• Introduction
• Meaning
• Definition
• Characteristics

Introduction:
Communication is universal to all human beings and is central to our lives. In fact it regulates and shapes all human behaviour. One of the major tasks of an extension worker is to communicate technical information to its users. Technical knowledge is of no use unless it is accepted and adopted by concerned families.

The ability to communicate effectively will determine to a large extent the success of an extension programme. It is therefore important to understand the concepts of communication like. What is communication? its importance the elements types functions and models of communication? feedback in communication? What are the barriers and how to overcome them and finally how to diffuse homestead technologies for better quality of life for rural women.

The topics covered will help not only to understand the process of communication but will also make you a better and more effective communicator in transferring home and farm technologies for the rural masses.

Meaning
The word communication originates from the Latin word ‘Communis’ which means common.  That means we share common thoughts, feelings and ideas with the person with whom we are communicating with a commonness of understanding

Man is a social being and so is engaged in some or the other form of  communication like talking to a person, reading news paper, watching TV or dreaming and thinking. All these are different forms of communication.   It means that we are constantly exchanging ideas and thoughts with someone or the other or within oneself to satisfy our physical, emotional or social needs. We should also realize that we communicate not only through words, but gestures expressions, tone etc. It is therefore clear that communication is not merely exchange of words but is a very complex process. It is an integral part of one’s life and in fact society cannot service in the absence of communication.

Look at the situation given here:
You came to your course-in-charge for registration of acourse. You greeted  and said “ Mam, may I come in?” (words). She nodded her head,  seems to be saying “ yes, you can”, (body language) You kept your registration form in front of her for signature (expression) on which she signed (written words). She gave her register to you to record your name.

Thus you see that communication is a continuous process of giving and receiving information and of building up social relationships.

We make use of speech, writing, printed and pictorial matter, gestures and expressions and also of technical media like telegraphy, radio, television, computer etc. for communication.

Definition:
There are numerous definitions of communication. Some of them are :
Oxford Dictionary: Transfer or conveying meaning.
Colin cherry: Transmission of stimuli
Charles Osgood: It is the mechanism through which human relations exist and develop.
But communication is not only transferring on transmitting of ideas or thoughts.
Newman and Summer: Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons. Communication is also defined as intercourse by words, letters, symbols or messages and as a way that one organization member shares meaning and understanding with another.
Leland Brown: Communication is the transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feelings or course of action.
Paul Leagan  has  comprehensively  defined communication as “a process by which two or more people exchange ideas, facts, feelings or impressions in ways that each gains a common understanding of the message.”

Characteristics of communication
Having gone through the various definations we can identify some characteristics of communication .They are :
(i) Communication is a two way process: It involves a sender and receiver. The sender or receiver can be an individual or a group.
(ii) There has to be a message: The message can be an information, a directive, an enquiry, a feeling, an opinion, an idea or any other.
(iii) Commonness of understanding: Communication can occur only when there is commonness of understanding between the sender and the receiver. The commonness includes factors like common culture, common language and common environment. Words, phrases, idioms, proverbs, gestures and expressions are deeply culturised and possess high communicative potential for people from similar background.
(iv) Modifying the behavior of other individuals: The information transmitted to the receiver receives  a response in the form of some change in the behaviour of the individual.
(v) Method of giving information: Information can be given through words or through other means like signs, gestures, expressions etc.

So it can be concluded that communication is a process of social interaction, i.e., in a communication situation two or more individuals interact. They try to tangibly influence the ideas, attitudes, knowledge and behaviour of each other. Communication is an exchange of information, knowledge, ideas or feeling taking palace between two individuals.

Need for communication
The world of modern day is often called the “Age of Communication and information.” The importance of communication has been greatly emphasized by all management experts. just like birth, death, growth and decay communication is an part of individual life. Man is the only animal who can express and has the power to express in words i.e. both by word of mouth or in written form.

In these days, communication is business; and weather it is managers, subordinates, salesmen, technicians, foremen, lawyers, auditors, consultants, teachers, doctors, or anyone else who, they are all concerned with the problem of communication.

As you have already learnt in your previous class communication is the process of understanding people and one can overlook its importance. The main cause of misunderstanding between people is lack of effective communication. This happens in our day to day routine life or at work. The importance of communication has been widely recognized in recent years.

