Chapter 18. You Can Overcome the Barriers to Successful Communication

Every presenter faces potential barriers to success as a speaking occasion arises. Some barriers are fairly mundane: Am I available that evening? Can I reschedule another obligation? Will I be able to gather the information I need to answer their questions? Other barriers, though, are more serious and can present great difficulties for a speaker. Obstacles to success appear to fall broadly into five categories:

Stereotypes—Stereotyping is to ascribe to all members of a group or class those characteristics or behaviors observed in just one or a few. The word was coined by social scientist Walter Lippmann in 1921 when he wrote about why people so readily imagine how other people ...

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