BARRIERS TO GOOD LISTENING A barrier is anything that gets in the way of clear communication. Below is a list of barriers that are listed in three categories. The three types of barriers are physical, psychological and semantic.

BARRIERS TO GOOD LISTENING  Physical Barriers consist of any sound that prevents a person from being heard. Physical noise interferes with a speaker’s ability to send messages and with an audience’s ability to receive them.  Examples: whispers, cheers, passing cars or intercom interruptions

BARRIERS TO GOOD LISTENING  Psychological Barriers consist of thoughts and feelings that distract people from listening to what is said are called psychological. The noise interferes with the audience’s concentration and ability to hear a speaker’s presentation.  Examples: people not paying attention because they are absorbed in their own thoughts, jumping to conclusions, faking attention, yielding to distractions, overreacting to emotional words and tuning out topics that one considers to be dull.

BARRIERS TO GOOD LISTENING  Semantic Barriers are interferences that are caused by words that trigger strong negative feelings against the speaker or the content of the speech is called semantic noise. Semantic noise leads to misunderstanding, as well as unpleasant and distracting nonverbal feedback from the audience.  Examples: A group of students might agree with you if you called rap music “confusing.” However, they might stop listening if you began calling rap music “garbage.”