By Caleb & Mary Beth Lutz · 11/2/26 · pairs with video episode Phone Interview Tips for When They Can’t See Your Face.
On a phone interview, they can't see your smile. They can't see you nod. They can't see the sharp outfit you put on. All they have is your voice.
For most people, that feels like a disadvantage. But for anyone who Prepares for it… it's actually an unfair advantage. This is a written companion to our video on winning the phone screen and moving to the next round, and the full episode is below. This video is where Bernard the Bear makes his WTDTY debut, so it may be worth pressing play for this one.
If you'd rather read, we cover four things: why a phone interview is different from an in-person one, how to make your voice do the work, what to have in front of you, and the mistakes that actually get you screened out.
Point 1: Why a phone interview is different
Here's the mindset shift that changes everything: a phone interview is a screen, not the whole show. This is not the round where you get to unpack every capability you have. The one and only goal here is to clarify what the opportunity is and earn the next round if you want it, and you're doing it with very limited tools (your voice and your stories) with your resume sitting in front of them.
Because they can't see you, everything you'd normally carry in a handshake, your posture, your eye contact, your outfit, has to travel through sound. All those context clues are gone. So silence matters more here. Your speed, your pitch, how much you vary your tone, all of it carries more weight than it would in a room.
And it cuts both ways. When you're nervous, it's easy to leak a lack of confidence without realizing it. Go too fast and too excited and you can come off frantic. Go too slow and flat or drag a story and you come off crazy boring. When all someone has to go on is your voice, both of those extremes are even bigger turn-offs than they'd be face to face.
The whole game of this round is using the narrow channel of your voice exceptionally well.
Point 2: How to make your voice do the work
Mary Beth gets to lead this one, because most of her career has run straight through a phone. Phone customer service, phone sales, plenty of in-person sales too, but a huge chunk of the work has been voice only. A few things she's picked up along the way do most of the heavy lifting.
Smile as you talk. Mary Beth literally keeps a mirror on her desk in her sales role, and no matter how the month is going or where she's at on quota, she makes sure there's a smile on her face when she's talking to someone. It does two things. One, it changes your tone, people can hear a smile. Two, psychologically it nudges your brain into a more positive state and relaxed state instead of a negative and fearful one. It sounds almost too simple, but this one small physical change can make your phone interviews dramatically more effective.
Stand up and move. Both Caleb and Mary Beth like to conduct a phone interview on their feet, AirPods or a headset in, phone out of hand, pacing a little while talking and listening. If you're a high-energy, quick-thinking person with a lot to say, moving your body actually helps you process and slow down at the same time. And if you're naturally slower, moving can pull you into a cadence and keep you intentional.
Your posture travels down the line whether you mean it to or not. Slouched back in a chair sounds one way. Sitting up, taking up a little more space, projecting on purpose, sounds like a different person entirely. (Try it with a friend and ask what kind of difference they hear.)
Pace matters. For most who come into an interview eager to prove themselves, it’s helpful to slow down a bit. There's an art to pace. We've been on calls with people who get on and it's just "yep, okay, yep, what do you need," so fast it's jarring. Here's the simple rule: if the thought "am I going too fast?" even crosses your mind, you are. Ease up a bit. Slowing down adds warmth. It builds trust. It helps people take what you're saying seriously and gives them room to actually process it. For some of us that's natural. For the rest of us it's deliberate. So slow to an intentional pace… just don't go crazy-slow that you make them fall asleep either.
One exception worth knowing: match the energy on the phone. If your interviewer maintains an intro and questions that are all quick, pointed, and high-energy, it's more than okay to bring a bit of that energy back to them. It creates a quiet "oh, this person's like me" common ground that works in your favor. Even with that, it’s absolutely ok to match their pace, then slow down to emphasize key parts of your story.
And if you want a real edge on mastering your tone (over 50% of your communication): record yourself AND review the recording with someone you trust (it is uncomfortable, we know… we first had to do this in teacher training years ago and studying yourself on tape is about as fun as it sounds). But as you’re recording, do your best to communicate with your tone that you’re comfortable, present, trustworthy, and competent and ready to go. Then listen back to your recording with your friend and ask for feedback. Are there any areas of the conversation I need to loosen up? Communicate competence in a simple way? Show myself trustworthy?
By studying your recordings and especially getting feedback from your friends, you catch things you'd never notice otherwise, your tonality, your fillers, your pace. If you're bold, send the recording to a trusted friend who’s done recruiting work and ask, flat out, "I've got a phone screen in a few days, how do I sound?" Honest outside feedback from someone who runs a lot of these initial interviews will go miles to helping you come across in your live interview with preparation.
Point 3: What to have in front of you
The beautiful thing about a phone interview is they can't see your desk. So stack your environment in Your favor.
