Telephonophobia

Telephone phobia (telephonophobia, telephobia, phone phobia) is reluctance or fear of making or taking phone calls, literally, "fear of telephones".

I have said for many years [especially since the advent of email into our lives] that I don’t particularly like using the telephone - and every time I say it, I feel like no one will understand. Now I find that there is even a word to describe that feeling and that I apparently have company.

I have come to realize that I don’t really ‘hate’ talking on the telephone, as I was wont to say, but rather that I don’t like making telephone calls, especially those of a non-business nature. While part of this comes from a fear of being a nuisance, or calling at a inopportune time, I have become surer over the years, that most of this reluctance is caused by my being an introvert. I simply do not want to put myself into a position of having to initiate interaction with another person. If they initiated the call on the other hand, then they will be responsible for carrying the conversation, conversations that I enjoy being a part of.

How often during a normal week or month, do I put off doing something because I feel uncomfortable doing it and if I can ignore it long enough it will go away? Far more often than I would care to admit probably. And yet, just like a telephone call, I would likely find the result not unpleasant. How often do we refrain from doing something new, trying out a new piece of technology or expanding our knowledge just because we are afraid of whatever might come from it? And yet only by doing and learning new things will we continue to grow as human beings. It is also true in organizations. While we will just stopped growing as humans beings if we ignore the opportunities for change, organizations will actually die if they ignore those same opportunities, growth [and profits] faltering only to disappear altogether without the imposition of change.

I have seen this in my lifetime with the disappearance of the once mighty Kodak company that failed to see the necessity to be part of the upcoming digital revolution. How about Sears Department stores which failed to adapt to online shopping? On the positive side, as a former school librarian, I am encouraged by the way the libraries have rebranded themselves as learning centres with on-site programming for the whole family. Digital & audio books are available free over the internet to anyone having a valid library card. They are carving out a place for themselves in today’s world. So while there are failures, there are also successes.

So when you come across an organization that is shrinking, or a person who has failed to grow and mature, ask yourself what opportunity for change they have ignored to their detriment. Maybe, just maybe, if you are a member of that organization, you can be the catalyst that jump-starts them towards the changes necessary for a robust survival.

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NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

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