How to Leave a Voicemail

Mike and Mark, Many thanks for the

Mike and Mark,

Many thanks for the great podcast on the practically neglected aspect in the NON USA part of the world. You are very right that voice mail has to go a long way to be recognized as a communication tool in India and some other parts of the world.
At least this should help people to practice the skills when done so.

While the content covered are practical and may need the time for a new unchartered topic, wonder what you can do hit below 40 minute mark. (This was 51 minutes podcast). I guess thats an ideal time in commuting/ exercise etc.

Great show, keep going.
Regards
Karthik
Bangalore, India.

Karthik- They usually split up big

Karthik-

They usually split up big podcasts like this one into two parts (at which point they get complaints because they split it- they can't win). My guess is that Mike couldn't find a good breakpoint in the middle.

Look at it this way- you get more Mike and Mark for your (free) dollar, *and* a new topic next week- what's not to like! :-)

--Rich

Thanks for the comment on Efficient vs.

Thanks for the comment on Efficient vs. Effective.
As a graphic designer I am geared towards being effective in communication but effecient in execution. In general, my leanings towards Efficiency may be my own "design flaw" that I should be aware of.

Sadly, these days I'd be quite happy

Sadly, these days I'd be quite happy with a “[your name], this is [their name], call me”. Normally all I get is the "Call me" and then have to try to work out who it was that left the message as invariably they have own number sending turned off and the line is so bad that I can't identify the voice.

On the subject of "like email,

On the subject of "like email, voicemail is forever", our phone system forwards voicemails to recipients as sound files in email, thus saving them forever and making them trivial to forward to the planet.

These days, I direct all my voicemail

These days, I direct all my voicemail to my GrandCentral service, which means that I can get their name and number (assuming it's not blocked) as a part of the message, which I can then pick up by phone or web client. So if I *do* get a "Call Me", in most cases, there's a number (and a name if I've stored it) associated with that message.

In the ideal world, of course, that little trick wouldn't be necessary!

If I get a VM saying "please call me,"

If I get a VM saying "please call me," and it's not my boss (or wife), I don't. I WILL respond to a detailed request, however.

M & M, Another great cast, guys!

M & M,

Another great cast, guys!

I admit to being a bit long-winded when leaving VMs. (Although I don't think I've ever reached 15 minutes!) :-) Thanks for the tools - I'll begin using them today!

Allie

Mark & Mike: One of the best reasons

Mark & Mike:

One of the best reasons to leave you name and be business like is the chance that the voice mail may be screened by the person's assistant. I will have people check my voice mail when I am on vacation or stuck in all day meetings.

Greg Fox
Brea, CA

If from a supplier or customer, I

If from a supplier or customer, I usually like the Voicemailer to leave their name, their company and then their phone number before the remainder of the message. I often get to the phone number and get the numbers mixed up as I write down the digits or memorize them. If I'm focusing just on the number, I will often replay the message. Little is more irritating than having to listen to the entire context of the message over and over again just to get to the phone number - even if the message is one minute

Technology has provided the call back number as a reference, but sometimes they call in from another line.

[...] Moving your voicemail

[...] Moving your voicemail etiquette forward Posted on October 16, 2007 by Brock There was a great podcast today from Mike and Mark at Manager Tools about how to properly use voicemail. If you’ve ever use voice mail in your job or with your friends you need to listen to this cast. Here is a link to the cast: Voicemail Podcast. [...]

Mike and Mark, Great cast. Here's

Mike and Mark,

Great cast.

Here's a saying a colleague shared with me. I think applies to one of the key points in your cast.

Voicemail is a document.

Regards,
Steve

"Voicemail is a document" ... I love

"Voicemail is a document" ... I love that. Thanks for sharing, Steve.

Mike

Another good one guys! I've been

Another good one guys!

I've been following your casts since early days. I remember you made a comment that you had hundreds of casts to deliver - at the time I couldn't imagine how you could possibly come up with another 20 topics - never mind hundreds! I'm starting to see ...