Have your resume and the actual job posting right there, on screen or printed out, whichever you like. (Note: if you’re prone to distractions like most of us are, nix the screen or silence all notifications before the interview.) We can almost guarantee the person interviewing you is going to ask about things on both, so have them open and ready.
Come in with three stories that prove your value. Don't just say "I'm really hardworking." Everybody says that. Instead, prove it with a quick story. Caleb, for example, grew up on a farm, watching his parents work incredibly hard, and that one backstory mention says "I'm hardworking" far better than the words ever could. We remember stories and background, not adjectives. So have three short context stories ready, in quick bullets, each one quietly answering a question they were going to ask anyway. You're handing them the evidence instead of making them dig for it.
ALWAYS bring your own questions, too. If you don't have any… why are you even interviewing? If you're seriously considering this as a fit, you will have standards for what you're looking for. Ask the real questions about the day-to-day expectations, culture fit, long term growth, payment start and potential, benefits, etc. that tell you whether this is actually a job you could see yourself thriving in. And don’t be afraid to ask sincere follow up questions that clarify what you see as a fit or not. Doing this both goes a long way to telling you what you need and communicate to them that you’re truly vetting them as well.
Bonus move: once they answer with something you know were looking for, connect it back. "Based on what you just said, here's why I think this could be a good fit. I was specifically looking for a role like this and here’s why." Especially on an initial phone interview, this tells the interviewer that you’re a serious candidate, we could have a match here, and it’s at least worth a 2nd conversation on both ends.
And a couple of small, almost dumb-practical resources that can save phone interviews. Keep a glass of water within reach, because the last thing you want is to be mid-answer and have to bolt to the kitchen (and if you're one of us who occasionally sends water down the wrong pipe, even more reason to take a sip early).
Lastly: make sure you have a quiet room and a good signal. These sound obvious, but missing these gets people screened out quickly. You want them to picture you in a calm space, clearly taking this one interview seriously, because you are. Get a library room on reserve if needed to get some quiet free space away from a noisy house.
Point 4: The mistakes that get you screened out
Some of these we've already brushed up against, but they're worth naming on their own, because they're the quiet killers.
A loud space with bad reception. This is one of the fastest turn-offs there is for a recruiter or screener. Caleb once interviewed a candidate he could hear mid-round-of-golf, clubs swinging in the background, who eventually went "sorry, I've done so many of these, what was this interview for again?" That call ended right about there. (A parked car, by the way, is totally fine, as long as you're focused and present and that's genuinely the quiet space you've got. It's the chaos to avoid, not the car.)
Low energy. Don't sound like you just woke up. Pop a peppermint, do jumping jacks or pushups or whatever gets you alert, because half-asleep and flat will sink a phone interview just as fast as frantic and fast-talking. Both extremes make them question you, because your voice is all they've got.
Rambling. Going around and around with no landing point. We talk about this one a lot, even outside interviews, in our communication-to-get-promoted content. Have an intention behind every story you tell. Make your point purposefully and quickly.
Talking over the interviewer. Without visual cues, it's genuinely harder to tell when someone's finished, so leave slightly clearer pauses. A simple trick: when they ask something, pause for a second or two before you answer. "Thank you for that question, here are my thoughts…" Some people say count to three, which is probably a touch long, but a beat or two reads as thoughtful, not slow, and it keeps you from stepping on them.
And one people forget at the finish line: ask about next steps before you hang up, and be genuinely appreciative. Something as simple as, "I really appreciate your time, I'm sure you're talking to a lot of people, are there any ways I can prepare, or any next steps you'd recommend from here?" It's warm and understanding of the interviewer’s situation, but it's also confident, and can go a long way to leaving the right taste in their mouth.
The takeaway
To recap the four: a phone interview is a screen, not the whole interview, so the goal is simply to earn the next round; make your voice do the work by smiling, standing, pacing, and slowing to an intentional pace; have your resume, the job posting, three value-proving stories, your own questions, and a glass of water in front of you; and avoid the screen-out mistakes, noisy spaces, low energy, rambling, talking over them, and forgetting to ask what's next.
A lot of things matter in an interview. On the phone, your voice matters most. So prepare the one tool they've given you, and let it carry everything the camera can't.
One resource worth mentioning, because an interview is really just selling yourself: we've got the Authentic Sales Playbook coming soon to our resources page. It's all about selling yourself effectively without any of the sleaze, which is exactly the skill a phone screen is testing. Keep an eye out for it.
And if this was useful, tell us what other WTDTY topics you'd like us to cover, in the comments or through Connect With Us. We read every one, and we build resources from them.
And remember, you always have a choice to change your life. We believe in you. Go get ‘em!
🎯 Start here: theydontteachyou.com/start-here
📩 Keep an eye out for the Coming Soon Authentic Sales Playbook and browse every resource: theydontteachyou.com/resources
