Not everyone has call-display on their phone, so when you leave a message, please speak clearly and s-l-o-w-l-y when you state your phone number.
Repeating the phone number is also appreciated, especially on those lengthy messages when you have to repeatedly listen just to get the number.
When hands and/or ears don't work as they should, this considerate habit is crucial to getting the message (and number) across.
When I leave my number I tend to give it at the beginning of the message and then repeat it at the end, so that the person listening has two opportunities to hear it. Then, should they need to replay it, they won’t have to listen to the whole thing again – hopefully!
Kathrin,
That’s a great practice to get into! You can leave a message for me, anytime! 🙂
Thank you for writing this post. This is such an important request to all those who leave messages!
There are those people who do the exact opposite – they are afraid that they will run out of time when leaving a message and so they rush through their message and leave their phone number in a hurried and totally unclear manner…
With the people “on the go”, I end up having to listen to the same message 3 or 4 times before I will finally have gotten the entire phone number down and sometimes I’m totally unable to make out the name (if it’s an unusual one).
Now that I’m thinking about it, it would be great if your post were converted into a handout that gets included with everyone’s phone/mobile phone purchase as a friendly reminder…
Dorlee,
Now, there’s a thought – an etiquette manual to go with the phone!
I’ve been in that situation you’ve described too many times to count. The onus should be upon the caller to clearly speak their name and number. Of course, “should” is the operative word.
I know that some employers time their employees, so that may partly account for the speedy voice-mail.