When Logic Whispers and Volume Wins

One of my favorite pastimes is simply watching people talk.
I go to public spaces - gym, market, bar, business center - and just observe. Not in a creepy way, but with quiet curiosity. People fascinate me: how they argue, how they insist, how they try to influence one another. Every time I watch, I’m reminded why introverts often feel more at home expressing themselves online, where volume doesn’t drown out value.
This week, I had to visit a commercial center to print out some documents for a proposal. Inside, a small group of people had gathered. Three men were deep in conversation - no, an argument - about the new prepaid meters NEPA has mandated for their building.
Two of them were all for it. “At least we’ll now pay for only what we use,” one of them said.
The third man disagreed. He pointed out that the meter wasn’t being installed per flat, it was for the entire block. “Someone with an AC and pressing iron will pay the same as someone using just a fan,” he said. “How is that fair?”
But he couldn’t get through. The other two kept pushing back, not with stronger arguments, but with louder ones.
Then something interesting happened.
A fourth man, also a business operator within the premises, walked past, overheard the discussion, and jumped in. His voice was deep and commanding. Within seconds, he had taken control of the conversation. And guess what he said? The exact same thing the third man had been trying to explain all along.
Only now, everyone was nodding.
His volume had given his ideas a weight they hadn’t carried before. Not because they were new. Not because they were better. Just because they were loud.
By the time I left, all four men were in agreement - on a point that had been dismissed just minutes earlier when it came from a quieter voice.
And that, to me, says a lot.
Logic didn’t win. Reason didn’t prevail. Extroversion did.
We often comfort ourselves with the belief that good ideas rise to the top on merit alone. That logic and truth speak for themselves. But in the real world, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, the loudest voice, not the wisest one, carries the day.
Here is the takeaway for me: There’s the way we wish the world worked, and there’s the way it actually works.
If your voice is soft, you may need to find a platform where tone doesn’t overpower truth.
If you have something valuable to say, say it. And sometimes, say it louder.
Because in many conversations, the deciding factor isn’t always who’s right.
It’s who’s heard.