For a downloadable Quick Reference Guide to the voicemail phone menu, click here.
The above section details types of phrasing to avoid; however, it doesn’t detail what users should NOT say on their greeting. Though this is a bit loaded, as there are hundreds of combinations of things one shouldn’t say, there are some key components users should ALWAYS avoid. a. Forget About Slang: You should strive to be as professional and welcoming as possible in your greeting. While this may steer you towards using slang, in an attempt to make callers comfortable, it’ll most likely work against you. As a professional, your demeanor, tone, and speech should be clear cut and well articulated. Using slang undercuts this and works against you. b. Don’t Even Think About Profanity: This is a no-brainer. Never, under any circumstances, curse in your greeting EVER! c. Keep Your Sentences Clean, Don’t Ramble: Introduce yourself and give your caller specific direction. Avoid long diatribes detailing tangent thoughts. Keep it simple and quick. d. Always Return Your Calls: It’s important for callers to feel they are valued. Nothing dissolves this quicker than a greeting that doesn’t stress this. For example, “I’ll call you when I can,” “If I don’t return your call, please call back”—these phrases are terrible and completely destroy any good will you may have with a caller.

In the side panel, toggle Enable Auto Attendant to off to disable the auto attendant. 4 Edit Auto Attendant General Settings
Once I listened to my original recording, I knew it was time for an upgrade. I asked around for some tips about writing and recording voicemail greetings. Here's my process: What's wrong with this voicemail message? "Hey, What's Up?" isn't going to make a good impression for business calls. "Umm..." never makes you seem confident or professional, either. "I'll get back to you whenever I can" really means, "I'm probably screening your call and I won't call you back." "BEEP!" My message was cut off, and for six years, I didn't know and no one told me. Ouch. How I fixed it: 2. Then, I wrote down what I wanted to say and read it out loud a few times until I was satisfied with the flow. 3. I rehearsed and recorded my voicemail script a few times to hear how I sounded. (I tend to talk relatively quickly, so I wanted to make sure the message didn't sound rushed.) 4. For the final recording I recorded my message while smiling so I sounded happy and approachable. 5. I checked my final recording by listening to my voicemail message from both a cell phone and a landline, and also asked a friend to listen for a second opinion.