Recently we had a bad storm. A friend called me to let me know her cordless phone was fried by a lightning strike and to only call her cell. I thought I had dodged the bullet for I could still make and receive calls but then something strange happened.
The next day my phone showed I had a message but when I tried to play it, all I got was beeps, scratches and a muffled rumble in the background. Oh oh, maybe that part of my machine got fried. I don't have cell service here so since I had to go to town that day anyway, I thought I'd check my answering system. When I got to Walmart, which has a strong cell signal, I was able to use my flip phone to call my number.
I got the message and left one of my own. "Hi Patti, this is a test. Hope it comes through. Thank you. " Yes, I am polite even to myself.
When I got home, I learned my message came through loud and clear. What I also learned was that, good grief, do I sound like that?
Remember the first time you actually heard your voice the way others hear you? Not the glamorized version your imagination hears in your head but what you really sound like?
For me it was when tape recorders became popular in the 70's and I heard my voice. I was shocked. I really thought I had a sexy, throaty voice. I had been in disbelief when someone told me I sounded like Dolly Parton. Sadly not the singing Parton but the talking one. Then I heard myself on tape and thought, when did I pick up an accent? Throaty, sexy---nope--- try nasal, southern and whiny.
Well I hadn't heard myself since the shocking 70's and knew my voice had aged but I had no idea how badly till I played back the message. My goodness, that girl is sick I thought. My voice was muffled but also squeaky. That is hard to do. It cracked and I sounded like I was being choked.
I know you are sitting there smugly knowing that isn't your case at all. If you record your own answering message then you already know what you sound like. But if you use the generic voice message, try calling your own phone and leave a message. Then let me know if you sound at all like you thought you did. Hope you are pleasantly surprised. I sure wasn't.