More Voice is not always a good thing

I have been on several flights this week. One thing that stood out to me on each leg of each trip is that there is way too many announcements going on once on the plane. I realize that there are safety messages that must be said based upon FAA, but there is simply overkill.

This got me to thinking about communication in general. When is a message too much? You want your audience to appreciate (and listen) to everything that you say. When you try to say too much, you lose your audience, or worse yet turn them off.

When I am flying I don't need the pilot playing tour guide, "we will be flying over Springfield and taking a left at Centerville". This information is of no use to me as we are 33,000 ft (or more) and I can't tell Paducah from Chicago at this height. Also, the pilot comes on during the middle of the flight when many passengers are sleeping. Thus waking them and making them angry.

In your communication are you talking just to talk? Are you telling people stuff that means something to you but not to them? Be sure to understand and respect your audience and your message will be much better received.

Now, if I could just get an airline or two to read this...and turn down the volume of their announcements while they're at it...