’m not the only one that goes all sweaty and tense when talking on the phone.
-Dino Delellis
Call sources on the fly.
Hey this is a great tip! I’m waiting for an interview to come. I’ll give this a try, maybe today if i can sum up the courage and breath… thanks!
So i have a question for anyone with some experience under their belt–it looks like a lot of writers might SKIP phone interviews in favor of quoting from books. Am I right about this? I read a lot of articles with three quotes with three different “experts” who’ve all written books on the topic and I think, Did they actually interview all three of these experts–and then just use one quote!–or are they just quoting from their books, which are named in the article. Anyone have any thoughts/experience on this?
Also, as a writer who’s been forced to make lots of phone calls, I think the first-thing in the morning and group-em-together tips are the best! I discovered these myself and they made the work quite tolerable! : )
Nancy, the editor I work for most often would skin me alive and dine on my slow-roasted backside with fava beans and a nice Chianti if I quoted someone from a book and did not note that in the article.
I don’t know about other editors, but mine is very specific: Quotes come from live people, quotes from email are to be noted as such and prefaced or followed by, “X said in an e-mail,” and anything that comes from a book or another publication/document is to be appropriately identified as having been taken from another publication/document.
LOL, thank you wordwych! It’s good to know there’s a hard-and-fast rule about this–and that I’d better follow. AND it’s good to know the email protocol too, as I’ve seen this suggested as an alternative to an in-person or telephone interview.
Many thanks for sharing your expertise!!
Nancy
Thank you for this wonderful article, and your helpful advice. I am extremely phone phobic, and I nearly always have to script myself before I have a phone conversation with anyone other than a close family member. Otherwise, the conversation will run off course, or I will lose any of the ideas I had before the phone call. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one with this problem. Thanks.