Hair somewhere
Now, what did he say again? You wonder while walking out of the door. The conversation itself was pleasant, but you simply could not concentrate. You have been focussing on a long hair sticking out of the nose of the person sitting in front of you. And no matter how hard you try, the nose hair just sits there in your face. And in your mind you keep asking yourself during the conversation: should I say something? Doesn't he have a wife? Why did she not see it sitting there?
Sounds familiar?
You probably are familiar with the situation, maybe with another item, like thick hairs hanging out of the ear, fluffy buns of hairs in the neck area, one thick hair sticking out of the eyebrow, lipstick on teeth, an unidentified object between teeth, you name it. And a more recent example: armpit hair during the Olympics. Now really, did you look at the gorgeous summersaults or did you keep on being distracted by those fluffy bushes?
'Noise'
Everything that distracts from a conversation or an action is called 'noise'. And noise appears when there is an internal or external influence on the clarity of a message. A message comes across less clear or different than send out by its sender. So noise must be avoided at all times. And not only from yourself- but also from your colleagues!
How did that feel?
So please, point out to your colleagues when there is 'noise' in their face. This may vary for a stubborn hair in the eyebrow to a leftover from lunch between the teeth. I know, it might feel awkward to bring it to the attention of your colleague, but you are doing him or her a big favour: Remember that day that you came home from work, smiled at yourself in the mirror and discovered that a piece of your meal is lingering between your teeth. How did that feel?
Now, what did he say again? You wonder while walking out of the door. The conversation itself was pleasant, but you simply could not concentrate. You have been focussing on a long hair sticking out of the nose of the person sitting in front of you. And no matter how hard you try, the nose hair just sits there in your face. And in your mind you keep asking yourself during the conversation: should I say something? Doesn't he have a wife? Why did she not see it sitting there?
Sounds familiar?
You probably are familiar with the situation, maybe with another item, like thick hairs hanging out of the ear, fluffy buns of hairs in the neck area, one thick hair sticking out of the eyebrow, lipstick on teeth, an unidentified object between teeth, you name it. And a more recent example: armpit hair during the Olympics. Now really, did you look at the gorgeous summersaults or did you keep on being distracted by those fluffy bushes?
'Noise'
Everything that distracts from a conversation or an action is called 'noise'. And noise appears when there is an internal or external influence on the clarity of a message. A message comes across less clear or different than send out by its sender. So noise must be avoided at all times. And not only from yourself- but also from your colleagues!
How did that feel?
So please, point out to your colleagues when there is 'noise' in their face. This may vary for a stubborn hair in the eyebrow to a leftover from lunch between the teeth. I know, it might feel awkward to bring it to the attention of your colleague, but you are doing him or her a big favour: Remember that day that you came home from work, smiled at yourself in the mirror and discovered that a piece of your meal is lingering between your teeth. How did that feel?
