43F Podcast: How to Leave a Voice Mail Message

Merlin Mann's 43Folders podcasts are short and sweet: they usually span only a few minutes because Merlin stays on target like a laser-guided missile. Last week I listened to his monologue on How to Leave a Voice Mail Message, and it never occurred to me how great it is for people to tell me whether or not I need to get back to them.

Now, in my line of work the answer is 99% of the time "yes, by God, get back to me as soon as humanly possible", but not always. So to do my part in advocating this great idea, I'm going to try really hard to start following Merlin's method when I leave a message. "Hi, this is Toby, (216) 555-1212, and I just talked to Jim and we agree that Friday is, as you suggested, the best time to talk. No need to call me back, but if you do, my number again is (216) 555-1212. Talk to you Friday. Bye."

Thanks, Merlin! I hope that I'll keep this up long enough to get some reciprocation.