Americans outcall British

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 13

Americans outcall British

The British are a race of “reluctant communicators” who regard the telephone as an intrusion and keep their calls to a minimum, according to a report published this week in London.

Americans make an average of four calls a day — twice as many as the British — with each call twice as long, according to a British Telecom survey,

the British Press Association reports.

The survey reveals that women have more to say than men, spending an extra six minutes a day in conversation. According to a telephone psychologist, Dr David Lewis, where you have your phone at home says a lot about you — and it can also affect the length of time you spend on it

A total of 45 per cent of Britons have their telephones in the hallway, compared with only six per cent of Americans, who prefer to make their calls from the bedroom or kitchen.

“Having a phone in the hall suggests the person is a rather reluctant communicator who feels the phone is an intrusion and that calls should be kept to a minimum,” says Dr Lewis.