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Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more

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Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to find

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Speaker 1: ways to put yourself at ease about picking up the phone.

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Speaker 1: Email can be easy to misinterpret, and work often goes

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Speaker 1: better when we engage in real time conversation. But a

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Speaker 1: lot of people feel anxious about calling people. I want

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Speaker 1: to help you get over that. There are a lot

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Speaker 1: of things you can do to get more comfortable with dialing.

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Speaker 1: For starters, if you feel shy about calling someone without

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Speaker 1: a scheduled appointment, try sending an email an hour or

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Speaker 1: so before saying that you'll be calling and identifying the reason.

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Speaker 1: That way, you know they probably won't be surprised when

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Speaker 1: they pick up the phone, so you'll feel less awkward. Hi, Sally,

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Speaker 1: you might write thanks for sending these documents. I have

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Speaker 1: a couple of questions about the program participants section, so

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Speaker 1: I'll give you a call this afternoon or good morning, Marcos.

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Speaker 1: I'm preparing for the Williams pitch and i'd love to

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Speaker 1: get your feedback on an idea I'll give you a

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Speaker 1: call later this morning. It's a lot less intimidating to

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Speaker 1: call someone who is expecting you, and a bonus if

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Speaker 1: you have a tendency to delay making calls that you're

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Speaker 1: nervous about. By sending the email, you have made a commitment,

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Speaker 1: so you're less likely to put it off. Notice that

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Speaker 1: in those examples of emails, you did not ask whether

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Speaker 1: it would be okay to call. Asking if it's okay

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Speaker 1: just generates more email back and forth. Unnecessarily. Of course,

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Speaker 1: it is okay to call a colleague unless you've gotten

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Speaker 1: some really clear indication otherwise, and if a colleague tells

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Speaker 1: you not to call, well that is a little strange.

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Speaker 1: You also did not sug just a specific time. You

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Speaker 1: are not scheduling a call. You're simply letting them know

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Speaker 1: you'll call. That gives you both flexibility. If they're available, great,

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Speaker 1: If not, no big deal. You'll just call back another

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Speaker 1: time or ask them to give you a call. When

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Speaker 1: you do get around to making the call, it can

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Speaker 1: be helpful to have a conversation starter ready. People are busy,

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Speaker 1: and this isn't a social call. You are at work,

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Speaker 1: so you don't need to engage in a lengthy interview,

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Speaker 1: but knowing that you're calling an avid gardener so it

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Speaker 1: might be good to ask about the tomato crop can

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Speaker 1: go a long way toward making the first few seconds

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Speaker 1: less awkward and finally, smile. Salespeople have long been told

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Speaker 1: to smile and dial, with the understanding that feeling upbeat

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Speaker 1: and cheerful increases the chances of a good conversation. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't matter that the other person can't actually see your smile.

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Speaker 1: You'll feel better and that's really most of the battle.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and

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Speaker 1: here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New

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Speaker 1: Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts,

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Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

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Speaker 1: your favorite shows.