ESL Podcast 968 - Recording an Outgoing Voice Mail Message

forced - straining to try to do something a certain way; not natural or relaxed

Heather's voice sounded forced when she sang the high notes in the song.

unnatural - not natural; contrived; changed in some way from the natural way

Why do so many women like having unnatural nails that are blue, green, or some other bright color?

to set up - to establish or create; to get something ready to do something, especially for the first time

How long did it take you to set up your TV and DVD player?

voice mail - a system for recording messages left by callers when one does not answer the phone

If I don't answer your call, please leave a voice mail message and I'll try to call you back as soon as I can.

outgoing message - a recorded message that other callers hear when one does not answer one's phone

Samantha lives alone, but for safety she had a male friend record her outgoing message.

try - attempt; one effort to do something, especially one of many

It might take a few tries before we figure out how to do this.

to call (someone) back - to return someone's call; to call a person after he or she tried to call earlier and left a message

Have they called you back about the job?

to give (something) another shot - to try again when one's first attempt was unsuccessful

Of course you fell down the first time you tried to ski. That's normal. But you need to give it another shot.

away from - not in a particular place because one has gone somewhere else temporarily; not where one normally is

Everyone needs some time away from the office.

urgent - very important and needing to be done as soon as possible; regarding a very important piece of business

Please go to the emergency room only if you have an urgent need for healthcare.

to contact - to call, email, or write to someone; to be in communication with another person

Users can contact our technical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

temporary - not permanent; for a short, defined period of time; not forever

This is just a temporary place to live until we can buy a house.

to reach (someone) - to be in communication with someone, especially by phone

These automated phone systems make it very difficult to reach a real person!

to dial - to press one or more numbers on a keypad for a telephone

For sales, dial 5. For technical support, dial 6. For all other questions, please dial 0.

reception - the physical desk or functional area where people are greeted when they come into an office and/or when they call, so that they can be directed to the person they need to speak with

Please check in at the reception desk and tell them you have a meeting with me.

to retrieve - to get something, especially to get back something that one used to have

Your father went over to the neighbor's house to retrieve the tools he lent them last week.

to bypass - to avoid something by going around it or taking an a different route

Is there a way to bypass all this traffic?