And the need for effective communication becomes clear when you go through the following statements

• Human existence is impossible without communication. Communication is part and parcel of social system.
• Information is every individuals need. Through communication information need is satisfied.
• Individuals make decisions every minute. Communication helps in decision making.
• Whether family or any other institution for that matter, cannot function without communication. Communication helps to achieve coordination and cooperation.
• Education aims at behavioral change. Intended behavioral change can be achieved only through communication.
• Disputes and conflicts are settled through negotiations. Communication helps in establishment peace and harmony
• Individuals vary in their capacities and efficiencies. Communication demonstrates individual’s efficiencies.
• Also individuals vary in their performances. Communication effectively evaluates individual’s performance.
• Every second many changes occurs in the world. Communication keep people informed.
• . Leadership action is impossible without communication between the leader and his followers. Communication is basic for leadership action.
• Whether teacher or student, lawyer or client, marketer or consumer, farmer or extensionist, job satisfaction is essential. Communication provides satisfaction.

Growing importance of communication in organizations:

1. 1. Co-ordination: The modern complex organizations are large in size having a large number of people working in the organization to achieve common goals. The organizational structure shows many levels of organization hierarchy. This leads to the problem of coordination.i.e understanding and synchronizing the actioities of various groups in the organizations. An effective system of communication promotes better coordina­tion. Coordination is necessary between groups; every member in in the organization should knowing his own as well as the others role and co-ordination is about understanding how each ones role will affects that of the other and channels are essential for the efficient functioning of the entire organization. It is the communication which promotes better coordination.
2. Smooth Working: Smooth and uninterrupted working of an enterprise is to a great extent dependent on good communication network. Corrective decision-making and efficiency of the organization is based on information supply. If the messages are not flowing freely across the organization, smooth functioning and unre­stricted working of the organization are not possible.
3. Effective Decision-Making: Facts and figures of past and present are to be provided for quick and effective decision-making. An effective communication network which supplies information helps in arriving at quick decisions. Problem-defining, alternative courses of action selecting the best course of action are all possible only with necessary information supplied to the decision-maker.
4. Managerial Efficiency: Management is an art of getting things done through other people; it is communication that educates people working in the organization about the goals, policies and targets by issuing orders and instructions orally as well as in written form. Therefore managerial efficiency lies in the way the manager communicates with the individual or group in an organization.
5. Co-operation: Co-operation among worker, are possible only with the exchange of information between individuals and groups and between the management and the employee’s co-operation promotes industrial peace and maximum production. There can be no mutual understanding and co-operation without communication. Faith and confidence would be promoted when there is a smooth flow of communication. In short, communication promotes co-operation and understand­ing among employees.
6. Effective Leadership: A leader leads his followers through a continuous process of communication. Communication is the basis for directing, and motivating the follower and the followers in turn follow him by conveying ideas, opinions, feelings, and facts. Thus, transmission and reception ensure a two-way traffic, of communication. A manager with good communication can become a successful leader.
7. Job Satisfaction: When the flow of communication is smooth the employees understand what is required by the management. This in turns helps employees to do their jobs well. Two-way among communication between management and workers creates confidence which leads to job satisfaction among employees. Openness and frank expression of opinions from both sides lead to job satisfaction.
8. Increases Productivity: It is through communication that the workers can be well informed about the process of production, new methods of production and the activities of the workers in a similar organization. Thus, a good system of communication helps the management to achieve maximum productivity with minimum cost, and by elimination of waste.
9. Morale Building: when clear instructions are given to the employees it is easy to achieve the goals of the organization. In turn the management needs to appreciate the work of the employees. An effective system of communication builds good morale and improves human relations. Participatory communication is the best technique of morale building and motivation.
10. Achieving Managerial Roles; A manager normally performs three roles. i.e. inter-personal roles, informa­tional roles and decisional role. Communication plays a vital role in these three types of roles. In the case of inter-personal role a manager has to interact with the subordinates. In the information role, a manager has to collect information from various people and supply it to others both inside and outside the organization. A Manager in a decisional role takes important and decisions based on the interpersonal and informational communication.

