COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

 

Most people would agree that communication between two individuals should be simple.  Remember that there are differences between talking and communicating.  Communication is a process beginning with a sender who encodes the message and passes it through some channel to the receiver who decodes the message.

Communication is fruitful if and only if the messages sent by the sender are interpreted with same meaning by the receiver. Most people have never really learned how to listen properly.  Communication is not the sole responsibility of the speaker but of both speaker and listener.  The objective of any communication is to ensure that the sender’s expectation and receiver’s reaction are as congruent as possible.

Any kind of disturbance blocking any step of the communication, the message will be destroyed.  The barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the receiver, thus making communication ineffective.  It is essential for managers to overcome these barriers.  Barriers to communication may occur at any stage in the communication process.  Communication barriers work against several basic principles of management:

• unity of purpose and organizational direction;
• common understanding of the customer;
• cooperative involvement in continual improvement; and
• decision-making based on thorough analysis of the best information available

 Effective communication involves overcoming these barriers and conveying a clear and concise message.  There are several barriers that affect the flow of communication in an organization.

 

Communication Barriers

Nos.	Barriers
1	Perceptual Differences	Perception is generally how each individual interprets the world around him where any message which is against their values is not accepted.  A same event may be taken differently by different individuals.
2	Information Overload	Managers are always surrounded with a pool of information. It is essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked.
3	Inattention	Hearing is not listening.
4	Time Pressures	In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages are partially given.
5	Distraction/Noise	Physical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting.  Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with communication.
6	Emotions	Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication.
7	Complexity in Organizational Structure	The greater the hierarchy in an organization, the more is the chances of communication getting destroyed.  Only the the top level management can see the overall picture while the rest just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas.
8	Poor retention	Human memory cannot function beyond a limit.  One can’t always retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive.
9	Language	The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown.  The difficulty in understanding unfamiliar accents. Many professions have a language all their own.  The use of jargon, over-complicated or unfamiliar terms.
10	Physical disabilities	Hearing problems or speech difficulties.
11	Physical	Doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and distance between people.  Setting up an office to remove physical barriers is the first step towards opening communication.
12	Cultural differences	The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed.  Different cultures, whether they be a societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a company, can hinder developed communication if two different cultures clash.
13	Stereotyping	Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions.  People often hear what they expect to hear rather than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusions.
14	Gender	There is still the possibility for a man to misconstrue the words of a woman, or vice versa.  Men and women tend to form their thoughts differently, and this must be taken into account when communicating.
15	Interpersonal	Keep us from reaching out to each other and opening ourselves up, not just to be heard, but to hear others.  This can be the most difficult area to change.  They have too many false perceptions blocking the way.
16	Using stereotypes and generalizations	Be careful not to get stuck in the habit of using stereotypes, or making generalizations about complex systems or situations.
17	Jumping to conclusions	Confusing facts with inferences is a common tendency.
18	Lack of context	Basing an opinion or a judgment on partial facts, on bits and pieces of information without knowledge of prior events or without information that would give those activities real meaning.
19	Lack of Enthusiasm
20	Distracting Gestures	Fidgeting with their fingers, rings, and pen.
21	Verbal Static
22	Lack of Eye Connection
23	Lacking clarity	Avoid abstract, overly-formal language, colloquialisms, and jargon, which obscure your message more than they serve to impress people.
24	Assuming the subject is uninteresting	Prejudging upcoming meetings, assuming that they will be dry or boring. Selectively tuning in and out of conversations because it takes people too long to get to the point. Feeling that you can use your time more productively than by attending meetings. Conclude that the meeting is not worth their attention and spend most of their time daydreaming or thinking about unrelated subjects.
25	Focusing on delivery	Placing more emphasis on the speaker's appearance and delivery than on what he is saying.
26	Reacting too quickly	Evaluating a speaker's message before he has finished a single thought. Getting so excited about something early in a conversation that you stop listening. Tuning out once they have heard something that triggers an emotional reaction and spend their time planning a rebuttal or preparing a question that they hope will embarrass the speaker.
27	Reacting to emotional words	Certain speakers, issues, words, or points of view set you off whenever you hear them.
28	Listening primarily for facts	Listening primarily for facts or try to understand and absorb ideas. Memorizing every fact and miss nonverbal clues.
29	Listening without being flexible	Tuning out when the speaker does not organize his speech from the general to the specific.
30	Pretending to listen	Trying to make them think you are listening when you really are not. Faking attention and let their mind wander.
31	Permitting distractions	Suddenly turning away from the person to whom you are speaking in order to shout instructions to an employee walking by. Allowing your secretary to remind you of appointments or ask you to sign letters while you are talking to others.
32	Avoiding difficult subjects	Asking for clarification of a point that you do not understand or try to figure it out as the speaker continues talking. Avoid listening whenever the subject is unfamiliar. Inexperienced in listening to difficult material.
33	Adjusting our minds to the slow speed of speech	The natural tendency is to think about the family or business problem or the next meeting in order to fill the spaces between words.
34	Using words and phrases with double meaning	Different people in an audience may hear your message differently.  This is because they have different viewpoints, backgrounds, personal interests, educations, and experiences. In addition, they are in different levels within an organization.
35	Being sarcastic	Using sarcasm or humor to make a point, will leave yourself open to misunderstanding—especially with a foreign audience.
36	Being intimidating	Listening to a confident presentation of an idea by a superior have a much more difficult time responding to requests for ideas as people feel that the superior will consider any suggestion as an attack.  It is just as bad for communications if management always finds fault with the ideas presented, never offering compliments for suggestions made in good faith.

