ORAL COMMUNICATION IN CONTEXT

(WEEK 3- Day 2)

Name of Learner: __________________________________

Grade Level: ______________________________________
Section: __________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

(Effective Communication: Barriers and Strategies)

Brief Discussion of the Lesson

Some basic skills can help you to be a more effective communicator in the classroom.
This Teaching Tip explores:
 Barriers to accurate perception and strategies for accurate perception

Barriers to accurate perception

 Stereotyping and generalizing. Be careful not to hold on to preconceptions about people or

things. We often have a tendency to see what we want to see, forming an impression from a small
amount of information or one experience, and assuming that to be highly representative of the
whole person or situation.
 Not investing time. Making assumptions and ignoring details or circumstances can lead to
misconceptions. When we fail to look in-depth for causes or circumstances, we miss important
details, and do not allow for the complexity of the situation.
 Having a distorted focus. Focusing on the negative aspects of a conversation or a situation is a
habit common to many people. Even though we may recognize the positive things, we often give
more weight to the negative, allowing one negative comment to overshadow numerous positive
ones.
 Assuming similar interpretations. Not everyone will draw the same conclusions from a given
situation or set of information. Everybody interprets things differently. Make sure to check for
other people’s interpretations, and be explicit about your own.
 Experiencing incongruent cues. As speakers, and as listeners, we are constantly and
simultaneously sending cues and receiving them from other people. Try to be consistent with your
verbal cues and your body language. Do not say one thing and express something else through
your body language. Be aware of how your non-verbal communication relates to your spoken
words. If someone else seems to be sending a double message — by saying one thing and
expressing something else in their body language — ask for clarification.
Strategies for accurate perception

 Analyze your own perceptions. Question your perceptions, and think about how they are formed.
Check in with others around you regularly, and be aware of assumptions that you are making.
Seek additional information and observations. You may just need to ask people if your perceptions
are accurate.
 Work on improving your perception. Increase your awareness of barriers to perception, and
which ones you tend towards. Check in with yourself regularly. Seek honest, constructive
feedback from others regarding their perceptions of you as a means of increasing your self-
awareness.
 Focus on others. Develop your ability to focus on other people, and understand them better by
trying to gather knowledge about them, listening to them actively, and imagining how you would
feel in their situation.

Learning Competency

 Use various strategies to avoid communication breakdown

ACTIVITY 1
Directions: Write what barrier to accurate perception does the following statement implies.

________________________1. Angela keeps on insisting that she shouldn’t invest in her friend’s
company because all she thinks is about too much risk.

________________________2. The speaker didn’t ask whether the listeners get his point of view.

________________________3. All Americans are generally considered to be friendly, generous,

and tolerant, but also arrogant, impatient, and domineering.

________________________4. The students said that they understand the lesson but keep on
creasing their forehead during the discussion.

________________________5. After asking few questions, Mr. Alvarez said that it’s time for him
to go because of some errands.

ACTIVITY 2

Direction: Answer the following questions.

1. Recall a recent communication encounter with someone where you experience barrier to accurate
perception. How did you overcome it?
 2. Which barrier(s) to perceiving others do you think present the most challenge to you and why?
What can you do to start to overcome these barriers?

Reflection:

What you have learned after taking up this lesson?

Key to Correction:
1. Having distorted focus
2. Assuming similar interpretations
3. Stereotyping
4. Experiencing incongruent cues
5. Not investing time

References:
Oral Communication in Context TG
Oral Communication in Context Curriculum Guide
https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/2-4-improving-perception/
 Prepared by:
REA B. REYES