Tips for Recording Your Voice Mail Greeting

In my small hometown, I remember folks' reactions to the first personal answering machines. The same people who set their machines up with excitement often did not want to "talk to the machine" when they called someone else. And the new owner would record, listen and re-record their own greeting time after time, striving for perfection.

Then came the silly stage. Kids singing songs before the "we're not home" announcement and grown-ups using crazy fake accents were almost as annoying as the pranksters: "Hello?.....Hello? Is anyone there? Ha Ha, gotcha! This is the machine, leave a message."

In the business world, many employees are self-conscious about recording their greetings, and in modern day work environment, with cubicles optimizing space instead of private offices, some are even more nervous because they don't have privacy to record, listen and re-record. Many use the generic system greeting that comes with their voice mail system; others continue to use the unwelcoming "I'm sorry I can't take your call, please leave a message" that they may have recorded during an initial training session.

Voicemail remains frustrating for many, both users and callers, but knowing how to set up your voicemail properly alleviates some of the annoyance.

Voicemail, when utilized properly, is a huge timesaver. I have personally come to prefer reaching a person's voicemail, at least in some instances. Many, many questions can be addressed quickly and efficiently through the exchange of voicemails, in less than one minute per call. When I reach a person directly, however, it takes at least a minute for the ‘niceties': "Hi, how are you?" "Fine, and you?" "Good, I got your message, and I've just been so busy, I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. But I do have some information for you." "No problem, I know what you mean. I've been caught up in a zillion projects myself..." It takes forever to get down to business in person! And the same problem repeats itself at the end of the call... "Thanks so much for your help." "No problem, thank you for calling" "Okay, talk to you soon."

Consider the following tips for recording your voice mail greeting:

• Modify the following sample scripts to write your own, personal script.
• Practice your script! Read it out loud three times before attempting to record. This not only makes you more comfortable and alleviates the problem of sounding like you are reading, you will also have a chance to ‘hear' wording that sounds awkward.
• Don't listen to yourself! Almost no one likes to hear his or her own voice. You will know if you misspeak. If in doubt, ask someone else to listen while you record-they will tell you if you really mess up.
• Re-record your voicemail greeting daily. The practice will make recording a breeze and improve the ‘sound' of your greeting, and keeping your message up to date will help your callers leave effective messages.
• Request a "detailed" rather than a "brief" message. Many people are reluctant to encourage long messages, but the truth is that callers who are "long-winded" will be long-winded regardless. Encourage callers to leave enough information so that you can answer their inquiries in a return voice mail if necessary, avoiding "telephone tag."
• Call back! Even if you don't have an answer right away, let your callers know you received their message. A simple "Received your message and I'm working on it," will save you both time in follow-up calls.

In the office:

Thank you for calling [XYZ Company]. This is [My Name], and for [Today's Date], I am in the office, but currently away from my desk or on another call. Please leave your name, telephone number, and a detailed message, and I will call you back as soon as possible.

Working out of the office:

Thank you for calling [XYZ Company]. This is [My Name], and for [Today's Date], I will be out of the office for [customer appointments]. Please leave your name, telephone number, and a detailed message, and I will call you back in [four] business hours [or state whatever time is feasible, i.e. 2 hours, tomorrow, etc]

Thank you for calling [XYZ Company]. This is [My Name], and for [Today's Date], I will be working from my virtual office. Please leave your name, telephone number, and a detailed message, and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Vacation:

Vacation Alert: Thank you for calling [XYZ Company]. This is [My Name], and for the week of [MM-DD] [or for the period of Day, MM-DD through Day MM-DD], I will be on vacation and will not be checking voice mail. If you need immediate assistance, please press [instructions, such as "press 0" or "press Star T to transfer to extension XXX] to transfer to my back up, [Name] [or call xxx-xxx-xxx for customer support]. Otherwise, please leave your name, telephone number, and a detailed message, and I will call you back on my return to the office, Day, Month-Date.

Sick:

Out of office Alert: This is [My Name], and I am out of the office today due to illness. If you need immediate assistance, please press [instructions] to transfer to my back up, [Name] or call [xxx-xxx-xxx] for customer support. Otherwise, please leave your name, telephone number, and a detailed message, and I will call you back on my return to the office, Day, Month-Date.

Note, many voice mail systems allow you to pre-record various greetings. Record this before you are sick, and then activate when necessary, by simply pressing the correct touch tone buttons. Sounding sick on your greeting is not necessary to convince your callers.