The headset buzzed again.

Ava stared at the caller ID flashing on her screen — a number she didn't recognize. Her stomach tightened. It was her fourth week as a customer service rep at a moving and storage company, and the ringing felt like a test she hadn't studied for. Every time the phone lit up, she froze.

She'd built quiet systems to avoid it — reply by email, forward to voicemail, message the driver instead. Anything to stay in control. Because the phone wasn't just a task; it was exposure. What if she said the wrong thing? What if the customer got angry? What if she couldn't find the answer fast enough?

The phone kept ringing. Her cursor hovered over the "accept" button. Around her, the office hummed — the sound of people who didn't seem afraid to talk.

She swallowed, still staring at the flashing light, willing it to stop.

It didn't.

Ava took a breath, adjusted her headset, and finally clicked "answer."

The Hidden Tax of Avoidance

If you've ever hesitated like Ava, you're not alone. Across offices and job sites everywhere, the same quiet pause happens — the second between a ringing phone and someone deciding to let it go to voicemail. We tell ourselves we're too busy, that email is faster, that text is more efficient.

But that moment of hesitation adds up. What feels like a single skipped call becomes a pattern: less clarity, slower resolutions, customers who feel unseen. The truth is that we've traded discomfort for delay.

Studies show that about 87% of workplace miscommunications happen over email, nearly double the rate for phone calls (Paubox, 2023; Outsource Accelerator, 2022). The irony is that we believe written communication saves time, but it often costs more of it.

In service work, clarity is money. A missed call can mean a missed truck. A misread tone can turn a routine follow-up into an escalation. The speed of texting often creates the illusion of efficiency while multiplying confusion.

What Voice Actually Does

Science has known for a long time that hearing a human voice does something no digital message can: it changes the chemistry of trust.

At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, researchers found that hearing a familiar voice releases oxytocin, the hormone that helps us feel connected, and lowers cortisol, the hormone tied to stress (Seltzer et al., 2010). That biological shift matters in business because trust is the real currency of service. When stress drops and connection rises, people think more clearly, listen longer, and resolve conflict faster.

The voice carries layers of information that words alone can't. Pitch, rhythm, and pauses reveal confidence, empathy, and sincerity—signals that help customers decide if they believe you. Yale and Berkeley studies found that listeners are often more accurate at detecting emotion from voice alone than from facial expressions.

In a business setting, that means the tone of your voice can earn trust faster than your credentials. A calm, steady voice tells a worried customer: you're safe, we've got you. That's not fluff — it's the chemistry of service at work.

"But My Customers Don't Want Calls"

It's true that younger customers often say they prefer texting. But preference and experience aren't the same thing.

When researchers at the University of Texas asked people to reconnect with friends, most chose email because they assumed a call would feel awkward. Yet those who actually called reported feeling more connected, more satisfied, and no more uncomfortable than the email group (Gillen et al., 2020). The same result appeared when strangers met for the first time—voice built faster, stronger bonds than text (University of Chicago, 2021).

This expectation gap — the idea that calls will be awkward — keeps people from the very interactions that create trust. What most customers actually dislike isn't talking; it's being surprised. When calls are purposeful, respectful, and personal, they strengthen the relationship instead of interrupting it.

So when a customer says, "Just text me," they're really saying, "Don't waste my time." But when something important happens — a delivery change, a damage concern, a billing mistake — what they want isn't speed. It's to hear the steadiness in your voice that says, "We'll take care of you."

Building the Skill We Forgot

If this is you — the person who feels your pulse spike when the phone rings — there's a way forward.

Half of Gen Z and millennial workers report anxiety about making business calls (CNBC, 2025; Fortune, 2025). That's not a flaw; it's a side effect of growing up in a world that rewards written control over live communication. But every skill that makes you great in text — clarity, empathy, timing — becomes far more powerful when you add tone and voice.

And here's the hidden advantage: what everyone avoids becomes a leadership differentiator. Executives consistently report that weak phone confidence costs companies revenue and credibility (The Phone Lady, 2024). In a market full of messages, the one who calls is the one who connects.

Phone confidence isn't a personality trait. It's a practice — one you can start rebuilding today.

The Five-Call Ladder

Think of it as strength training for your communication muscles. The goal isn't perfection. It's familiarity — getting comfortable enough that a live call feels like a natural part of your workday again.

