When you create a professional voicemail greeting, it can be a good idea to think about what your callers might want to know. After doing so, you can make a list of points to cover in your voice message; it might also be a good idea to write out the entire greeting on a piece of paper. The ideal message should be somewhere between 10 and 20 seconds, so you may want to time yourself repeating your message before you record it. After composing your telephone message, it can be a good idea to get a second opinion of this greeting so you can make sure it sounds professional.
Before you record a professional voicemail greeting, you may want to consider the type of people who might call your home or business. That way, you can think about the information these callers might need before you compose your greeting. Most callers are familiar with how to leave a voice message, so try to avoid giving them instructions. Some things you may want to include in your greeting might be your full name, title, name of your company, and an alternate method of reaching you. If you plan to be unavailable for some time, it can be a good idea to tell your callers when you will return and give them the name and phone number of another individual to call in the event they need immediate assistance.
Recording your professional voicemail greeting can sometimes cause apprehension, especially if you have never done so before. You may find it helpful to go to a very private location when you are ready to record, and this can help ensure there is no background noise when you are finished. Take a few minutes to review the list you made earlier, and rehearse the greeting a few times if you are extremely nervous. While you are rehearsing, make sure your speech flows smoothly and you do not use filler words like "uh" or "um".
When you have finished recording your professional voicemail greeting, you may want to have a close friend call your phone number so you can listen to the outgoing message together. That way, you can get her opinion of the voice message before other callers are able to listen to it. If your friend recommends some changes for you, these should be easy to make, because most systems will allow you to delete your outgoing message and re-record it as many times as you would like.