What Would Rob Do to Record a Voicemail Greeting?

This week's podcast is all about how to have a great voicemail greeting...you know, the message everyone hears BEFORE the beep.

Even though it's something most of us have done countless times, a lot of people completely botch it. Which is perhaps why there was a market for something like Crazy Calls, a tape of seven funny singing greetings that you can use instead of your own voice. A steal at just $14.95. My favorite one is "The Rap":

So in trying to figure out who the experts on this subject might be, I realized that the king of all voicemail greetings happens to work in the same building as me. I speak, of course, of the great Carl Kasell.
As part of his job as judge and scorekeeper on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! he records answering machine messages for the show's lucky winners. Here are some recent examples he shared with me:

Another good guy I know who knows a thing or two about phone mail messages is my Dad, who's been in sales for over 30 years. He says he likes to be clear of his whereabouts when he leaves an outgoing message. "I'm in the office today, but am unable to take your call" is a favorite refrain of his. He says people want to know when you're going to call back.

"It's Luke, you should still know the drill.."

Steve Finn, Getty Images

As if Carl Kasell and Papa Sachs aren't enough, I also like the example set by Dylan McKay (aka Luke Perry) of 90201. His famous answering machine greeting was that laconic, "It's Dylan. You know the drill." Apparently, I'm not the only one who marvels at the simplistic genius of Dylan. The band Boys Night Out has made that line into a song (heads up, it has explicit lyrics).

What are some of your favorite outgoing messages?

8:00 PM ET | 12-10-2008 | permalink

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