Try to avoid unnecessary phrases that only make your greeting longer, like “leave your name and number and what you’re calling about.” Most people know what “leave a message” means.
"Dear [Prospect's Name], this is [Your Name]. On [Date of Last Contact], I contacted you about [Reason for Previous Call] and as I haven’t heard from you, I can only assume you're either, one, not interested and I’m simply clogging up your voicemail with annoying spam messages; or, two, you desperately want to contact me, but you’re trapped under a fallen filing cabinet and can’t reach your phone. Please let me know which one it is. I'll gladly send help if it's the latter. Just call me back at [Your Phone Number]. Thanks for your time!"

Remember that the speed of your words can negatively impact your message as well. "If you have to rush to get a message into the amount of time allotted for a voicemail message, you’re saying too much," DeCesare advises. "Say less and slow down. You want them to feel that talking to you will make their lives less stressful. If you're frantic and mumbling on the phone, it gives them a foreshadowing of what it will be like to work with you."
To provide as much helpful insight to businesses as possible, we've compiled the top must-have information that should be included in your office's temporary voicemail greeting. 1. Your voicemail should be timely and relevant to the situation at hand. 2. Indicate if you’re working remotely or changing office hours temporarily. 3. Set clear, reasonable expectations for your callers about when they should expect to hear back from someone. 4. State clearly what types of matters are urgent and give examples of issues that are not. This way, patients and callers can have a good understanding of what to expect about call-backs and reduce unnecessary follow-up calls. 5. If you have made disruptions to existing appointments, you should note this, as well as how you plan to reach people to reschedule.