MODULE 4

LESSON 4

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN AND

NOISE

CORE SUBJECT
PETER JOHN BARAHAMA
O9150432938
GRADE 11

This module belongs to:

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 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

 identify the different communication breakdown;
 use various strategies in order to avoid communication breakdown.
 construct solutions to avoid communication breakdown.

Lesson 4: Overview
Communication noise refers to the influences on effective communication that
influence the interpretation of conversations. It can have a profound impact both on our
perception of interactions with others and our analysis of our own communication
proficiency. In this lesson, you will be learning the communication breakdown and noise.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Communication Breakdown – it is defined as a failure to exchange information, resulting

in a lack of communication.
Noise – this refers to influences on effective communication that influence the
interpretation of conversations

WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW?

Read and answer the question below.

PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY.

 How do you understand the word breakdown when applied to communication? Give a specific
situation to illustrate your own definition.
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 WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Communication Breakdown and Noise

Breakdowns occur in the communication process from time to time. A breakdown in
communication occurs when the message or the feedback is not sent or received properly – at
least in the way that the sender intends – or is not received by the concerned party altogether.
Many of the causes of communication breakdown can be classified as noise. Noise is
the technical term used to refer to all the possible barriers to effective communication. Noise
may be physical, psychological, physiological, or semantic.

4 TYPES OF NOISE
 Physical Noise
- Physical noise is interference that is external to both speaker and listener; it
hampers the physical transmission of the signal or message. This type of noise
comes from the environment.

 Loud party at the neighbors while you’re trying to record

 Loud kids who don’t want to take their nap
 The irritating hum of your computer, air conditioner, or heater.

 Psychological Noise
- Psychological noise is mental interference in the speaker or listener. This noise also
originates from the emotional state, mental state, and psychological makeup of
a person (e.g., depression, anger, suspicions, paranoia, biases, etc.)
 Three examples of psychological noise are wandering thoughts, preconceived
ideas, and sarcasm.
 “Wandering thoughts” can be a kind of psychological noise

This is primarily a listener problem. If you’re trying to communicate a concept in your podcast,
“wandering thoughts” is an obstacle because your listener may be distracted and have difficulty
keeping up with you. This is often a problem when talking about abstract ideas.
Sometimes as podcasters, we cause a listener’s thoughts to wander, especially if we talk too
fast, too slow, or fail to pause.
But occasionally “wandering thoughts” can be a podcaster problem, too. Have you ever started
talking about one point only to find yourself lost talking about something completely unrelated? It
takes a lot of concentration (and maybe planning) to stay focused.

Another type of psychological noise is when people think they already know something. That
noise interferes with a listener’s willingness to hear a new perspective. Other preconceived ideas
include biases, prejudices, presuppositions, and closed-mindedness. When there is psychological noise
like this, you have to work harder than usual to make sure you’re communicating clearly.

 “Sarcasm” can be a kind of psychological noise

If you don’t care to actually persuade someone to see things your way, then sarcasm is the
easy way. Sarcasm is noise to your listener unless your listener already agrees with you. If your
listener disagrees with you, then sarcasm guarantees they won’t pay attention to your message.
Sarcasm can also rile them up. When they come back at you with their knee-jerk response, that’ll be
noise to you. And then true communication stops.

 Physiological Noise
- Physiological noise is created by barriers within the sender or receiver. This refers
to bodily conditions that compromise the ability of a person to send or receive
messages (eg., hunger, stomach ache, etc.)
Other examples below are based on podcaster’s side:

 Articulation problems
 Mumbling
 Talking too fast
 Talking too slow
 Forgetting to pause
 Forgetting to breathe

An example of physiological noise on the listener’s side: hearing problems. Maybe the
listener can’t hear high tones as clearly as they used to. For some, low tones are the problem.
Their difficulty in literally hearing words and sounds becomes physiological noise.

 Semantic Noise
- Semantic noise is interference created when the speaker and listener have
different meaning systems. Also, it refers to anything related to the meaning of
words that distorts or masks a message and confuses the listener (e.g., a speaker’s
 use of a foreign language, a listener’s limited vocabulary, or differing
interpretations of the meaning of a word, etc.)

 Jargon can be semantic noise

Jargon is a fantastic linguistic shortcut. If everyone listening agrees and understands the
terminology, then jargon makes communication quicker and clearer. However, if listeners have
different definitions of the terminology, then jargon becomes noise.

 Abstract ideas can be semantic noise

Another kind of semantic noise is when your words and sentences are nebulous or
ambiguous. Some people find it almost impossible to speak concretely.

REDUCING THE NOISE

All communication contains noise. You can’t get rid of the noise for every person who
listens to you. But you can work to reduce the noise. Here are three ways.
 Make your language more precise.
-Choose words that you know will be understood by your listeners.
 Practice
- Practice speaking. Practice articulating. Practice using your recording and editing
tools.

 Invite feedback
- Sometimes listeners hesitate before they respond. So invite feedback. Often.

