25 everyday announcements that end yelling up the stairs

The announcements that work best at home are short, name who they are for, and say what to do and by when, like "Sam, shoes on, we leave in five minutes." Below are 25 you can use today, grouped by time of day, plus tips on which rooms to send them to. They work with any home intercom, whether that is Apple's Intercom, Alexa, Google's broadcast or a push-to-talk app.

Why announcements beat yelling

Yelling up the stairs fails for simple reasons. The person upstairs has headphones on, the door is closed, or the sound arrives as "...DINNER...FIVE..." and they guess the rest. Then you yell again, louder, and everyone is annoyed before the food is on the table.

A message on the speaker in their room arrives clearly, at a normal volume, in your voice. It also changes the tone. You are not the person shouting anymore; you are the person who sent a calm, specific message. Kids answer to that better, and so do adults.

A simple formula

Most good announcements follow the same shape:

1. Who: start with a name, or "everyone." People ignore messages that might be for someone else.
2. What: one action. "Come down," "lights out," "bring your laundry."
3. When: a time or a countdown. "In five minutes" works better than "soon."

Keep it under ten seconds. If you need to explain something, ask the person to come find you instead.

Tone matters as much as wording. Use the voice you would use standing next to the person. A message that sounds like a fire alarm gets the same reaction as yelling, just through a speaker. And say please more often than feels necessary; it carries further on a speaker than in person.

Mornings

1. "Good morning, everyone. It's seven o'clock, time to get up."
2. "Breakfast is on the table. Come eat while it's warm."
3. "Ten minutes until we leave. Teeth, shoes, backpacks."
4. "Sam, your lunch is on the counter. Don't forget it."
5. "Bus is coming in five minutes. Out the door now."
6. "It's raining. Grab a jacket on your way out."

Meals

7. "Dinner is ready. Everyone to the kitchen, please."
8. "Dinner in ten minutes. Finish what you're doing and wash your hands."
9. "I need one helper to set the table. First one down wins."
10. "Pizza's here."
11. "Last call for leftovers before they go in the fridge."

Chores and getting things done

12. "Laundry is done. Come get your clothes from the dryer."
13. "Trash goes out tonight. Whose turn is it?"
14. "Screens off in fifteen minutes. Homework first."
15. "Someone left the back door open. Please close it."
16. "The dog needs to go out. Who's on it?"
17. "Groceries are in the car. Everyone grab a bag."

Evenings and bedtime

18. "Thirty minutes until bedtime. Start getting ready."
19. "Bath time, Mia. Water's running."
20. "Lights out in five minutes. Good night, everyone."
21. "Phones go on the kitchen charger now, please."
22. "I'm heading to bed. Lock the front door if you go out."

Everything else

23. "Grandma is on the phone. Come say hi."
24. "Someone is at the door. Can you get it? My hands are full."
25. "Movie starts in five minutes in the living room. Bring a blanket."

Send it to the right room

An announcement to the whole house is fine for dinner. It is rude for "Sam, your lunch is on the counter," because everyone else hears it too. Most systems let you target a room or a group of rooms:

• Apple Intercom can target an area by name, for example "Hey Siri, announce upstairs."
• Google's broadcast can go to one device, one room or the whole home, according to Google's current help page for the Gemini app.
• Alexa Announcements go to the Alexa devices on your account; Drop In can target one room by name.
• Push-to-talk apps like Holler let you set up rooms and floors and pick one before you talk, or choose Everywhere.

A good default: set up an "Upstairs" group for the bedrooms and an "Everywhere" group that skips the nursery and any home office where someone takes calls. Check how your system handles Do Not Disturb. Google, for one, says broadcasts do not reach devices with Do Not Disturb turned on, which is handy during naps.

Save the ones you repeat

You will say "ten minutes until we leave" about two hundred times a school year. Recording it once saves effort and keeps the message consistent. There are a few ways to do this:

• Smart speaker apps may offer timed routines or reminders. Check the current Alexa or Google Home app for what your speakers support.
• The Holler Mac app keeps a library of pre-recorded announcements you fire with one click, and Holler Pro (a one-time $4.99 USD purchase) adds scheduling, so "Thirty minutes until bedtime" can play at 8:00 every weeknight without anyone touching a button.
• On iPhone, mapping push-to-talk to the Action Button makes even the unplanned messages a single press. See turning your Action Button into a house intercom.

A few house rules that help

Announcements work best when the whole family agrees on them. Some rules that families tend to settle on:

• No announcements after bedtime, except emergencies.
• Kids can use the intercom too, but only for real messages. "The dog threw up" counts. Making the speaker burp does not.
• If you send a message and get no answer, go in person. The intercom replaces yelling, not talking.

Getting started

If you have smart speakers already, you can try this tonight with whatever is built in. Our comparison of whole-house intercom options explains what each speaker brand offers, and the guide to using Nest and Chromecast speakers as an intercom covers the setup for Google homes. If you have questions about Holler specifically, the FAQ has answers.