Barriers To Communication and Overcoming the barriers

Barriers to Communication

There are many reasons why communication may fail. In many communications, 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.

There exist many barriers to communication and these may occur at any stage in the communication process. Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted and you therefore risk wasting both time and money by causing confusion and misunderstanding. Effective communication involves overcoming these barriers and conveying a clear and concise message.

Barriers  maybe classified into five types:
I. Mechanical barriers
II. Physical barriers
III. Psychological barriers
IV. Semantic and language barriers
V. Status barriers

 Mechanical barriers: Faulty mechanism:

A communication may not reach properly if the mechanism that carries it breaks down. To take an extreme case, if the computer typing has been done in devnagari, and while taking the printout the computer is in the Roman mode, not a single letter would be understood.
Similarly, if the mirror image of a letter is sent by some mechanical fault, it will be hard to decipher.
Some possible mechanical failures are:
(a) A weak microphone or poor sound spread (acoustics) of the meeting place
(b) Defective telephone lines
(c) Electricity/computer breakdown
(d) Poor printing quality or paper spread of ink, overlap of colours
(e) Atmospherics on radio or TV, especially in a cloudy weather

Physical barriers: noise, space, time:

Sometimes background noise, whether in a face-to-face meeting or at either end of the telephone, reduces the audibility of the spoken word. Also, if the listener is too far from the speaker, he may not be able to hear him, in which case distance is the barrier.
Similarly, the time taken for the message to reach its destination can become a barrier, e.g. a telegram delivered too late.

Psychological barriers:

These are numerous and require greater effort to overcome:

• A person of weak hearing or eyesight cannot always receive the communication in full.
• The age of the listener puts its own limitations on his ability to receive messages. One may be too young or too old to understand certain things.
• A person’s educational level governs his understanding. Some background knowledge is required to understand certain messages.
• Loyalty to a brand or an organisation is also a barrier. One who is loyal to a certain brand may not be receptive to a rival product’s add. One may not be receptive to the praises of an organisation other than one’s own, a team other than one’s countries, and so on.
• Emotional states of a person can act as barriers. If someone is in a fit of anger, he /she may not listen to reason. They may also find it difficult to communicate soberly with a person who has not contributed to his anger. There is a spillover effect – the emotion generated by one transaction spilling over into an unrelated transaction.
• One’s prejudices act as a hindrance to reason. A prejudice is a judgment formed without proper information. One may have a racial prejudice, a caste prejudice and so on. This is the opposite of an open mind. A liberal education is meant to remove irrational notions which stay on as prejudices.
• Personality limitations, too, put a barrier. These are similar to ideological barriers, as some personalities are naturally attracted to certain ideologies. However, personality variations are far too numerous.
• Poor retention power is a barrier. If one fails to take timely notes when instructions are given, hoping to remember them all, one has perhaps given away a part of the communication.

Semantic and language barriers:

Semantics is the study of how words convey meanings. What happens if the speaker/writer means one thing and the listener/reader takes it in another meaning?
An advertiser offered to sell a “big, bad dog”. While the word “bad” is meant to convey its attacking power to guard a house, some readers may take it otherwise. The context changes the meaning of the word.
One has to ask, is the word conveyed in its proper context? Words are indeed so tricky to use that one can hardly ever convey the same thing to all receivers in given words.
The words generate different meanings in different minds, according to their previous associations and language levels. Literary texts, created by master writers and read by expert critics, are continually open to reinterpretations. Some of this conflict with one another.
Yet in business life, dealing with matter-of-fact situations, semantic barriers arise from the inability to read the receiver’s mind. If the sender knows the receiver’s level of understanding, fine. If not, there is a barrier. A good communicator takes the trouble of removing all ambiguity and wrong coloring of words. As a receiver, he tries to read the words and between the lines.

Status barriers:

This again is a kind of psychological barrier, where the higher or lower social status of the other party disables one from expressing one’s meaning fully. A modest farmer, asked to express his problems to a high-ranking official or politician, may feel nervous or ill at ease.
Status symbols (e.g. luxury of the surroundings) may halt communication. A candidate from a modest background may be awestruck to see the glitz and glamour of a multinational company where he has to appear for an interview.
Cultural barriers are a special case of collective psychological barriers. A culture brings its own habits, modes of dressing, greeting, eating, food preferences etc. Most people have an element of xenophobia (fear or aversion of foreigners).
and wrong coloring of words. As a receiver, he tries to read the words and between the lines.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

There are a lot of communication barriers faced these days by all. The message intended by the sender is not understood by the receiver in the same terms and sense and thus communication brain drain occurs. It is essential to deal and cope up with these communication barriers so as to ensure smooth and effective communication.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

1. Eliminating differences in perception: The organization should ensure that it is recruiting right individuals on the job. It’s the responsibility of the interviewer to ensure that the interviewee has command over the written and spoken language. There should be proper Induction program so that the policies of the company are clear to all the employees. There should be proper trainings conducted for required employees (for eg: Voice and Accent training).

2. Use of Simple Language: Use of simple and clear words should be emphasized. Use of ambiguous words and jargons should be avoided.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

3. Reduction and elimination of noise levels: Noise is the main communication barrier which must be overcome on priority basis. It is essential to identify the source of noise and then eliminate that source.

4. Active Listening: Listen attentively and carefully. There is a difference between “listening” and “hearing”. Active listening means hearing with proper understanding of the message that is heard. By asking questions the speaker can ensure whether his/her message is understood or not by the receiver in the same terms as intended by the speaker.

5. Emotional State: During communication one should make effective use of body language. He/she should not show their emotions while communication as the receiver might misinterpret the message being delivered. For example, if the conveyer of the message is in a bad mood then the receiver might think that the information being delivered is not good.

6. Simple Organizational Structure: The organizational structure should not be complex. The number of hierarchical levels should be optimum. There should be a ideal span of control within the organization. Simpler the organizational structure, more effective will be the communication.

7. Avoid Information Overload: The managers should know how to prioritize their work. They should not overload themselves with the work. They should spend quality time with their subordinates and should listen to their problems and feedbacks actively.

8. Give Constructive Feedback: Avoid giving negative feedback. The contents of the feedback might be negative, but it should be delivered constructively. Constructive feedback will lead to effective communication between the superior and subordinate.

9. Proper Media Selection: The managers should properly select the medium of communication. Simple messages should be conveyed orally, like: face to face interaction or meetings. Use of written means of communication should be encouraged for delivering complex messages. For significant messages reminders can be given by using written means of communication such as : Memos, Notices etc.

10.Flexibility in meeting the targets: For effective communication in an organization the managers should ensure that the individuals are meeting their targets timely without skipping the formal channels of communication. There should not be much pressure on employees to meet their targets.

Conclusion

In organizations, business communication becomes even more important as people working in different departments have to achieve common objectives. The working of inter-personal relationships is possible only through communication.

Apart from binding its various components internally, communication is what links an organisation with the external world. Thus, communication is regarded as the foundation of a successful organisation. No group can exist without communication.

Communication has a significant impact on the ultimate potency of an organisation. It is only through communication that ideas, information, attitudes or emotions get conveyed from one person to another.