How to Leave a Message
Woman in the Middle | May 23, 2013My new job (three months now!) includes a lot of phone time. I take many phone calls as well as take many messages off the phone which I have to return. This self-study in how people leave messages has led me to conclude that many people just do not know how to leave a message.
Here are some of my “favorite” types of phone messages and some helpful hints as well. Feel free to forward this on to any recent college graduates.
1. Carefully leave message, with all information enunciated, including the spelling of first and last name, until it is time to leave the most important part, the phone number. Then speed up and talk at least twice as fast and then hang up quickly! But…wait! I need the number! So I have to listen to the last part of the message at least three times to try to understand that elusive phone number. That is so not cool!
2. Repeat all information twice. Why would someone say what their message is, and then repeat the whole message verbatim a second time? I got the message the first time. I don’t need to hear it twice from the same phone call!
3. Just leave the name and phone number and don’t tell me what info you need. So when I call you back all I can do is leave my name and phone number, instead of being able to give you the information you wanted. And so the game of phone tag begins….
Thank you for allowing me to vent. Do you have any phone stories from your workplace? Feel free to vent here!
I could never figure out why people don’t start with their name and phone number. That way if you want to replay the number, you don’t need to go through the whole message. I much prefer email!
I do like email, but I receive so many calls that I guess I find it quicker to talk than to type!
That’s very good advice for college grads who start their careers off as receptionists.
I often get those calls at home. Either they talk so quickly you can’t understand, or so low my machine cuts them off half way through. Worse, they never call back & probably think I am being rude by not returning their calls. I like it when people repeat the phone #, then you don’t have to listenn to the message again.