Phone calls feel scary because there’s no backspace. That’s also exactly why they work.

What makes a call frightening is exactly what makes it work. There is no draft, no edit, no three minutes of staring at your thumbs, so what comes out is much closer to what you actually mean. A conversation that would have taken two days of messages ends in four minutes.

Make one call this week that you would normally type: the question for your manager, the friend you keep almost replying to. Jot two notes first if that helps, then dial before you rehearse the whole thing. It will be shorter than you fear.