Ah the telephone. While I’m not a big fan of it, it’s still essential to getting the job and comes in handy especially when someone is avoiding your email (we all get a ton of email a day but much fewer phone calls).
A big part of using the phone is the dreaded voicemail. In your personal life, you may not leave voicemails anymore. But at work it’s still really useful.
So how do you leave a good work voicemail in 2012 – luckily I have 5 tips for you.
1 – Give your name and organization at both the beginning and end. If you only say it at the beginning, by the end I’ve already forgotten.
2 – Speak slowly and pronunciate. Nothing worse than those folks speaking too fast or mumbling.
3 – Get to the punchline quick. Make the ask clear. What do you want?
4 – Give your phone number & email at the end. Speak this slowly.
5 – Don’t expect people to listen to your voicemail. Therefore, write a short email with title “Just left a Vociemail – Title of Ask” – with the basic info as well
You? What’s your voicemail tips?
Check out some of my other “Top 5’s”
– Top 5: Best Places to Have a Government Job
– Top 5: Worst Places to Have a Government Job
– Top 5: Reasons You Didn’t Get the Promotion
– Top 10: What Works in Social Media
– Top 5: Ways to Handle a Boring Meeting