Degrees of Speech Privacy: How much is enough?

When it comes to office acoustics, design follows function. Every human space has different acoustical requirements, depending on its purpose. We expect it to be quiet in a library, and noisy at a basketball game. The acoustical design of each space has (hopefully) been tailored to its function. Like libraries and gymnasiums, office space benefits from acoustical design that has been tailored to its specific purpose.

There are five generally recognized degrees of speech privacy:

1. No speech privacy
2. Transitional
3. Normal
4. Confidential
5. Secret

No Speech Privacy

In environments where face-to-face conversation is the major activity, speech privacy isn't typically desirable, since of course the purpose of a conversation is to hear and understand one another. Retail space, restaurants, lecture halls, and reception areas are examples of areas that don't typically benefit from speech privacy.

Transitional Speech Privacy

Transitional levels of speech privacy allow for transmission of auditory information, but make it slightly more difficult to clearly understand human speech. Casual office layouts with mixed use areas (often used to develop a "team" feeling in the office) generally provide Transitional speech privacy. Though it may feel more like home to have a couch and coffee table in the middle of the work area, it will also sound more like home, too. Depending on the office culture, this may not be a bad thing, but it may lead to an unprofessional atmosphere unless carefully planned and monitored.

Normal Speech Privacy

Most office workers find that Normal speech privacy levels help them to focus on their work, without distraction. Normal privacy allows for auditory transmission, but makes it difficult to understand conversations outside of the employee's immediate area. Office areas in which people are typically working alone at their desks will benefit from Normal privacy levels. The majority of office space falls into this category, though there is a large degree of acceptable variance within the Normal range.

Confidential Speech Privacy

In situations where privacy is important, either for personal, professional, or legal reasons, Confidential speech privacy is recommended. Conversations that you would typically have "behind closed doors" require Confidential privacy levels, ensuring that human speech is completely unintelligible to listeners outside of the conversation.

Secret Speech Privacy

As the name implies, Secret privacy levels make it extremely difficult or impossible for outside listeners to overhear a conversation, even with listening devices. Though it may seem like the stuff of James Bond movies, there are situations in which organizations require complete secrecy in order to protect their interests and prevent information leaks.