Speak like a Manager: How to leave a voicemail

Hi.

I'm Rebecca from engVid.

Do you get nervous when leaving a voicemail for someone at work or in a business situation?

Do you wonder what to say, how to say it, or how much to say?

Well, you're not alone.

Most people make one of two mistakes when leaving a voicemail: They either say too much

- they go on and on, and they ramble, and there is no end; or they don't say enough

and they don't leave enough information.

So, in this lesson I'm going to show you exactly what you should say

and what you should not say.

All right?

I'm going to give you some general guidelines, and then I'm going to actually give you three

examples at least of full conversations, full...not... sorry.

Not conversations, but voicemail messages so that you can follow that pattern, and learn

and practice to leave your voicemail.

Okay?

So, let's get started.

So, first of all, these are some of the things you should not do, and on this side are things

you should do.

So, let's look at these guidelines.

Now, this lesson is part of the series of lessons that I have on "Speak Like a Manager",

so whether you're a manager today or you aspire to be a manager in a work context, this lesson

will help you along with several other lessons of this kind.

Okay?

Just a point for you.

All right.

So, these are some mistakes that people make.

Sometimes when leaving a voicemail, they leave no name.

That doesn't help; no one knows who to call.

Or they leave no number, because they think: "Oh, he knows my number", "She knows my number"

- no.

Don't do that.

Make it easy for the other person.

Or the message is left, but it's a very vague message.

"Hi.

This is Rebecca.

Call me back."

Okay, that doesn't really tell the person very much.

Right?

What did I want?

No.

You have to be more specific.

Sometimes people call repeatedly; they make repeated calls, many calls, and leave no message.

And today that's a really bad idea because people can see the number that called, and

if they see that you called, like, five times and you didn't even leave a message, it's

very frustrating.

Okay?

So, don't do that.

It's not only frustrating, it's also not professional, so don't do that.

Or they have...

Sometimes people call again and again, and they leave many messages.

So, you can't do that either.

You can't leave too many messages for someone; they may be away, they may be at a meeting,

they may be at a conference, and you can't fill up their voicemail with just your messages.

Okay?

All right.

Next is sometimes people zoom through their name and number because they know their name

and number so well that they say it really fast, but that doesn't help the person who's

receiving your call.

They need to hear your name and your number.

Okay?

So, these were some of the bad practices; now let's look at the good practices, the

best practices.

So, when you're leaving a voicemail, you want to make sure to leave your first, or your

first and last name.

Now, that depends on whether you know the person, you don't know the person.

If you know them, you can just say: "Hi.

This is Rebecca.", "Hi.

This is Maria.", "Hi.

This is John", whatever.

Or give your full name: "Hello.

This is John Smith."

Okay?

We're going to run through the exact conversation, so don't worry.

First we're just establishing some basic guidelines.

So, you want to leave your first, or first and last name.

You want to leave your contact information or number.

If it's a number, if it's an email - whatever that may be.

You want to leave a specific message about why you're calling.

Okay?

You want to call once and leave a message.

All right?

Don't keep calling.

And maybe if you don't hear back from them - okay? - you could call a second time.

All right?

It depends on the situation.

Of course, if something is urgent, then that's a different context, but I'm speaking generally.

So, you could try a little later in the day or after a few hours.

Again, leave a second message possibly, but usually not more than that.

And if that...

If you don't get a reply or a response from that, then you could call once and try another

method, you could send an email, you could send...

Message them.

Right?

Text them-right?-on your phone.

So that's another way.

And then make sure to say your name and your number slowly in the beginning, and to repeat it.

Okay?

We're going to go through those steps exactly, so don't worry.

I'm going to show you exactly how to do it.

And very important: Before you get on the phone...

What happens is lots of time people just pick up the phone, and then they...

They're not really thinking in advance: "Why am I calling?

What is the purpose?" and that wastes the other person's time.

So, first always think about: "What is my purpose?

Why am I calling this person?

Am I calling to tell them something?

Or am I calling to actually talk to them; do I need to talk to them?"

And that's important for you to know, because if you're calling to just tell them something,

then you could just call, and along...

In your voicemail you could leave the information that you want to tell them.

