36. Hello. You’ve reached the office of [your name] at [your company]. I will be out of the office from [date] to [date]. Please leave your contact information with a brief message, and I will call you back as soon as I have the chance. If you need to speak with someone urgently, please contact [name of colleague] at [email or phone number]. Thanks for calling.
Please leave us a message with your name, number, and any other necessary information, and we will return your call when the office reopens. Thank you for calling." As you can see, this professional voicemail greeting is similar to the absent receptionist greeting but more inclusive.
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6. Keep Your Recording Up to Date. If your business is closing on one of its normal operating days for a holiday, or is dealing with an emergency or unforseen situation, you should update your after hours announcement to avoid confusion.
I have a confession to make: I haven't recorded a new voicemail greeting in nearly a decade. Since then, I've (hopefully) become more articulate, poised, and self-assured. But hear my voicemail recording, and you'd think I was still new to the work world, a little unsure of myself — and probably not an authority.
10. Hi, you’ve reached (name)’s answering machine. He/she is not in right now, but I’m totally open for suggestions.
Well done on recording your new professional voicemail greeting with script! Remember that you can update it again in a few months time. I recommend you open your online diary, choose a date 4 months from now and type in – Update Voicemail Greeting with Speech Active’s Video. Your listening skills and pronunciation will be even better than they are now. Especially if you continue your improvement with one of our tailored online English Pronunciation & Fluency Courses.
When you’re recording an answering machine greeting for your home, or a voicemail greeting, some people like to keep it funny and light. They may record a message together, have one of their young children record, play silly music in the background or create some kind of a joke. While it’s fine to be funny, especially on a home recording, you should probably avoid being crude, particularly if you think children may be calling your home. Telemarketers may use any information given in an answering machine greeting.
“Hey! You’ve reached us here at [XYZ company]. All our team is currently out of the office for the holidays. We’ll be back to work on [date] well-fed and therefore eager to speak with you!
3. Language Options. Hello, you have reached [Company Name]. To continue in English, press 1, for Spanish, press 2. (Wait for customer to enter an option.)
Verbal Content – generally, you should use 100 words to make up 1 minute of content produced with background music. In other words, one to two paragraphs per minute. The topic can range from product promotions to general company information.
38. You’ve reached [your name] at [your company]. I’m sorry, but I’m temporarily unavailable. Please leave your name and number, and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.
Hello, you have reached Dr. A. We are busy assisting patient on the another line. Please, leave your details, including the case number if applicable, name, and phone number. For a medical emergency, hang up and call 911.
Avoid using ‘please’ more than once, it gets wordy and redundant. The goal is to keep the content as concise as possible, moving callers quickly and seamlessly through the options.
As I mentioned above, some words like ‘can’t’ are often mispronounced by non-native speakers and it can sound like a swear word!
There you have it, a basic introduction into how to write the best voicemail greetings. As you have seen, they’re not as easy as you’d think, but once you get comfortable with the type of information required by each, writing and recording your own should be a piece of cake. If you’ve tried to write one yourself and still don’t ‘feel you’ve captured the right essence, then please look at one of our voicemails greeting templates. When it comes to recording it, remember to rehearse your script and speak clearly. If you don’t care for your own voice, then have someone else record it, or hire a professional voice actor. Remember, there are also free audio editing software programs like Audacity, where you can manipulate your recording until you get exactly what you want.
Want some sample business voicemail messages? Below are 21 pre-recorded business voicemail greeting examples to get you started. You’ll find voicemail examples for your business’s main phone number, your direct business line, your after-hours (or non-business hours) voicemail, some holiday-specific greetings, and your customer service line. Even better, all these voicemail greetings are free and you can download the voicemail’s mp3 file!
When I was in my 20s, I had an answering machine with a 30 second outgoing message tape. I thought it would be fun to come up with all sorts of cute or funny messages for my friends to hear just before the beep. It got pretty elaborate sometimes, with celebrity impersonations and movie spoofs and other things. I didn't usually get many important phone calls anyway, so I didn't see any harm in being funny for the few people who did call.