Some people make answering machine greetings a fine art, while others only want to relate the important information and avoid any attempts at humor. There's no right way to record a greeting, but there are some things you should definitely avoid.
Give Your Name or Not?
Some people are uncomfortable saying their name on answering machine greetings and provide only a phone number. Others feel that not providing a name defeats the purpose, and provide the first and last names of everyone who lives in the house. If you're a woman living alone, you might want to say something generic such as "Hi, you've reached the Smiths," or set your answering machine greeting to only give the phone number. You may even want to go so far as to get a male friend to leave your answering machine greetings, so people won't know you live alone. Generally, large families list everyone's first name on answering machine greetings, and it's a matter of personal choice whether or not to include a last name. Parents may want to think twice about giving kids' names on the greeting, especially if kids are home alone after school.
Don't Give Locations
If you're going to be out of town for any length of time, don't tell people you're going to be on vacation or unavailable. On the off-chance that someone wants to take advantage of this information, you're advertising to potential burglars that you won't be in your house for days or weeks at a time. If you travel frequently, look for an answering machine that enables you to call in and check your messages remotely so that you can respond in a timely manner.
Be Careful with Comedy
What would you say if a potential employer called to discuss an interview, only to hear crude answering machine greetings that made them hang up the phone immediately? How about the thought of your dear old Aunt Sally calling and hearing obscene answering machine greetings? If you must be humorous in your answering machine greetings, try to keep them clean. Think of the most embarrassing person who might hear your greeting, and avoid saying anything you wouldn't want that person to hear. Generally speaking, avoid curse words or crude references, and refrain from potentially offensive comments.
Do Include Business Information
Outgoing messages for a business should provide information that your clients might need to know. If you run a store, include your hours of operation. If your office is difficult to find,include directions or landmarks people can use to navigate to your building. This is also the one time when you can say you're on vacation or out of the office, so your clients know you won't return the phone call immediately.
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Having a professional and mature voicemail is more important than you may think. For potential employers, it may be a first impression, and you know how hard it is to overcome a bad one of those. |
It is quite fun to finally have your first home office. You get to be able to work at home in your comfortable clothes instead of business suits each day. You can take breaks from working whenever you want. |
With our busy schedule, the last thing we want to do is to stop what we are doing just to answer an unwanted, annoying, anonymous or even harassing phone call. It is really quite irritating to be disturbed by calls from telemarketers or pranksters during wee hours in the morning or when we are in the middle of performing important tasks. |
