Padma Is Asked If She Knows How to Make a Red

Multiple Choice

Padma is asked if she knows how to make a red wine reduction. Padma looks down at her feet, quietly mumbles "sure," and starting wringing her hands. Padma is confused when the job of making the red wine reduction is assigned to someone else, as she answered affirmatively that she knew how to do it. Which of the following is the best explanation of what happened here?

A) A psychological barrier has obstructed communication; by answering quietly, Padma is signalled that she was offended by the request.
B) A semantic barrier has occurred; since Padma answered "sure" instead of "yes," her answer was confusing.
C) A language barrier has obstructed communication; Padma should have said "yes" in several different languages to ensure that she was understood.
D) A physiological barrier has obstructed communication; by wringing her hands, Padma gave the impression that they hurt and that she could not perform the task.
E) A mixed message has obstructed communication; Padma's verbal and nonverbal responses communicated different things.