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3.5.2 Socio-psychological Barriers
[Link] The Attention-span of the Listener

However interesting a topic, the time spent on it should not exceed the audience's
patience or attention-span. On the telephone, brevity is essential. E-mails should
always be brief. Brevity indicates an effort by the speaker to convey the essence
of what (s)he wants to say in the best possible way. A classic example of brevity:
when Gandhiji died. the writer and Nobel laureate Pearl S. Buck remarked.
"Another crucifixion". In just two words, she conveyed the idea of Gandhiji as
a prophet.
Sudent A: The last speaker at the seminar was very good.
Student B: Was he? What did he speak about?
Student A: Oh, about wo minutes!
SPLE'S
Atan inaugural function, speaker after speaker had held forth, ignoring the
audience's growing impatience and restlessness. Finally the master of ceremonies
announced: *And now our chief guest will deliver his address". The chief guest
-areputed speaker got up. "Ladies and Gentlemen", he said, "my address
is 3, ParkAvenue, Regency Road, Chennai". He sat down to a thunderous ovation.
[Link] Laughter, the Best Medicine!
Whether in teaching or talking, a smile always complements the message. Even
a difficult concept can be conveyed through humour. Occasional jokes and
anecdotes embellish the talk. Eye-contact and a smile give the listeners a feeling
of togetherness.
When some people are clearly getting impatient, an appropriate joke changes
the mood of thegroup immediately. Here is an example. A member ofan audience
looked at his watch during a speech. The speaker quipped: don t mind if someone
looks at their watch. But I do get offended ifthey hold it to their ear to see ifit
54 has stopped!"

[Link] External Disturbances and the Wrong Medium Verbal and Non-Verbal
Communication
Noise from the surroundings or mechanical failures can sabotage communication.
A school used to hold an annual drama week in its open courtyard in the evening.
Music blaring from a local place of worship forced the rescheduling of the
performances to the morning! People who use computerized presentations need
to have a back-up plan in case their equipment is mismatched with the host's
facilities, or in case there is no assured power supply during their presentation.
Each mode or medium of communication has its characteristic strengths and
weaknesses. A talk filled with statistics is eminently forgettable if it is not
supplemented with visuals such as the pie-diagrams and bar-graphs discussed.
Think of our irritation when cricket scores are given verbally in the television
commentary rather than being flashed on the screen!
[Link] Personal Bias and Strong Feelings
People who have strong feelings about certain issues or people may be ineffective
listeners or readers. Their emotion will bias or cloud the message. Similarly, a
speaker who have very strong convictions may tend to speak in absolute terms,
or in a didactic tone.
[Link] Selectivity, or the ISee Only What I Want to See' Attitude
This attitude is very dangerous, because the resulting miscommunication can
remain undetected. The speaker may have spoken well, and the listener may
even confirm that (s)he has understood something very clearly. But what has
been understood may be quite different from what was meant to be understood.
The following anecdote illustrates this.
A priest wanted to demonstrate to his congregation the harmful effects of alcohol.
He half filled a glass with alcohol and dropped an insect into it, which struggled
and died. The beaming priest asked a person in the gathering, "So, what can you
infer from this?" FOPLE'S
The man rose to his feet and replied, "If we take alcohol occasionally, the worms
in the belly will die*
[Link] Cynicism and Negativity
UNTVERSITY
The cynical and negative person is not open to new ideas.
*Counsellor: To gain sell confidence, you must avoid using negative words
such as can't and not. Do you think you could do that?"
Young man: Well, I can't see why not!
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[Link] Perceived Benefits

For good two-way communication, we need an attentive and interested audience.

It is necessary for the communicator to ensure that the topic of the talk is of
some relevance to the audience. If they do not perceive any benefit to them, the
listener(s) may soon lose interest.

55

Understanding
Communication 3.6 THE SIX WH-S THAT SEE YOU THROUGH
AS A COMMUNICATOR

In a profession or may be even in life, six Wh-s hold the golden key to successful
communication. These are complementary to each other and not mutually
exclusive.

When?

Where? +Why?

With Whom?
What?

How?

Before we should ask ourselves the following questions:

1) Why am I communicating?
2) With whom am I communicating?
3) How should Icommunicate?
4) What am I communicating?
5) Where am I communicating?
6) When am Icommunicating? PEOPLES
These questions are important because when the place changes our status too
changes. We may not be treated the same way as we are treated in our place.
Even a good thing said at a wrong time may not attract the other's attention,
because the time is inconvenient to them or unsuitable to them. If the
communication is purposeless or not required by the others, we may not interest
them.

3.8 LET US SUM UP

Communication can be classified into Verbal and Non-verbal
communication.
Verbal communication involves oral and written modes.

Non-verbal communication does not use words.

One way and two way communication are types of communication.
In one way communication no response is expected. Two way
56
communication works both ways. It is effective.

Verbal and Non-Verbal

We may use the oral mode or the written mode of verbal communication. Communication
On some occasions we have to use both the modes.

Non-verbal communication cuts across language barriers. It is sometimes

very quick to communicate. But it has the danger of not being understood
or even being misunderstood due to variations in cultures.

Symbols, visuals, dress code, postures, silence, eye contact, space

distancing, body language are some of the contributors for non verbal
communication.

Silence is also a kind of communication. It can be used effectively