How to Handle the ‘White Noise’ Problem

Part of being a manager—sometimes a large part—is reminding your team about policies, processes, and procedures they need to follow. Unfortunately, when they hear what seems to be the same message from the same person over and over, they may start to tune you out. And if they’re tuning you out when you talk about things repeatedly, they might also miss new information that’s critical to their success. I call this the “white noise” problem, because of the way your reminders can become background noise that people ignore. 

As a manager, I’ve struggled to overcome this problem, but I have a few ideas that might help. 
  • Use different forms of communication to accommodate different kinds of learners. Some people like step-by-step, written instructions. Others prefer oral guidance. Still others like to see a demonstration of how something should be done. It’s common to have all kinds of learners on a team. That’s why I send out a written agenda before a team meeting, talk about what’s on the agenda during the meeting, and follow up with written notes after the meeting. I want my message to reach all team members in a way that will make them most likely to remember. The most challenging form of communication for me is the demonstration. I tend to become impatient when walking someone through the steps of a process that has clear written instructions—but that’s because written instructions work best for me. Managers who want to ensure their messages are remembered must make the effort to work within their team members’ preferred methods of learning.
  • Change the platform. If people are used to seeing a certain message from you in an email, try sending it as an instant message, instead. If they’re used to hearing about it in a team meeting, mention it during a one-on-one. By communicating the same old message in a different context, you may get more traction with the listener.
  • Change the message. When you’re a manager, you’re going to have to repeat yourself. It’s part of the job. But if you say the same thing, in the same way, at the same time every day or week, people will tune you out. Try changing up the wording of your message, emphasizing something new. Or move your reminders to different spots on a meeting agenda. Making a subtle change to the content of a repeated message may help you emerge from the white noise fog that descends on people when they hear you droning on about the same old stuff. 
  • Change the messenger. People get tired of hearing their bosses telling them to do things, so they sometimes tune out completely. This is an especially acute challenge during video meetings, with the ever-prevalent temptation to multitask. If you notice this is happening when you’re talking, it’s time to recruit someone else to share the message. For example, ask one of your team members to address a repeated topic from their point of view. When the team receives that information from a different person, in a different context, it may have a better chance of getting through. At the least, having a second person reinforce the message never hurts.
  • Make sure the team understands the message. If these suggestions aren’t working, maybe the problem is you. If you feel like your team members are tuning you out, and their behavior doesn’t change despite your repeated instructions, perhaps your instructions aren’t clear. Don’t just “talk at” the team. Engage them in conversation about the message you want to convey. Ask questions to make sure they understand. Offer specific examples of team members who have followed the instructions and how it helped them. Make sure it’s easy for them to grasp your message, and they’ll be more likely to pay attention.
To be a good leader, you must be an excellent communicator. By following these steps, you should be able to get your messages through—even if you’re repeating them every week. 

For more information, here are a couple of articles I consulted for this blog post:
  • https://getlighthouse.com/blog/power-of-repetition-successful-leaders/
  • https://letsgrowleaders.com/2016/03/07/10-things-to-do-when-your-teams-not-listening/

Have you faced the “white noise” problem? What have you done to overcome it? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

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