Role of communication in extension:
Communication is basic for the  transfer of new information and ideas that have been developed by the scientist. Communication has therefore attained great importance in the community development and Extension programmes. It is through this process that the aims and objectives of the programme are to be widely disemminated to the people and useful information to solve their problems is to be passed onto them. This necessitates that the extension workers should have a through understanding of the communication process

Classification of communication

• Intra personal Communication
• Inter personal Communication
• Group Communication-small & large
• Formal Communication
• Informal Communication
• Mass Communication

Intrapersonal communication
Communication that takes place within oneself is called as intra personal. No other person is involved The individual becomes his or her own sender and receiver, providing feedback to him or herself in an ongoing internal process.
Some examples are:

• interpreting maps, texts, signs, and symbols
• Interpreting non-verbal communication e.g. gestures, eye contact
• Communication between body parts; e.g. “My stomach is telling me it’s time for lunch.”
• Day-and night dreaming

Interpersonal communication
It is basically communication between two or three people. It can be very informal, such as when you talk to a friend during lunch break, or even very formal, such as, when you discuss with your teacher about registering for a particular course.

The most common functions of interpersonal communication are listening, talking and discussing. Types of interpersonal communication vary from verbal to non-verbal and from situation to situation. Interpersonal communication involves face-to-face communication.

Group communication
When communication occurs among three or more members it is termed as group communication. Based on the number of individuals involved in communication it has been classified  either as small group or large group communication

Small Group Communication:
Small group communication is the communication that is carried out within a  group that consists of at least three members and at the maximum around twelve to fifteen members. A group that has just two members or more than fifteen members would not come in the category of a small group. For example a small group may be a professional group, an educational group or a social group. All the members belonging to these groups will have a common bond or interest or goal that brings them together.

The small group may also be a family of three talking at dinner table, or a meeting of an organization with just a few members.
Some examples of small groups are: committees, families athletic or sports teams, group of classmates and friends etc

Large group communication:
Large group communication normally refers to communication in big organizations having a large numbers of individuals. Large group contexts can include communities brought together by need or self-identification. They can be people of a particular geographic area as the people of the village or town. People who have gathered in hundreds to attend conventions, seminars or conferences are also large group.
In an organization, there are basically two ways of communication namely:

• Formal and
• Informal communication

FORMAL COMMUNICATION
Communication takes place through the formal channels of the organization structure along the lines of authority established by the management. That means there are clear guidelines on who should communicate with whom and how to communicate the information.  Such communications are generally in writing and may take any of the forms; policy; manuals: procedures and rule books; memoranda; official meetings; reports, etc.

The advantages of formal communication are:

• They help in the fixation of responsibility and
• Maintaining of the authority relationship in an organization.

The disadvantages of formal communication are:
Generally with procedures to be followed many times in frequency to follow rules and regulations many distortion occurs.

INFORMAL COMMUNICATION:
Informal communication is usually built around the social relationships among members of the society. There are no rules and regulations regarding the mode of communication, channels of communication. It  arises due to the personal needs of the members of an organization.
At times, in informal communication, it is difficult to fix responsibility about accuracy of information as rumours and heresay such communication is usually oral and may be covered even by simple glance, gesture or smile or silence. In informal communication it is not possible to identify the source of communication, nor can we say where the communication ends.

Mass communication:
is the term used to describe the relay of information through to large segments of the population at the same time. Mass media usually refers to newspaper & magazine publishing, radio & television & film, as these are used both for disseminating news and for advertising.

• Verbal
• Oral
• Written
• Non-verbal

Types of Communication
Communication can occur through various processes & methods, through different channels.

Types of Communication Based on Communication Channels
Based on the channels used for communicating, the process of communication can be broadly classified as verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication includes written and oral communication. Whereas, the non-verbal communication includes body language, facial expressions and visuals diagrams & pictures.

Title: Process of Communication

• Ideation
• Encoding
• Transmission
• Decoding
• Feedback

Communication can best be summarized as the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver in an understandable manner. The importance of effective communication cannot be measured in the world of business and in personal life. From a business point of view the success and failure or profit and loss of the organization depend upon effective communication.

Communicating process:
Communication is said to be a process because the sender and receiver should be tuned in together. What a sender sends to the receiver should be understood by the receiver the way the sender wants it. If the receiver does not perceive the message correctly then the communication is not said to be effective.

Process of communication:
As noted earlier, communication is a dynamic interactive process. It consists of five steps, that is ideation, encoding, transmission, decoding, and response. Fig 1.1 given below, to understand the different stages of communication.

