Sounds of silence trump noisy youths any time

WHILE having a quiet cup of coffee with friends in a local shopping mall the other day, all conversation was halted by a series of ear-splitting yells and screams that echoed off the rafters and rattled tea cups. One would have thought a brutal massacre was taking place, but nobody paid much attention, apart from a few resigned sighs and eyes rolled upward.

It was just another group of teenagers doing their normal shopping mall scream session. Although they were in a close bunch, they were shouting at volumes that could have been heard half a kilometre away.

That seems to be the standard communication mode among young people and I often wonder where it stems from. Do they yell because nobody ever seems to listen to them? Do they have to shriek to gain the attention of their parents at home? Or their teachers in class?

Or have they been rendered partially deaf from the continual use of personal music devices?

What they obviously have not yet learnt is that it’s always the quiet voice that gets heard. Walk into a crowded room where the voice levels are high and start a conversation quietly with a friend, and see what happens. Suddenly everybody drops their volume and strains to hear what you’re saying. If it’s quiet it’s probably important. Secrets are whispered, not shouted.

I know an excellent teacher who uses this technique in her classes. She will walk into a noisy room where everybody’s shouting and fooling about and, instead of yelling at the kids to “BE QUIET!” or “Shaddup!” she simply stands silently in front of the class until the hubbub dies down. It always does. It’s simply too unnerving to have a teacher standing silently in front of you while you misbehave and make a noise.

As soon as the noise has stopped, this teacher says, very quietly: “Thank you. Good morning, class. Now if you will sit down we can start the lesson.” Then she proceeds with her lesson, always speaking softly so her class has to strain just a little to hear what she’s saying. They seldom miss a word.

Imagine if this simple technique were to be applied to parliamentary debates. A member stands up to speak and remains silent. “Honourable member, do you have something to say?”

“Yes, Madam Speaker, but it would be pointless to say it while other honourable members are all shouting.”

The late American president Theodore Roosevelt put it in a nutshell when he said: “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”

Often that “big stick” is simply having something worthwhile to say.

Sadly, in this respect, many or our leaders appear to be unarmed.

Last Laugh

A woman decided to take singing lessons and every evening she would practise her scales and arpeggios in the living room of their flat.

As soon as she started, her husband would step out on to the balcony and stand there until she had finished.

After a while she complained about this. “Why do you go out on the balcony every time I sing?”

“I just want the neighbours to see I’m not beating you up,” he replied.

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