Here's a tip for leaving a voice mail (pretty simple really)

[Mike Phillips]

Here's a tip for leaving a voice mail (pretty simple really)


When you leave a voice mail for someone, say your phone number slowly and say it twice.

If you really want to do a good job of leaving your voice mail, say it at the very beginning of the message so just in case someone has to replay your message to obtain your phone number they don't have to listen to your entire message just to get to the phone number.

If you really want to go deep and do a GREAT job of leaving a voice mail, then when you speak the number then PAUSE in between the three segments of a phone number, like this,


000 pause 000 pause 0000



This will make it easy, no.... this will make it VERY easy for the person you have left the voice mail for to hear the number clearly and also write it down so they can call you back.


I just returned from a trip to California and after going through my voice mails, I thought I would take a moment to write down some tips based upon my ever repeating experience listening to voice mails.

[Eldorado2k]

I hear you Mike, but nowadays it’s usually automatic..

For example if they called you direct, it’s impossible to leave a voicemail without your number showing up.

[RTexasF]

Great common sense tip......if only more folks would do it. People that have to make many calls for their work/job tend to speak faster than a speeding bullet. It's hard to understand their message much less the call back number.

[LEDetailing]

I try and do this every time I leave a message at work. My dad taught me this tip about 25 years ago. I cannot stand when people leave a message for me and it sounds like John Moschitta Jr. doing a Micro Machines commercial.

Also, when I answer my phone I always introduce myself. Unless it is a known contact/friend.

[Mike Phillips]

I hear you Mike, but nowadays it’s usually automatic..

For example if they called you direct, it’s impossible to leave a voicemail without your number showing up.

I understand this is how cell phones work but I'm talking about conventional land lines.

Upon returning to work today after being out of the office since last Wednesday, first thing I do is go through my voice mail. And while most people are pretty good about speaking their return phone numbers clearly and slowly (so a person can write it down accurately), some people seem to say their phone number as fast as they can.

So I thought I would share a tip for everyone that will read this into the future on how to leave a phone number in a voice mail. Maybe it will help someone somewhere sometime.

[JustJesus]

I've deleted messages in the past, without taking down the call back number. If I need to play back the message more than 3 times, just to TRY and capture the number, then forget it.

Another tip: Leave the area code of the number!!! You will be surprised how often people assume I will know their area code.

[Route246]

I leave my number twice at the beginning saying it clearly and then at the end I repeat my number one more time.

[Mike Phillips]

Another tip: Leave the area code of the number!!!

You will be surprised how often people assume I will know their area code.

100% absolutely agree.

I always assume people will leave their area code but this isn't accurate, especially when talking to local people.

Here in our area most people have a 772 area code but a LOT of people have 561 for an area code. If you don't tell someone what your area code is you're forcing them to assume.

[PaulMys]

I think Jerry Seinfeld did a bit on this.

"It's Da, Da, Da.......... Da, Da....Da, Da.

Not DaDaDaDaDaDaDa"..

[custmsprty]

I hear you Mike, but nowadays it’s usually automatic..

For example if they called you direct, it’s impossible to leave a voicemail without your number showing up.

That's assuming the voice mail is to a cell phone. In my business selling packaging products most of my voicemails are left on comapny internal phone systems.