Phone Fright

That's right, phone fright. It's like stage fright except it occurs before I speak to someone on the phone for the first time, especially if there is any potential for romance involved. I don't know what it is, but just the thought of talking to someone I met online for the first time turns my stomach. I worry about freezing up, not knowing what to say and creating awkward lapses in conversation but mostly I worry about what first impression my voice creates. This may sound silly, but I still have telemarketers call my house and ask to speak to my parents. I guess if I had to choose a first impression for a possible date prospect it wouldn't be my sometimes valley, squeaky, high-pitched voice.

How exactly do I get over phone fright? Picturing someone I have never met before in their underwear is just not going to cut it! I have been talking to this guy via email for the last few days and tomorrow night at some point I will have to suck it up and answer the phone when it rings and hope that the he doesn't think he has been sharing emails with a 10 year-old girl! He seems down to Earth and I guess this will be the true test of how cool he really is.

So, I will take a few very deep breaths and if all else fails. . . I will laugh -- it always seems to work in my favor! I guess in the grand scheme of things, if the one glitch in my self-confidence is my voice (at least as a first impression), than I'm not doing so bad.

What are you self-conscious about the first time you meet someone?