Voicemail Messages

Now Mannerz Guy knows that many of you are aversive to exercising your vocal chords any more than you have to, especially when you have perfectly good thumbs to communicate your idle thoughts without the threat of an immediate emotional response. But, for those of you who still use the cell phone (and, heaven forbid, a land line... look it up) to call, here is one rule when leaving a message:

1. When leaving a voicemail message, please leave your call-back number (even if you believe the other person has it).

Why? Because Mannerz Guy thinks it is a good idea to remove barriers to communication. One barrier is having to rifle through an electronic address book (the new iPhone software had better have an update for their phone book that slows down anyone with more than 100 contacts.. but Mannerz Guy digresses). Leave it once for familiar acquaintances, leave it twice for clarity if the other person is a business contact or new acquaintance.

This is especially important if you have one of those numbers that do not show up on Caller ID. Mannerz Guy won't say who you are, but one wonders why you do not wish to show your number when calling the number of another. Mannerz Guy strongly suspects you may be having more fun than your partner knows about. But, again with the digressions! So, even if you do have a number that shows on Caller ID, leave your number one time for good measure as the person received the messages may be picking them up from another location.

Now, I know that all of you BFF's are rolling your eyes and giving attitude to the Mannerz Guy site because there are some people you call so much that they know your number by heart. Obviously, different rules apply for the overly-familiar. Mannerz Guy doesn't leave his number for his mother or those with whom he shares his bed. But then, these are also the same people with whom you may complain about your intestinal issues and your doubts about your self-worth. Again, different rules apply for the overly-familiar.