29 Sep 2004 | Randy said...

You should physically write your phone number as you leave it on a voicemail; that way, you'll know the person on the other end can write it down while listening to you say it.

29 Sep 2004 | a said...

Leave the name and number at the start and end of the message, so when I realize I missed it, I at least get another chance, or don't need to listen to the whole message again.

And even if you think the person you're calling knows your name: say it anyway. In fact, unless you're calling your spouse or mother, just have the common courtesy to say your name when the person answers at the other end.

I even get business calls where these rules of politeness aren't followed.

29 Sep 2004 | monkeyinabox said...

Awww..that one really burns me. You get a fast talker, who in the middle of what they're saying or asking says quicky that they've got their cell phone ###-#### , but since you were listening you blow it off until the end of the message. I think because of these bad experiences I always make it a practice to go like this:

Hi, this is [name]

message
thanks

[name]
[phone number]

That way they don't have to rewind the message to get my name or phone number. I'm too nice.

29 Sep 2004 | SH said...

And how about save the story until I call you back so I'm not listening to a five minute message when it could take me that long to get back to you and have you tell me directly what you want to say.

29 Sep 2004 | Paperhead said...

When you leave your phone number on voicemail...leave it slowly or repeat it twice. Please.

Don't you think you might be better off using this as your voicemail message rather than posting it on a blog?

Just asking.

Did I type this slowly enough?

29 Sep 2004 | Mark said...

I have a client who always uses the same formula (even though I recognize his voice and have his number memorized)

Mark, this is [name], [number]...[short message]

It's nice that he leaves the name and number at the beginning, that way I don't have to listen to the message before getting to the number, and if I miss it the first time around, I can easily skip back to the beginning.

Of course, it also helps to have a phone with caller ID capability.

29 Sep 2004 | Jeff said...

I agree, yet with caller-id it is almost always easy to identify who called.

29 Sep 2004 | Dave Marks said...

Yeah caller id is brilliant - it lets you screen the out of hours calls.

And it always surprised people when i answer the phone - "Hi Sarah, how are you?"

Or if i just uploaded something - "Hi John, what did i break?" always gets a chuckle :)

29 Sep 2004 | Dave Marks said...

Ooh should have said aswell - it realy narks me when people AlWAYS call my mobile first, even though i tell them everytime - hey i have bad reception in the office, call my 0845 (local rate) number, its cheaper and easier!

29 Sep 2004 | Brad Hurley said...

Whenever our office manager goes on vacation, she puts a message on her voicemail that cracks me up. She says:

"Stop....wait....listen very carefully to this message. I repeat, listen carefully to this message. I will be out of the office from [date] to [date] and will not check my voicemail while I am away. If you have an urgent request call [person] at [number]. I repeat, do not leave an urgent message at this voicemail; I will not hear it until I return on [date]."

And you know what? It doesn't work. People still leave urgent messages on her voicemail whenever she goes on vacation, and not only that, some of them even call again a day or two later and leave the same message when she doesn't return their call. Amazing.

29 Sep 2004 | Don Schenck said...

Paperhead, not so fast, please! :-)

What irks me is the too-curt message, such as "This is Rich, give me a call when you get a chance".

Why? WHY? Are you hemorrhaging, or do you just want to talk about the Eagles?

GRRR!!

At least a clue would be nice.

29 Sep 2004 | Brian Tully said...

amen to that.

Kevin James (THE KING OF QUEENS) actually does a very funny bit in his Comedy Central standup routine - "Sweat The Small Stuff" - about how it drives him crazy that some people don't have "phone number rhythm", i.e., "bum-bum-pah (long pause) bum-pah (short pause) bum-pah."

he also talks about the same issue of people only leaving their number once, usually at the end of a very long and inane message, and usually undecipherable.

funny stuff if you happen to catch it on Comedy Central. Apparently there's also a DVD here.

29 Sep 2004 | Danielle said...

Yeah- I hate it when people say "my number is ####-##-####" - it totally throws me off.

Also, when I call someone after hours for work on my cel and they save my number and ALWAYS call me on it.

I will definitely start leaving messages with "This is Danielle, my number is..." so thanks for the tips everyone.

29 Sep 2004 | bryan said...

Why would someone call to talk about the Eagles?

29 Sep 2004 | Don Schenck said...

Because they mistakenly think the Eagles will finally get to the Super Bowl. Silly Eagles fans.

29 Sep 2004 | Jonny Roader said...

I won't leave answerphone messages unless I really have to. They still freak me out. I don't like my voice being recorded.

01 Oct 2004 | Chris Hoare said...

its a dilbertism isn't it ?

When you dont want the person to call you back you talk normally,

Bob this is a message from dogbert, loved you in the strip anyway we need to talk about the big contract call me back on (gets quicker from here) 449871923x (slows down again) cya pal

that way you left your message but no one has a way to call you back - great; especially if you work on a support line ;)

01 Oct 2004 | Andrew said...

As a PR professional, this is something that gets drilled into your head very early in your career. In fact, I usually say my name and phone number at the start of a message, then repeat both again at the end, often repeating the phone number twice, just in case. I also often mention an alternative person to contact if I'm not in.

One more tip: Boil your call down to a minute and a half, two minutes max. Name, number, to-the-point message, number again. Any longer than two minutes and you're not doing any good.

14 Oct 2004 | Mike Wills said...

I totally agree. I sometimes have to listen to the message 5 times to get the whole number.