Internet voice mail lets you keep up with all your calls, even if you're away from your office. Most people check their email at least once a day, even the busiest executives. With Internet voice mail, you can check your phone messages at the same time you check your email, which means you can handle all your correspondence at once.

The great thing about Internet voice mail is that you actually hear the voice of the caller leaving the message. Whereas text messaging takes the emotion out of the delivery, Internet voice mail preserves it. Listening to your voice mail via email is just like pressing play on your home answering machine. And it's as easy to play as a WAV, MP3, or any other audio format.

More People Are Choosing Internet Voice Mail

Given the benefits of playing live voice messages on your computer, it's understandable that this solution is replacing beepers and other methods of notification. Chances are, even if you're away from your phone for much of the day, you'll be checking your email box either from your laptop, your wireless device, or an Internet-based webmail program. You can then treat your stored messages exactly like emails; forward them to co-workers, transfer them to a personal email account, or delete them.

In an age when so much of our communication has grown mechanized, there's a greater incidence of miscommunication. Messages are hastily written and sent, leaving their recipients to try to decode them for subtext or irony. You can avoid "flame" wars and poor communication by moving from simple text on a screen to the full emotional range of the human voice.