Rambling is Good for the Soul

Please leave a message

So, I’d just like to rant:
When a person leaves a message, that person should say their number two times. Slowly. I get a ton of messages every week (wandering around campus and not sitting in the office) and there are so many people who just rattle off a number - and sometimes so fast that I have to listen to it three times before I get all the numbers.

I learned this during my first “real” job – from a priest.

Name, number, message, number, (name)

Then you have the number at the beginning and at the end – two chances for the person to get it and write it down. It also means that if the person missed the number, s/he could go back to the beginning and hear just the number before deleting (assuming a digital answering machine). The extra (name) at the end is in case the person doesn't know who you are - then you've given that person an opportunity to get your name down to know who to call back.

So, I beg anyone reading this: consider how you leave a message, especially for someone who doesn't know you or doesn't have your number. It doesn't take much longer and is very helpful.

And if you're doing it well, encourage others to leave nice messages.

Posted by Heather Voss at March 5, 2006 02:44 PM