The simple truth is that you need to be more aware of what you’re leaving for other people to hear. Sure, this doesn’t always register as a priority for users, but it’s never too late to reassess your greeting. a. Reading/Speaking in the Imperfect Tone: Tone is absolutely everything. Users don’t want to come off as being too nice, as it sounds insincere, or being too terse, as it can be interpreted as being rude. That being said, striking the right balance is absolutely essential. Your greeting exists as its own entity, and therefore, it should NOT rely on callers’ familiarity with you. Instead, it needs to appeal to the masses. As such, your inflection, i.e. the way you state your name and directions, needs to be both welcoming and firm. b. Injecting Humor & Insincerity: While humor/light heartedness can be welcoming, it can also convey a sense of informality, insincerity, and ultimately unprofessionalism. Why, because you’re not there to lend your humor or to contextualize. Instead, you’re assuming the caller has a working knowledge of your personality to ground the message. Though this might not sound like it’s all that terrible—it can be detrimental. As stated above, one should NEVER rely on a caller’s familiarity with you. Instead, aim to appeal to the masses. Humor is ultimately subjective, meaning not everyone has the same tastes; therefore, someone is bound to be turned off by a quirky or off-color remark. While implementing a light-hearted or even tongue and cheek tone can work, it’s just a really bad idea.
For additional details on the voice mail menu and associated options, see the Quick Reference Guide and User Guide. Cox Business Voice Mail includes high-value features to make leaving and retrieving messages efficient for you and your employees. Here is a summary of Voice Mail features: Three main voice mail options: Basic, Extension, and Group Voice Mail Speedy access when you dial “*298” from your desk phone Optional services for Unified Messaging and Readable Voice Mail Other Voice Mail Specifications We need to update the greeting in a voice mailbox, but prevent callers from leaving a message. Can we configure this with standard voice mail? Cox Business Voice mail offers multiple greetings options for you. The Extended Absence Greeting allows you to customize a greeting and select whether or not you want to prevent callers from leaving a message after the greeting plays. Press 5 from the Greetings menu to activate this feature.

It’s a good practice for each of your team members to have their own personal business phone numbers. There are many reasons why they shouldn’t use their personal cell phone number for business, so you’ll want to give them their own phone number through your VoIP provider or phone system.
A professional voicemail greeting should be no longer than 60 seconds. List the important information we've discussed above, provide alternative methods of communication and close with a thank you.