But professionalism also means paying attention to detail. Imagine if you were to leave a voicemail without mentioning any of the following: • Your full name. • Name of the recipient, if important. • Your company name. • What it’s regarding. • Phone number for the call back. • Brief message.
19. "Hello, you've reached [your name]. I'm currently [exploring Asia, hiking through the jungle in Costa Rica, hanging out on the beach in Bermuda] — or more likely, [recovering from extreme jet lag, googling ‘Are red spiders poisonous,' or looking for SPF 150 sunscreen] and won't be back in the office until [date]. Leave your contact info and reason for calling and I'll get in touch then."
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I do read and respond to comments shared in the comment section at the end of the lesson. That is the best place to interact with me and others in the Confident English Community. Feel free to share your voicemail example or ask a question below.
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When you get this message, please call me back at (your number). That number again is (your number) and ask for _________. I look forward to speaking with you, and I guarantee you’ll be glad you returned this call.”
Set the expectation by providing a realistic timeline for when the caller can expect a return call. Remember once the expectation has been made, make sure you follow up and return the call as promised.
Hello, you have reached [Company Name]. To continue in English, press 1, for Spanish, press 2. (Wait for customer to enter an option.) You’ve reached the main menu. To reach a staff member by name, please press 1. For sales inquiries, press 2. For technical support, press 3. To place a purchase order, press 4. For accounting, press 5. To find a store location near you, please press 6. Press 0 to speak with a representative. 4. Product-Focused
Let’s be honest, you (hopefully) set up your voicemail when you first got your phone, and it probably hasn’t changed since then. If you’re about to start job-hunting, now is the perfect time to refresh your professional voicemail greeting.
check words for the English /oʊ/ vowel. Many non-native speakers make this more like a single vowel and it’s a double vowel so it should have /o/ and /ʊ/ smoothly joined together. Check it in the word ‘phone’ . Another double vowel to look out for in your Voicemail Greeting example is the diphthong vowel /eɪ/. This vowel is in words like ‘wait’ and ‘able’. Many people use the word ‘can’t’ in their Voicemail greeting example. This can be a trap for non-native English speakers. That’s why we chose ‘unable’ instead! Watch out for the word ‘can’t’! In American English and British English the vowel in ‘can’t’ is pronounced with the vowel /æ/ like in ‘pat’ – /kænt/.
In the video lesson, I shared this example for a common voicemail greeting in English:
English scriptFrench Canadian scriptSpanish scriptBilingual English & French Canadian scriptBilingual English & Spanish script
Thank you for calling Cutlas IT Solutions. Our office is currently closed. Regular store hours are 9 am to 7 pm, Monday through Saturday. Please leave a voicemail with your name and phone number for our staff after the beep.
Calmly and steadily record your voicemail. Don’t rush it to the point where the customer can’t decipher everything you’ve requested on the message. To ease the process, write your voicemail down with pause points. This will ensure you annunciate everything clearly and can assist in managing your speed.
Writing a script doesn’t mean you have to write a speech. A simple greeting is fine, like this sample voicemail message:
Might sound a bit alarming but consider the number of times you’ve tried to leave a voicemail only to hear “this voicemail box is full”. Even if you can leave a message, a millennial may never listen to it. After you’ve made the call, whether you were able to leave a voicemail or not, follow up with a text message to get their attention and hopefully a response.
To improve a a business voicemail greeting, keep these eight rules at the forefront of the creative process: Avoid turning customers off with overused and impersonal phrases like “your call is very important to us..." Avoid leaving customers unsure by not immediately telling them the business, department, and/or person they’ve reached. Avoid leaving customers confused with too many details and complications; just keep it simple. Avoid messages longer than 25 seconds. Do apologize for being unavailable at the moment. Do invite the caller to leave a message. Do tell the caller when they can expect a return call and actually follow through within that timeframe. Do tell the caller about any applicable alternative options of contact and information- website, live chat, email, social media, or emergency numbers. Voicemail Greetings 101
6. “Thanks for calling [company name]. You must be calling as you’ve heard about our new [new product, deal, offer here]. We are pretty excited about it, too. Leave us your name, number and the best time to call and we’ll follow up and answer any inquiries you may have. We’re looking forward to speaking with you and updating you on what’s new with [company name]. Have a great day!” Briefly let your callers know about any promotions, updates, or launches you’re having. You might even unknowingly answer their question!Professional voicemail greetings for your business cell phone number