I was watching a movie last night on television and at certain times when the actors were speaking at low volume, my wife and  I were unable to clearly hear the dialogue. I find this very frustrating. I don’t want to miss something that may be important! Who wants to invest a couple of hours in a movie and not receive all that the screenwriter, director, and actors are trying to convey?

Thankfully, in this situation, I hold the volume control!

Two weeks ago, I was instructing a class and a gentleman came up to me before we ever started and let me know that he and a friend of his, who was also in the class, had hearing problems. While they both had devices with a volume control, I had more control over their results than they did.

I was grateful that he let me know and I went out of my way to check with them a few times over the two days to see if they were able to hear me and their fellow students. I did not tell any of the other students that I was making this special effort and I doubt that the class had any reason to suspect that I was trying harder to be heard.  However, I was much more mindful of repeating a student’s question for all to hear.

For future efforts, I decided that it might be a good practice to always assume that there was someone in the audience who may have at least some degree of hearing loss. Most participants are not going to come up to you and let you know that they have a problem.  I am not going to start shouting but I do plan to be more deliberate in my vocal delvery.  If I am speaking at a slightly higher volume with a bit more attention to enunciation, might not everyone benefit? Even those who have excellent hearing may find it easier to stay tuned in and not mentally drift away. Additionally, volume is one way that we convey energy and enthusiasm for our topic, but it is only one way.

Vocal variety is something I will address more fully the next time that I write.