NOISE CANCELING 

 

What is it?

 

"Most" of the devices we use these days have a Noise Canceling feature.

 

Cell phones, tablets and computers that enable us to audibly speak to others.  Teams, Skype, FaceTime and even that other service all use Noise Canceling.

 

In plain English, this means that when you speak, your own speakers do not produce what you just said out of your own speakers.  This would cause a feedback loop and make the system unusable.

 

This also means that WHILE you are speaking it temporarily mutes anyone else who is speaking.  This system works very quickly, so you cannot always tell that it is working.

 

What we usually experience when this happens is that two or more people try to speak at the same time and you end up hearing a lot of broken/interrupted messages followed by everyone saying "What?"

 

Because this form of communication is becoming the standard/normal most people understand how to cope with this feature.  People hesitate before speaking - and if two people talk at the same time there is usually a courteous pause while someone waits and another continues to speak.

 

Raising your physical hand, or in some systems your virtual hand is a great way to "take turns" speaking so that the Noise Canceling does not interfere with what is being said.

 

You can help your Noise Canceling work more efficiently by keeping your microphone on Mute when you are not speaking.  This reduces the amount of sound that each device has to filter out during your call.

 

Keep in mind that when you have multiple presenters using different devices you must take turns talking.  If both presenters speak at the same time, one or both people will likely have their message interrupted.

 

This is why you cannot have one presenter play a musical instrument and have another sing along, or speak over the music.

Every time the speaker pauses, you will hear the instrument.  Similarly, when the instrument plays it will get interrupted by the person speaking/singing.

 

This, in conjunction with Internet bandwidth and physical distance to travel, is also why people using these types of calls/meetings cannot sing songs together and have the timing match up.

 

Noise Canceling is your friend.  We would not be able to conduct these type of correspondence without it.  Being aware of it and how to assist it to work more efficiently will result in a much more enjoyable conversation.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.