Download What is Noise?

What is Noise?
Noise
Any external or internal barrier that blocks
communication.
 There are 7 types of noise…

Physical Noise
Environmental – Noise in the environment,
such as a television blaring, phone
ringing, traffic, talking, etc.
 Biological – Physical noise WITHIN the
sender or the receiver, such as speech or
hearing impediments, hunger, feeling ill,
etc.

Psychological Noise


Emotional Noise – happens when the emotions
of the sender or the receiver block
communication. For example, you’re too angry
to really hear what someone is saying, or your
too excited about tonight’s game to really
understand what your teacher is saying.
Social Noise – when our social judgements
block communication. For example, when our
biases or stereotypes prevent us from listening
fairly to someone, or when they change the way
we communicate with someone because of their
or our social group.
Language or Semantic Noise
Vocabulary Noise – we don’t understand
the words of others or vice versa.
Examples might be slang, technical
language or cultural terms.
 Grammar Noise – When the sender’s or
the receiver’s grammar is incorrect or
different from what we know, it can cause
confusion in the message. Grammar noise
can become “social” noise too, when we
judge each others use (or misuse) of
grammar.

Language or Semantic Noise

Structural Noise – This happens when our
messages come out in a disorganized or
unintelligible order. We ramble, or we’re upset
and our message gets confused. Imagine
someone trying to clearly describe a car accident
that they were just in – the message will
probably be mixed up and out of order.
Sometimes emotional noise can CAUSE structural
noise. Structural noise can also be caused by
tiredness or a lack of interest and especially a
lack of thought or preparation.