As for voicemail - I like time & date as part of the message also; voicemail is not a primary communication method for me so it's likely that even if someone leaves a message they'll have got me by email or on my mobile by the time I listen to the message. Therefore there's no point listening if it's already dealt with. My ideal message would be ....

Fred here. 11am Tuesday. . Call me XXX XXX XXXX.

And I couldn't agree more with the 1 minute target - Very rare that I'll get past one minute of listening ...... :)

Thanks again guys.

I.

Hmm, That should read, Fred

Hmm,

That should read,

Fred here. 11am Tuesday. The SHORT message. Call me XXX XXX XXXX.

Wordpress helpfully removed my short message as it was in brackets I think!

I.

The only improvement I can offer is to

The only improvement I can offer is to move the phone number up front. If you have to replay it to get the number again, you don't need to listen to the entire number again.

Great cast. Thank you gentlemen.

I agree. As an attorney, especially a

I agree. As an attorney, especially a divorce attorney, I try not to leave too much of a detailed message because you never know who else is listening. I usually move the conversation forward by letting the other person know when I will be available for them to reach me.

P.S. Voicemail is a very entertaining part of divorce court. You wouldn't believe what people leave on voice mail. Everything from threats to seduction.

Great topic. Amazing to see that you

Great topic. Amazing to see that you can spend 50 minutes just on voice mail.

Small suggestion from my side. I have noticed that people (like me) do not always note the name of the person leaving a voice mail. (Especially With persons you have not, or recently, met before.) Therefore I leave my name and company name again on the very end of the message to those persons that I only have occasional contact.

If you have stopped listing before there is no harm. For some it is a help so there is no need to re-play the voice mail just to get the name.

Great cast! A seemingly simple thing

Great cast! A seemingly simple thing like leaving a message can be so critical. I always leave my name, company name, message and phone number (I go with the twice option). I will go farther in this regard to make certain that the receiver has no question as to who I am, why am calling and what capacity my role is.

As a Project Manager for a General Contractor I work with 100s of outside vendors. My title and company define my role in the process may serve to prioritize a response. I appreciate people that reciprocate this. Being able to prioritize responses is critical to effective decisions.

I evaluate people, their professionalism and other aspects about that person by the how they leave a voice mail. I believe I am judged in this same way, particularly if I am leaving a voice mail for someone that is higher ranking on the chain of command.

In the Construction Industry, unprofessional behavior far too common. I have been coaching my directs on proper voice mail and greetings. A professional voice mail stands out and I’m always pleased to hear one of my team hit the mark with an effective voice mail. I consider a good voice mail in the same capacity as a hand shake (Mark assessment in the Hand Shake cast). A good message or voice mail won’t get you very far, but a bad one can do a lot of damage.

Keep them coming guys. The management world needs you.

I advocate for repeating your contact

I advocate for repeating your contact information twice when leaving messages outside your org especially if you or the other person is using a cell phone. I've had several phone numbers be victimized by "breaking up" where I couldn't hear the entire phone number.

Mark also mentioned slowing down. Your brain stores your phone number in a different part of the brain where memory is housed. Many people, when switching to that part of the brain, speed up when they begin saying the numbers out loud. Mark is right, that's when you should slow down, especially for people balancing a cell phone on one shoulder while searching for a pencil. (Or for those who may be dyslexic.)

If you're considering upgrading your voicemail system, be sure it has the option where you can speed up the replay. This is invaluable when searching for an address or phone number at the end of a message. Speeding up does not distort the person's voice.

I also repeat the contact information,

I also repeat the contact information, but I use it as "bumpers" around the short message. That way my name and phone number are easy to get to at the beginning of the message (and still available if the call gets dropped or end of the message is cut-off), but the listener also has a chance to get it again at the end.

I've often been complimented on my phone manners. Rather than saying the bar isn't set too high, I'll just say "Thanks Mom and Dad!"

I run the advertising operations of a

I run the advertising operations of a large online advertising company which results in frequent calls regarding problems. What I've found effective is making clear in my voice mail greeting that any urgent operations problems should be emailed to me as I'm travel and sit in meeting extensively. In reality most problems need to be delegated and a voice mail slows down the works in a email driven company.

