What’s the last thing you typically do before leaving the office to begin your vacation? Right! Record an out-of-office voicemail greeting.

A few tips for leaving a coherent and helpful greeting:

• Offer the dates you’ll be on vacation so callers know when to expect your return.
• Provide the name and phone number or extension for someone who can help while you’re out.
• Scratch the patronizing phrase “Your call is very important to me.” Would they have called you if it wasn’t important?
• Skip the ever-present – and useless – instruction, “Please leave me a detailed message.” First, callers will share the information they need to share. Second, why invite someone to leave a seven-minute message?
• Let callers know you won’t be checking messages. With people having calls forwarded or receiving voicemails via e-mail, many people just expect that even though you say you’re on vacation, you’re still checking in. So if you’re truly on vacation, say so.
• The very first thing you should do when you return is change the voicemail greeting. It’s incredibly irritating to call someone on July 10 to hear a greeting that says the person will be out on vacation from June 1 to June 15. OK, so are you back in the office or not?

Oh, one last thing, try not to gloat in your greeting because you’re on vacation and the rest of us aren’t.

And check out this video for a few more voice mail greeting tips:

Here are some suggestions so you don’t hang up thinking, “I sounded awful” or end up like the young man in that cell phone commercial who keeps deleting his voice mail to a girl and each time, the message gets worse and worse. 

• Give your name, company and telephone number. Be sure to give your phone number slowly so the listener has time to write it down. There’s nothing worse than listening to a voice mail message six times because the caller has rattled through the phone too fast. In fact, give the number twice – and give it slowly.
• Provide enough information so the person knows why you’re calling but try to avoid a 10-minute message. No one likes to listen to a rambling, long message.
• On the opposite end, if you’re cold-calling someone, don’t be too cryptic (“This is Jane Doe. Please call me at 555-1234.”). Chances are the person won’t even bother to return your call.
• Be clear as to whether you expect a return call or if you’ll give the person a call back later in the day or maybe the following day. You can also indicate if you plan to follow up via e-mail so the person knows to be on the lookout for an e-mail message.
• Be pleasant and engaged. Who wants to hear a rushed message from a Grumpy Gus? Insert a smile and up your chances of getting a call back.
• If it’s a voice mail you are particularly nervous about, consider writing down bullet points of what you want to say so you don’t get off track or forget anything important.

Ever gotten a ridiculous voice mail message? We want to hear about it! Please share.

But how often do we take the time to focus on the greeting people hear when they call us? Particularly in business, our voice mail greeting might very well be our chance at a first impression with a possible client or interested investor.

Here are some tips for creating a good voice mail greeting:

• Be sure to include your name as well as your organization and department or title.
• Offer an option for immediate assistance, such as pressing 0 for the operator or offer the name and extension of a colleague in your department.
• Depending on your job (for example if you are a PR person whom journalists need to reach quickly) and whether you are out of the office a great deal, you may want to leave a cell phone number or e-mail address. Be sure to speak clearly and spell out the e-mail address.
• If you will be out of the office for an extended period of time (two-week vacation, maternity leave), be sure to indicate you won’t be in the office for a period of time and provide the name and number of a colleague who can be of assistance.
• Don’t apologize for missing the call. Give the message a positive a spin and simply state you’re out of the office, away from your desk , etc. and will be happy to return the call.
• Avoid the impersonal, automated message that sounds like a robot (“You’ve reached the voicemail for 555-5678. Please leave a message.). You leave the caller guessing whether they actually are leaving a message for the correct person.
• Be upbeat. Yes, it’s a little awkward to record a voice mail greeting, especially when your co-workers are staring at you and you know you hate the sound of your voice when you listen to the playback. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start your recording with an upbeat “hello” or end with a cheerful “thanks for calling.”
• Get physical – stand up and smile. Customer service employees are often trained to smile when they answer the phone because it conveys a cheerful, helpful tone. Standing up while recording your message also helps.
• Keep is short. No one wants to listen t your life story on a voice mail greeting, especially if happen to call you on a regular basis.

Sample greeting:  Hi! This is Jane Smith, vice president of sales for ACME Corp. Please leave your name, number and the reason for your call and I’ll return your call. If this is an urgent matter, please call me on my cell phone at 555-555-7890. Thank you and have a nice day!

Next post: Tips for leaving a voice mail message (hint: speak c-l-e-a-r-l-y).