There was a time when people could leave a nasty voice mail on a home or work phone and it would stay there. Those times are over.

I am not just talking about if you are a Hollywood star leaving a drunken tirade on your daughter’s voice mail.

I had two situations occur in the last few months that I will share with you as a reminder that voice mail is no longer tethered to the recipient’s voice mail box for their ear only.

1) The E-Mailed Voice Mail

Last month I was finishing up a routine transaction that had few, if any problems. The buyer called the seller in this late stage of the transaction and left a voice mail regarding move out. Within 5 minutes my client e-mailed me an audio file of said voice mail with a “FYI” subject title. He is a pretty savvy guy, but not a tech guy by any means. In that format I could have sent that e-mail to anybody and everybody in the world. I could have put in on YouTube. Thankfully for everyone involved it was simply a polite update from a classy buyer.

2) The Smart Phone Speaker Phone Share

I was working with a buyer on several potential investment opportunities in the Bender Conference Room last month. Our conversation was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. She let it go to voice mail, listened to it, then plopped her phone on the table and played it on speaker. The message was from a visible member of the Sioux Falls Community. It was a voice mail with a raised voice, a profanity, then a command to call him back. My jaw dropped open.

I will always remember that voice mail. I don’t know all the details and this guy could have well been in the right, but all I remember is that I thought (still think) he was a jerk.

Conclusion

Expect your voice mails to be shared with people out of context all the time.