The communication process:

Ideation:
The process of communication begins with ideation, which refers to the formation of the idea or selection of a message to be communicated. It consists of the “what” of communication and is concerned with the content of the specific message to be presented. The scope of ‘ideation’ is generally determined by the senders knowledge, experiences, and abilities, as well as the purpose of communication and the context of the communicative situation. However, the form of ideation depends on several other factors.
‘Ideation’ may consist of finding and selecting a subject or looking for ideas and thoughts, and deciding the type, and sources of information.

Encoding:
Encoding is the next step in communication. It is the process of changing the information into some form of logical and coded message. The encoding process is based on the purpose of communication and the relation between the sender and the receiver.

Encoding involves:

• Selecting a language
• Selecting a medium of communication; and
• Selecting an appropriate communication form

Selecting the right language is essential for effective encoding. Verbal message need a common language code, which can be easily decoded by the receiver. If the receiver is not able to decode or understand the message, communication will fail for example a person who does not understand Tamil cannot decode a message encoded in Tamil.
As selecting the right medium of communication involves making the right choice out of many available options, it determines the effectiveness of encoding. This is vital as there are so many options available to a communicator for transmitting interpersonal messages that he or she may get confused. Making the right choice is the beginning of effective communication. There are three basic options for sending interpersonal messages that is speaking, writing, and non-verbal signs and symbols. The spoken word involves vocalization while non-verbal message clues are generally visual (auditory and tacticle). Non-verbal clues play a significant role in oral communication. These clues include body movements, facial expressions, touching patterns, speech mannerisms.

The selection of the appropriate form (Table 1.1) largely depends on the sender-receiver relationship and the overall goal of the communicative situation. Oral communication may be face-to- face interpersonal communication, group communication, speaker-audience communication, or telephonic communication. The choice depends on the need and purpose of the communication writing involves the selection of the correct written form that is, letter, memo, notice, report, personal, and so forth.

 Table 1.1 communication forms:

Transmission:
Transmission refers to the flow of message over the chosen channel. Transmission confirms the medium selected during the process of encoding and keeps the communication channel free from interference or noise so that the message reaches the receiver without any disturbance. It is one of the most basic aspects of communication because it also involves choosing the proper time (when to communicate), proper place (where to communicate), and a proper way (how to communicate). For example when you want to tell your teacher that you will not be able to attend his or her next class, you decide whether you should tell him or her before the class or after the class; in the classroom itself or in his/her chamber. For communication to be effective, it is essential that the right time, the right place, and the right method is chosen.

Decoding:
Decoding is the process of converting a message in to thoughts by translating the received stimuli in to an interpreted meaning in order to understand the message communicated. It is important to note that it is the message that is transferred, as meaning cannot be transferred from one person to another. The receiver has to assign meaning to a message in order to understand it.
The process of decoding involves interpretation and analysis of a message. Decoding in written communication refers to reading and understanding a written message on the other hand in oral communication, decoding includes listening and understanding. Effective decoding is very important for successful communication as any misinterpretation of a message leads to communication breakdown and creates confusion and misunderstanding.

Response:
Response is the last stage in the communication process. It is the action or reaction of the receiver to the message. It helps the sender know that the message was received and understood. The feed back that goes to the sender makes it clear whatever the receiver has accepted the information and field  it in his/her memory or rejected it. He or she may ask for more information or clarification. Response is, thus, the key to communication as the effectiveness of communication depends on how congruent a receiver’s response is with the meaning intended by the sender.

Title: Models of communication

• Aristotle model
• Shanon & weaver model
• Lasswells model
• Berlos model
• Leagans model
• Rogers and shoemaker

 A model is a consciously simplified description in graphic form of a piece of reality. A model seeks to show the main elements of any structure or process and the relationships between these elements. Some of the basic models of communication process are presented here.

Aristotle’s model
Aristotle provides the first basic persuasive communication model. In his model three communication ingredients namely, the speaker, the subject and the audience are present. He meant that each of these elements is necessary to communicate.

According to Aristotle, communication has three ingredients

1. Speaker – the person who speaks
2. Speech – the speech that the individual produces
3. Audience – the person who listens

Many of communication models bear the imprint of Aristotle’s model although several new key concepts have been added. One of the greatest faults in Aristotle’s theory was his view of communication as a one-way process flowing from the communicator to the receiver. He did not include in his writings the role that feedback can play in influencing the speaker.

Shannon- Weaver’s model
In the 1940s, Shannon and Weaver developed an information theory’ concerned with the accurate communication of information. He recognized three levels of problems in the communication of information, namely technical, semantic and influential.

