Voicemail; love it or loathe it, we’ve all used it.

One of the foremost places that technology has transformed the basics of business etiquette is in the realms of communication. But there are few things that wind people up more than voicemail. Are there rules around the proper use of it? In fact, is voicemail acceptable at all anymore?


Considering I spend a sizeable portion of my life talking to people on the ‘phone you would have thought that by now I’d be a dab hand at leaving concise factual messages. But far from it. I know that occasionally I ramble and worse still I know that on certain occasions I am going to ramble when I have to leave a message!


The whole disaster that is voicemail hit home recently when I was interviewing and had switched the ‘phone to silent. After the interview I listened to the message from a candidate which went on and on and on, singularly failing to tell me who he was right until the end of the message, or even the gist of why he was calling me.


When I finally returned to my desk, I couldn't bear the thought of wasting another five minutes wading through the long, rambling message to find the candidate's name, email, and phone. So, after a short mental debate, I just deleted the message.


He could have left a short message with the pertinent details right up front. Even better, he could have simply emailed me, or at the very least followed up the call with a mail that contained the details I cared about. As a result he’s missed out and will probably do so again in the future unless he learns to present himself better.


I think my reaction was reasonable; in today's fast paced business world, I no longer have time to waste listening to voicemail, teasing out valuable details, and transcribing it onto paper myself. But what do you think? Is there a place for voicemail in the office anymore? If so, what are the rules of the phone that one should follow?

Here are my top five rules:

• Don't leave voicemail. It's fine to call and try to reach someone when they’re in the office, but if they're not available, skip the voicemail and leave an email, which is easier to scan for important details.

• Don't even call. If they’re not in the office, first try instant messaging. It's less intrusive, as it can be ignored if the person is busy.

• If you've decided to ignore my first two rules, keep it short. Voicemail is not the place for long narratives. If your message is more than a minute long, you're doing it wrong.

• The first words out of your mouth after the beep should be who you are, how you can be reached, and what you need. Once you're done with that, feel free to leave a little more context.

• Don't leave voicemail.

I’m quite prepared to be told that in fact I’ve got it all wrong and that voicemail is the singular most important office tool. If that’s the case drop me an email, not a voicemail, and tell me why I’m wrong!

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