“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt
I was talking to a friend the other day, and she told me that she doesn’t leave voice mails. When I asked her why not, she assumed that when I saw her number on the missed calls list I’d call her back. I told her I don’t do that. She was surprised.
“I won’t call you back unless you leave me a message that requires me to call you back. If you just hang up without leaving me a message, I’m going to assume you just wanted to talk to me directly, maybe because something is time-sensitive, but you don’t need me to call you.” And I won’t.
The only thing I find more annoying is a voice-mail message that simply says “Call me!” *click*
Please don’t assume that anybody can recognize your voice. I won’t unless you’re my wife or one of my kids, and I’ve taught them better. The kids that is. My wife is perfect the way she is.
In order to return this call, you have to go back through your caller ID list and figure out who called when, match that up to the call time, and then guess why they calling. Maybe they want an update on some project. You don’t know. You’ll be unprepared when you do return the call. Now you’ll have to call back with the information after talking to them, assuming you didn’t get their voice mail anyway . . . or maybe you just won’t bother because you’ve got better things to do, and another little piece of your soul dies.
Compare this to the scenario where you get the following message: “Hey Alex, this is Cathie. Could you give me a quick update on your meeting with client x yesterday – did we make the sale? My number is (403)555-1212. Thanks.”
When you return her call, even if you get Cathie’s voice mail, you can update her on what happened. Two phone calls. Done. Instead of the at least three or more phone calls that do nothing but waste time. Much more effective and efficient. Each voice mail advances the conversation, and the number of calls is kept to the minimum needed to communicate.
If you’re going to leave a voice message, advance the conversation. Like e-mail, voice-mail is an asynchronous communication. You’re still conversing, just spread out over time and from different locations. Leaving a message that doesn’t add anything to the conversation is a waste of time and an annoyance.
I love the comment about your wife
When I record my [outgoing] voicemail message I always tell people what information I want from them (please leave your name, number, and a brief message), which I find helps.
I find when most people get your voicemail, and ‘stumble’, it’s because they weren’t prepared to leave a message. When I call, I always expect to get voicemail, and have my quick notes ready; if a get a person, I can discuss it anyway (kind of like having an agenda for a meeting) – don’t call if you don’t have a reason.
She is perfect just the way she is. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Good attitude to take into the phone call. Thanks for sharing!