By Brandon Penny, Emerson College

American novelist Henry Miller once said, “I’d rather sit down and write a letter than call someone up.  I hate the telephone.”

I could not agree more with Miller.  Only today it’s different – rarely will I sit down and write a letter.  Instead, I e-mail or text.  I don’t know what it is, but I absolutely hate the telephone.

When it comes to talking to friends, I don’t call them, I text.  Of course when I do talk to my friends on the phone, I definitely enjoy it.  But I am far more likely to text them, instead of call.  I think it’s because of how easy and quick it is.  You don’t have to wait for the phone to ring, nor do you have to hope they’re available and can talk to you.  You type in whatever you want to tell them, and boom – regardless of what they’re doing, they get to read it and take in that information within seconds.

If I’d rather text or Facebook message in personal circumstances, of course it carries over into professional situations.  Whenever I have to contact someone, I ALWAYS opt for e-mail.  I think it goes back to convenience.  E-mail is so much easier for me because I can figure out exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it.  It’s also because of comfort.  I’m so comfortable with e-mail and, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure it must be the primary form of communication today, at least in the workplace.

There are definitely certain situations where I find only a phone number to contact someone, and no e-mail.  And yes, when this happens, I do face my fear.  Back in December, I wanted to interview 1980 U.S. hockey captain Mike Eruzione (ya know… the guy who scored game winning goal in famous “Miracle on Ice” game against Soviet Union?)  Sadly, I could only find his work phone number, and no e-mail.  But it was better than his cell phone!  I was able to write out exactly what I wanted to say, wait til he was definitely out of his office because it was so late, and leave a concise message.  He called me back the next day or so, and I interviewed him the following week.

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, or why I avoid phones so vehemently.  But hopefully it’s not just me.  Maybe it’s a generational thing.  Maybe most people prefer e-mail over phone these days, regardless of age, because of technology.

Until recently, this internship has allowed me to continue my telephobia (Google it. Apparently there’s even a word for it).  Whenever contacting a fellow USOC employee, or someone at an NGB, I don’t even consider calling them.  I go straight to my Inbox and click that wonderful ‘New’ button.  Thankfully, 99 percent of my e-mails are answered with e-mails, and thus my office phone rarely rings. 

That was all true until a few days ago when I sent out 12 e-mails to 12 separate people, at 12 different NGBs.  A few minutes after they were all sent, my phone rang. It scared the heck out of me.  I answered, and of course it was one of the 12 people I had just e-mailed, Marni Lane, Communications Director of U.S. Sailing.  She was driving, so it was easier for her to talk about my request on the phone rather than waiting til the next day and e-mailing me back. 

My conversation with Marni helped shift my attitude a bit towards phones.  She was one of the nicest people I’ve ever spoken to – and I could immediately tell that she has a true love for her a job she is excellent at.  We talked for close to half an hour – about a certain athlete, Anna Tunnicliffe, as well as the U.S. Sailing program and how Olympic sailing is structured. Her 1-year-old son was crying in the background towards the end of the call, but I still learned a ton from talking to her and truly enjoyed meeting her verbally rather than through e-mail.

Less than two minutes after I hung up with Marni, my phone rang again.  I just got through with such a long call, which is so rare for me at work – did I really have to pick it up again?  Of course I picked up, and this time it was Leslie King, Senior Director of Communications at USA Gymnastics.  Surprisingly for me, I was thrilled to talk to Leslie!  I had previously worked with her on setting an up an interview with 2008 silver medalist gymnast Alicia Sacramone, and again a few weeks later when I asked her for a picture of the 2010 Japan Cup for a gallery I was putting together.  The thing is, this was all done through e-mail. 

It was so refreshing to finally speak to Leslie.  While I have yet to meet her in person, at least she has a voice in my mind now and is more than a blue size 12 Arial font.  Through talking on the phone, we were able to work through a problem that arose with my request and come up with a great solution that worked well for both of us.  Both of these phone calls taught me great phone skills that I’m excited to implement in the future, as well as the importance of picking up a phone.

If you are at all like me, and prefer e-mails over picking up a phone, I dare you to do what Marni and Leslie did for me.  Pick up a phone.  It’s easier than it seems, and you have no idea how much the person on the other end will appreciate it.

Brandon Penny is a Broadcast Journalism major in Emerson College's Class of 2012. This summer he has an internship with United States Olympic Committee and has a strong passion for new media on all platforms.