A Dynamic Voicemail by Mary Cantando
When was the last time you actually listened to your own voicemail recording? Most of us consider ourselves interesting, creative women, but that’s not how our voicemail sounds.
Wonder how many thousands of times I’ve heard that the person I’m calling is “…out of the office or on another line, but your message is important…” Well, if my message is important to you, don’t bore me to death with your email recording.
There is no reason for anyone–with the possible exception of a funeral home–to have a mundane voicemail message. Get over it, girls! Do us all a favor and create an interesting, upbeat voicemail recording.
STOP everything and listen to your voicemail recording RIGHT NOW. If it’s as boring as I predict, use these steps to get it right!
- Write a fun message. Show your personality. People want to deal with those who are fun, not boring. Your voicemail recording can make you stand out from the crowd.
- Make it SHORT but interesting. Don’t go on and on about where you are…unless you’re someplace interesting like Maui!
- Use upbeat vocabulary. Consider words like “great day,” “excited,” “just as FAST as I can.”
- Stand up. This is an important step. When you stand, your energy rises and you can project that through your voice.
- Smile. This is equally important. I don’t know why or how it makes a difference, but I can tell you that it does. If you smile while you’re talking your voice comes across as bouncy and lighthearted.
- Record your message a little faster than you ordinarily speak. This is the reason you want to write your message out, so that you can just read it QUICKLY.
- Play it back. Listen for ways you can improve.
- Re-record. It may take a few times to get it right, but it will be heard by hundreds of people for a long time, so do get it right!
- Ask a few friends to call you and listen to your message and record…right then and there in a voicemail to you…their thoughts on it.
- Listen…and SMILE!
© Mary Cantando, The Woman’s Advantage, 2010
Mary Cantando’s mission is to help women build multimillion-dollar businesses.
As a speaker, author, and columnist, Mary shares her innovative ideas with hundreds of thousands of women each year. And she also collects their ideas to share with other women. Check out The Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar where you’ll have access to 365 ideas like the ones you just read!
As an entrepreneurial executive, Mary’s founded, led and expanded businesses for over 20 years. Part of a team that built and sold two multimillion-dollar businesses, Mary shares her experience to help women achieve the same kind of success.
Mary speaks at regional, national, and international events. And she serves as an Envoy of the US State Dept to help women in developing countries start and grow their own businesses. Mary has written four books, each containing ground-breaking ideas for women entrepreneurs.
An advocate for women, Mary has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Oprah’s O Magazine, as well as hundreds of TV and radio shows. She is a Trustee of The Women’s Alliance, an Ambassador of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a Chapter Chair for the Women Presidents’ Organization and the Growth Advisor of Women Entrepreneurs’ Inc.
A mother, grandmother, and self-proclaimed “high-maintenance wife,” Mary lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband who she refers to as “Saint John” for putting up with her for almost 40 years!
For more suggestions related to designing your professional presence for success, you will want to access the Get a Plan! Guide® to Deliberately Designing Your Professional Presence, which is part of the Get a Plan! Guides® series. The Get a Plan! Guide® series will give you the ideas and inspiration to do your work easier, faster, and in a more focused fashion – so that you can accomplish your goals more smoothly, i.e., peacefully, productively, and predictably.
