I work in a big corporate office and a slightly more senior colleague of mine under a different reporting line, with maybe ~25 years in the industry, Alice, has twice complained to me about how loud I speak - or it could be my actual voice.
The first time I was giving instructions to a colleague of mine and getting him some data to work on. At the time, I felt that it was warranted but still somewhat rude to say "Please keep it down - it's really bothering me" - it is an open office corporate space after all, not a library. That said, I did apologize and kept it down, making a conscious effort to tone in down since.
The second most recent time, an immediate colleague and I were discussing about our company and Alice, visibly annoyed, got up and reached for her in-ear headphones. Trying to be a good corporate citizen, I asked, "Alice, are we bothering you?" and Alice responded "a little bit but..." with something mumbled at the end. Anyway, I, again, adjusted and all went fine.
I find myself being bothered by this attitude. I am not the only one talking and when I am distracted from the technical work I do, I just get my headphone. I've never had someone complain about my voice or loudness and I need a way to respond in an assertive, strong way to basically say, I will try to keep it down but this is a corporate setting and you should get used to it.
EDIT: I wanted to add two more things.
1st - I don't speak loudly. My normal tone was bothering her - not me yelling or having a heated argument. It's the same tone that distracts me and I tolerate in the open office I work.
2nd - When I say "all went fine" - it basically meant that I ended up whispering or stopping the discussion altogether. That's not sustainable hence my question.
