> Has anyone ever heard of or experienced a
feeling like this?

Oh dear Lord yes. But in my case it was (is)
always more like twenty to thirty minutes of
pacing back and forth, trembling, sweating,
false starts, etc.

I've never been able to talk to answering
machines, either. My mind blanks out just as it
does whenever I have to speak in front of
people. It's as if my thoughts were a china cup
that I've dropped. I still have the pieces, but
they don't fit together correctly and I only have
sixty seconds to put them in order.

Certain calls have become easier than others.
When I'm at work, sometimes I'll have a
customers breathing down my neck,
demanding information that I don't have,
watching and waiting, and I need to call
someone else to satisfy them. When I know
that I absolutely have to make a call, that
people are counting me, then picking up that
phone becomes much more easier, if not
pleasant.

It comes down to confidence, I suppose. At
work, I have authority and responsibility and I
know it. Unfortunately, it's a confidence that
doesn't transfer to other (especially social)
situations. I still don't order pizza.

In non-work situations, the only trick that's ever
worked for me is writing down exactly what I
mean to say (and I mean EXACTLY), even
including "what-if" scenarios. Say he asks me
about "blank" then I say "whatever." If she talks
about "so and so" then I say "I know."

Just follow your script and remember to
breath.

I wish I could say it gets easier with practice.
Well, actually it does, but increments so tiny
that you'd swear they don't exist. For me they
are, anyway.

Hey, here's to the neurotically shy!