Oh my god the dreaded "Hello" or "Are you there!" So for myself, the way I had to deal with it back then was something that tends to be frowned upon I think. I would get locked out entirely as soon as someone picked up on the other end. Like in person I might be able to start saying things then hit the stutter but over the phone that intense fear of them not knowing whether I am there if I block was like a beckon call to...block! It was like a spring loaded wall that just...I would run right into it and I couldn't even begin to talk! Like something as easy as Hi, it's like my vocal cords tightened to where I couldn't even...like an invisible barrier wouldn't let any volume past my neck into my mouth. So I had to replace words...this tends to be frowned upon because it can re-enforce the fear of that word making it harder the next time but in this case for me it wasn't so much any word in particular with phone calls. I just felt I had no choice or they would hang up, I had to say something so I had to do it out of sheer practicality. So if I had in my head that i was about to say hello, I would quickly say hi or if I was going to say My name is, I would say the word yes first, just something different that i didn't think about ahead of time enough to block on. Then I'd say something about my stutter, again usually replacing words. I would think "sorry for my stutter" but I might say "excuse my stammer" I'd still stutter on possibly but I don't think it'd be a full block that locked me out entirely. I did this because sometimes they used to say something like "i'm sorry i can't hear you" because they probably genuinely didn't know what was going on as i struggled since they couldn't see me. So by bringing it to the forfront, I was able to establish it and I knew they would now have patients with me so it was a stress reliever that then let me talk like i would when i was in person. it bought me time and understanding... Now I'd like to talk about the person on the other end. In our minds...we tend to assume the worst right? Like when we are on twitter or...any social media...things tend to get heated easily because people just assume the other person "might" be sarcastic with what they are saying, might be making fun of you or hinting at something when they weren't...misunderstandings...all the time! We just assume someone has the worst intentions maybe out of safety concerns, i don't know but it's like we are yelling at each other on social media because we assume the other person might be, lol. But in all likelihood, realistically that's not the case. You can assume the other person on the phone is a total impatient @$$ and stress over that, but how likely is that? Far more likely the person will feel bad for you and even slow down the way they talk for you out of sheer compassion. You have to keep this in mind and let it be a relief for you. The odds that the other person on the phone might...idk need to use the rest room just as you called so has no patients for this is likely not that high. So once you can establish you are there, just take it easy from there because they probably will take it easy with you and feel bad for you. Let it be a relief from the pressure. Then you can practice. I mean practice simply by not shying away from the call or the next. And as it gets easier, as you get used to it, it's like a reinforcement mechanism for your brain and you just know it's not so bad...it gets easier and easier still and you won't lock up in the beginning, it'll feel not much different from talking in person, you can even use this understanding for in person conversations. Hope this made sense and sincerely hope it can help! If there's anything specific you want to talk about phone call situations I think we can all relate and I can get into more specific scenario's with you. Also if you want to practice, vent, or just chat about it in a more live setting, the discord is an awesome place! i recommend the discord because it is probably an awesome place to practice as it's just going to be a stranger to talk to and you know that we are one of you, can totally relate, and since it's pretty open ended, can talk about anything, it's even less stressful! I would love to be of help to anyone that wants to chat, try things out, or just have an easy going conversation with. Though I am pretty fluent, it would be an honor for me to help someone who's going through something I've struggled all my life with until recently. So, all the best and Happy New Year!! Edit: Small note, it's better not to replace words and try them head on to build confidence, I was only alluding to if you're entirely locked out and worried they might hang up.