The Speech Chain

• The message to be conveyed by speech goes through five levels of representation between the speaker and the listener, namely:The linguistic level (where the basic sounds of the

communication are chosen to express some thought of idea)

The physiological level (where the vocal tract components produce the sounds associated with the linguistic units of the utterance)

The acoustic level (where sound is released from the lips and nostrils and transmitted to both the speaker (sound feedback) and to the listener)

The physiological level (where the sound is analyzed by the ear and the auditory nerves), and finally

The linguistic level (where the speech is perceived as a sequence of linguistic units and understood in terms of the ideas being communicated)

Barrier: Any obstacle that blocks communication

• These are the hindrances or the difficulties involved in the process of communication which distort the message being properly understood by the receiver. Barriers can also prevent the communication from being effective.

Identifying barriers

Communication is about overcoming barriers.

State all the barriers that you can think of that impact on your day-to-day communication.

• If a person has an idiosyncrasy, he or she has a little quirk, or a funny behavior, that makes him or her different.

• Example: Putting salt in your hot chocolate or needing the light on to sleep or tapping your head while you think

Personal BarriersPersonal Barriers• Fear of failure. visualize the worst thing that can happen• Time• Energy. especially when it comes to exercising, weight loss and

health problems. A lack of exercise, being overweight and having health problems such as depression will make you feel tired.

• Resources. When a lack of family support, money, education or experience prevents you from doing something you really want to do, you may feel thwarted before you have ever begun reaching your goal. If you need more education, take one class at a time until you have reached your goal. If it is money that holds you back, look for ways to better use the money you have or to make more money. Whatever the missing resource, remember that the journey toward reaching your goal is as important as the goal itself. Take the journey a step at a time and keep moving, even if you are reduced to baby steps for a while.

Interpersonal BarrierInterpersonal barriers occur due to the inappropriate transaction of

words between two or more people.The two broad categories into which this barrier can be classified are:

• *Inefficiency in communication skills• *Negative aspect nurturing in the climateIf there are two people involved in communication,the traits that

distinguish them as individuals can be the root cause of a communication problem

• The most common reasons for interpersonal barriers are as follows:

• *Limited vocabulary• *Emotional outbursts• *Communication selectivity• *Poor listening skills• *Noise in the channel• *Cultural variations

Perceptual barrier

• An example of perceptual barriers can be seen in films when a person starts to yell clipped phrases at a person that they believe is deaf. However, when that person turns out to not be deaf, the person who was yelling not only looks ridiculous, but realizes that he or she was not able to actually communicate anything of substance. This is a bias that gets in the way of true effective communication.

• For example, if the receiver of the communication is untrusting because of past experiences then he may form an opinion of what is being communicated without effectively listening.

• Another example of perceptual communication is when the sender of the communication has low self-esteem and therefore does not convey his message with conviction. In this case, the strong words will not convince the listener because the perception of the communicator is that he does not believe in the message.

Environmental Barrier

• Time: Time lag and the amount of time it takes for a message to travel across the world is one of the most major barriers to communication and how things are communicated. Communication and the speed of communication is the most major factor. The modern world has seen huge leaps in the speed of communication in the recent years.

• Space: The space in between the communications and the size of the area is also a major factor in the process of communication. Space can act as a barrier and an aid to communication

• Place: The place is also a factor that affects suitability of the communications on offer. For example a place that has a bad environment and causes people to be irritable can cause people to lack in the communication end as they are unhappy. In the opposite side of things a good environment can lead to calmer and better communication between people.

• Climate: Warm weather or cold weather can cause affects on people's perceptions and their abilities to make decisions. Different climates affect people's views in different ways and can be a barrier to communication caused by environment.

• Noise: if there is too much noise it can irritate people and they may not be able to hear each other. A quiet calm place and environment can be the best for communication.

Physical

• 1. noise • 2. improper time• 3. Distance• 4. Inadequate or overload information

Organizational• Goal Conflicts There may be goal conflicts within the

organization between the superiors and the subordinates, between people working in the different departments, between the colleagues, etc. This may create a hostile atmosphere within the organization and can lead to serious communication breakdown.

• Organizational Policies These are also to a great extent responsible for determining the kind of rapport that people working in the same organization share with each other. If the organizational policy is such that it restricts the free flow of information in all directions, then communication would not be successful. In some organizations, there may be rules that restrict the flow of certain messages and this may deter the employees from conveying those messages, however important they may be.

• Organizational Hierarchy The hierarchical structure of the organization also impedes the flow of information and causes delay in taking decisions. When the message passes along the chain of command in an organization, there are chances of filtering and distortion of the message at almost every level before it reaches the intended receiver. Thus, the hierarchical structure of the organization is also one of the important factors that may create a barrier to effective communication.

Semantic Barrier

• Semantic barriers result when a speaker chooses words or makes statements that aren't easily interpreted by the listener

• Examples: > Use of Different Language

>Different interpretation of different words and symbols>Poor Vocabulary> Poor grammatical knowledge

• Semantics• -these are barriers which arise because of the

different meanings that different wordshave in different contexts. The same word may have one meaning in the mind of the sender and adifferent meaning in the mind of the receiver which can block the understanding between the two.

4. When you are in some other language community language becomes a barrier. Or when you don’t understand the words spoken by a person.

• 5. A communication breakdown occurs when communication is incomprehensible to one party or entirely absent between two people.For example, communication breakdown occurs when a couple fights and then refuses to speak to each other

• > Otherwise known as "the silent treatment," refusing to communicate is one of the most common forms of communication breakdown. It usually occurs when two parties disagree or when someone says something offensive or hurtful.

6. > Think before you speak. If you think about what you say before you speak, you have the chance to organize your thoughts, rehearse your words, evaluate the situation, and not say something stupid.>Speak up. If you don't voice your needs, you won't get what you want. And say what you want clearly and loudly enough to hear.>Be clear. Keep the message as simple as possible. Don't ramble or go on to a lot of extra details.>Be polite. If you're interrupting other people, being rude, and disrespectful, you will not communicate effectively anything but you're a jerk.

• > Get his or her attention. If you don't have the other person's attention, you won't get the message across. Get eye contact, make sure the other person is listening.

• >Listen. If you don't listen to the other person, you are likely to end up miscommunicating. Good listening is often more important than whatever you say.

• > Don't assume. This is the most common presumption people tend to make. And it is the most disastrous one as well. Unless you say something, you usually cannot be entirely sure the other person knows what you're thinking, feeling, or whatever.

• >Understand body language. Much of communication is non-verbal. Pay attention; it can be very important.

7. There is no zero-defect communicationIt means that whether the message is positive

or negative it still has an effect on the receiver.