Excelling at gay phone dating starts with learning how it is done. Being on the phone with hot men is different than talking to hot men in person, so sometimes there are additional things to know, an important one is to watch your volume.
Some people get very excited, and when they are excited, they get loud. Others get very nervous, and when they get nervous, they get quiet. There are plenty of people that are naturally loud or quiet in general as well.
There is nothing wrong with asking the other person about how your volume level is over the phone. Each person's phone is different. People being loud is something that is easier to adjust than people that are too quiet. A high percentage of people use their phone with the volume turned all the way up. Because of this, they cannot turn it up anymore. This means that the people that are quieter/harder to hear don't have an easy fix available for the person listening, especially if they are unaware.
If you hear the person on the other line saying "What?" a lot it could be because you're talking too quietly. It could also be because you are not articulating your words. For people that are hard at hearing, it is more beneficial to speak clearly and with spaces in between your words and sentences than it is to increase your volume. If you decide to comment on other people's sound levels, that is, how much you hear them, it can be tactful about it.
Another piece of advice? Try not to apologize too much. Many people in the world apologize a lot more than they need to. In some ways, it is more noticeable during phone conversations. Due to this, it is smart to keep your apologies down to a minimum while on gay phone dating chat. Speak with confidence and look to move the conversation forward. If you have conflicting opinions, there is no need to apologize. If you are speaking too quietly for the other person, there is no need to apologize. Thank them for letting you know and talk a little more loudly or clearly. If your gay phone date can't hear you because the space you are in is a little noisy, you don't need to apologize. Instead, come up with solutions to the problem. Call them back at a later time or step out of the area that you are in if possible to a quieter place.