WEBVTT - Leave better voice mails

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to leave better voicemails. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I know that a lot of people hate voicemail. A

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<v Speaker 1>good chunk of people just completely ignore it and would

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<v Speaker 1>prefer people send a text if they can't reach them

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<v Speaker 1>right away. But maybe you're leaving a message for someone

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have a texting relationship with, and since with

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<v Speaker 1>smartphones people can tell who called and then hung up,

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<v Speaker 1>you might find it more polite to at least say something.

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<v Speaker 1>So how can you leave a better voicemail? I'm taking

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<v Speaker 1>today's tip, along with some others this week from a

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<v Speaker 1>new book called The Little Book of Life Skills by

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<v Speaker 1>Aaron zammit Ruddy. She interviews dozens of experts on how

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<v Speaker 1>to do various activities in our daily lives. For voicemails,

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<v Speaker 1>she interviewed Joel Schwartzberg, who is the author of Get

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<v Speaker 1>to the Point, Sharpen your Message, and Make Your Words Matter.

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<v Speaker 1>Schwartzburg offers a few ideas. First, after the beep, give

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<v Speaker 1>a short salutation just hi, Laura will work. Immediately identify

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<v Speaker 1>yourself and the capacity in which you are calling. This

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<v Speaker 1>is John from x y Z company. Give your phone

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<v Speaker 1>number immediately. Now, yes, the person's phone is perhaps recording it,

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<v Speaker 1>but sometimes it's a switchboard number that comes up, so

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<v Speaker 1>you want to make this clear. Do not offer long explanations.

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<v Speaker 1>Generally with a voicemail, you are trying to get the

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<v Speaker 1>person to call you back, not to deal with the

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<v Speaker 1>entire matter in your message. So give a one sentence

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<v Speaker 1>report on why you're calling or your connection to the person.

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<v Speaker 1>Then make your request, just one request. I'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>talk with you about working together on a conference panel.

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<v Speaker 1>That's sort of thing. Then give your contact information again

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<v Speaker 1>and end with appreciation and what you want to happen next. Thanks, Laura,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to talking with you. This should be short.

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<v Speaker 1>No one wants to listen to a minute long voicemail.

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<v Speaker 1>They don't even want to read a transcription of a

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<v Speaker 1>minute long voicemail. Schwartzberg explains that the reason this format

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<v Speaker 1>is an improvement is that most people wait until the

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<v Speaker 1>end of a voicemail to leave their contact info, but

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<v Speaker 1>if the recipient doesn't catch it the first time, they

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<v Speaker 1>will be forced to listen to the entire message. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>which is incredibly annoying. So listing it twice, once at

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<v Speaker 1>the beginning and once at the end increases the odds

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<v Speaker 1>of the person following through. Now, it doesn't guarantee it.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing does, but given how many people just flake on voicemail,

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<v Speaker 1>you want to do whatever you can in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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