What do you think of phone convarsations?

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I know many different people have different views on the dreaded voice box system. I want to know what YOU think of it and the reasoning behind your decision!

As for me, I enjoy talking on the phone. I've seen much deeper convarsations come out of there, as if the person is right there with you. I spend so much time of the computer, but today I spent like 3 hours on the phone with my friends, and it just feels less awkward for me than AIM because you can get an idea of how the person is feeling and you can play off their reaction more. With online convarsation, that extra dimension of emotion is basically destroyed. I personally pick phone, but tell me what you think!

craaap i posted this in the wrong one... can someone move it to the communication one? is that even possible?

I dread having to make, and not so much recieving phone calls, especially the unexpected one. The reasoning is simply becasue I find myself having to communicate with people. Even today I still feel a bit of uncertainty when talking on the phone. The telephone has also been the source of some of the more interesting passages of time in my life.

No one outside of family ever called me until I was in third grade. On evening back in february 1989, I was in my room listening to records when mom knocked on the door to my room. I had a phone call, I was beside myself, who would be calling me up at 7:30 pm. Turns out it was one of the kids in my class who during the course of the year had made an outward effort to get to know me better.

I didn't know what to say and found talking on the phone to be an odd experience. It was a new experience for me, I was standing in the middle of the kitchen talking on the cordless phone, forcing myself to work my way through the conversation. It lasted maybe five minutes before it ended we both hung up. I then got mad at my mom when she asked me who had called becasue I never like to tell my parents those kinds of things

One afternoon back in June 1991, I was trying to call the above said person. I kept getting intercept instead becasue the call wasn't going through. I finally got put through to a cranky operator who yelled at me over the phone for not dialing the number right. I must have sounded like an idiot trying to explain to the lady on the other end who I was trying to call and what was happening when I dialed, at least I felt like one.

January 1993 - I tried to call someone I had meet during lunch at school back on 11/13/1992. I got his father instead who told me he was busy and he would have him call me back. As the evening wore on, no phone call, I got more and more anxious. Once the phone rang for my mom and I tore out of my room as fast as I could only to be met with dissapointment. By 8:30 I had given up hope of him called and I broke down into a massive fit of crying because I thought he was not calling me on purpose just to upset me.

I dread starting phone conversations, but once I've begun I can talk for hours. IM has always annoyed me since I don't know "proper" IM speak and am just too slow in general to reply in time. In the end I prefer the phone; I just find it easier to communicate when I can hear the person's voice.

me too, catguy. i was talking to someone for 5 hours last week, in one phone call, that is. bloody mad.

i have only recently discovered IM (thanks to dunc), and i like that too. depends what the purpose is, as to whether i prefer phoning or IM - if it's a quickie, then the phone. and of course, IM is handy for those international moments.

I like short, utilitarian phone conversations... as an example I'll tell someone to come over or tell a few jokes but I won't socially interact like a teenage girl...

Moved as requested...

I voted for IM. I loathe using the telephone, and can rarely talk for long. The only exception is talking to my dad as he can ramble on and on and on... the difficulty is getting a word in edgeways, or changing the subject to what I actually needed to ask him.

I worked on the telephone for years and found it extremely tiring, but not too difficult once I had worked out a mental 'script' for most interactions and learned how to get information out of people in a consistent format.
However I hate answering the telephone, particularly since the majority of the time it turns out to either be phone spam, 'Hi! This mesage is brought to you by Scam Holidays, Inc.' or people with no manners or common sense attempting to extract money from me (fat chance...)

Dunc

Phones are a big problem for me. If a phone call is to gain information or give information thats ok. I don't like the phone ringing because it could be anybody. I don't like talking on moblie phones because I always feel rushed and get flustered. Plus they crackle in and out. If someone rings me unexpectedly with questions, I always stuff it up and have to ring back after I have thought about things. I hate it when someone says they are going to ring but don't know when. I wont use the phone, I wont go out, I can't get on the net. It gets me stuck in a wierd waiting limbo. And then when they don't ring, I have wasted a whole day.
I used to take my phone off the hook for months. I havent done that for years though. I use the phone though because it is the most communication I get with others mostly. Although I tend to go months without ringing people too. Not that I don't think about talking to them daily. Just that I don't know how to make a conversation flow. Typical senario is me thinking I would love to talk to person 'A'. Then I go through a practice run converstation with myself first. Decide that I have not too much interesting to say, so don't ring them. Like at the moment the only thing I can think of talking to people about is that I am getting my Irlen's glasses in a week. But no-one is all that interested. I seem to have a lot to say in these posts at the moment though. So I would say I go through phases between phone and online.
Oh yeah, I met my former partner online, but my real life communication with her sucked big time. We are still friends and we chat on line. We live in different states again so we have not seen each other since we broke up. We have had probably only 4 phone conversations in the last two years.

ElfMan

I vote for IMing. Phone calls make me anxious because I never know when it is my turn to speak, and what to say. But doing the "answering machine" talk to take a message for someone is not a problem.
IMing is easier, and you have many things to help understand what people say. And you do not worry about when to speak ; you just type what you want to say.
Plus, you can keep track of what was said earlier.