There are many reasons why messages are not clearly understood. There are
possibilities that even great feelings, wonderful ideas, and outstanding behavior are
wasted because the message was distorted along the way. Constantly, many people
struggle to be understood, and unless the underlying causes of miscommunication are
properly identified and addressed one can be seriously entangled with a lot of confusion.
The following are identified barriers that affect effective communication.

1. Language Barrier
- Speaking in vernacular to someone who speaks another language is a
big cause of misunderstanding. Consequently, even when
communicating in the same language, the choice of words can be a
source of disagreement.

A message that includes a lot of specialist jargon and abbreviations

will not be understood by someone who is not familiar with the
terminology used. Language and linguistic ability may act as a barrier
to communication.

2. Psychological Barrier
- The psychological or mental state of the communicators will influence
how the message is sent, received, and perceived.

If someone is stressed, he may be preoccupied with personal concerns

and not as receptive to the message as when he is not stressed.
 - On the other hand, people with low self-esteem may be less assertive
ad therefore may not feel comfortable communicating. They may feel
shy about saying how they feel or read negative sub-texts into
messages they hear.
3. Physiological Barrier
- The person’s physical state can be a reason for ineffective
communication.

Someone with hearing difficulties may not grasp the entirety of a

spoken conversation especially if there is significant background
noise. Moreover, if someone has a speech difficulty, it may also affect
his speech delivery.
4. Physical Barrier
- A noisy environment is not conducive to effective communication. It
affects the transmission of the message and would most likely cause
conflicts.
-
If a manager intends to speak to his employees on a serious matter
regarding their employment status, ideally, he will want to speak to
them in a place that is favorable for a meeting.
- Moreover, the geographical distance of the sender and receiver may
also affect create Communication is generally easier over a shorter
distance.
5. Systematic Barrier
- Systematic barriers to communication may exist in structures and
organizations where there are inefficient or inappropriate information
systems and communication channels, or where there is a lack of
understanding of the roles and responsibilities for communication. In
such organizations, individuals may be unclear of their role in the
communication process and therefore not know what is expected of
them.

6. Attitudinal Barrier
- A person who has an attitude problem does not relate well with people.
Attitudinal barriers are behaviors or perceptions that cause people to
have ineffective communication.
- It may result from personality conflicts, poor management, and
resistance to change, or a lack of motivation. Effective receivers of
messages should attempt to overcome their attitudinal barriers to
facilitate effective communication.

7. Cultural Barrier
- Differences in cultures affect the communication process. Culture
clash is often the cause of miscommunication. When someone’s
culture differs from another, communicators tend to disagree at some
points of the conversation.

There is a culture that does not use shake hands as a way of greeting,
instead, they bow. Some cultures require foreigners who visit their
place to observe and to perform their rituals. Non-conformity to the
said act may cause miscommunication that would lead to conflict.
 HOW DO YOU EXTEND YOUR LEARNING?

Identify the communication barrier found in each statement. Write your

answer on the space provided before each number.
COMPREHENSION
CHECK (1)

_______________________ 1. Josephine find’s Eric’s speech mediocre because he used

vernacular in his entire speech.
_______________________ 2. They had a hard time understanding each other’s opinions
because they were talking in the middle of a rally.
_______________________ 3. The student doesn’t talk in class often because he is always shy.
_______________________ 4. Grandma barely hears what I am saying because she is old.
_______________________ 5. When he was about to say the most important thing to her, a
vehicle passed by.
_______________________ 6. Because of being overworked, conflicts between couples are
evident in the family.
_______________________ 7. They often cannot decide on what to do with the case since their
Constitution and By-laws aren’t clear.
_______________________ 8. I cannot explain my side of the story because he doesn’t listen to
me.
_______________________ 9. The audience in the auditorium was not encouraged to listen
because he talked softly.
_______________________ 10. The man was not understood because of the poor articulation of
words.

HOW DO YOU EXTEND YOUR LEARNING?

Write on the blank column the type of each noise listed below.

COMPREHENSION
CHECK (2)

NOISE TYPE
1. Headache

2. Noise from a busy construction site

3. Missing someone

4. Disliking the speaker

5. Noise from moving vehicles

6. Speaker’s ambiguous words

 7. Excited to do something else

8. The grumbling of the stomach

9. Poor ventilation in the venue

10. Talking among seatmates

11. Lack of interest in the topic

12. Unclear pronunciation of words

HOW DO YOU APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED?

In the table below, write a situation/scenario where there is

miscommunication. On the next column, write the miscommunication and its
possible solution/s.

Context/Issues Miscommunication Solution/s

Supreme Court Hearing

Church and Government on

Same-sex Marriage

Broken Family

Election

Cyber Bullying

EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Visit the websites below for additional readings on the communication breakdowns and barriers.
 https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/life-in-body/201306/communication-
breakdown
 https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-
tips/communicating-students/telling/effective-communication-barriers-and-strategies

REFERENCES

Dalumay, M., Suan, J., Quintero, G. (2016). Oral Communication in Context – Grade 11.
Chancery Compound, Rizal St. Tagum City, Davao del Norte,
Philippines. Diocesan Printing Press and Publishing, Inc.
https://onthego.fm/4-types-noise-disrupt-communication-non-technical-
problem-podcasters-face/