That Zoom Meeting Really Could Have Been a Simple Phone Call
Here’s how to revive a retro technology called the telephone that can still work wonders in these modern times.
Illustration: Asya Demidova for Bloomberg Businessweek
Mary Jane Copps is known as “the Phone Lady,” so it’s little surprise that she gets a lot of phone calls. The former journalist offers classes that can cost $3,600 for a daylong group session, coaching tens of thousands of people over the years on how to improve their phone conversations—anything from simple pointers on breaking the ice to detailed strategies for closing a sale.
Lately, the tenor of the job has shifted. When Copps started her business two decades ago, what she calls “phone anxiety” accounted for about 10% of her work. Today, it’s almost half. “People are afraid to have conversations,” Copps says, recalling a client who sought anxiety medication just to pick up the phone.