Tips for overcoming difficulty speaking to services?

Hello, so today I had to chat with a technical support person online. It wasn't too bad, and I was able to get through it. I had to resist the urge to apologize profusely and take a few deep breaths, but I was able to. Still, I find it annoying and inconvenient that I had so much difficulty speaking to a technical support person. It's funny because I have no problem talking to others online, it's only when I have to talk to technical service or other services that I have difficulty, really. Maybe because I perceive them as wielding some sort of power, the right to accept or deny my request for help, and I feel like they are more likely to judge me for some reason, guess it's just all those stories I've heard about people working in those jobs who've complained about and silently judged difficult customers, and I'm afraid of becoming one of them. Where this tendency of mine though really interferes is when I have to make a phone call to some kind of service person. Whether it's calling technical service or just ordering a pizza, I find it difficult and anxiety-inducing to do. I'll admit I actually have actively avoided making phone calls, opting for email or another method or getting someone else to do it. It's frustrating and makes me feel incompetent and pathetic. For the time being I still live with my parents while I attend college, but how will I ever get a place of my own someday if I can't even make a stupid little phone call? Any tips from others who have faced and overcome similar issues or just in general are knowledgeable about the subject would be much appreciated!

From time to time, I still find it hard to deal with phone calls myself. My advice:

1. You're very very unlikely to talk to this person ever again; you're most likely never going to see this person, either. They are merely an unknown voice on the other side of the phone. In your situation, their job is to help you and to put your needs first.

2. If you slip up in any way - try and make it into a joke (if the other person even heard it, sometimes I talk too softly to warrant saying anything). Lightening the mood instead of increasing your nerves is something that is easier to say / type than do... but once you can, it's life-saving. Try pretending to be your favorite comedian. Mine is Jim Carrey so I'm not afraid to be ridiculous.

However, practice seems to be the best way to become better accustomed to these situations.

It might help to write down everything you need to say as well before picking up that phone. This way, you can rattle off once the other person is available in the other end.

Ah, I know this is late but I just wanted to thank you guys for the advice! I will definitely try to keep these things in mind next time I need to contact some sort of service and hopefully as I grow more confident these nervous feelings will subside, too.