• Technical problems relate to the accuracy in transferring the information from the sender to the receiver, through signals, symbols etc.
• Semantic problems relate to the interpretation of meaning by the receiver as compared to the intended meaning of the sender.
• The problems of influence or effectiveness are concerned with the success with which the meaning conveyed to the receiver leads to the desired behavior on his part.

According to them, the ingredients of communication are:

1. Source 2. Transmitter 3. Signal 4. Receiver 5. Destination

The Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication is also referred to as the ‘Mathematical Theory of Communication’. This model or theory has five key components: i) an information source which produces a desired message out of asset of possible messages, written or spoken words, pictures, music etc; ii) a transmitter, which changes this message into signals suitable for transmission; iii) a channel, which carries signals from the transmitter to the receiver; iv) a receiver, a sort of inverse transmitter which transfers the transmitted signals back into a message, and v) a destination, the final consumer of the message.

In the process of transmitting signals, some unwanted disturbances take place. This may be in the  sound in the case of radio, telephone, or distortions of shape size and picture in the case of television and so on. This is called ‘noise’. Hence there is need to pay attention to noise. A key problem in this model is how to overcome noise and how the receiver can successfully reconstruct a message from signals distorted by noise.

Lasswell’s Communication Sequence
According to Lasswell (1948) a convenient way to describe an act of communication is to answer the following questions

• Who says (or does not say)
• What
• In which channel
• To whom
• Under what circumstances, and
• With what effects.

A close look at these questions provides a simple, linear, one way model of communication. Here the communicator and his message are all-important. Although the concept of feedback does not appear in the model, still this model exercised a profound influence on the thinking of scholars in communication. This model helped Lasswell’s probes into political communication, propaganda and political symbolism, which were some of the earliest communication researches in social sciences.

SMCR Model of Berlo

 Berlo’s  model is simple and versatile and depicts four key components- source, message, channel, and receiver. An important concept of feedback has been included in the model that links receiver with source. Source is the transmitter of message. Message is the content- what’s-it-about. Channel is the carrier of message. Receiver is the consumer of message. Feedback is the linkage between receiver and source. The source has communication skill, attitudes, knowledge and exists in social- cultural context. The message has content and code that are treated at various levels according to the elements and ultimately structured for transmission to audience through some channel. Like the source, the receiver also has communication skill, attitude, knowledge social and cultural context. In the model the message of the source to the receiver that elicits some behaviour is termed as feed back that helps to modify successive messages.

Leagan’s model
Leagans (1961) defined communication as a process by which two or more people exchange ideas, facts, feelings, impressions, in ways that each gains a clear understanding of the meaning, intent and use of the message.

According to him, successful communication in extension education requires a skilled communicator sending a useful message through a proper channel, effectively treated to an appropriate audience that responds as desired. These key elements involved in his model are:

• Communicator
• Message or content
• Channels of communication
• Treatment of message
• The audience
• Audience response

The communication model forwarded by Leagans (1963) has the following elements-
Leagans’ emphasis on treatment of message and audience response comes from his background in extension education. According to him, the extension educator derives from his knowledge of technology and extension processes, the principles and content from which he synthesizes a system of communication to achieve educational objectives; he should continue to communicate, repeat, motivate, persuade, until the desired response occurs on the part of the receiver(s).

Rogers and shoemaker’s model
Rogers and shoemaker (1971) thought of the communication process in terms of the
S-M-C-R-E model, the components of which are –
1. Source 2. Message 3. Channel 4. Receiver 5. Effects

According to them the source (S) sends the message (M) via a certain channel (C) to the receiving individual (R) which causes some effect
Singh’s Communication Process Model
The extension programmes largely depend on the ability of the communicator to communicate message that will contribute to enhancing development. In this respect the model of communication process by Singh (2003) is of special significance. The model is based on the assumption that success and failure of rural development programmes often centre on the identification of communication breakthrough or communication breakdowns. The communication process has been graphically shown in Figure.

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

• Source
• Message
• Channel
• Receiver
• Feedback

Elements of Communication
Communication can be expected to have taken place only if the message is encoded by the sender that is relayed with use of signals and subsequently decoded at the destination. This process occurs basically due to the presence of five important elements of communication. Each of these elements have been explained as under:

Source
Source is the originator of message who is an individual of formal or informal institution and initiates a message. In other words, source is a person who starts the process of communication. Several things determine how a source will successfully operate in communication process. This includes the communication skills of the source like abilities to speak and think; and create visual messages; the attitude towards audience, the subject matter content and towards oneself; the knowledge regarding the subject and the audience; and finally, the roles and norms that shape the communication behaviour in context to the social and cultural background of the source and the audience.

