Talk:Life Skills Development/Module Three/Barriers/Archive

=BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION=

INTRODUCTION / RATIONALE
Misunderstandings during the communication process are often the result of various barriers. Diverse elements including cultural and physical  factors may contribute to the failure experienced when encoding and decoding the correct meaning of  the message.

OUTCOMES


Learners should be able to:
 * 1) identify various factors which hinder the process of effective communication.
 * 2) categorize  barriers to Communication into groups.
 * 3) identify skills needed to overcome certain barriers
 * 4) demonstrate the skills required to conquer those barriers during communication

TERMINOLOGY
•Barriers •Hindrances •Physical, Mental, Emotional, Cultural Barriers •Diversity •Context •Distractions •Disruptions •Prejudice •Language •Connotative

CONTENT
Barriers of Communication …………. A range of physical, mental or emotional hindrances which can prevent messages from being passed on successfully between sender and receiver during the process of communication. These include physical, cultural (including language), as well as mental and emotional barriers. Participants should recognize and take responsibility for overcoming (as much as possible)  barriers to effective communication.

ACTIVITIES
Dramatizations, Role-play, Small-group discussions,

Situations: •	A French-speaking family arrives in Trinidad from Martinique and is immediately thrown into situations reflecting differences in culture including language, forms of greetings etc. Problems include interaction with
 * the Immigration Officer
 * the taxi driver
 * the waiter at the restaurant
 * the hotel clerk etc.

•	A meeting of community leaders to present and discuss a proposed plan for improving the community. The speaker is presenting the list of various sub-committees and their allotted tasks. Members (with their various “issues”) listen to the presenter then complain, showing their misunderstanding / misinterpretation of the proposed plan. The members speak while hinting at their “issues” / barriers
 * Member “A” came into the meeting angry, due to a domestic problem
 * Member “B” had been reading the newspaper and only heard the very end of the presentation
 * Member “C” interprets all behaviour / decisions based on race, thinking everyone else is racist.

•Father (single parent) and teenaged sons: (background noises including music from CD player) Father is packing to leave on a business trip and  reminding his sons  about guidelines for  visitors to the house; securing the house at night ……………… Young men are playing hand-held computer games while listening. Scene 11: Brothers are arguing about the guidelines, since they are organizing a party.

Husband and wife:

My brother and his girlfriend