Enough Already, Mute Your Co-workers (Friday fun)

Have you heard of the new remote-control-device-thingy (I think that’s the technical term) called Enough Already? It works with the coding in your television to recognize when certain celebrities are about to speak, and then mutes your TV so you don’t have to hear them. It’s a real product and it’s brilliant, right?

The creator said he was tired of hearing about Kim Kardashian’s wedding, and Snooki’s… well, Snooki’s everything I guess.

But I think there’s a far bigger application out there; the office.

Sweet Sound of Silence

What if you could mute your boss or coworkers whenever they said whatever it is they say that makes you crazy. Not just the little annoyances or we’d all be working in total silence.

I’m talking about the big things that make you want to pour acid in your ears.

You know what I mean. The catch-phrase your boss uses every other sentence. Or the cliché from 1989 that one of your co-workers won’t give up. (Admittedly, I may be guilty of that. Blame it on the boogie, but I can’t help it.)

How about the story about the crazy thing that happened at work before you worked there. The startup equivalent of a fish tale. It’s gets crazier each time it’s told. And it’s told a lot. Blech.

I think it would revolutionize the way we work. Not to mention the sheer entertainment factor of watching the boss or co-worker babble on with no sound. The expressions and hand gestures all part of a pantomimed play staged just for our amusement. Hee-hee.

Of course, we would never know when we were being muted. But who cares, we’re all talking for ourselves anyway, right?

Here’s the number one thing I would mute:

Anyone who uses the term “gets it.” You know in the, this person is cool enough to be grouped with me, way. “Joe gets it.” “Sara gets it.” “Bill doesn’t get it.” Gag me with a spoon. (oops, there’s the 80’s again.)

What would you mute?

6 Comments

  • Bryce Christiansen

    Reply Reply August 19, 2011

    That’s hilarious but brilliant.

    I would like to mute any time someone says, “Guess what I heard?”

    9 times out of 10 the next thing shared is gossip or hearsay.

    Very clever application Kathy.

    • Kathy Ver Eecke

      Reply Reply August 19, 2011

      Good one on the gossip muter. “Guess what I heard” reminds me of the little 3 yr old next door who starts every sentence with “you know what?” But this opener is usually follow with gossip like “I had peanut butter and jelly for lunch.” I think I’ll keep his volume turned on, cutie that he is.

  • “Now, let’s get our thinking caps on”

    “Blue sky thinking”

    “Strategy”

    “Helicopter view”

    All those stupid phrases. In the corporate world there is always someone who has swallowed some management guru book and then spits out the phrases.

    Andrew

    • Kathy Ver Eecke

      Reply Reply August 20, 2011

      Now if we could only mute BEFORE someone starts to say ‘get our thinking caps on.” It just feels so condescending. We weren’t thinking before? There are annoying business phrases in all situations, corporate and entrepreneurial, but I in my experience there were just a LOT more of them in the corporate world. Maybe it just felt that way because there were more employees, so more people spewing out the same tired expressions.

      Thanks for adding to the list!

  • kathy

    Reply Reply August 20, 2011

    I love this, in broadcasting we call it “fishbowling” when the lips in the picture are moving but there is no audio. Maybe we could take this one step further and write the script we’d like?

    I’d like to mute everything that comes after either “No offense but…” or “I’m just saying…” Why is it the things that follow are never compliments? I’m rewriting it. “No offense but… this post is brilliant”

    • Kathy Ver Eecke

      Reply Reply August 20, 2011

      Very funny. And thanks. I’m just saying…that was a great comment. 🙂

      Kathy

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