Martha's mom asks her to go to the grocery store for her.Martha agrees and heads upstairs to get ready.Before she leaves her house,she sits down at her desk to check her e-mail and receives a text message from her friend Nancy to turn on the television and see the story about their friend,Jill.As the story about Jill comes on,Martha's mom comes in and asks Martha to get her an eight-ounce can of diced tomatoes.Martha smiles at Mom and nods and listens to the story on television as she e-mails Sandra and picks up her phone to text Nancy.When Martha gets to the store,she heads to the tomato aisle and stands in front of the pureed tomatoes trying to remember if mom wanted an 8- or 16-ounce can.This scenario depicts which barrier to communication?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Martha's difficulty in remembering the specific request from her mom due to engaging in multiple tasks simultaneously (checking email, watching TV, texting) exemplifies information overload, a barrier to effective communication.

Martha's Mom Asks Her to Go to the Grocery Store