The art of the phone call

There are so many ways to make art. Perhaps you enjoy painting, sculpting, or working with textiles. Maybe you're an artist in the kitchen, crafting culinary delights that are a feast for the eye as well as the palate. Or perhaps you express your artistic abilities through dance, poetry, or karaoke nights. Art is in the eye and mind of the beholder, after all.

But a phone call is just a phone call-or is it? Obviously, it helps to have good conversational skills, and to call people back in a timely manner, something that's often overlooked in the age of the text (not to mention ghosting).

While phone calls may not be considered art as such, there is an art to making a phone call. To begin with, people need to understand that one doesn't simply, "make a phone call." This would be like getting dressed in the morning with no regard for style or weather.

To keep you conversationally on trend, let's discuss how to dress every phone call in elegance.

Making a phone call memorable

First, it's important not to fear the phone! Making a telephone call should be almost as automatic as breathing-though some people have severe phone anxiety, which is known as telephonophobia. The phone call has become especially problematic among Millennials and Gen Z, who have grown up more comfortable with texting rather than talking and may view a phone conversation as something foreign instead of commonplace. They're not accustomed to using their voice to communicate, except in person.

Fortunately, there are ways to ease the fear of making or receiving a phone call. One is to have some fun conversation starters in your telephone toolkit. In fact, you probably know one of the best conversational openers. It's wisdom a grandparent likely taught you: to be interesting, be interested. In other words, ask the person you're speaking with to share something about themselves.

In a personal phone call, you might ask, "Hey, Sarah, how did the move go? Getting used to your beautiful new house?" For a business call, it could be, "Bill, I heard you played in the golf tourney. How'd it go?" People love to talk about what's going on in their lives, and asking a timely, relevant question will put you on firm footing on any telephone call.

The people you don't want on the line

Of course, no matter how sharp your conversational skills, you may have to deal with some unwelcome people you meet on a phone call. Like the soap opera wannabe who emotes on a phone call as though they're auditioning for a starring TV role (give them an Emmy, already!), or the joker who thinks business calls don't need to be so serious, and keeps up a running, unfunny commentary.

These folks can make a phone conversation a tad less desirable. No wonder texting or emailing seem preferable to people like this in your orbit.

But before you "accidentally" hit End, remember the old motivational slogan, "Keep calm and carry on." Setting clear boundaries lets such disruptive phone call nuisances know they need to chill out and focus on the purpose of the call. They'll get the message when you don't rise to the (de)bate!

To call or email? That is the question.

Speaking of choosing email over a phone call, some people think it's simpler to just fire off an email rather than pick up the phone. But let's consider a call vs. email: which is actually going to be most effective?

Email exchanges, like texts, can go back and forth multiple times before a question is resolved. A quick phone call, by contrast, gets you the answers you need immediately. And maybe you and Bill will decide to book a golf game while on the line, or Sarah invites you to her housewarming. Nice.

As these examples illustrate, a phone call is an excellent way to build rapport. You may discover synchronicities in a brief phone call that would never arise in an email exchange. This also makes phone calls a terrific business booster. Even the cutest emojis can't hold a candle to real emotion.

Finally, if you have a sensitive or private topic to discuss, you might not want a digital trail. In this instance, a phone conversation is smarter, because it leaves no trace.

Telephone calls that showcase your art

When you're preparing the perfect dessert soufflé for a dozen people and need to make a quick phone call while it's in the oven, Ooma has your back.

With unlimited calling throughout North America (yep, that includes the U.S., Canada, and Mexico) plus the Ooma Home Phone calling app, which is available for both iOS and Android, you'll always be state of the art when it comes to the phone call. And we think being state of the art is an art form all its own.