For communication to take place, a message must be transmitted by a communicator and correctly received by a listener. If the message is not understood, there is no communication. There is only noise. Between the transmission and reception of a message, much can go wrong. Communication, by definition, involves at least two individuals, the sender and the receiver. There are certain filters or barriers which determine whether or not the message is actually transmitted or received.

There may be barriers that exist between the sender and the receiver such as cultural differences. Environmental conditions may also create barriers, e.g., poor acoustics, others talking, outside noises. More common, however, are differences in frames of reference between sender and receiver. For example, there may not be a common understanding of purpose in a certain communication. You may ask me how I