If you have ever watched a Charlie Brown special or read the comic strip, you may recognize this phrase.  Spoken by the unintelligible teacher, we were only privy to translation through the kids’ dialogue. Charles Schultz wasn’t interested in depicting adults.  Schultz experimented early with including adults off strip but just with their dialogue.  It became awkward. Why weren’t adults included?  Schulz would say, “I usually say that [adults] do not appear because the daily strip is only an inch and a half high, and they wouldn’t have room to stand up.” Funny man.  Later he cited that the introduction of adults would ruin the magic of the strip.  The sound of adult voices in the television specials were presented by a trombone – a perfect sound for children’s interpretation of humdrum adult conversations.

Do you ever hear the wah, wah, woh wah wah sound in your head when you’re listening to someone speak?  I think as children we hear it a lot!  It takes too much concentration to make sense of all the words adults are saying.  They use so many!  Similarly, as adults, we tune out lengthy dialogue and choose what we want to hear.  Sometimes our filter is off.  By editing out the wrong words, we can easily miss the intention of the message.  What happens next?  Misunderstandings, missed directions, confusion. 

How do we help our listener avoid the trombone wah wah woh wah wah sound?  Streamline your topic focus to make certain your message is clear.  Make it interesting with descriptive words or anecdotes and ask questions to confirm comprehension.  Do this all without being patronizing and you have the skills of a great conversationalist!

If we find ourselves on the listening end of an exchange, how do we avoid hearing the wah wah woh wah wah sound and tuning out?  Ask questions to create a pause in the barrage of words.  Comment on the information being shared to aid the other person in knowing that you care about what they’re saying; you understand their message.  

Taking time to encourage good conversation can spur better relationships at home, school , the workplace and the corner coffee shop.  Comprehending and appreciating information being shared can go a long way in binding people closer together.  We all want to be heard and we all have our opinions. What a kumbaya moment it would be if we could enjoy meaningful conversations without judgement or defensiveness. Let’s keep the wah wah woh wah wah tones in the comic strip or in the band where the rest of the music plays!