Phone Fear

Those of you that know me might be saying “oh no not this old rant again…” but a couple of comments on Twitter and a posting on LinkedIn made me think about the age old discussion about PRs not using the phone. It was interesting to see that most people still thought phone-based communication is essential. I couldn't agree more. However, it did raise an important point; ’phone fear’ has undoubtedly crept into the industry over the last few years. Why? I don't know. Maybe it’s just that other communications channels are more appealing? But why? Isn’t it nicer to speak to someone and easier to get to a resolution? Maybe it’s because there isn't anywhere to hide when you are on the phone to a client or editor.

In many ways I can understand why a junior PR might be scared of pitching a story over the phone. Often you hear stories from journalists about them, where it is clear they have no confidence in the story they are pitching. If they have no confidence in it, then of course they are not going to enjoy the experience. They probably feel no better than a double glazing salesman and therefore revert to email or text-based channels.

I know reporters often say they prefer email communication, but in many instances there simply is no substitute for the phone. There is obviously a place for email and social media channels like Twitter but a PR that isn't happy making calls is probably going to miss out on a bunch of opportunities. As communications people we have to be comfortable with all comms channels, be that Twitter, email, face to face or phone. If we aren't then surely we can't be great communicators in the first place!