Look Good on Voice Mail

Your use of voice mail tells others a lot about you. Here's how to make a good impression.

1) Present a Positive Image

Your outgoing voice mail message should be simple, positive, and professional. State your name and company followed by concise directions. You may want to leave a daily message because it shows that you check your messages and tells callers what to expect. For example, "Welcome to Steve Kaye's voice mail at Personal Quality. Today is Monday and I will be out, helping a client improve profits. Please leave a message and I'll return your call tomorrow." This message lasts nine seconds.

Make sure that your outgoing message is unencumbered by music (turn off the radio), rustling papers (sit still), and background noise (close the door). These sounds make it make it difficult for callers to understand your message. Similarly, avoid gimmicks such as singing, reading poetry, or citing long lists of credentials. These appear unprofessional.

2) Practice Professional Courtesy

Some people use voice mail to screen calls. Although this may control interruptions, it becomes rude if you never respond to the messages. Those messages are very important to the people who left them. That's why they called.

Set aside a time each day to return calls. If the messages were left by people whom you do not want to talk to, have an assistant return the calls. Or call back when the other person will be away from the phone and leave a message. The brief moment that you spend on a return message helps the caller continue business and frees you from receiving additional unwanted calls. For example it takes eight seconds to say, "Hi, Chris. This is Steve Kaye responding to the message you left today. Please remove my name from your call list. I have no interest in cryogenic ant farms."

- - - - - - - -

IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to be more effective. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com

---

Behavioral Extensions and Its Implications at Workplaces

The study of Behavioral extension involves investigating the source of... Read More

14 Ways to De-Stress Employee Vacations

Employees truly deserve paid vacations. Theystruggle through stressful jobs most... Read More

Improve Operations by Restructuring

Transitioning from Vertical Hierarchies to Decentralized / Flatter OrganizationsThe need... Read More

Is ISO 9001 2000 Right For My Business?

Firstly you should decide your own reasoning behind considering ISO... Read More

Can You Sleep While The Wind Blows?

Let me repeat a story I heard many years ago... Read More

Write Winning Proposals For Venture Capitalists

You need to secure money for your project. You visit... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 6th C: Changing Vision

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

The Top 5 Signals That Your Business Is Running You

Starting your own business is a great undertaking but running... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: A New Managers Tale

This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Agendas Make Meetings Productive

Having an agenda template that works well for you, week... Read More

Business Innovation ? Core Competency and Competitive Advantage

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Workplace Violence - People are Dying Going to Work

Workplace violence has become a tragic reality today. From minor... Read More

Getting to Consensus

The need to get people in an organization to pull... Read More

ISO 9001 Registration ? 8 Steps for Success

You've made the plans, built the quality system and conducted... Read More

How to do SWOT Analysis for your Business

SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how... Read More

Creative and Innovative Culture, Change Management ? Three Easy Tests

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Group Decision Making : Are the Decisions Really Made by the Group?

GROUP DECISION-MAKING: Many managers feel they are well-versed in areas... Read More

Project Management - I Want It ALL

The knee-jerk response to prioritizing requirements is to mark everything... Read More

Internal Communication: 12 Essential Elements

There are 12 essential elements of a successful internal communications... Read More

You Didnt Use Brainstorming to Select Your Measures, Did You?

IntroductionWhen Alex Osborn invented the creativity technique called brainstorming, I... Read More

Problem Solving - Think Cleopatras Ass

Picture the scene. Anthony pops down to the guardhouse, partly... Read More

Employee Turnover: Is It Eating Up Your Profits?

Keeping the cost of doing business down, yet providing a... Read More

Building A Stellar Business One Employee At A Time

Top businesses that continually lead their industry clearly understand a... Read More

Avoid These Seven Deadly Dangers Of Outsourcing

Here are seven dangers of outsourcing your software development. They... Read More

Communicating with Offsite Workers

How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who... Read More

Examining the Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction

Researchers have undertaken numerous studies to look at the connection... Read More

Reflections in the Glass Ceiling

The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Look For Sponsors And Solution Owners

Look for sponsors and solution owners rather than problem owners.Everyone... Read More

Ten Secrets of Super Successful Meeting Planners

Whoever said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied!... Read More

A Comprehensive Sarbanes Oxley Act Summary

Individual and corporate security stand in the center of the... Read More

Knowledge Management - Leadership Behaviours Which Encourage Knowledge-Sharing

The concept of knowledge management or knowledge sharing makes intellectual... Read More

Using, Choosing, and Using an educational consultant

IntroductionThe aim of this document is to provide advice and... Read More

Innovation Management ? the Root of the Problem

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More