Elfman I agree with everything you've said! I feel the exact same way. One of the worst offenders of making me wait for phone calls are doctors. I hate it! I have waited all day sometimes only to have them forget to call.

Conversly, I would rather talk to someone on the phone than in person. I feel the phone is uninhibiting. For example, I don't have to worry about eye contact, body language (which is confusing to me), or facial expressions. If i'm sitting and talking with someone, I feel trapped. The phone allows me to get off and finish errands or work. It is difficult though to know when to jump in. Sometimes people pause to gather thoughts. Then I'l think they're finished and we both begin speaking at the same time. It's tedious sometimes!

I don't like using the phone much. I hate talking for long lengths of time. I would rather IM where I can have a short conservation.

IM is so much more stress-free for me, because I can write something, then review it to make sure it's not a stupid thing to say before sending it. I used to HATE using the phone also, especially when I'm the one initiating the conversation, but I've mostly gotten over that. I just have to take a few seconds to mentally run through how I expect the conversation is going to progress and what I'm going to say.

I guess phone conversations aren't that hard for me, because of my quick wit - I had a crank call asking if...someone was there, I forget who. Let's just say "Is there a john there" for5 the sake of convenience, even though that wasn't it. (If I'd said no, the person would then ask "Well, how do you go to the bathroom.")

Well, right away I was able to think of something I'd pulled on a telemarketer once - I said, "No, but I can let you talk to my friend, I.P Freely."

However, I stil get concerned about making phone calls unless I know the person I'm talking to, because I don't totally know how I'll be received, if I'm intereupting something, and so on. With a friend or family I don't care, becasue they know me. And, really, even when it's not someone I know, I'm a lot better than I used to be.

I hate those computer phone spammers because then you can't make a person laugh. Over the years with people I have done the folowing:
1. For auto insurance salesmen, gottent hem admit they would feel safe riding in a car with me, then teling them I'm legally blind (which is true)
2. Told a roofer I didn't need them because, "I don't have a roof. If eel getting all wet and getting everything ruined whenever it rains builds chaaracter." (Could change that to anything - not knowing the news for newspaper callers, etc.)
3. Gotten the person way off track by talking about something totally unrelated to the call (and sounding dumb doing it - like about DVDs asking if the discs had 3 or 4 sides)

I've done other funny things, too. But, I think that just is a gift. Each of us havs different ones.

I hate using the telephone in most circumstances. Instant messaging is better, but I prefer email. At least with email I can take the time to properly express my ideas or feelings. I can’t even come close with my verbal ability.

I can have some long conversations with my closest friend once in a while. Talking to a person I am unfamiliar with causes me anxiety. The anxiety is particularly acute when I am suddenly forced out of what I am doing and into a conversation I don’t want to have. I dislike even hearing the phone ring. When the phone rings in my house, I have a rather strong reaction to it. Immediately, I will say out loud, “No!” “Oh, crap I don’t want to talk to anyone, dangit, dangit, dangit!” “Why do we have to have a phone, etc” The muscles in my back tense up and I feel a rush of nervousness. I may run to whoever has answered the phone and do the silent “I’m not here!” gestures.

Initiating phone calls is difficult as well and I will procrastinate forever before picking up the phone and dialing. I will even write out a script of what I plan on saying, just in case I find myself floundering. This is particularly a problem when calling to inquire about employment opportunities. In those cases, I may never make the call at all. First contact through email is always my preference.

The cell phone I have is almost a complete waste. I never leave it turned on and rarely ever make calls. It’s probably a good plan to keep it for emergency use.

The both have their good and bad points.

I like phones, because you can get clearer answers out of people when you ask them a question, instead ofthem just not answering or changing the subject or something.

It's faster to talk than to type.

Emotions are distinguishable.

I hate phones when they ring and interrupt something i'm doing.

It's annoying when you need to leave and you feel bad about saying you have to go.

I like IM's because you can do several things at once without sounding like you're not paying attention.

I usually don't IM much unless I need to talk to people whom I can't afford to text message and don't want to ring up.

When I was in elementary school, I spoke on the phone a lot with one person who pretended to be my friend. I did it mainly because she pressured me into it, I think, though it is hard to recall.

I do not mind speaking on the phone as long as there is a purpose to the conversation, or if the other person leads the conversation. Basically, it is the same for me as if I were speaking to someone face to face. I also have trouble knowing when to speak or what to say, but it is the same in face to face communication, and with people I know well, it is all right.

I do not initiate phone calls unless I absolutely have to, like others I get very nervous about that. I never call my friends because I do not know what to say to them, unless we have been planning something specific to do together.

I absolutely hate telemarketers. During the summer, I am the only one who ever answers the phone at home, and I always have to deal with them. I have gotten plenty of unwanted credit cards or ended up answering surveys I did not want to answer due to my misunderstanding the people on the other end. I have also gotten some very rude callers. Now, instead of dealing with that business and their manipulative techniques, I just hang up on them.

I don't really like IMs much, either, because they require me to remain on the computer for a certain amount of time, and I also have to answer everything the person says. I much prefer forums or email.