ORAL COMMUNICATION:SOME BASTC pRtNCIPLES TOptC Z< 35

INTERFERENCE IN COMMUNICATION
According to Devito (2009), there are several types of "noise,,-that might interfere
with the communication process:
o Physicalinterference;
o Physiologicalinterference;
o Psychological interference; and
o Semanticinterference.

These interferences or noise may distract and prevent the receiver from payrng
full attention to the message. IAtrhen this happens, the message may not ue neara
and interpreted fully or correctly. Similarly, interferenc"t
to lose -iy cause the speaker
concentration and this can lead to incompiete or urr6r,"o.r,
communication on the part of the sender. As a result, receivers will interpret the
messages wrongly and not as intended by the speaker.

2,4.1 Physical Interference

This kind of interference is external and outside the control of both the speaker
and the receiver. It affects the physical transmission of the message. Exampies are
noise disturbances like loud music (Figure 2.10), the sound of traffic from a busy
road_, static coming from a faulty loudspeaker system, or loud drilling from
a
nearby construction site.

Figure 2.10: Loud music

Source: elmbridge.gov.uk

2.4.2 Physiological lnterference

These are barriers to communication due to physiological challenges on the part
of the speaker or the receiver. The speaker oi receiv"i *uy be heiring-impaired,
have speech articulation problems, or suffer from short-term memorri lori. Err".,
36 TOPIC 2 ORAL COMMUNICATION;SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES

ifa speaker delivers his message clearly and loudly, a listener who has hearing
problems will not be able to understand and receive the message fully. On the
other hand, if a sender speaks with a lisp and cannot pronounce the /r / and /s/
sounds properly, the listener may not be able to understand what has been said.

2.4.3 Psychological Interference

This type of interference stems from the mental makeup of the receiver or sender,
and irrcludes biases, prejudices, narrow-mindedness, and extreme emotional
behaviour. For example, if you are emotionally distracted or Preoccupied, you
may find it hard to understand a message. Feelings like anger or hatred may also
interfere with how you interpret a message'

2.4.4 Semantic Interference

These barriers include language, dialectal and cultural differences. When these
interferences are present, the speaker and listener operate on different meaning
systems. What the speaker says can be interpreted differently, thus resulting in
misunderstanding. A computer analyst may use the word "motlse" to refer to the
device used to navigate a computer screen. FIowever, a computer illiterate
person may interpret the word "mouse" to be a rodent (see Figure 2.11and2.12).

Figure 2.11: Mouse (computer device) Figure 2.12: Mouse (rodent)

Source: fabbrotech.com Source: freeclipartpictures.com