I'm terrified

[Undertoad]

I learned later that it was company policy not to hire you if you couldn't answer that seemingly innocent and out-of-the-blue question fairly quickly.

Apparently you did it though, so you can do these kinds of things!

I think, for a phone interview, the secret is to get yourself into the right frame of mind a half hour before it begins. Sit down with a list of a bunch of interviewy questions, and answer them out loud. Say the answers with confidence and energy.

This will get your brain into the habit of answering these kinds of things, and refresh your mind on some things you might like to say, and how you might like to say them.

Here's an old radio trick. When you are on the phone, you should actually smile. People can "hear" the smile. Some old radio deejays would grin like maniacs when they were on the mic, if the format was right for it. People want to be around others who are happy.