Leaving an awkward voice mail? Rerecord with a keypad shortcut
The next time you catch yourself stumbling through a message, stop and rerecord with this tip.
- Webby Award ("How To, Explainer, and DIY Video"); Folio Changemaker Award, 2020
You're leaving a voice mail, when suddenly, an awkward utterance slips, leaving you stumbling through the rest of your dialogue. You clumsily say goodbye. Hang up. Facepalm.
Considering the modern-day text-to-phone call ratio, this situation isn't uncommon. We're so accustomed to crafting perfectly composed text messages and e-mails, that our phone skills are diminishing.
But despite the upsetting trend, voice mails are here to stay. Whether you're calling up your boss or wishing someone a happy birthday, a phone call is the way to go.
So the next time you're leaving a voice mail, and you catch yourself stumbling, stop and rerecord the message.
Here's the deal: This trick works best when you know which carrier the recipient uses, as each carrier uses a different shortcut for rerecording. However, if you're unsure, you can usually just tap star (*) or pound (#) and one of those will work.
For your reference, here's what you should tap to rerecord a voice mail, based on the recipient's carrier:
If the recipient has...
- Verizon: tap *
- AT&T: tap *
- Sprint: tap * or # then 3
- T-Mobile: tap # then 3