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Cell Phones Communication Feedback Non-stop Talkers

One of my employees leaves extremely long voice mail messages for me on my cell phone and land-line. These messages can last up to five minutes and cover details that are simply not necessary. I have told her to keep her messages brief, and she says she will try, but this happens almost every day. How do I get it to stop?



You are having a hard time listening to this employee's long messages, but she is apparently having a harder time listening to a far more important message from you. You have told her to keep her messages brief, but she may well be thinking that a five-minute message is brief. After all, it's not a half hour.

While she says she will try to keep her messages shorter, this trying situation calls for more than an attempt at brevity on her part. It sounds like the time has come for you to spell out your desires even more clearly, and one possible approach is through coaching and demonstrating.

Sit down with her, present a sample situation that requires a phone call to you, and then pick up the phone and leave an appropriate message for yourself. The next step is to present another sample situation and have her pick up the phone, dial your number, and leave an appropriate message by following your example. She may need to practice on several calls in this session, and you should give her feedback on each one.

If she finds that brevity is a virtue beyond her reach, tell her that future voicemail messages should simply be a request for you to call her.





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