Voicemail or answering machine messages are easy. Most people have difficulty with them because no one has ever taught them the six important steps. They are very simple and with a few minutes of practice, they will become natural for you.

Just so you know, I asked my wife out for our first date on her answering machine. It was an awful, rambling message and I can’t believe she called me back. I think it was out of pity because it surely was not because of the quality of the message.

Step 1: Don’t ramble. Keep your message short, less than 20 seconds is ideal.

Step 2: Preplan your message. If they answer, you should know what you are going to say. It is the same thing if you get a voicemail. Make a script or at least an outline to read from the first few times you do this. And practice your message at least three times before you call. It will take the nevousness out of your voice and help you feel more calm.

Step 3: Smile. You may not believe it but your tone changes when you smile. Try it sometime on the phone. Listen to the person you are talking with and I bet you will know when they are smiling.

Step 4: Speak clearly and slowly. If I have to decipher a person’s name of phone number, it is annoying and unprofessional.

Step 5: Make it intriguing. I will call the interesting person back every time. The boring person who is surely not smiling and give me too much information will not get called.

Step 6: Create urgency. The person you want to talk to is in the right frame of mind. Make sure you talk to them before they change their emotional state or forget that they filled out your information request in the first place.