Standard

• A standard personalized phone greeting should include the basic information you want your friends or clients to leave when they leave you a message. Ask for their name, phone number and a special message, or anything else that is important for you to hear.
  
  You should begin with a greeting, such as "Hi!" and a note about why you missed their call. "I can't get to the phone right now" or "I'm on the other line" is sufficient. You might also want to include your own name and phone number to remind busy callers who they have reached.
  
  

Funny

• There are many gag greetings that you can set up on your voicemail to give your callers a laugh. One option is to pretend you answered the phone so that they begin to talk. Start this voicemail with a simple, "Hi! How are you?". Allow a short pause so the caller answers and then continue the conversation with something generic, such as, "How's your family?" You can continue this until the voicemail beeps so that your caller will also continue to talk until the machine beeps and they realize that you haven't answered after all.
  
  Another idea is to pretend to answer and then enact a dramatic scene, such as, "Hi! How are you - oh my goodness, I think I'm being pulled over. Shoot, I didn't think I was speeding! Oh no, what do I do?" You can continue this monologue for a few minutes until the machine beeps and callers realize that it was simply your voicemail.
  
  

Business

• If you are leaving a personalized greeting on a business line, you should set the tone with a clear, crisp professional message. You want to impress potential clients that are calling you, especially ones that are not your clients yet.
  
  A business greeting should clearly state which business the caller has reached, as well as a reason for not answering the phone and an assurance that you will return the call promptly. Then you should ask for the caller's name, company (if applicable), number and a reason for the call.
  
  

Seasonal

• Get your callers in the right mood for whatever season is approaching. For the holiday season, you can choose a cheerful jingle to play before you state your message and an island tune can greet callers during the summer months. You can stick with the standard seasons, such as winter, spring, summer and fall, or you can get creative with tax season, back-to-school or other clever ideas, as long as you can find an appropriate song to go along with it.
  
  Let the song be your entire message or play a part of the song and then add your own line that is related to the song, such as, "Season's greetings!"