If you heard some of the voice mails people leave me, you’d shake your head and wonder how it’s possible that humanity has come so far in such little time. And by “far,” I mean “remained at a standstill despite all our great technology.”
Here’s what I want from you in a voice mail:
Does this guarantee success?
No.
Nothing guarantees success.
But it does guarantee a chance. If you fail to tell me these basics instantly in your message, your chances to get whatever it is you think you’re asking for go to nil.
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I'm Jason. I make people shine. My mission is to help 1 million people tell their stories better. 
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Really? Had to call me out on my lack of voicemail ability/skill!
Thanks for the tips!!
Sarah
Agreed. Might also recommend the entire voicemail was 10-20 seconds max. and includes the phone number at the end with your name re-iterated.
Frankly, after about 5 seconds I’ve already decided whether I’ll call you back or not. Of course, if you actually knew me, you wouldn’t bother leaving a voicemail at all.
Jason,
As usual, GREAT stuff. I have found that the part of voice mail etiquette people struggle with is the 1 to 2 second “why I’m calling you” bit. Vendors, sales and marketing people, especially struggle with this. You nailed it when you said, “it’s not for you.” – this is a huge part of what I try to help companies with in general – reigning in their diarrhea of the mouth when it comes themselves and making them more focused on their customer, partner, prospect, WHOMEVER IS RECEIVING YOUR MESSAGE. This takes discipline and a focus that is NOT on yourself. I think this is why people suck at it.
Anyhow, great to meet you this fall in Chicago – loved this post so much I had to comment – you hit a nerve… Keep up the great work!
@Sarah—The funny thing is, your VMs look a lot like Twitter DMs…
@Justin—My closest friends, when they have something important to say, start their messages with, “Don’t delete this yet!” They know that as soon as I have the relevant info, I’m done with the message.
@George—That’s the secret to life: “It’s not about you!” Remember that and most everything else starts to take care of itself.
When leaving a call back number – speak slowly. I can’t tell you the number of times I have not been able to call a person back because they rattle off the number so fast I can’t understand what they are saying.
Thank you for the great advice.
When I worked for an ERP company I regularly planned and delivered client training events around the world through a mix of voicemails and emails. Short, succinct voicemail exchanges proved a great form of communication with US colleagues and were often quicker than writing or reading emails.
@Caroline—YES! Very. Important. Clarification. Nothing says, “I’m just going through the motions here and don’t really want you to call me back” than racing through your number at warp speed!
@Andrew—Agreed. They key is knowing which communication channel to use for which messages. I’ll frequently exchange text, VMs, and emails with colleagues simultaneously: texts for quick “I’m out of my meeting” or “Got it” type updates; emails for links, attachments, factual info, and clarifications on previous conversations, and phone calls for discussions or updates that include some emotional component that’s difficult to express in email, or questions that are natural when spoken that can come across rude when written.
Early on in my career I was trained on voicemail etiquette. Not sure I always follow, but I was told advised to leave voicemail’s similar to what you say:
Name
Number
Reason For The Call (the sell)
Relation to person calling
Name
Number
Pretty much exactly like you advise. It should be quick, easy, and painless for the receiver of the voicemail.
Oh, and I need to stop here more often. And definitely not at 4:30am.
Jason,
Great blog and video! You hit on something I always talk about – how many people don’t even take a moment to think about how to leave a proper email. In our virtual team workshops we often talk about being a “conscious communicator” and use bad voice mail as an example doing it wrong. Also your reply to Andrew above about knowing which communication channel to use for which message shows you are indeed a Conscious Communicator.
Love the how to self-destruct video too. Had me cracking up and oh so true. So glad I discovered your blog today – look forward to exploring it further. Keep up the great work!
@Rich—Remember the good ol’ days, way back early on in your career? Those were good times, man.
And hey, you’re welcome here any time.
@Phil—Welcome to the blog! “Conscious communication,” huh? What an incredible advantage for those who pay attention in your workshops.
The video was fun to do; by “fun,” I mean it was a 13 hour shoot with 17 people on the coldest day of 2008. Personally, I love it; I find that blogs, like food, go better with a little slice of cheese.
Jason, we all agree that professionals (heck, even regular people) need to watch this video. My question to everyone in this thread is WHY this is so. Why is it that many people still insist on NOT following tips like this?