Why I Don't Listen to Voice Messages

You probably ended up here because you sent me a voice message. Please don't take it personally, but I won't hear them.

Voice messages are inefficient in the vast majority of cases:

I often listen to music while I'm working, but I rarely use headphones when I'm out and about. Either way, I have to interrupt my flow to hear your message.

Voice messages cannot be searched. Later we would have to listen to all the messages again to find the right one.

Most voice messages contain multiple thoughts. In order to respond properly, I would have to pause the message again and again to be able to respond to each point. The effort for me is much greater than if you had sent me a text message.

Many voice messages are quite long even though the core message is short. Voice messages encourage chatting or even composing the argument while recording.

I am of the opinion that voice messages have no place, especially in a business context. Instead, send me a short text message, I'll be happy to answer it (and usually very promptly).

Thank you very much for valuing my time too.

(Inspired by Alan Frei: Why I don't take your call), Picture: Meta.