
There are some people who tend to judge your work according to your voicemail greeting. In this article, we tell you what are the best ways to draft your voicemail message.
The greeting that you leave on your phone in the form of a voice mail can be very important as it is the first contact that anyone calling has with you or the company that you work for. Therefore it is important that your voicemail greeting is drafted in such a manner that it does not make the caller squirm in embarrassment, or even raise their eyebrows in sheer wonder. Proper voicemail etiquette demands that a good voicemail message convey information like whom the caller is calling, where they are, when the caller can expect to be called back, and what to do if the call that is being made is of an urgent nature.
While deciding on a greeting remember that while it is important to be friendly, do not try to be cute or overtly sweet. It is not necessary to state the obvious details. It may be a good idea to change your voicemail message as often as possible. Also if you are recording a message for a business organization, it is important to let the caller know how to skip the message that is playing. If it is possible then giving an alternate number where the caller can reach you is always a great idea. Given later in this article are some examples.
Voicemail for Corporate Organizations
Most business organizations will always have a receptionist who will be responsible for receiving and transferring calls but in case you are using voicemail, then you need to know which are the ways in which you can phrase your greeting. Given below are two examples of greetings that you can use for your voicemail, one for during office hours and the other for after office hours.
Thank you for calling (name of company). If you know the extension number of the person you are trying to reach, you may dial it now. Press 1 for (department). Press 2 for (department). Press 3 for the (department). Press 4 for the company directory, or press 0 for the operator. |
Thank you for calling (name of company). We are currently not here to take your call. Our business hours are (working hours and days). If you know the extension number of the person you are trying to leave a message for, you may dial the number now. Press 1 for (department). Press 2 for (department). Press 3 for (department). Press 9 for a company directory. If this is an emergency, please enter (after hours support number) to be connected with the after-hours support personnel. |
Voicemail for Professionals
In many offices, senior officers have their personal extensions. In such a scenario, or if you work from home, it becomes important for the greeting to your voicemail to be drafted in a formal manner. Given below are some examples that you can use for your personal answering machine at work.
This is (name of person) of (name of company). I’m currently not here to receive your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, and I will call you back as soon as possible. Thank you. |
This is (name of person) of (name of company). I’m currently not here to receive your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, and I will call you back as soon as possible. If this is an urgent call, then press 3 and I will be paged. Thank you. |
This is (name of person). Since today is Friday, I will be working from our corporate office. If you need to reach me, then call me on (number). Or leave me a message with your name and number and I will call you back. |
Hi, this is (name of person). I will not be at work today and will not be checking my voice mail. In case you need any help, please contact (name of contact person) at (phone extension). Thank you. |
Voicemail for Personal Use
It is not only important to know how to script voicemail messages for the office but also for your residence. Many people tend to opt for greetings that are funny because the calls that you get on your phone at home are from friends and family. But if you run a business from home and do not have a separate number for the same, then it may be a good idea to stick to something slightly more generic. You can go with very general message like, Hello, I cannot come to the phone right now, but leave your name and number after the beep, and I will call you back. If you still want to opt for some voice mail messages that are funny, then take a look at the examples below.
Hey, I wish I could receive your call right now but you see I am trying to do many things that cannot be done while talking on the phone. Leave your name and number and I will call back. |
I am sure you thought I was going to answer your call. Well, I am not. Leave me a motivational message and I just may be inspired to call you back. |
Mom, Dad, I love you and was thinking that for your convenience it would be easier if I had a cellular phone. What do you think about an early birthday present? |
The worst thing about voicemail messages is that they waste your time with long messages when all you need to say is, Leave a message, we will call back. That is why I have decided to make mine short so that no caller has to suffer listening to long answering machine messages. Bye. |
You can use any of the ideas for voicemail messages given in this article. Proper voicemail etiquette is extremely important while drafting a message for your phone. Voicemail messages should always be concise and to-the-point so that the caller is not confused by excess information. In the holiday season try to add holiday greetings to your voicemail. Drafting a voice mail message is very simple as long as you know exactly what you want to say and how to say it.