Dont Be the Bullhorn

Happy New Year!  Hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends celebrating new beginnings!

"CAN I HAVE A B?"  ~ Contestant

"You don't have to yell. I'm right here." ~ Pat Sajak

While on vacation, I did something I don't usually do - I watched television. I noticed that volume seems to be a tad overused. Then I realized that the same thing seems to happen in a lot of communication. Loud commercials, noisy music, yelling in the streets.... Seems that people think that the way to get past all the noise is to be noisier.  

In conflict management, people are taught to speak more softly when confronted with someone yelling. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it actually works! The person yelling can't hear you, and they start speaking less loudly.

Apple has a commercial out with a woman who finds a recording her grandmother made, and she records a duet with it. The commercial isn't yelling. No one speaks directly, although the grandmother does have a narrative intro on the record.  To cut through all the noise, Apple decided to go quiet and emotional.

You have a message. You need people to pay attention. And you are tempted to use the bullhorn to be heard. Why not try to be soft and creative instead? Is it more difficult? Certainly is.  Would you rather hear because you were intrigued enough to listen, or because you can't even block the sound with your hands over your ears?

How do you think the people you are trying to get through to feel? 

If you don't want to hear the noise, then don't be the bullhorn.