Message
Message deals with the package of information or the content to be transferred by the source. Infact message is the physical product from the source that supply information, create feelings and impressions and change attitudes of the receivers. Message as per Berlo’s S-M -C- R model has various components – content, code, treatment, elements and structure. Content is ‘what’s-it-about’ in the message selected by the source to be passed on to the audience (receiver), that should be neither too much nor too little that may reduce communication effectiveness. Therefore, the message should be of just right quantity for the target audience. Content appears in some code – English or Hindi, pictures or words.
The source selects content and code and weaves them into his/her treatment that becomes the style of presentation of message. Treatment can be analyzed at various levels where elements can be isolated. These elements are organized into structures which in turn become elements at the next highest level of analysis. For example, written English code has letters for elements, these letters combine into words and thereafter, the words are structured into sentences. Consequently, each person packages information differently and thereby, the effectiveness of communication varies from person to person.

Channel
It is the carrier of the message. Channel may be natural that involves one of the sense modalities like seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting or it may be artificial such as newspaper, radio, television, telephone etc. All the mass media, the audiovisual aids, the local leaders, the demonstration and the like are the various channels of communication. The total communication output is governed by the selection and patterning of channels.

Receiver
Receiver is the final consumer of the message in the communication process. Receiver is the one for whom communication is created. All the factors which determine the success of source in communication process are also applicable to. receiver, i.e., communication skills, attitudes, knowledge level and socio-cultural context.

Feedback
Communication is never complete without feedback. Feedback means carrying some significant responses of the audience back to the communicator. Adequate and correct feedback is essential for purposeful communication. Feedback also provides an opportunity to take corrective measures by identifying subsequent activities, and acts as a path finder for enhancing communication effectiveness

Title – Barriers in Communication

• According to phases
• Senders level
• Wrong choice of channels
• Receivers level

During communication we often hear people say that there was some misunderstanding, which mean the receiver has not understood properly what the sender wants to communicate. Such misunderstanding or misinterpretation happens because of some obstacle or barriers in communication. In technical terms anything that obstructs free flow of communication is called as noise. As the process of communication involves sender channels and receiver, the problems of communication could be with either one or more of them.
The barriers of communication may be classified according to 1) phases of communication 2) type of problems and 3) nature of problems

1. According to phases of communication
   Every communiction process has at least three phases. Common problems being faced at each phase of communication are as follows:

(a) Relating to communicator

1. Ineffective environment: The environment created by the communicator influences his effectiveness. The physical facilities, air of friendliness, respect for other’s view, recognition of accomplishments of others, permissiveness and rapport in general are all important ingredients of climate conductive to effective communication.
2. Unorganised efforts to communicate: To make sense, the communication efforts must be organized according to some specific form or pattern. Unorganised efforts will distort the message and it will not reach its destination as intended.
3. Standard of correctness: This involves the proper selection of the message and its level of accuracy. The message must have correct contents or facts. Communicator must be very careful in selecting and testing the local applicability of this message.
4. Standard of social reponsibility: This refers to that when one communicates, one assumes responsibility for the effect of one’s communication on the respondents and the society. Awareness of this fact will force the communicator to be more careful, serious and honest.
5. Cultural values and social organizations: Cultural values and the social organizations are determinants of communication. Communicator must have the knowledge of the cultural and social values of these listeners for an effective communication.
6. Inaccurate symbols: The systems of symbols used to represent ideas, objects or concepts must be accurate and used skillfully. The crucial point in the use of the symbols to convey idea is to select those that accurately represent the idea to be conveyed and are understood by the audience. Symbols are meaningful to a person only when he understands what they stand for.
7. Wrong concept of communication process: A common mistake committed by the communicator is the identification of the part with the whole or the ‘part fallacy’. Successful communication in programme of rural development is not a single unit. It requires a series of unit acts. The way one thinks about communication will influence its quality.

(b) Relating to the transmission of message

Many obstructions can occur at the interpretation level. These are often referred to as ‘noise’ that is some obstruction that prevents the message from being heard by or carried over clearly to the audience.
Noise emerges from a wide range of sources and causes which affect the interpretation of the message.