The message may not be received exactly the way the sender intended and hence it is important that the communicator seeks feedback to check that their message is clearly understood.  Learn to listen.

 

Communication Barriers Ranking

Barriers	Rankings By Management Level			Rankings By Sex
	Upper Mgt.	Middle Mgt.	Lower Mgt.	Male	Female
Lack of Trust	1	8	5	8	4
Resistance to Change	2	1	2	1	1
Lack of Feedback	3	3	3	5	3
Tendency not to Listen	4	2	1	2	2
Either-or Thinking	5	6	4	6	6
Hostile Attitude	6	9	7	7	8
Defensiveness	7	5	8	10	7
Too Many Gatekeepers	8	4	9	4	5
Know-it-all Attitude	9	10	6	3	9
Emotional Reactions	10	7	10	9	10

Source: An Analysis of Communication Barriers of Managers

in Health Services Organizations by Steven Golen, Associate Professor, College of Business,

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA.

A skilled communicator must be aware of these barriers and try to reduce their impact by continually checking understanding and by offering appropriate feedback.  Communication is not a one-way street.  To have others open up to you, you must be open yourself.

REFERENCES:

6 Communication Barriers and How You Can Avoid Them by Stacey Hanke; http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/6-communication-barriers/

Barriers To Effective Communication; http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/barriers-communication.html

Goh Choon Hua, Willy Sher and Low Sui Pheng, Factors affecting effective communication between building clients and maintenance contractors; Corporate Communications: An International Journal Vol. 10 No. 3, 2005 pp. 240-251

Communication Barriers - Reasons for Communication Breakdown; http://www.managementstudyguide.com/communication_barriers.htm

Effective Communication: Barriers and Strategies; https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/communicating-students/telling/effective-communication-barriers-and-strategies

Frank K. Sonnenberg, Barriers to Communication; THE JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STRATEGY July/August 1990

Steven Golen, An Analysis of Communication Barriers of Managers in Health Services Organisations;

The Seven Barriers of Communication By Chris Smith; http://www.opin.ca/article/seven-barriers-communication

Tony English, TENSION ANALYSIS IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: A TOOL FOR BREAKING DOWN COMMUNICATION BARRIERS; The International Journal of Organizational Analysis 2001, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 58-83