How to minimize background noise when working from home

There are all sorts of background noises to contend with when you work at home

Whether you are on a video call, a teleconference, or just a plain old telephone call you want to minimize background noise. If you’ve got something to say you want to be heard, and you don’t want to have to ask people to repeat themselves. Likewise, you don’t want any unexpected or irritating distractions interfering with your call.

You may not be able to plan for every contingency, such as the neighbor starting up their lawn mower or leaf blower when you are in the middle of an earnest discussion, but you can do a few things to minimize background noise:

• Let other people in your household know that you are about to make a call (that is, ask them to be quiet!).

• Turn off any sources of noise – music, TV…

• Put your phone on silent.

• Turn off the volume on your laptop so others don’t hear your email alerts or another call coming in.

• Make sure your furry friends are happy and not likely to disturb you mid-call.

• Use a good headset so that there is no white noise or echoing. There are headsets available that include noise-cancelling microphones.

• Close doors or windows that might let in outside noise.

• Use the mute button when you are not talking.

• Move to another location.

• Make sure your fan or heating is not generating too much noise – you may want to turn them down or off for the duration of a call.

• Schedule your calls at times you know will be quieter.

And, like most other things in life, there are apps that can help with noise cancellation. Be conscious of your environment and the noises that could be amplified or unwelcome on a call.

Minimizing these background noises will avoid distractions and help make your conference calls as beneficial as possible.

Have a peaceful day,

Karen

This tip is based on Tip 52 ‘Minimize Background Noise‘ from Professional in Pajamas: 101 Tips for Working from Home.

Karen Adamedes

Karen Adamedes is an experienced executive, author and career-tipster. In her most recent book ‘Professional in Pajamas: 101 Tips for Working from Home’ Karen shares many of the insights she has gained during a decade of working from home, where she has negotiated multi-million dollar deals, led national teams and delivered major projects. She does admit to sometimes working in her pajamas.