Question

What constitutes noise in the context of listening? Choose one type of noise and describe how it affected a recent conversation you had? How might have you handled it differently?

Answer 1

At times, everyone has difficulty staying completely focused during a lengthy presentation. We can sometimes have difficulty listening to even relatively brief messages. Some of the factors that interfere with good listening might exist beyond our control, but others are manageable. It’s helpful to be aware of these factors so that they interfere as little as possible with understanding the message.

Noise is one of the biggest factors to interfere with listening; it can be defined as anything that interferes with your ability to attend to and understand a message. There are many kinds of noise, but we will focus on only the four you are most likely to encounter in public speaking situations: physical noise, psychological noise, physiological noise, and semantic noise.

Physical Noise

Physical noise consists of various sounds in an environment that interfere with a source’s ability to hear. Construction noises right outside a window, planes flying directly overhead, or loud music in the next room can make it difficult to hear the message being presented by a speaker even if a microphone is being used. It is sometimes possible to manage the context to reduce the noise. Closing a window might be helpful. Asking the people in the next room to turn their music down might be possible. Changing to a new location is more difficult, as it involves finding a new location and having everyone get there.

So a few months back I was giving an exam and I was sitting near the window in the examination hall. I was completely focused on my paper and suddenly I hear a loud noise. I peeped out of the window and saw a bulldozer was demolishing a nearby house. The noise was so unbearable for me and the rest of the students to focus. It was a very difficult situation for me.

If i had the the authority then i would have gone to the construction spot and stopped their work then and their. Also i would request them to reschedule their working hours and see toit that it doesn't clash with the exam timings.