Barriers to Effective Communication

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

Aspects of or conditions in a workplace that interfere with effective exchange of ideas or thoughts. Such barriers include

(1) status differences

(2) gender differences

(3) cultural differences

(4) prejudices

(5) the organizational environment

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

• PYHISICAL BARRIERS

• ORGANISATIONAL BARRIERS

• CULTURAL BARRIERS

• LANGUAGE BARRIERS

• CHANNEL BARRIERS

• INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS

• INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS

• ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS

• LISTENING BARRIERS

• BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING

PHYSICAL BARRIERS

• Physical barriers are often due to the nature of the environment. • Physical Organizational Barrier includes internal and external

environment like :– large working areas physically separated from others– poor lighting– staff shortage– outdated equipments – background noise

ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS

• Poor organizational culture, climate• Status and relationship• Complexity• Inadequate facilities/ opportunities of growth and improvement

CULTURAL BARRIERS

• Age and gender• Education and cultural background• Social status and economic position• Temperament• Health and beauty• Popularity• Religion• Political belief• Ethics, values, motives• Assumptions• Aspirations• Rules and regulations, • Standards and priorities

LANGUAGE BARRIERS

• Different languages, vocabulary, accents, dialects represent

national/ regional barriers.

• Semantic gaps are words having similar pronunciation but multiple

meanings.

• Badly expressed message, wrong interpretation and unqualified

assumptions.

• The use of difficult or inappropriate words/ poorly explained or

misunderstood messages can result in confusion.

CHANNEL BARRIERS

• If the length of the communication is long, or the medium selected is inappropriate, the communication might break up

• It can also be a result of the inter-personal conflicts between the sender and receiver

• Lack of interest to communicate• Information sharing or access problems which can hamper the

channel and affect the clarity, accuracy and effectiveness.

INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS

• Lack of Trust • Lack of Knowledge of non-verbal communication • Wish to capture authority• Fear of losing power of control• Lack of Motivation• Lack of co-operation, fear of penalty and poor relationship

INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS

• Individual's perceptual and personal discomfort.• Two individuals’ mental perception may/may not be identical • Style• Selective perception• Poor attention and retention• Defensiveness• Close mindedness• Insufficient filtration

ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS

• It comes about as a result of problems with staff in the organization. • Limitation in physical and mental ability, intelligence,

understanding, pre-conceived notions, and distrusted source divides the attention and create a mechanical barrier which affects the attitude and opinion.

LISTENING BARRIERS

• Interrupting the speaker• Not maintaining eye contact with the speaker• Rushing the speaker to complete what he/she has to say• Making the speaker feel as though he/she is wasting the

listener's time• Being distracted by something that is not part of the on-going

communication• Getting ahead of the speaker and completing his/her thoughts• Ignoring the speaker's requests• Asking too many questions, for the sake of probing

BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING

• Unclear messages• Lack of consistency in the communication process• Incomplete sentences• Not understanding the receiver• Not seeking clarifications while communicating