Voicemail is a kind of e-communication where a person sends messages orally to others. It is similar to e-mail with the difference that voice-mail is an oral where as e-mail is a written medium of electronic communication. It requires a computer; a voice recorded, and telephone connection to store the oral message in digital from. It is a very useful means of transmitting short oral message to someone who is not immediately available. Now a day, people can also send voicemail over their cellular phones.
What Is Voicemail
Some quotations on voicemail are given below:
- Hellriegel , Slocum, and Woodman defined “Voicemail is a computer-based message system that people access by telephone”
- According to Bartol and Martin, “Voicemail is a recording system that enables senders to leave messages for receivers by telephone.”
- Boone and others defined, “Voicemail is a computer-based system that processes both incoming and outgoing telephone calls.”
Finally, we can conclude that voicemail is a computer-based system of sending messages orally from the sender to the receiver.
Advantages of Voicemail
Voicemail is electronic method of communication. Its key advantages are as follows:
- Sending oral message quickly: Through voicemail a person can send oral message to any distant people very quickly.
- Preservation of message: The message sent through voicemail is automatically recorded in the receiver’s computer. Therefore, the receiver can hear the message at his convenient time.
- Communicating with several receivers: Through voicemail same message can be sent to many receivers only by changing the receiver’s phone number or e-mail address.
- Sending message to someone who is not instantly available: Voicemail is an effective means of communication with those people who are not readily available physically or over telephone. In this system of communication message is automatically recorded in the receiver’s computer or telephone. Therefore, the receiver can hear the recorded message from his computer later on.
- Confirming the receiving of calls: When voicemail is sent to the receiver’s cell phone, the message is automatically recorded in the receiver’s cell phone, the message is automatically recorder in the receiver’s phone set. Therefore, the sender is confirmed that the receiver has got the message.
- Suitable for illiterate: Voicemail carries oral messages. So the receiver can hear the sender’s message over the phone or computer. Therefore, this system of communication is suitable for illiterate people.
Disadvantages of Voicemail
Communication through voicemail enjoys a lot of benefits. However, it is not free from limitations. Its major limitations are as follows:
- Not suitable for sending excessive message: Lengthy messages can not be sent through voicemail. Due to mechanical faults, noise, sender’s pronunciation problem, receiver’s hearing problem or intolerance, this system is not suitable for sending lengthy message.
- Differences in sender’s and receiver’s languages: Voicemail system would not be effective if the receiver and sender do not understand the language of each other.
- Expensive: Communication through voicemail is more expensive than those of other mail systems. Therefore, only a few important and personal messages are exchanged through voicemail.