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define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true);{"id":491,"date":"2026-02-24T15:28:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/?p=491"},"modified":"2026-03-04T15:31:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:31:28","slug":"leaving-a-message-give-context-if-you-want-a-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/?p=491","title":{"rendered":"Leaving a Message? Give Context if You Want a Response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>One of my biggest pet peeves: vague voicemails, emails, and connection messages from people I don\u2019t know.<br><br>\u201cHi, it\u2019s Bob. Call me back.\u201d<br>\u201cHey Bill, we have a mutual contact &#8211; let\u2019s connect.\u201d<br><br>About what?<br><br>If you want a reply, tell me why you\u2019re reaching out. A single line of context dramatically increases your odds. Are you asking about a service? A partnership? An interview? A problem that needs solving?<br>Clarity works.<br><br>When I know the purpose, I can prepare, get the right information ready, and make the conversation useful on the first pass. It saves time for both of us &#8211; and yes, it also helps me quickly decide whether it\u2019s a potential fit. I\u2019m far more likely to respond (even with a polite, \u201cno\u201d) when I know what\u2019s up.<br><br>There\u2019s too much noise and too much spam already. Be clear, direct, professional, respectful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It gets answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<span style=\"clear:both;display:none;\"><img src=\"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-spamfree\/img\/wpsf-img.php\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border-style:none;width:0px;height:0px;display:none;\" \/><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of my biggest pet peeves: vague voicemails, emails, and connection messages from people I don\u2019t know. \u201cHi, it\u2019s Bob. Call me back.\u201d\u201cHey Bill, we have a mutual contact &#8211; let\u2019s connect.\u201d About what? If you want a reply, tell &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/?p=491\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":496,"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions\/496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billthorn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}