Hey there, people born after 1985! I noticed that a lot of you are having issues with your smartphone's simultaneous real-time voice chat app, also known as The Phone. So just in case you don't want to turn yourself into a pariah and die alone and friendless, here's a short guide to how using The Phone works:
1. You do not have to ask permission to call someone in the same way you have to ask for permission to, say, marry them. You can just call them. If they can answer, they will. If they cannot, then they will see that you have called and/or left a voicemail, and call you back at their leisure.
2. Calling someone is not considered an unpardonable intrusion into their lives. In fact, a single two-minute phone call has been known to replace five days of meandering inconclusive texting. Come to think of it, calling is often the less intrusive choice, since I can't drive, cook or have sex while texting. Talking can be hands-free and practically attention-free while texting requires at least one of my hands and all of my attention. Far more intrusive.
3. Talking to people is how you make friends. Texting people is how you lose them. Your pick. Unless you enjoy annoying your friends with cryptic messages like "Let's meet at mine at the tar", "You're she nest" and "I realty hike you," you need to get on the horn ( more hip slang for "The Phone" -- you're welcome!) and actually speak to me, so I can say "what the fuck was that gibberish" when you don't make any sense.
4. The term "dial" refers to the circular number dials that used to be on phones. You would stick your forefinger in a number hole, turn it around all the way for each number, then wait for a dial tone to speak to someone. Crazy, huh?! These days, of course, you can say "Call Madison" to Siri, or just lick the smartphone screen, and it will do the same thing. Hell, you don't even know what Madison's number is and never will, and she's, like, your bestie, you spoiled little brat you. But, hey, I'm not jealous -- oops, I mean jelly -- because you're gonna be senile by like 50, because you never had to actually use your brain to remember 2000 phone numbers like we did.
5. Talking to people on the phone can be daunting. For starters, anything can happen. It's not like you can prepare your remarks for three hours, show them to four of your friends for editing, and consult on le emoji juste to end it with before sending it out. Nosirreebob -- it's all happening in real time. Someone could ask something tricky like, "Are you having a good day?," and then your Conversational Response Decision Tree explodes out into a gazillion branches -- do I go all chill and nonchalant? stoic? or do I actually risk real vulnerability and tell 'em that my hair's frizzy? Luckily, there's always Toastmasters. And for top-notch public speaking training, there's also KNP Communications -- if they're good enough for 70+ members of Congress, they just might be good enough for you, too.
If you have a face, you could also practice talking to people face-to-face -- y'know, IRL. Really good warm-up for talking on the phone.
6. Know how to end a conversation gracefully. Another scary thing about the phone: how do you get off it once you're on? It used to be you could say "Gotta run", but that doesn't work anymore because everyone knows your phone is on you when you run (and also when you're driving, eating, peeing and showering). So the way to gracefully end a conversation in 2016 is to say "Gotta swim." People totes get that, especially if you mention it's breaststroke.
7. Answer your phone on your birthday. One day a year, it's your birthday. People are very likely to call you on that day. Now some of them may be trying to sell you sketchy time shares in Reno. But most are calling you to hear your voice, wish you a happy birthday and express their gratitude for your existence on Planet Earth. So unless you're inside someone's skull removing a medulloblastoma, or beating back ISIS with your bare hands, you are not doing anything more important than speaking to friends who for some reason still seem to care about your text-only negligent ass. Pick up the fucking phone on that day whenever it rings. All day long.
8. Hanging out > phone > text. Have you ever said to a friend you're hanging out with, "Hey, you're really interesting and all, and I am toootally enjoying your company, but someone else just came along who may or may not be as interesting, so I'm just going to cut you off right here mid-sentence, because whatevs!" No? You've never done that? Of course not, because that would the definition of a dick move, and you are not a dick. However, every time you pick up an incoming phone call, or check your phone for a text when you're already talking to someone else, that's exactly what you're doing. So stop making dick moves already and talk to me.
9. You do not need a baseline of deep trust, intimacy, or a condom before you talk to someone on the phone. This is because talking on the phone is one of the ways you establish trust and intimacy with another person -- y'know, getting to know them and stuff, at a safe distance. And if you think texting is better than talking for establishing trust, why not try telegrams, too STOP. And skywriting! Oh, and for our dinner tonight, you should look up at the sky where Orion would be around 7:30pm -- I'll be putting up the venue there in red smoke. Come hang out with us and talk. You'll be totes jelly if you miss out.
Dr Ali Binazir is a speaking coach and pitch doctor at KNP Communications and the author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible (available in ebook, paperback and audiobook), the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4+ years. Find more of his writing at TaoOfDating.com and blogs.harvard.edu/abinazir. You may reach him at abinazir(at)knpcommunications.com.