Why phone calls are becoming rare and why we must take action

Recent research by AXA Insurance and Trendwolves shows that nearly five out of ten Belgian youths (49%) between the ages of 18 and 25 deliberately avoid phone calls. They prefer sending a message or email, primarily due to anxiety, uncertainty, and the feeling of not knowing what to say or how to end a conversation.

This applies not only to outgoing calls, but also to incoming calls. More than half keep their ringtone off by default, and one in five never answers. Furthermore, voicemail is rarely used anymore: many people no longer have a greeting, do not leave messages themselves when they cannot reach someone, and hardly ever listen to recorded messages.

We recognize this pattern when speaking with clients. The barrier to making phone calls is rising. This is true for both young professionals and experienced employees who communicate extensively via written channels.

It is a current issue with a significant impact on collaboration, customer experience, and commercial results.

Where does this fear of calling come from?

Clark & Wells conducted research into how social anxiety develops and maintains itself.

We see the same mechanisms at work with telephone anxiety:

person on the phone
  1. Fear of a negative event “This conversation is going to go wrong.”
    People predict a negative outcome before the conversation has even started.
  2. Self-focused attention “How do I sound? Am I being weird?”
    During the conversation, attention shifts inward, causing people to judge themselves more harshly than necessary.
  3. Fear of negative evaluation “They are going to think I’m stupid.”
    The fear lies less in the conversation itself and more in what the other person might think.
  4. Avoidance “I’ll call later… tomorrow.”
    Short-term relief, long-term loss. The barrier only becomes higher.
  5. Safety behavior “I’ll call… but I’ll play it safe.”
    For example: over-preparing, only calling people you already know, or not daring to ask fully for what is needed.
  6. Post-event over-analysis “Should I have said that differently?”
    By ruminating on the call, you reinforce the anxiety for the next one.

Why should we actually be calling?

Calling is a dialogue. Email is a monologue. Despite all the alternatives, calling remains one of the most powerful forms of communication at work. Not just for speed, but primarily because a dialogue allows for clarification and the understanding of nuances.

Research demonstrates this time and again:

  • In new contacts, text is misinterpreted up to 50% of the time. And usually more negatively than intended. Calling prevents misunderstandings.
  • Telephone contact doubles the chance of engagement. Those you call say yes more often than those you email or chat with.
  • Live communication is processed faster and more positively. As a result, decisions follow more quickly than with text-only communication.
  • Calling back quickly is commercially worth its weight in gold. Those who respond to a prospect signal within 5 minutes are 100× more likely to make contact and 21× more likely to achieve further conversion than those who wait 30 minutes.
  • 50–78% of commercial deals go to the first person to make contact.
    Those who do not call miss out on opportunities, often without even noticing.
  • The average global email open rate is 22.4%. We are flooded by 392 billion emails per day (worldwide), 45.5% of which are spam. More than 50% of emails are deleted within seconds without being read.

In short: those who call, win.
Those who only keep writing remain more passive and often lose out without realizing it.

Are the generations really that different?

Generations that grew up before the digital abundance do not have less anxiety because they are stronger, but simply because they gained more experience with the telephone. For them, daily calling was a matter of course.

It is different for young people: those who almost never call from a young age do not build a routine. Consequently, the barrier remains high. They possess the same capabilities but primarily lack practice and familiarity.

That is why it helps to start small again: use your phone more often in your private life, make short calls, practice conversations… The more you do it, the more normal and natural it becomes.

Rapid growth through targeted training

The good news: calling is not an innate talent; it is a skill that anyone can learn, regardless of age or communication habits. Proper training quickly makes a difference and ensures rapid, noticeable growth in efficiency, confidence, and self-assurance.

A strong learning process takes place on three levels: from knowing and doing to being

  • Knowing: Learning skills and conversation techniques
    How do you open a conversation? How do you wrap it up? How do you ask a good question?
  • Doing: Practice, practice, practice
    Competence grows through action, not by reading about it.
  • Being: Working on beliefs
    This is potentially the greatest challenge. Most people do know how to conduct a conversation over the phone, but they don’t dare because of internal factors. You can learn many techniques, but calling only becomes natural once you believe you can do it.

Professionals and organizations that add calling to their communication mix gain speed, clarity, and results. And that comes with a hopeful message:

Anyone can learn to use the phone effectively.

The barrier does not disappear by thinking about it, but by doing, practicing, and experiencing that it is actually… not that bad.

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