陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，他跟美国同事Amy约好一起吃午饭。
(Office ambience)
C：对不起Amy，让你久等了，办公室有点事。
A：Nothing big, I hope.
C：一个客户在电话里给我留言，但她说得太快了，我反复听了五遍，才把她的电话号码记下来。
A：Many people don’t realize that they need to slow down when they are leaving their phone number on voice mail.
C：就是， 而且往往越是到最后讲电话号码的时候，有些人讲话的速度越快，真不知道他们是怎么想的。
A：Neither do I, but it is all too common. There is a simple solution which shows courtesy on your part.
C：What’s that?
A：You should give your name and phone number at the beginning of the message and repeat your number at the end.
C：你是说上来先说一遍电话号码，到留言结束前再重复一遍？这样做有什么好处呢？
A：If the person you are calling has trouble understanding the phone number, he gets a second chance at the end of the message. If that doesn’t help, he only has to replay the beginning of the message to hear it again.
C：没错，今天我反复听那个留言，就是因为留言太长了，要从头听到尾才能等到回电号码的部分。
A：Uh-oh, it looks as if we should start back to the office. I have a meeting in twenty minutes.
******
陈豪跟Amy一起走回办公室。
A：After all the trouble you had understanding the number, were you able to reach your client before you came to lunch?
C：别提了。她肯定是留完言就走了。我打过去已经没人了。
A：I find that very inconsiderate. If you know you are leaving your office as soon as you hang up, the polite thing to do is to let others know you are going to be away from your desk and tell them when you will return.
C：对呀！我发现，很多人离开办公室的时候都会修改语音信箱的问候词。
A：That’s a good idea. It not only lets other people know when you will be available, it sends a clear message that you are thoughtful as well as efficient.
C：上次休假，我也特别录制了语音信箱的问候词，告诉来电话的人我什么时候回来，结果回来后忘了改回去。最后还是客户告诉我说，你的留言过时了。
A：Listen to your own greeting from time to time so that doesn’t happen. In fact I recommend you change your greeting whenever you are out of the office for more than a few hours. Then make it a habit to change it again when you return.
C：我现在就是这样，每次出差或是休假，只要是半天以上，我都会修改留言。我发现，如果养成习惯，这样做其实并不麻烦。