I do not talk much on the phone. One of the reasons for this is that I do not pick up if I don’t recognise the number, or rather, if the person is not in my address book and I am greeted with a name instead of a number. I am bad at remembering numbers. Did I mention that I teach and do research in accounting?
However, there is, at least, one exception to this policy of mine and that is when the office phone rings. (Technically it is a cell phone but it never leaves my room at work.) Around the third signal or so, a mutinous voice in my head reminds me that it, kind of, is my job to answer that phone. So, I answer. And then I sometimes—as I was yesterday—am presented with the second reason for not answering: I am really bad at saying no on the phone. I have no problem saying no to sales people or telemarketers (whom I try to avoid at all costs to begin with = reason 1) but when someone genuinely ask something of me, and has a reason for doing so that at least sound legitimate, then I say yes. And that is why I now am going to Lund in November. For a 15-minute talk. I’m sure it’s going to be great. But still. I need a new policy.