Two weeks ago, we traveled to Cincinnati OH to visit family and friends. One evening, we took my wife’s 100-year-old grandma to dinner with her aunt.
During that dinner, I kept saying, “What did you say?” like I was the 100-year-old.
The volume and frequency of noise in most restaurants create the perfect environment for not hearing anything.
Restaurants aren’t the only places that are noisy.
According to research at the University of Southern California,
“In the 1970s, people were exposed to about 500 ads per day. At present, people see roughly 5,000 ads per day. There are 5.3 trillion display ads shown online every year. On average, children see 20,000 television commercials each year. Adults see an average of 2 million television commercials every year.” (November 2023)
Add social media, texts, e-mails, podcasts, billboards, website banner ads, etc, to the noise, and you realize why communication is so difficult today.
How do you cut through the noise?
Focus on being as clear as possible.
This morning, two clients contacted our team.
One client’s request was very clear.
The other client sent a vague request. So we sent back a clarifying question: Can you tell us precisely your boss’s objections?
We shy away from being direct and straightforward because we try to be polite and kind.
But you can do both.
Being direct is a form of politeness and kindness in a noisy world.
So, before you send that next email, ask, “What precisely do I want as a response to this email?”