"All the Noise Noise Noise!"

Is there such thing as too much communication? Can people communicate to the point of actually damaging connections with others and causing people to tune out the message they are trying to get across? I do not believe so. Effective communication is not like ice cream - something that most everyone enjoys but usually becomes ill from when they eat too much of it. Effective communication does not work this way, particularly if it includes active and sincere respect and listening. People respond well when they believe they are being respected and listened to. That may not be any kind of unheard of revelation. In fact, it may seem like a no-brainer. Nevertheless, it is amazing how often so many of us communication wanna bes do not remember it and, even worse, do not practice it.

If it is true there is no such as thing as too much communication, then why does it feel that way so much of the time? Why does it feel like everywhere we turn we are bombarded with messages, information, opinions, etc; or, as Dr. Seuss' Grinch says, "All the noise noise noise!" We feel like we are getting hit with noise because we are. It turns us off because we feel as if all these sounds are coming at us without giving us opportunities to process it and then respond. Those sounds come at us with relentless regularity. It is enough to make us want to tune it all out. In fact, this is what we do so much of the time. While that is understandable, this represents a dangerous trend because the result is we end up missing information that is important to hear and learn.

It is not so much my intent here to critique the noise or sounds with which we are being inundated. Rather, my focus is on how we respond to it. Simply tuning it out is perfectly logical. After all, for example, who wants to hear some blowhard wax philosophic about things we either do not care about, know about or agree with? At the same time, however, how are going to get a better handle on our own convictions and expand our own base of knowledge if we do not expose ourselves to all sides of an issue or topic? We cannot rest on what we know. Instead, we must use that as a springboard to delve into what we do not know. No question that dealing with the noise in this kind of proactive way is harder than simply tuning it out. But in the not-so-long run it gives us better ammunition to be more effective communicators for several reasons: it increases our knowledge base, helps us be better listeners , and helps us better understand and appreciate others.