Not everyone can afford a fully fledged IVR system and we get that. But where do you even start?

Script writing tips

When you are sitting down to write the script you can quickly become paralysed by the cold empty page or word document. This is where it can really help to start with one goal at a time. Write that goal out and really try to put yourself into your customers shoes.

Say It Out Loud (Yes, Really)

What looks fine on the page can sound completely different when spoken aloud. As you write, read your script out loud — slowly, like someone would hear it over the phone.
You’ll quickly catch anything that feels awkward, too long, or overly formal. If you stumble while reading it, chances are your callers will struggle to follow it too.

Respect Your Caller’s Time

Keep things tight. Phone messages aren’t podcasts — your caller isn’t settling in with a cup of tea. If it’s a voicemail greeting, 10–15 seconds is more than enough.
For menus, avoid overwhelming people with options. If you have more than three or four, consider splitting them into layers. Keep the flow simple, and lead with the most common actions first.

Recording It

Once you’ve got a message that reads well and feels natural, the next step is recording it — and doing it right can make a big difference.

You don’t need expensive gear, but you do need a quiet room. Soft furnishings help absorb echo — your break room or a supply closet might honestly sound better than your office. Use a decent microphone if you’ve got one, or your phone in a pinch. Just avoid background noise, and make sure you leave a second or two of silence before and after the message — it’ll help when you’re editing.

Editing the Recording

Once you’ve captured a clear recording, you’ll want to tidy it up before it goes anywhere near your phone system.

You don’t need fancy software — a free tool like Audacity works well. Trim any long silences at the beginning or end (often called “top and tailing”), and make sure the volume is even across the whole message. If there’s any background noise or hiss, Audacity also has a simple noise reduction tool built in.

You’re aiming for something that sounds clean, calm, and confident — not necessarily perfect, just easy to listen to.

If you’re feeling adventurous, now could be a good time to add some compression and EQ to the mix. A noise gate here is also a wonderful choice. But these tools require time to learn and years to master.

Finally, you want to do a process called normalising the audio. This raises the peaks (or loudest parts of the recording) to a set limit. -3dB and 0dB are good starting points depending how ‘grainy’ or distorted it sounds at this point.