Rob- That sounds fine...but is what

Rob-

That sounds fine...but is what you're saying is that if a customer calls with a problem, you want them to honor your culture and communicate with you in a way that works for you? That seems backwards to me....but I could have your post messed up in my head.

Mark

Is there any way to leave an effective

Is there any way to leave an effective VM message when you're in sales? I work for a university. I follow up with students that request info via our many web links. 90% of my day is centered around leaving messages. I have as of today only had a handful of call backs for my many thousands of messages. I have had students go back to our site and start the process. But our initial meeting is usually around voice mail. It's also not practical to leave a great deal of info in the message due to compliance issues. So what do I do?

Hi Guys, I agree with your steps in

Hi Guys,
I agree with your steps in leaving voice mails. The only thing I change is to leave my number as the 3rd step instead of the 4th. For example, “Hi -----“, “It’s (My name is) ------“, “Please call me at --------“, message.

The purpose is, if the message is relatively long (over 30 seconds) and the called person misses the number, they can rewind and listen to the first 10 seconds instead of re-listening to the entire message to get the number. Strictly a high “D” approach.

What a wonderful podcast. We will use

What a wonderful podcast. We will use this with our entire office. But can you guys, soon, do a cast on how to answer the phone? We are continually stunned by how difficult such a seemingly simple task is. The easy part is to do it badly. We need help.

Interesting cast. I learned a lot how

Interesting cast. I learned a lot how you see this tool in the US.
I guess if we use voicemail over here in Europe we quite do like you suggested.
However, what I find most unprofessional about voicemail of colleagues is the message you get when calling a voicemail.
Quite often you get the voice of that nice lady saying ...you got the mailbox of... PAUSE ... then the guy saying in his own voice ... John Doe ... PAUSE ... then they lady again ...please leave a message...
And worst case while the guy says his name you here a lot of background noise.
I'm always laughing hearing that, because it shouldn't be to hard figuring out your own message.
I don't know about the US, but for Europe it would be worth a cast of it's own.

Gerry

All- We WILL do a cast on how to

All-

We WILL do a cast on how to answer the phone, and how to create your outgoing message.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark

Mark/Mike Can you also include in

Mark/Mike

Can you also include in the cast, how to answer someone else's phone, when in a shared office? But without the caller getting the impression that you are that person's PA - a problem for women sharing offices with men!

If I had a pound for everytime I ended up *feeling* like saying 'look mate, I've done you a favour here picking the phone up at all! I'm not his PA and I havent the foggest where he has gone or when he will be back. Asking me a fourth time wont make me know any more'. But I am too much of a lady!!!

Mary

Great cast. I would also second the

Great cast. I would also second the recommendation to leave your number twice at the end. I've been doing it for years and find it amazing how many people have commented it helps them write the number down when they hear it a second time immediately after the first one.

Don

Mark & Mike- I enjoy all your

Mark & Mike-

I enjoy all your podcasts and think that they are mostly relevant to what I do as VP R&D in a small medical device company (14 employees). However, there are things you cover that are clearly only applicable in larger companies. Have you thought doing some casts on problems specific to small/start-up companies?

Thanks.

Neil

Neil- Name one cast that is "clearly

Neil-

Name one cast that is "clearly only applicable in larger companies".

Mark

I enjoy all your podcasts we will use

I enjoy all your podcasts we will use our office I have often been complimented on my phone manners. I will says thanks for ...

Voice Mail Podcast

Dear Mark and Mike,

Your points hit most of the key issues people seem to miss when leaving voice mail.  A few side comments:

• We all need to speak clearly and slowly when leaving information we expect people to scribe.  I often repeat key items like the phone number and my name in case my cell connection is poor -- and we have all experienced a crackle or dead spot right in the middle of a message. 
• Your point on preparation was great -- as I learned in Toastmasters, a short presentation of even 1 minute is best delivered in a structured manner -- i.e., introduction, point 1, 2 3, then conclusion/action request. 
• In some cases I will leave my email address or suggest people contact me on Linkedin.com.

Thank you for your excellent guidance.

Jeff Bissell