If you need to talk to them, then you have to let them know that and leave that request

that: "I need you to call back to me.

Call me back."

Okay?

So, think about your purpose before you get on the phone.

And if your English...

If you don't feel very confident about your English, you're not sure, then write it out,

write down a few points.

Don't write every single word.

Usually that's...

People can tell that you're reading something; doesn't look very professional.

But write down the main points so that you don't feel confused.

Write down any keywords that you want to use or that you will see in our script which I'm

going to show you next.

Okay?

Here we go.

All right.

So, now let's run through what you would actually say when leaving a voicemail.

So, there are five elements.

The first you have to say: Who you are, when you called, why you called, what you're calling

about, and then repeat some critical information.

All right?

So, let's go through that with an example.

So, first this is what you could say: "Hello, John.

This is Susan Jones from Finance."

Okay?

I'm just giving you an example, but it could be anything.

When?

"It's Monday, June 15 at 10:30.

I'm calling to check some details related to your expense reports.

Please call me back at Ext. 6125."

Make sure to enunciate those numbers very clearly; numbers can be misheard and then,

you know, it's kind of all a waste of time, so you want to make sure to say each number

very clearly and separately.

Okay?

And then repeat again just in case they didn't catch anything, so you could say: "Again,

it's Susan Jones at Ext. 6125."

All right?

So, that is basically it.

Those are the steps and this is the kind of voicemail you should leave for someone in

order for them to have all the information that they need in order to call you back,

and also to know why you called.

All right?

And, of course, as I said, your reason for calling may be...

May be different, and you will have to incorporate that here, but the basic steps are: "Who are

you?

When did you call?

Why did you call?

What do you want the person to do; what action?

And then repeat the basic information."

So, now to practice that, let's take this example-okay?-of someone named Marcel Thomas.

So, Marcel is leaving a voicemail, and you're going to...

You can say it with me or you can do it along with me; or you can pause the video, try it

out by yourself, and then see whether what I'm saying is the same as what you said, and

so on.

Okay?

There are lots of ways to participate in this one.

So I'm going to say it for you - okay? - for now.

So: "Hello, John.

This is Marcel Thomas from ABC Training."

All right?

So I told him who I am.

When?

"It's Wednesday, September 26 at 4:00pm."

- When.

"I'm calling to check if you are going to attend our seminar in London next month.

I'm calling to check if you will be attending our seminar in London next month."

All right?

Very clearly explain why the person was calling.

"Please call me back at [phone]."

Okay?

You see how each number should be said separately.

Don't try to combine it in any way.

And it should be said like this.

If you're giving an area code, usually it's three numbers, right?

"6-7-2"...

This is the rhythm: "6-7-2, 1-2-3, 4-5, 6-7".

Okay?

That's where we pause if your number has that many digits.

If it has a different number, then you might say it differently.

But what's important is: Don't try to group the numbers.

Right?

Don't say: "12", don't say: "45", and then "6-7".

Don't mix it up.

Okay?

Say each number separately and clearly, and that way people won't get confused if it's...

If there is a 17 there, but don't say 17; say: "1-7".

Because also numbers like "17", "14", if you don't say them clearly enough, can sound like

"70" or "40", and then, again, you've defeated the purpose because somebody hasn't got the

critical information they need to call you back.

All right?

So, the way to practice this is you could take out your phone, record, practice recording

yourself, see how you sound when you leave a message.

But the most important thing is perhaps think about: "What's my purpose for calling?" and

make sure that you include all of this information, and that way you can be sure that you're leaving

a strong, effective voicemail for someone in a business context.

All right?

And if you want to check out some of my other "Speak Like a Manager" series lessons about

similar topics to do with business and how you can communicate more effectively in a

business environment, check them out, subscribe to my channel on YouTube, and you'll find

lots of other videos there as well.

Okay?

Thanks very much for watching.

Don't forget to go to our website at www.engvid.com, and there you can do a little quiz on this

as well just to make sure that you've really mastered it.

Okay?

You want to be able to do that, and feel confident that every time you leave a voicemail for

someone you'll feel good, and you've achieved your purpose, and they have...

They have received the message you wanted to leave them.

Okay?

So, thanks very much for watching.

Bye for now.

All the best with your English.