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I don't think it has much to do with business guy (or salesman or marketeer) vs. programmer. I notice a lot of people are afraid of phone calls and try to avo

I don't think it has much to do with business guy (or salesman or marketeer) vs. programmer. I notice a lot of people are afraid of phone calls and try to avoid them as much as possible. Handling phone calls in a professional way is a skill you should learn, it's really a competitive advantage. Don't let your insecurity to answer the phone and talk to someone ruin a potential deal. Schedule time for phone calls, just like you schedule mails, so you don't get interrupted all the time and have some time to prepare for it.

josefresco 13y ago
I upvoted this as I think it's one of the best comments on this subject. Technologists are phone averse because at their core they are socially uncomfortable. To categorize someone who uses a phone as a "sales buy" or "business guy" is simply a convenient excuse. Plenty of people, even programmers are productive AND use the telephone. Not everyone who wants to talk with you is some sort of unproductive salesman. Email is not a perfect communication tool. I deal with clients and all too often receive or send an email that is misconstrued or taken completely the wrong way. Get on the phone and within minutes of speaking he issue is usually either completely debunked, or worked out. I too avoid the phone, but find when I do pick it up and talk with my clients, or leads or other business people that it's incredibly productive and useful. It's also an advantage as many people will type one thing, but be unable to say that same thing when speaking on the telephone or meeting in person. I've have clients who were unhappy and started down the road of aggressive emails, who after a quick chat on the telephone completely backed down. The telephone is also a great place to say things that you simply don't want on a written record. It's one thing to tell someone in person what you actually think of X, Y or Z, it's a completely other thing to write it an email where the person reading can't see your face/posture or hear the tone of your voice.
- TeMPOraL 13y ago
  > Technologists are phone averse because at their core they are socially uncomfortable. This might be true for some of us, but I doubt it's true for the majority, or that it is the root of the problem. I like phone calls. They are a quick way to do run some back&forths, to reach an understanding very fast. But most of the times, phone calls are waste of time. I can handle 6 IM conversations and dozen of mail threads at the same time, without the loss of attention to any particular one. But a single phone call blocks me completely. It takes 100% of my focus, even though most of the times the conversation doesn't require more than 10%. It literally makes me stressed, my hands shaking from impatience. That, and all the usual context-switch-related arguments. > Not everyone who wants to talk with you is some sort of unproductive salesman. Not at all; phone calls are very productive for them. If your product has a real value, then you should be able to explain it in an e-mail, and I will be able to evaluate the proposal. But if someone really needs to talk with me on the phone, it's an indication that he/she can't or doesn't want to engage in an honest exchange of value, but want to trick me, manipulate me, lie to me to get me into buying something. In other words, if they don't want to talk with me through my channel of choice, I tend to assume they're cheats and their product is worthless.
- jarrett 13y ago
  > Technologists are phone averse because at their core they are socially uncomfortable. I'd imagine that's true in some cases, but it's not valid to assume that all technologists dislike the phone because they're socially uncomfortable. I dislike the phone in most cases because of scheduling issues. With a written communication, I can read and respond when I have a moment free. With the phone, either people call you out of the blue and interrupt you, or you have to schedule a mutually agreeable time. When that time rolls around, you have to drop what you're doing, get out of the flow, and take the call. Inevitably, the phone call eats up a ton of time--far more, in my experience, than a written conversation would.

josefresco 13y ago

I upvoted this as I think it's one of the best comments on this subject. Technologists are phone averse because at their core they are socially uncomfortable. To categorize someone who uses a phone as a "sales buy" or "business guy" is simply a convenient excuse. Plenty of people, even programmers are productive AND use the telephone. Not everyone who wants to talk with you is some sort of unproductive salesman. Email is not a perfect communication tool. I deal with clients and all too often receive or send an email that is misconstrued or taken completely the wrong way. Get on the phone and within minutes of speaking he issue is usually either completely debunked, or worked out. I too avoid the phone, but find when I do pick it up and talk with my clients, or leads or other business people that it's incredibly productive and useful. It's also an advantage as many people will type one thing, but be unable to say that same thing when speaking on the telephone or meeting in person. I've have clients who were unhappy and started down the road of aggressive emails, who after a quick chat on the telephone completely backed down. The telephone is also a great place to say things that you simply don't want on a written record. It's one thing to tell someone in person what you actually think of X, Y or Z, it's a completely other thing to write it an email where the person reading can't see your face/posture or hear the tone of your voice.

TeMPOraL 13y ago
> Technologists are phone averse because at their core they are socially uncomfortable. This might be true for some of us, but I doubt it's true for the majority, or that it is the root of the problem. I like phone calls. They are a quick way to do run some back&forths, to reach an understanding very fast. But most of the times, phone calls are waste of time. I can handle 6 IM conversations and dozen of mail threads at the same time, without the loss of attention to any particular one. But a single phone call blocks me completely. It takes 100% of my focus, even though most of the times the conversation doesn't require more than 10%. It literally makes me stressed, my hands shaking from impatience. That, and all the usual context-switch-related arguments. > Not everyone who wants to talk with you is some sort of unproductive salesman. Not at all; phone calls are very productive for them. If your product has a real value, then you should be able to explain it in an e-mail, and I will be able to evaluate the proposal. But if someone really needs to talk with me on the phone, it's an indication that he/she can't or doesn't want to engage in an honest exchange of value, but want to trick me, manipulate me, lie to me to get me into buying something. In other words, if they don't want to talk with me through my channel of choice, I tend to assume they're cheats and their product is worthless.
jarrett 13y ago
> Technologists are phone averse because at their core they are socially uncomfortable. I'd imagine that's true in some cases, but it's not valid to assume that all technologists dislike the phone because they're socially uncomfortable. I dislike the phone in most cases because of scheduling issues. With a written communication, I can read and respond when I have a moment free. With the phone, either people call you out of the blue and interrupt you, or you have to schedule a mutually agreeable time. When that time rolls around, you have to drop what you're doing, get out of the flow, and take the call. Inevitably, the phone call eats up a ton of time--far more, in my experience, than a written conversation would.