I share an office with a really LOUD co-worker. When he's on the phone I can barely hear myself think.?

How can I tactfully address this without totally peeving him off? He can be a bit touchy when he's challenged on such things.

sometimes the truth hurts but it is always the best policy, be gentle and tell him your problem and let him deal with it.
the alternative is to go on suffering this and that is not sensible.

Say shhhh, but don't let him know it is coming from you.

ME too!!!!! For me, just 2 things to do:

1. Tell him directly but in a calm way to pls. lower his voice.
2. Learn to live with it until he "finds" his new "volume".

A couple of ways come to mind;
* talk to your superviser, advise that it is impacting your job performance
* talk directly to co-worker, assume that he isn't aware of the loudness, and tell him that during the last phone conversation you heard everything he said, and that you wanted to let him know that his voice really carries. Hopefully that would give him a hint. If not, the next time, call him on the phone and remind him that he is being very loud.

Office politics can be more volatile than dealing with the in-laws!

I know exactly how you feel.... There is one in our office too!

Perhaps you should speak to the manager and ask him if he could confidentially speak to the guy - and not reveal your identity because it could make working with him difficult.

I don't really work in the same department as the guy in our office, but he deals with customers and can be quite er... rude at times. Doesn't really have the 'customer care' thing memorised.. you know? lol

I've thought about mentioning it to the office manager - but to be honest I can't be bothered yet. I don't really have anything to with this guy anyway so I try to ignore it.

One day, invite your co-worker at tea soon after one of the phone calls made is over. Do not mention about anything and talk goody. Notice what happens the next day. If it continues, one more invitation. And then you will get the invitation and after that the problem would be over. Mutual understanding will replace lack of understanding of each other's presence. Good luck to you.

no

Tell him to have some consideration toward the people around him.

I would go to the supervisor and tell them. The supervisor can then relay that some people have had a problem with that (not mentioning you) and that the guy needs to lower the volume a bit.

He may not be aware how loud he is talking. Perhaps the volume on his phone is very loud and he is speaking louder to match the volume of the phone. He could even have a hearing problem. You might just say something like, "Hey, I don't know if you're aware, but you speak really loud when you're on the phone. I really notice because it's loud enough that I can't focus on my work. I thought you might want to know; I hope you're not losing your hearing."