  1. Start small. Call a coworker instead of messaging. Notice how tone and pacing affect understanding.
  2. Confirm simple things. Make brief, low-stakes calls — appointment checks, delivery windows, scheduling confirmations.
  3. Make one reassurance call each day. Reach out before customers ask. A calm "just checking on you" builds trust long before problems arise.
  4. Handle one tough call live. Face a billing issue or service complaint with patience. Research shows that voice-based communication dramatically improves perceptions of fairness and resolution (Yale, 2020).
  5. Coach someone else. After ten live calls, help a teammate through theirs. Teaching turns skill into culture.

Each step shifts phone calls from anxiety to advantage — from something you fear to something you depend on.

Leading by Example

If you lead a service team, your behavior sets the tone for how people communicate. Leaders who hide behind text create permission for avoidance; leaders who pick up the phone model courage and care.

Make voice part of the culture, not a lost art.

Start morning huddles by replaying a great call and pointing out what made it effective. Review tone and empathy in performance check-ins, not just metrics. Publicly praise the rep who turns a tense customer call into a five-star review.

You can even operationalize it. Require one live touchpoint for every open issue. Set "call windows" where customers know they'll reach a real person. Track how many issues are closed after a single phone call versus multiple emails.

Teams don't build phone confidence because they're told to — they build it because they see it rewarded. And when leaders model human connection, it becomes contagious.

The Moment You'll Be Glad You Called

Months later, Ava's phone still rings dozens of times a day. She doesn't love every call, but she doesn't fear them anymore either. She knows the sound of her own voice can shift a customer from panic to calm, or a complaint into a conversation.

That's the quiet power of the phone. It restores something text has stripped away — the reminder that there's another person on the other end. When you speak, you give people more than information; you give them presence.

And one day — maybe when a mistake happens, or a customer lashes out, or a driver needs reassurance — you'll pick up the phone and realize this: you didn't just resolve a problem. You built trust.

That's the moment you'll be glad you called.

Sources & Studies Cited (Executive Summary)

University of Wisconsin–Madison (Seltzer et al., 2010)
Hearing a familiar voice releases oxytocin and lowers cortisol, creating trust and reducing stress. Text shows no effect.
→ For Comfort, Mom's Voice Works as Well as a Hug – UW–Madison News
→ Proceedings of the Royal Society B – Social Vocalizations Can Release Oxytocin in Humans

Yale School of Management (Kraus et al., 2017)
Emotion is often interpreted more accurately from voice than from facial expression or video.
→ Listeners Glean Emotions Better from Voice-Only Communications – Yale Insights

University of Texas at Austin (Gillen et al., 2020)
Phone calls create stronger emotional connection than email, despite expectations of awkwardness.
→ Phone Calls Create Stronger Bonds Than Text-Based Communications – UT News
→ Should You Call or Text? Science Weighs In – Greater Good Science Center

University of Chicago & Greater Good Science Center (2021)
Voice conversations between strangers form quicker, stronger bonds than text.
→ Phone Calls Help Create Closer Bonds Than Texting – British Psychological Society

Paubox (2023); Outsource Accelerator (2022)
About 87% of workplace miscommunications occur over email; nearly half of messages are misread.
→ Avoiding Misconceptions in Email Communication – Paubox
→ Email Fuels Workplace Misunderstandings, U.S. Study Finds – Outsource Accelerator

The Phone Lady Executive Survey (2024)
93% of executives report lost revenue from weak phone skills; 73% rate phone communication highly effective for sales and service.
→ 5 Revelations About Phone Conversations in Today's Workplace – The Phone Lady

CNBC & Fortune (2025)
Half of Gen Z and millennial professionals report "telephobia," leading colleges to introduce call-confidence courses.
→ Gen Z Are Taking Telephobia Courses to Learn the Lost Art of a Call – CNBC
→ Gen Z Is Afraid of Talking on the Phone – Fortune

Yale University (2020)
Requests made by voice are dramatically more persuasive than those sent by email—up to 34 times more effective.
→ Ask in Person: You're Less Persuasive Than You Think Over Email – Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Inside Psychotherapy NYC (2024)
Real-time voice feedback retrains the nervous system; silence in text often amplifies anxiety.
→ Understanding Gen Z's Phone Anxiety and Its Impact on Mental Health – Inside Psychotherapy NYC

Technadigital & University of Texas (2024)
Phone calls take similar total time as email exchanges but resolve issues faster and with fewer follow-ups.
→ For Business Communication Do You Prefer to Use Phone or Email? – Technadigital
→ Phone Calls Create Stronger Bonds Than Text-Based Communications – UT News

Final reflection:
We didn't lose the ability to talk. We just forgot what it does for us. Pick up the phone, and you'll remember in about three seconds.