The Unwritten Rules of Work Voice Mail, According to May or May Not

You May:

• Be Cheerful
• Be Concise
• Give an alternate number or way to reach you

You May Not:

• Give a 20 minute dissertation on your whereabouts at every moment of the day because you are that important
• Omit your name and organization
• Give 10 different numbers or ways to reach you, again because you are that important
• Go over 30 seconds, leaving your caller with nothing to do but sit there and wait while you ramble on for 2 minutes when all they want to do is leave a 5 second message.