Barriers and

Strategies in
Communication
What is Effective Communication?

Happens when the receiver does not only get the message
but he or she must truly understand it.

Effectively communicating with ones’ self or other can be

hindered because of communication barriers.
 Barriers in Communication
A. Language Barriers
English is not our native language; thus, we are called second language learners. As second
language learners, there will be times when misinterpretation happens- this may be caused
using terminologies or nuances that are not familiar to us; thus, creating confusion between the
sender and receiver of the message.

Keep in mind that misinterpretation can also happen even if we use our native tongue. Again,
terms or jargons used may be the root of this issue.
 Barriers in Communication
B. Psychological Barriers
State of mind can also be a hindrance to the communication process.

An example can be when someone is stressed he or she can be easily irritated and
may snap at the people they talk to.
 Barriers in Communication
C. Physiological Barriers
Refer to the physical state of a person. A receiver who is legally blind may not clearly
grasp the whole picture of the conversation because he is disadvantaged with a disability
that hinders him from reading non-verbal cues coming from the speaker.

Someone who is partially suffering from tinnitus can have a hard time understanding
spoken communication because of the ringing in his ears. .
 Barriers in Communication
D. Physical Barriers
Can include geographical distance. Although calls made through Facebook and Skype can
help bridge communication between continents, there are non-verbal cues that cannot be
read because of the context of the communication.

A person feigning sickness so that his mother will not worry can get away with this
because his mom will not be able to assess the physical state and body language of her son
just from online calls.
 Barriers in Communication
E. Systematic / Systemic Barriers
Refers to hindrances in the structure and organization where there is inefficient or lack of
appropriate information systems or communication channels. Roles and responsibilities may be
unclear; thus, a person may be confused as to what role he plays in the communication process.
An example can be an email coming from a big boss of a business unit of a multinational
company. A notification regarding an issue suddenly appeared and she emailed all the teams
under her supervision. She asked the status of a certain database but did not specify which team
is responsible in giving the feedback. Instead of solving the problem that instant, it took her
whole team one day and a half to resolve the issue. Nobody replied to her email because nobody
was sure which team is supposed to handle that certain project.
 Barriers in Communication
F. Attitudinal Barriers
Conflict from this barrier arises because of poor management, lack of motivation, resistance or
internal or interpersonal conflicts. The attitude of a receiver significantly affects how he/she
understands the message.

An example can be being in a team with a classmate who you think is annoying.
Communicating with her may become difficult because there is a high possibility that anything
she says to you can be understood in the wrong way. Your preconceived notion of her taints the
message she sends to you.
 Barriers in Communication
F. Attitudinal Barriers
Conflict from this barrier arises because of poor management, lack of motivation, resistance or
internal or interpersonal conflicts. The attitude of a receiver significantly affects how he/she
understands the message.

An example can be being in a team with a classmate who you think is annoying.
Communicating with her may become difficult because there is a high possibility that anything
she says to you can be understood in the wrong way. Your preconceived notion of her taints the
message she sends to you.
Strategies in Communication

1. Practice active listening.

2. Pay attention to nonverbal cues.
3. Keep your emotions at bay
4. Assert yourself.
 How can you be assertive without being
hostile:
a. Always remember that your opinion matters just like everyone else’s does.
b. Know yourself. Determine your needs and wants then learn to express them without stepping
undermining the rights of others.
c. It’s ok to express your emotions as long as you remain respectful. Learn how to express negative
feelings in a way that will not truly offend the other person or group.
d. Accept feedback. Accept compliments. Ask when you need help and be always grateful to others in
addition to learning from your mistakes.
e. Know your limits. Be brave enough to say “no”. Agreeing and saying “yes” all the time may result to
spreading yourself too much which may affect the quality of your output or feedback. Being firm and
clear about what you want is beneficial for all parties as they will know where they stand on issues.
 Functions of Communication
Regulation /
Control
 Functions of Communication
Social Interaction
and Emotional
Expression
 Functions of Communication
Motivation

To motivate means to stimulate people to

act on their goals. However, the
motivational kind of communication can
work in two ways, positive or negative
motivation.
Positive motivation happens when the speaker who is
motivating someone or a group uses his or her skills in
communication as a bridge towards selfassessments,
confidence, knowledge, etc.
Negative motivation, on the other hand, can lead either to
communication apprehension, social anxiety, shyness or public
speaking anxiety.
Tools in Effective Oral Communication

All about proper pronunciation, tone, how to

make the sound; what it takes to make you create
the correct sounds in English.
Organs of Speech

This part is all about breathing – inhaling and exhaling. To

inhale is to fill the lungs with air. To exhale is to expel the
air from the lungs. In the production of sound, the
diaphragm plays a significant role. The diaphragm is a
muscle between the ribs and abdomen. When you inhale,
the diaphragm contracts and exerts a pulling action.
Exhalation, on the other hand, relaxes this muscle and
expands. To try proper breathing, make sure that your
shoulders don’t go up and your side expands.
 b. Nature of Obstruction or Manner of Articulation

Stops . These are sounds created by stopping the passage of the breath with a build up
of pressure before the release of breath.

 Fricatives . are created when the air is not completely stopped but goes through with
a hissing sound or friction. Fricatives are continuants, or consonant sounds with the
vocal tract only partially closed, thus allowing air to pass through.

Affricates .can be created when a stop is combined with a fricative. As with the
fricatives, they are also continuants. These sounds can be prolonged as long as the
speaker wants to.
 Nasals . can be produced when the air passes through the nose
and not the mouth.

 Lateral sounds . are created when air is stopped in the center by

the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, while your breath
passes either one or both side of the tongue.

 Semi-vowels . are consonants that sounds vowel-like. There is

no friction made when making the sounds.
 Rhythm of English
 is created through the recurrence of unstressed and stressed
syllables. Stress, (‘) is a sound we put on a syllable or word to make
it stand out from the group.

There are three elements in the rhythm of English: force, pitch, and
duration.

Force shows the intensity or loudness. Pitch is about the tune, and
duration refers to the length of the vowel sound.
h. h
 Intonation of English

 Pitch is the musical tone which we pronounce a stressed syllable. Pitch is an element of stress.

 Tune or melody is the combination of the musical tones when we pronounce the sentences. Intonation is the technical
term for tune.

 Intonation, then, is the music of language.

 There are two kinds of intonation, rising-falling intonation and the rising intonation.

 Command /factual sentences: when the voice rises and then goes down at the end of the sentence. This intonation can
also be applied to open ended questions, meaning they are not answerable by a yes or no.

 The rising of the voice at the end of the sentence signals a question answerable by a yes or no.

 These are the basic tones of English: 1 - low 2 - normal 3 - high 4 – extra high 1,2,3 are commonly used.

 Tone 4 is used when strong emotions are expressed.

 Variants that affect Speech

• Aspiration is the explosive release of air

after the breathe comes in contact with
parts of the speech mechanism. Compare
how /p/, /t/, and /k/ are aspirated when
found in the initial position and when they
are found in the medial or final positions.
 Syllabic Consonants
These are consonants that occur only
when a stressed syllable ends in /t/, /d/,
or /n/ and is followed by /I/ or /n/ in the
unstressed syllable. Carefully consider
the list of word below and observe how
the intervening vowel sound is absent.
Vowel Length Vowel
Length refers to the length of time given to
pronounce a vowel sound. It is the duration or
quantity of time rather than the quality or
difference in sound. Vowel length may be
altered by two things: 1) Stress, and 2) Syllable
structure. Stress goes with the length of the
vowel sound.