Time Management World

The first secret to success is good time management. This is one single factor that has helped millions of people rise to the top in the chosen careers. In this article we will talk about the uses of voice mail and how it can help to increase your productivity at work.

The days when secretaries took all of our calls and wrote down all of our messages are over. They have been replaced by direct lines of communication that can come right into our world literally at any minute of the day. One example is voice mail. But these handy machines can be used to greatly improve your productivity.

First of all let's discuss the importance of voice mail and how it can benefit us in the office and our time management. For one thing, voice mail allows you to give information to someone without ever having to talk to them directly. Often your day is so tightly scheduled that you cannot spare even five minutes to make a phone call. So when you need to get important information to someone on another line, but you want to avoid lengthy discussions, then voice mail is ideal.

Voice mail also allows you to communicate whenever you have the time. For example, you won’t have to wait until 9am to give important information to someone. You can simply leave a voice mail at anytime that suits you. And this service is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week, so you can’t possibly miss an opportunity to leave your messages.

Here are a few tips that tell you how to leave better voice mail messages and help get your information through with more efficiently:

Decide exactly what you are going to say before making the call.
When you are leaving your message, speak clearly and slowly so that the listener can understand what you are saying.
Mention in points the most important things in your message, with the lesser items second. And just before hanging up, quickly recap those first “most important” items.
Leave a precise and, if needed, detailed time-frame of when you will be available for return calls, if any.
When you are giving a long mailing address or return phone number, speak extremely slowly. In simple words, leave your address and numbers very S – L – O – W – L – Y.
Make sure you wait until after the voice mail “beeps” before leaving your message. If you start talking before the beep the beginning of your message may get cut off.
Repeat your phone number twice, first at the beginning of the call, and then at the end of the call. And again, speak your number very slow and clear.