Phone Etiquette Innovation

You know how you're listening to a voice mail, and then the person starts giving you his or her number, and you rush to get a piece of paper?

And you thank the heavens if the person is cool and repeats the number, so that you are actually ready to write it down.

Well, I think from now on I'm going to start my message by saying something like, "Hi so-and-so, this is Bob Murphy from blah blah blah. I'm going to be leaving you my number if you want to start hunting for a pen. Anyway, I'm calling about..."

I think this will spare needless anxiety in the world. I estimate an increase in human lifespans of 1.2 years if everyone adopts my plan. It may also cut down on phone bills, because people on their cell won't have to play the message again. (Do you get charged minutes when checking your voicemail? Maybe not.)