Imagine. You’re at a concert of your favorite heavy metal, head-banging rock band. (It’s a stretch for me, since my tastes run more toward what is now considered “oldies.”) The auditorium is filled with thousands of other rabid fans as well. The band is doing their final number, riffing on their biggest hit. The lead singer is screeching what resembles a musical note. The guitarist is off in his own world, slapping the strings like a angry man, while the drummer is banging with abandon. The keyboard player is sweeping up and down the scales in a manner that would cause my piano teacher a stroke. Of course, the multitudes of fans are loving it…and their emotions are demonstrated with screaming, shouting, clapping and stomping.
At just that moment, your cell phone rings. Do you take the call? Probably not…because all the noise in the room would prevent any real communication with the caller.
When most people think about noise, that’s the image. It’s audible interference and it hinders real dialogue--something like trying to carry on a conversation in a crowded restaurant.
But in the “Principles” and Processes of Communication, noise can be more than audio. Consider this:
Earlier this year, I went to a local theater to see the new “Star Trek” movie. (Yes, I’m a geek and a Trekkie for many years.) Throughout the first 15 minutes of the movie, a young man two rows in front of me would repeatedly turn his phone on, I assume to check or send messages. Each time he did, the light of the phone’s screen would pull my attention from the movie to where he was seated. I finally had to get up and ask him to stop. His activity and the light on his phone was “noise” that kept me from concentrating on the movie. (And at the prices of movie tickets these days, I was not going to sit quietly in my seat.)
Noise is not just what we hear; it’s not limited to audible background sounds like motorcycles on the street, the crying baby in the theater or the volume of the TV. Noise can be any kind of distraction that keeps the listener from listening to the intended message.
* Visual noise. It’s difficult to listen to someone when there’s lipstick on her teeth or to focus on the speaker’s message when his fly is open. In the same way, a page that has too much text, too many pictures, etc. can be visual noise preventing communication. (I compare it to the difference in Facebook, which can be visually noisy and the new Facebook Lite, which is much easier because of what was left out.)
* Internal noise. The person to whom I’m speaking could have lots of other issues going on—internal conflicts, personal concerns, mental distractions. Those could prevent them from “hearing” my message. This would extend to personal issues like race, gender, weight, sexual orientation, etc., and many companies have learned (the hard way) that flippant messages can offend in these areas.
* Sender noise. As the person talking, I certainly don’t want to be the source of “noise,” doing something that would distract from communicating with them. If I talk too loud, I might get their attention but probably won’t communicate. When I speak really, really fast, I might give the impression I’m trying to hide something. (Like those “disclaimer” messages at the end of some car commercials. The announcer talks so fast that I can’t understand, but what I perceive is that there’s things they don’t want me to know…so they say it really fast.) If I talk too slow or too soft, I encourage my listener to tune me out.
Another noise factor is body language—those messages we send with our bodies, whether intentional or not—such as facial expressions, gestures and the way we approach the listener. In Western culture, for example, getting too close to people’s face while talking is considered intrusive. If I constantly point at them with the index finger, I may send a different message from what I intend. If I frown while talking, I say much more than the words I use, unless I am discussing my latest stomach distress.
I go back to our original premise: communication is more than just one person speaking and another person hearing. Much can get in the way of understanding, which is one of the primary goals. Knowing some of the obstacles can improve not only our message, but our methods.
“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”
--Anthony Robbins, Business Leader
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