Art of Manliness - Latest Comments in How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

ChipsAhoyMcCoy — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 23:28:00 -0000

You might not want to do that depending on the nature of the conversation. Voicemail is as private as the device.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

ChipsAhoyMcCoy — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 23:22:00 -0000

I thought the voicemail service told you the number of the caller and time of the call before playing the voicemail message.
To these great tips I would add that you close doors and windows if there is a possibility of some background noise like dog barks, neighbors, etc.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Nicole — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:20:47 -0000

leaving your # at beginning of message is pretty clever. my prob is that I sound nervous when I leave a message :( it's just uncomfortable for me.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Dave Thomas — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 12:01:54 -0000

Though many people will think that funny voicemail messages are unprofessional, it is a great way to help people cheer up and forget about the stress that they have been going through. Here are a few suggestions to think about when trying to think of funny voicemail greetings.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

MJ — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:43:56 -0000

Good article and great comments, too. Here is one more: MOVE THE COVERSATION FORWARD!! Don't leave a message to say call me back. Answer the question I left for you on your voicemail. Or ask the question that prompted your call. This constant game of tag is a huge waste of time. Just get on with it already!!

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

San Antonio Employment Lawyers — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:01:25 -0000

Love the post, really great advice for those of us that might not leave the greatest phone messages ever.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

novemh — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:27:08 -0000

In the business viewpoint, answering an incoming call is very essential. Missed incoming calls may become an opportunity lost. In business, every call is important and leaving messages on voicemails is not an effective way of doing dealing with you business partners and clients.
There are BPO companies that offers live answering services. Inbound call center staff are professionally trained to receive calls. Check out http://www.callboxconnect.com for your live answering services needs.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Patrick Salmon — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:31:41 -0000

When leaving a phone number do as the recipient would be doing - write it down yourself as you're saying the numbers and, of course, speak clearly.
This will force you to slow down and make it much easier for the other person.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

cheap jordans — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:04:54 -0000

cheap air jordans on sale for the holidays

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

jordan shoes — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:27:06 -0000

Jordan shoes on sale. New Jordans & Retro Styles available. Fast Shipping. Cheap Jordans with high quality on sale.

http://www.cheapjordans23.com

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Barry — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:02:12 -0000

I heartily agree with never leaving the message "call me back." That is stupid. State the purpose of the call so I can call you back with my thoughts already engaged. Tell me your opinion on the matter so I can respond to you even if I just get YOUR voicemail. Some matters can be resolved even if we never get the chance to speak live. That's efficiency. I have actually left mesages for people to this effect. On the 4th message of a "call me back" chain, I will ask the person to leave their question on my voicemail if we don't connect on their next call, explaining that I may then be able to provide them an answer even if we never connect. My outgoing message specifically requests that callers leave a "detailed message."

I also hate the messages where people state their name and number in a rushed mumble. Slow down for this critical information. Speak the digits at the same speed that they will be written. I have had people call back and specifically thank me for that.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

David — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:02:01 -0000

how to set up my busibess voice mail.(this is a new business that I am just setting up. it has to deal with buying mortgage notes

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Aaron — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:06:38 -0000

Another reason to state your phone number is sometimes the audio quality of the message is not good either because of lousy equipment or lousy speaking. Innumerable times someone have left me a message stating their number only once and one or two digits is unintelligible, making it impossible to return the call. Saying your phone number twice ensures all the digits will be understood.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Brad — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:39:30 -0000

Jesus F-ing Christ, you hit the nail on the head with voicemails. I freakin hate them with all the passion that runs deep in my bones.

With friends, don't leave a message that says, "Hey, call me back". WTF!!!!! I saw you on caller id and if you leave a message it should be only for serious matters only. We live in the world of text messages too for quick responses for things.

And I agree with leaving the email with number. I started doing that and have gotten a lot of response, work related, from doing that.

Great post folks!

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

GMurder — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:03:32 -0000

I like blue fin crabcakes in the morning

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Chris — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:28:11 -0000

I'd never thought of it till I read your post but most of the messages I leave are work related. I work in a communications and control center for a military police unit so when something out of the ordinary happens I have to notify leadership. If it's the middle of the night some of them listen to the message before diciding if they'll answer the phone.

A long time ago I got tired of waiting for them to call back for the notifications and started giving a summarized brief in the message. I have to think about what type of questions each person tends to ask and answer those in the message. If I don't get a call back with a question I know I got it right.

That or they've already gone back to sleep.

Chris

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

1866Umidget — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:42:12 -0000

time is so precious to us here at http://shortdwarf.com! we can't tell you how many times while we are on the phone, we will notice the caller ID on the other line call and not leave a voicemail and continue to call back repeatedly until they get someone to answer directly. frustrating! ugh! isn't that why voice mail was invented?

"we've noticed you've called a couple times and haven't left messages. thank you for trying to reach us and stay in contact. since time is precious for both of us, please leave a detailed message if we are not able to pick up your call. this will ensure more efficient use of time for both of us. thank you!"

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

iminlalaland — Sat, 03 May 2008 09:21:19 -0000

A wonderful and slurpicious post.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Tomas Karkalas — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:50:28 -0000

Thank you.
I am going to overview my blog in the light of your advices. There is no doubt for my http://candleday.wordpress.com will look better. in the result.
Editing the way we are talking makes our messages sound and sunny. The briefness of the words gives the weight to our talk.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Skeeter — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:14:38 -0000

Please don't leave the following message on someone's voicemail: "Hey it's [name], call me back." I probably didn't take your call because I am busy right now and asking me to call you back without providing any context doesn't help me decide when I should take the time to call you or how much time I will need to take. Do you just want to check in with me, did your Mom just die, are you trying to find out how long to cook a turkey...just how long is this conversation going to be an how important/urgent is it. You should always say, "I need to talk to you about [subject], please call me back."

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Phil Craig — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:43:41 -0000

@Santa:

You should always leave your number. Whenever I call people who have Caller ID, they get some kind of switchboard number rather than my number. It's probably a quirk to do with my office's system, but still, why take a risk? Especially when following up a job interview!

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Bob Ragsdale — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:36:24 -0000

Smile. When you are leaving your message, smile while you speak. It warms up the tone of your voice and makes it easier to listen to.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Santa — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:21:55 -0000

When doing a follow-up for job interviews these are great skills to have. Although I don't normally repeat my number twice as most people have caller ID now days and it seems redundant.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Brett McKay — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:36:33 -0000

Great comments everyone.

@Oogie-Good tip, sometimes I do it that way too. I think both are effective. I prefer leaving it at the beginning and end, only because not everyone's phone has a rewind option.

@Fred-That reminds of another phone tip....when someone does pick up your call, unless you are well acquainted, don't call them by their first name. Someone called me from my credit card company for a legitimate reason mind you, but when I picked up, they said, "Is Brett there?" Sorry credit card man, but it's Mr. McKay to you. I'm turned off by pseudo chumminess.

Re: How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail

Corey — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:57:44 -0000

Clear and concise- this is a lost art in our society. And not just with voicemail. In normal everyday interaction many people struggle to get their point across succinctly. Maybe the clear and concise voicemail message can be a training ground for regular conversation.