too busy too call?
alot of times i will call a Friend and the we take a week or more to get back with me. they always say they have been to busy to call. I feel that this is just an excuse. Is anyone really so busy that they can take five minutes out of there day to call me back. when someone calls me and leaves a message I always call them back even if I can talk for only a few minutes.
Personally, I hate the telephone, so it is unlikely that I will call someone back right away, if ever, to talk. Except for a small handful of family/friends, if people aren't willing to chat with me on-line, they are probably just not going to hear back from me. I hate how so many company contact forms insist you put a phone number in, and won't accept 000-000-0000 in place of an actual phone number.
We also don't have long distance, so we can't call outside the area, which helps somewhat... But I've also had a great deal of trouble explaining to some people/friends that, due to my schedule, when I am at work, they are asleep, and vice versa, so even if I was up for phoning... there really isn't a good time of day to do so.
For me the telephone is an issue because of my slow auditory processing. I'll often have to take down names, spellings, addresses, and so on. I think it frustrates people to have to spelling things out such as alpha, bravo, and so on.
With voicemail, I usually have to play the message over a time or three to try and decipher a phone number that people leave.
I added to my voicemail that people can leave a message or send email to my customer service email, which has helped.
geebowie - I totally get what you're saying. This is a weird topic for me.
I can have 6 straight months of where talking on the phone is easier than typing or email. Then suddenly, I flip flop, and I cannot find my words fast enough to converse.
I have learned to go with my neurological needs, but I understand your frustrations. Is it the not getting back what you feel you're giving to others which is the trigger for frustration?
Eileen I can relate - I have auditory processing issues on the phone as well. I really hate the telephone and will oftentimes procrastinate like mad to keep from having to call someone back. :-/
I'm a little weird about it for an Aspie. I'm 60YO, so I've been able to cultivate a decent ability to read people's facial expressions and body language, though it took decades of deliberate work. So I don't like talking to people on the phone unless there is no other way I can stay in touch with them. I don't feel like I can get a decent read about what people are saying, and where they're really coming from, unless I can see them and observe them. As I think most or all of us have learned, sometimes people say one thing with their words, but mean something totally opposite of that, and it shows in their body language and facial expressions. The only thing you have to go on over the phone is tone of voice, inflections, pauses, things like that. And those things can be revealing, but I don't feel it's enough.
Happens to me, and I am guilty of the same. I've fired my Executive Function Fairy so many times, I lost count. .....wonder if they have an app for that?