I am a wreck when it comes to dealing with the Child Support Agency. I feel utterly powerless and slide into foetal mode very quickly whenever I call; nausea and tears have become standard in my dealings with them.

However, this strategy is deliciously sensical and I will absolutely try it next time I have to deal with my Phone Demons! I imagine it counteracting the negative thoughts I have (based on previous experience) and helping me connect with the person on the other end of the phone. I’m normally good at Connecting but this just brings the intelligent, competent, dynamic woman in me to her knees!

Thankyou deeply for your Courageous Thoughtfulness.

*smiles warmly*

You funny lady…

Btw, I totally get phone AND meeting phobia, so I’m TOTALLY trying this out this week.

Cupcakes.

So, when I have to call the absolutely fabulous beautiful kindred soul woman who invited me to rent an office in her fabulously beautiful center, which I’ve been drooling over for a year, and I STILL will find reasons to procrastinate on getting back to her, I will remember this sage advice. Hopefully before she rents it out to someone else. In which case you won’t hear from me again, because I’ll have shot myself.

Thank you, Havi…

I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it’s a phobia or something. But I. Hate. Making. Phone. Calls. I have trouble calling my own parents, for heaven’s sake. Even when I worked for a monthly magazine and I had to call people to do interviews, I dreaded every single one. I get tongue-tied easily and lose my train of thought when I’m on the phone. So far, nothing I’ve done has helped, not even writing out a script for the call.

But reading this…this sounds like it could work. Or at least help alleviate enough of the panic that I can dial the number and say who I am before the nerves kick in.

I’ll let you know how it works out. Thank you again for the advice.

Between that and your reprogamming visualization Friday was a different kind of day. I went back to my same ol’ this weekend, so today is the same kind of day.

They work, and I’m grateful. Thanks :)

That’s awesome … love it.

Congrats on getting that call out of the way. Also: nice job being a connector.

And thanks for being all enthusiastic about all the stuff I think about. Right on.

Later that day (I’d read it yesterday in your noozletter, I guess) I was meeting with a client who shied at making a call to ask for something and I got to deliver bot this technique, and your post on “the art of the ask” (that’s what I called it, I sent her the link.)

So your posts helped me do what needed doing, helped me help a client,and made me a resource to her by referring her to your blog… all the warm-fuzzies are making me dizzy. THANKS.