This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 21.
How to set up your voicemail in English in five minutes or less.
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It's interesting, right? Because, you know, Michelle, I've actually had some students who have inquired about lessons and other services that we offer.
And they've, you know, I've given them a call on their phone and they haven't had a voice message set up.
So I haven't been able to leave a message.
Yeah. And what do you do in that situation?
Because you can't just like call back all the time.
Yeah. No, I never call back. I just, that's it.
We don't, we don't talk. So it's really a shame because the student ends up losing out on a conversation or an opportunity to set up an appointment.
So I'm not sure if some people are not, are not creating their voice messages, their mailboxes, because they're afraid of what it'll sound like, or they don't know how to do it.
Have you ever had this experience with, with a student of yours or maybe a friend from another country?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, I know that when you hear like, oh, this person does not have a voicemail set up, you're like, okay, never mind.
It's really, it's quite annoying because you don't know what to do.
Do you write it down? Do you call back later?
I mean, we're all so busy. Right. And, you know, so we want to help our listeners out today if they're here in the US and they've, you know, they're trying to seek out new opportunities and maybe they're looking for a job or an internship.
You really want to have that voicemail set up.
Yeah, especially. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a great point.
So if you're looking for a job or an internship, you know, that person, that hiring manager isn't going to just say, oh, they don't have a voicemail.
OK, well, I'll try back like later. And then if they don't pick up, I'll try back again.
They're just going to move on to the next person.
So it's definitely important. And it's also important for your personal life.
That's right. The person is never calling back.
We have to understand that. So especially because life is so fast paced, right?
We move so fast, especially in New York and Boston, the person is going to move on.
I mean, maybe not in your personal life, but definitely in the business world.
You won't hear from them again. So let's help our listeners out today a little bit, shall we, Michelle?
All right, let's do it. So if we're going to go and create our voice message for our phone, where do we even start?
I mean, what is typical? What do we say first?
Well, I mean, I would think that, you know, It really goes in about four parts, right?
Okay. Let's split it up. So I would say the first part is like the greeting, right?
So on my phone, I would say, hi, this is Michelle's cell phone or hi, it's Michelle or some sort of introduction, right?
Okay, good. And I might say, hi, you've reached Lindy or you've reached Lindsay's phone, for example.
Right, right. So, I mean, what do you think is special about saying you have reached Lindsay's cell phone?
I think it's a little bit more, slightly more formal, possibly more professional.
For example, if I'm a freelancer, if I'm a designer and I don't know if the call is going to be personal or professional, someone offering me a job, I might say, you know, you've reached Lindsay's phone.
Right. Because sometimes, you know, your cell phone can kind of double as like your business line.
So you definitely I mean, of course, you always want your I mean, if you're an adult, you want your you want your voicemail to sound a little bit professional because, you know, for me, too, if somebody calls me about a job, you know, I want it to sound good, but it doesn't double as my business line.
So it's a little different. So I'm more inclined to say like, hi, this is Michelle's cell phone or hi, it's Michelle.
But You have reached. I agree with you, Lindsay.
I think it is a little bit more professional.
OK, great. So those are two ways or two or three ways to do the greeting.
And then what comes next, Michelle? What do we what do we say?
Well, we have to tell them. I mean, even though it's kind of redundant.
Right. For some reason, this is just how it is.
They always say, like, I can't come to the phone right now.
Or what else could you say, Lindsay? Right.
Well, you could say, I'm not available right now.
Right, right. So you could say either one of those, right?
Just tell them you're not there, which is obvious because you haven't picked up the phone.
But, you know, it's just kind of a part of it.
Like, I feel like people have memorized these little voicemail chunks and it's just, you know, you always say, I can't come to the phone right now.
Well, it's funny because I can't come to the phone right now goes back to the days when we had the phone in our home.
Right. And actually, we don't really go to the phone anymore.
We just pick it up because everyone has their own mobile phone.
But we still have... Right. You're right.
These are chunks. These are language chunks that we've carried over from the 70s and the 80s.
And we're still using them even though we don't have home phones anymore.
Do you... Do you have a home phone? No.
Do you? No. No. Gosh, I haven't had a home phone since I was in high school living at my parents' house.
Right. Same. So, yeah, but that's true. I didn't think about it like that.
I mean, I guess somebody might say also, like, I'm not here right now.
You could say that. I think that, I mean, I got to listen to mine again, but I'm pretty sure I say I can't come to the phone right now, which makes no sense.
Ugh. It's interesting you say, I'm not here right now.
That's also from the days when we had phones in our home and we weren't at our home.
But some people still say, I'm not here right now, even though it's the mobile phone.
Right, right. It's still probably in your back pocket, right?
That's so interesting. I like it. And what do we say next, Michelle?
Yeah, so then I would say part three is kind of like giving you instructions, right?
Right. What should we do? Call to action.
Right. Plan of action. I like it. So like, please leave your name, number and a brief message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Yeah, that's very standard, very typical.
