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 anidiosyncrasy, 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 Barriers
Personal 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 Barrier

Interpersonal 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 climate
If 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

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

 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 majorbarriers to communicationand how
things are communicated.Communicationand the
speed ofcommunicationis the most major factor.
The modern world has seen huge leaps in the
speed of communicationin the recent years.
Space: The spacein between the communications
and the size of the area is also a major factor in
the process ofcommunication. Space can act as a
barrier and an aid tocommunication

 Place: The place is also a factor thataffectssuitability

of the communications on offer. For example a place
that has a badenvironmentand causes people to be
irritable can cause people to lack in
thecommunicationend as they are unhappy. In the
opposite side of things a goodenvironmentcan lead to
calmer and bettercommunicationbetween people.
Climate: Warm weather or cold weather can
causeaffectson people's perceptions and their
abilities to make decisions. Different
climatesaffectpeople's views in different ways and
can be a barrier tocommunicationcaused 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 andenvironmentcanbe the
bestforcommunication.

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

 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 thereceiver which can block
the understanding betweenthe two.

4. When you are in some other

language community language
becomes a barrier. Or when you
dont 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'tlisten 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 isthe most commonpresumption
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
communication
It means that whether the message
is positive or negative it still has an
effect on the receiver.