Acoustic Intelligence for Smarter Working

Richard RogersHead of B2B Marketing, Europe & Africa

September 2014

For internal use only. © Plantronics 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Smarter Working is on the riseCollaboration Must Be Easy:

• New workspaces in and outside the office

• Explosion of virtual collaboration tools & technologies to learn

• New behaviours to master

For internal use only. © Plantronics 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Acoustic Challenges of Modern Work Often Overlooked

For internal use only. © Plantronics 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Space Telecoms Personal

Acoustic Intelligence Framework to Improve your Business Communication

Spaces

Workspaces are changingNew Style Offices

Working from “Elsewhere”

Increasing Noise Challenges

• Impact of acoustics often overlooked in modern office design

• Reduced privacy

Biggest Complaints of Office Workers:

Source: University of California, Berkeley (2007)

1. Noise2. Lack of Speech

Privacy

70% of office workers believe they would be more productive in a less noisy environmentSource: American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) (1997)

81% of Managers are unconcerned about office noise

Source: Occupational Health & Safety Magazine (2002) [follow-up ASID Study]

Acoustic Challenges Inside the “New” Office• Less physical barriers in

open plan designs

• Lack of sound absorption material used on ceiling, walls & floors

• Speech being too intelligible:

• Limited private spaces

• Workstations design (partitions)

• No management of variable noise levels

Acoustic Shielding to Manage Noise in the officeProvide Superb acoustic performance for a optimal working environment based on Acoustics “ABC”:

• Absorption

• Blocking

• Cover

Address Speech Privacy with Wireless Headsets

Active noise-canceling technology to help focus better in noisy environments

Telecoms

Business communication is evolving rapidly• Explosion of mobile devices

• Multiple platforms for telephony

• Unified Communications

• Increasing network challenges

• Diverse set of work locations

Professional Headsets Enhance Telecommunications Speech Quality

Improves a Wideband Communications System

Reduces Transmission of Background Noise

Enables High Sound Quality & Naturalness

Minimises Double Talk Interference

Adapted from: Advanced speech quality testing of modern communication equipment: An overview, H.W. Gierlich & F. Kettler (2005) [HEAD Acoustics GMBH]

A professional headset provides a superior wideband experience to a traditional handset• Headset provides tighter

coupling to the ear

• This prevents lower frequency sound “leaking”

• Headset user enjoys richer, more natural sound

Source: H.W. Gierlich, HEAD Acoustics (2005))

Background Noise Reduction• Background noise impacts

speech intelligibility

• Technology in a professional headset works to cancel out this noise

• Receiver hears more of speaker’s voice in relation to surrounding background noise

Advanced Noise Cancelling with Voyager Legend

3x Mics cancel out background and wind noise for professional sound, calling from anywhere

Headset speaker specification & frequency supported are key factors• Reference frequency

ranges:• Human ear - 12 Hz to 20

kHz

• Narrowband telephony- 300 Hz to 3.4 kHz

• Wideband telephony - 150 Hz to 6.8 kHz

• Hi-Fi Sound - 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Plantronics Blackwire Stereo Headsets>Speakers specification 20Hz to 20kHz for more “natural”

sound and a richer Hi-Fi multimedia experience>“Dynamic EQ” feature– the speakers adjust frequency

response to optimise for telephony or listening to multimedia

Blackwire 720 Blackwire 520 Blackwire 320Blackwire 725

Reducing double-talk (echo) on the call• Professional audio devices

include echo cancellation technology

• Echo cancellation prevent sound coming through the headset speaker being picked up by the microphone and re-transmitted back to the person talking

Personal

Smarter Working requires:Higher levels of virtual collaboration

• Voice is a critical component collaboration technology

• Different from traditional face-to-face communications

3 critical factors to optimise:

1. Audio Ergonomics

2. Voice Intelligibility

3. Speech Impact

Virtual interaction is Fundamentally Different

Voice OnlyFace-to-Face Voice Only

Body Language

55%Face To Face: Mehrabian, A. (1971). Silent messages. Wadsworth, Belmont, California.

Telephone: Mehrabian, Albert & Morton Wiener (1967): Decoding of inconsistent communications. Journal of personality and social psychology 6(1): 109-114.

Tone of Voice 38%

Message 7%

Tone of Voice 87%

Message 13%

Audio Ergonomics – The Right Design

Wall of Ears Acoustic Sound Chamber

Iconic Designs

50+ years of Excellence in Acoustics, Ergonomics & Design

Audio Ergonomics – Comfort (Acoustic Protection)>Provide employees protection against

uncomfortable loud sounds >Noise At Work Directive (2003/10/EC) specifies

limits for long term (daily) noise exposure of employees

>Ongoing engagement with various organisation e.g. DECT Forum / TCO / HSE & WW standards

Plantronics Products for Maximum Acoustic Protection

>TCO-Edge certified>N@W compliant

>Fast-acting limiter that reduces loud noises

>Limits average sound level to 85 dB over an 8-hour

CS 510/20 Savi 740 Blackwire 720

Voice Intelligibility – The Right Technology

Mobile Devices Unified Communications

Professional Headset

Fast Internet Connection

Appropriate Workspace

Speech Impact – The Right Conversation

>Beyond voice transmit/receive>Being understood (content)>Engagement and impact (results)

>How your voice works>Lungs and cords ... keeping them fit>Power-Pace-Pitch-Pause

>Storytelling>Standing up rather than sitting

Plantronics Support

The Plantronics Proposition:

• International experience with recent office re-designs and Smarter Working to learn from

• 50+ years expertise experience in personal device acoustics

• Innovative audio devices to help associates manage disruptive sound in the modern workspace