1. Wrong handling of the channels: If a meeting, tour, radio programme or other channels are not used according to good procedure and technique, their potential for carrying a message is dissipated.
2. Wrong selection of channels: All channels are not equally useful in attaining a specific objective. Failure to select channels appropriate to the objective of a Communicator will interrupt the interpretation of the message in a desired way to the intended audience.
3. Physical distraction: Failure to avoid physical distractions often obstructs successful message sending,because they create physical barriers between the communicator and the audience.
4. Use of inadequate channels in parallel: The more channels a communicator uses in parallel or at about the same time the more chances has he for the message getting through and being properly received.

(c) Relating to receiver

1. Attention of the listeners: An unfortunate tendency of the people is not to give undivided attention to the communicator. This is a powerful obstruction for the communicator, which prevents the message from reaching their desired destination.
2. Problem of cooperation, participation and involvement: Both the communicator and the receiver must be brought into act. Hence,the listener must work a little;learning is an active process on the part of the listeners. Unless the listener is on the same wave-length, the character 0; what is sent out hardly governs the communication process. So,it takes both the communicator and the listener to make communication.
3. Problem of homogeneity: The more homogeneous the audience is the greater are the chances of successful communication. Likewise,the more a communicator knows about his audience and pinpoints its characteristics, the more likely is he to make an impact.
4. Attitude of the audience towards the communicator: An important but little studied factor in the effectiveness of communication is the attitude of the audience towards the communicator. Indirect data on this problem come from studies of ‘prestige’ in which subjects are asked to indicate their agreement with statements which are attributed to the different individuals.

Title – Barriers in Communication

• Physical
• Mechanical
• Mental
• Cross-cultural
• Socio-psychological

Physical Barriers
Environmental Disturbances like traffic noise, loud sound, passing train etc.
Time and Distance
Personal Problems of health
Poor hearing (due to defective hearing)
Poor presentation due to speech defects like stammering, lisping etc.
Poor verbal skills

Mechanical Barriers –
Noisy transmission (unreliable messages, inconsistency)
The different media (machines or instruments) used for communication, very often becomes the barrier. Non-availability of proper machines or presence of defective machines.
Wrong channels or medium

Mental Barriers – From the sender’s point of view
Ignorance of the language and
confused thinking are the mental barriers.

From the receiver’s point of view
Ignorance of the language,
Limitations in ability, intelligence and understanding
Divided attention
are the serious mental barriers

Semantic Problems occur when people use either the same word in different ways or different words in the same way. The choice of words or language in which a sender encodes a message will influence the quality of communication. Because language is a symbolic representation of a phenomenon, room for interpretation and distortion of the meaning exists. Meaning has to be given to words and many factors affect how an individual will attribute meaning to particular words. It is important to note that no two people will attribute the exact same meaning to the same words.
Misreading of body language, tone and other non-verbal forms of communication
Receiver distortion: selective hearing, ignoring non-verbal cues .
Voice control – Pitch, modulation of voice helps in making communication effective.
Communicators thinking should be clear.

Cross Cultural Barriers – Effective communication requires deciphering the basic values, motives, aspirations, and assumptions that operate across geographical lines. Given some dramatic differences across cultures in approaches to such areas as time, space, and privacy, the opportunities for mis-communication while we are in cross-cultural situations are plentiful.

Socio-psychological
Values, Attitudes and Opinions
Pre-conceived notions: We judge people before they speak by allowing our opinions and ideas of them come in the way of trying to know what the speaker is saying.
Assumptions: assuming others see situation same as you, has same feelings as you
Status effects: power struggles
Defensiveness: distorted perceptions, guilt, projection, transference, distortions from the past, negative emotions
• Distrusted source, erroneous translation, value judgment, state of mind of two people.

Perceptual Biases: People attend to stimuli in the environment in very different ways. We each have shortcuts that we use to organize data. Invariably, these shortcuts introduce some biases into communication. Some of these shortcuts include stereotyping, projection, and self-fulfilling prophecies. Stereotyping is one of the most common. This is when we assume that the other person has certain characteristics based on the group to which they belong without validating that they in fact have these characteristics.

Interpersonal Relationships: How we perceive communication is affected by the past experience with the individual. Perception is also affected by the organizational relationship two people have. For example, communication from a superior may be perceived differently than that from a subordinate or peer.