The power of speech – the dying art of talking
THE WAY I SEE IT... Wise words from our feisty, fearless and funny columnist
‘When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone it changed the world. Now, he would be turning in his grave if he knew that his miraculous tool was well on its way to being defunct.
So much is being done to demonise and render it useless. I mean, who uses their mobile phone to actually talk to anyone these days? It’s all done via social media, texts, WhatsApp and emails.
A recent survey also found that three-quarters of millennials, Gen Z types, or young people if you don’t know the buzzwords, want to ban phone calls at work because they find them ‘confrontational ‘and ‘aggressive’.
Normally, after reading something like that about these fragile folk I’d be rolling my eyes, but this time I’m kind of in agreement with them. I am seriously guilty of not using actual speech to communicate and physically bristle when the phone rings, fearing I might have to talk
to someone. As a result, I hardly ever answer it unless it’s Mark, my family, my boss or my agent. Having said all that, I love to talk. Not chitchat. Talk. In a way, it’s what I do for a living. For a living! Which is a line I nicked from my podcast partner-in-crime, Nick Abbot, who I talk to for at least an hour every week. I talk on TV too, so why can’t I bear to talk on the phone? Well apart from the energy in my mobile boiling my head, annoying robots pretending to be humans, and call centre staff who make you feel like you’re ruining their day (which we probably are if they’re working from home and are in the middle of a good Netflix box set) – I can’t think of another good reason. Especially as picking up the phone is quicker and easier than email or messaging. So, because I want to go back to the old way of doing things and not be like the delicate snowflakes who are triggered by a ringing noise or a voice, I’m going to vow to do it more often.’