Can We Talk?
Can we talk?
I can’t even type “Can we talk?” without hearing Joan Rivers’ voice in my head. One thing I have found to be universal in choir rehearsals is the desire to TALK.
When my students have been extra chatty, and I find it difficult to keep them in check without clamping down hard, sometimes I will turn to this trick. I will use the stereo system in my room (my laptop is connected to it), and play the soundtrack of Coffitivity.com over the speakers.
Coffitivity.com is a website that allows users to stream audio from a variety of coffee-shop settings. They also have an iOS app. Their assertion is that just a little bit of noise allows people to work more freely than stifling silence or a full-blown ruckus. And to answer your question now: IT WORKS. It’s fantastic, and I’m using their app right now as I type on my iPad.
I’ll play the Coffitivity.com soundtrack while the students are milling around before class begins. They normally don’t realize it is on because they are talking themselves. Then, as class starts, I leave it running. I intentionally speak softly, which is difficult to hear above the murmuring noise. Students will begin to sing louder, stop talking, and stare at your face in an attempt to read your lips. Inevitably, one of the kids will ask what the noise is. This gives me my opening: “I’m sorry, does all that talking make it more difficult for you to work?” There’s a fine line between tongue-in-cheek humor and blatant smart-aleck, so make sure you are on the right side with your presentation.
Once you have done this, you have it in your bag of tricks forever. Keep the website up and running in a tab, paused. Any time you feel like your patience is running short, don’t blow your stack - let Coffitivity.com do the work for you! When you turn it on, they’ll get the message. And then use it for yourself to make a nice, zen workflow when you are alone. Your office can instantly become the local Starbucks!
