How do you deal with loud talkers?

Thanks Jdeerfoot. I was actually at Costco this morning. Will find out this year before I retire. Maybe insurance will help out. I know my sister picked some up recently. About $1800 I believe.

coldfeet said:

Thanks Jdeerfoot. I was actually at Costco this morning. Will find out this year before I retire. Maybe insurance will help out. I know my sister picked some up recently. About $1800 I believe.

Click to expand...

Depending on your situation hearing aids can be much cheaper than they used to be, all depends on significant your hearing loss is.

I have never given loud talking much thought, except for drunks, I hate drunks.
Carefully selecting people for a canoe trip and pairing them together in boats is an acquired skill.

I am the loud talker. I have a very large and resonant chest, which combine with my low baritone to create a sound that.... travels. Even with hushed tones, it just kinda rumbles along like a well-muffled V8.

It is something I am conscious of (even a bit self-conscious), and I make sure to let anyone I travel with know that they should be completely uninhibited with requests to "tone it down".

Most naturally loud people are aware of their affliction, and unless of insufficient maturity to handle the pointed observations of others, generally appreciate the occasional reminder to back it off a bit.

And quiet bow paddlers are def the worst.

Not too much trouble with loud talkers, but I've got a few friends who are loud snorers. I will wait and let them set up camp first, then pick a spot as far away as I can get. My son woke me up on one trip and said, "Daddy, I heard an alligator." He was genuinely scared.

As a frequent canoe race primary bow paddler, the worst thing to do is to overtalk the stern paddler and miss a "hut" call. I have to occasionally talk to relay conditions ahead, but will try to wait until just after a hut and get out all of what I need to say before the next hut. Usually, the timing of huts is regular and known by paddle stroke count, except when a turn or maneuver is upcoming. Being bow paddler in a 7-seat voyageur canoe, it can be difficult for the stern to hear what i have to say and vice-versa. I will continue paddling at team pace rate while turning my head to the side to speak loudly enough and to hear. My hearing is good, but sometimes paddler in seat #2 will have to relay to me what is being said from the stern area, especially when in strong wind or waves when I might not hear a hut call. During long boring segments of the Yukon River races, sometimes a conversation is struck to break the boredom. Done between hut timing. On the 1000-mile race, our canoe was unintentionally divided between 3 paddlers in the front, then a pile of gear separating the four in the rear. Each section tended to have our own social conversations.

When I am instructor for BSA guide trek leader training, we stress to students that conversation must be at a low level of conversational speech, which they should carry over to when they are later guiding scouts. If a canoe gets too far away to easily hear another without shouting, then it is simply too far away, which is against safety and LNT policy.

Flat part of the paddle.

I don't think there's anything you can do about it. Loud or constant talking is probably a lifetime habit and difficult to correct while on a trip. What kills me is when some wild animal comes into view, the person who shouts "OOOH LOOK AT THE MOOSE!"

Paddlinhal said:

What kills me is when some wild animal comes into view, the person who shouts "OOOH LOOK AT THE MOOSE!"

Click to expand...

Oh let me tell you about that one.
During our 5 separate Yukon River races we saw many animals on the edge of the River. Many Moose, black bears and also Grizzlies, an uncountable number of bald eagles, and even a wolf or two, including a coal black one and even a herd of moutain sheep on a mountain side. but the lady always siting directly behind me in seat #2 in our 7 paddler voyageur canoe had the annoying habit of reapid exclamation and yelling with pointing with a lot of motion: "Bear!!", or whatever animal she spotted before most everyone else could look that way and the target animal would instantly disappear into the dense willow bush behind them (except for the distant sheep). She became famous for that.

Noise is a fact of life for most people. My wife has to have the TV on, even if she’s not watching. Most kids need noise too, even if it’s their own voice. I talk to my dog a lot, although he doesn’t always hold up his end of the conversation . I love seeing wildlife.