I just discovered that both Matthew Yglesias and Duncan “Atrios” Black really hate making phone calls.
Personally, I’ve never done a whole bunch of phone calling for social purposes, except for when I was away from various girl friends, but I have used the phone to communicate information effectively.
I ran a bloody Science Fiction Convention with most of my staff on the other side of Massachusetts in 1990 and 1991, before meaningful email was common.
I would make phone calls, communicate my information, and get off. I wasn’t elegant of sparkling, but I worked the phone well.
I don’t understand “hating the phone”, any more than I understand hating postal mail, or email.
I do hate junk mail of all forms, that is content, rather than medium based.