That's pretty much it. I mean, that's, yeah, that's what I think I would say.
Please leave your name, number, and a brief message.
I can't think of anything else you could actually say.
Yeah, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, as soon as I get a chance, anything like that.
It's just like, you know, let me know who you are and I'll get back to you.
Or I might just say, please leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Right. Instead of your name, number. Right.
The number is in the phone often with mobile phones.
That's true. But your chunk here is very complete and thorough and it sounds semi-professional.
So I like it. Thank you. Thank you. And then, yeah.
And then part four, I would just, you know, some sort of ending, right?
Bookend it, right? Have a great day. Bookend it.
I like it. Bookend it. Yeah. So have a great day.
Take care. So I hope to talk to you soon.
Anything like that where you're basically ending that message in a polite way.
Yeah. And Michelle, okay. So that's great for a personal and sort of a personal slash business message.
But what if we are really being professional and we're setting up our office phones?
Yeah, I think that's a little bit different.
I think we definitely use a little bit different language.
I think we still kind of use a similar outline, but the language might be a little bit different.
So, for example, for the introduction, part one, I would say like, oh, you've reached the phone of Michelle Kaplan.
Or I might even say you've reached the desk of...
Have you ever heard that? Oh, yes. That sounds very professional.
I've heard that before. Very corporate-like.
It's like you're actually calling the desk.
I'm not calling the desk, but I've heard it.
Oh, my God. That's so professional. So corporate.
Wow. Okay. It's very intimidating. Oh, you're calling a desk.
So, yeah. And then again, I mean, I think part two would be like, I've heard before, like, I'm either away from my desk or on another call.
I like it. I like it. Yeah. Yeah. Raise the rudders.
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Terms and conditions apply. What about part three for the business message?
Part three. Well, of course, we want to give a plan of action.
So a lot of times when you're calling an office line, you might want to tell them who they can reach if they can't, if it's an emergency, right?
Like if they really need something for business and you're not there and they need to get in touch, you might say something like, for immediate assistance, please contact and then give somebody's name and number.
Right. This is especially important if you are like a medical professional.
Like my dad, for example, is an optometrist.
And, you know, he always says in his professional message, you know, if this is an emergency, please call the hospital.
Right. On the weekend, if someone is bleeding in their eye, they need to call the hospital.
Right. Right. You can't just wait until they get back, right?
Yeah, absolutely. So for immediate assistance, please contact.
And then in that case, you could give your colleague's name and number, right?
And I mean, if you don't want to have this sort of situation or maybe you work... alone or maybe, I don't know, you know, you'd probably still say something like, please leave a message.
You know, you could just do that. But if you're in an office, it might be a good idea to, you know, say who else you can call.
Yeah. And how would you end that? So for part four, with a business message, Michelle, would you end it any differently or would you say pretty much the same thing?
Have a great day. Um, that's a good question.
Um, I think I would end it the same way.
I think I would say, yeah. Yeah. Have a great day or thank you.
Bye. I agree with you. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you and have a great day.
Yes. Thank you and have a great day. That's it.
And a big part of this, I think guys, a big part of this, if you're setting up your voice message, it's about, you know, sounding confident in your voice, right?
You want to sound strong and confident, you know, try to really just have that strength in your voice.
And I think that's really the key to succeeding in English too, isn't it?
I I mean, don't worry if you make little mistakes when you set up this message.
Don't let perfectionism get you. We've got connection, not perfection here at All Ears English.
So this carries over into your voice message also.
Right. I cannot agree with you more on that one.
It makes me think of fake it till you make it.
Have you ever heard of that? I like it.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a good one too. Yeah, like even if maybe you don't feel that confident, right?
Maybe you're a little scared, but just pretend that you are and eventually you will be, right?
I like that. That's a good expression. Fake it till you make it.
You got it. You got it. Awesome. Yeah, I think that confidence is key and I've had so many times I can have one student who has really excellent grammar and everything is pretty perfect, but I can't even hear them.
Yeah. Yeah. So also, yeah, really pronouncing the words and making your voice heard.
That's huge. You know, we did an episode a few months ago about the TED Talk by Amy Cuddy and how she talked about how posture can really change the way we feel about ourselves.
So if you guys want to review that, go ahead.
If you're feeling nervous about making your voice message, go ahead and review that episode back in November and check it out.
Any final thing you want to say, Michelle, about making a voice message?
No, I mean, just be, you know, follow those steps and I think you'll be good.
And definitely make one because, again, you don't want to miss out on an opportunity because of your lack of a voicemail.
Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Just make the voice message.
If you're living here in the US and your voice message is non-existent, you're missing opportunities.
And those people are not going to call back.
So be sure that you set this up today. All right.
Very cool. Thanks for hanging out today.
I hope this episode helped our listeners, Michelle.
And I'll see you soon. Thank you. Thank you.
See you soon, Lindsay. Take care. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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