There is nothing more frustrating than receiving a partial message, especially if it raises more questions than it answers. Who is this person? Am I supposed to call them back? When, exactly?
You want a message to be as specific as possible. Sometimes something as small as two letters, am or pm, for example, can change the entire outcome. Here are four key areas where it pays to be specific:
Dates
“Call him Wednesday.” This Wednesday or next? Does next Wednesday mean this coming Wednesday or the following Wednesday? It’s best to always follow days of the week with the specific date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012. If you think including the year is overkill, you’ve never mistakenly booked the wrong year for a wedding shoot or a business conference.
Times
“She’ll be available at 10:00.” It’s a knee-jerk reaction to assume this means 10:00 in the morning, but not everyone keeps standard business hours. Tech support teams, service dispatch centers and distribution warehouses are just a few businesses that operate at night. Don’t forget to include time zones. In this always-connected era it’s never safe to assume the caller is in the same time zone as the person they’re calling.
Pronouns
“Don called to say Roger will be meeting with the clients at the Regency. He’d like to cancel his appointments for the morning.” This is an easy trap to fall into. A message that makes perfect sense to you may need some clarification for the reader. Who would like to cancel their appointments for the morning? Don or Roger? Replace words like “he,””she” and “they” with names whenever possible.
Names
“Call Dan.” Speaking of names, I’m currently acquainted with four different people named Dan. If I received this message, I’d be at a complete loss as to which one to call. Ask for last names and, for good measure, company names.
“Dan McFarland from Clean Logistics called to RSVP for the business conference Thursday, August 15th, 2013. If you have any questions, Dan will be available after 2 p.m. PST.” This message has no grey areas to confuse the recipient. Pay attention to the details and your messages will always hit the mark.
With these message tips, you can make sure the message you (or your staff) take are informative and help your business grow. Need help taking messages for your business? Call us at 800-700-8888.
