Barrier To Communication

Barriers to communication Some barriers are due to technical breakdowns, while others are due to the personality and perception of the people communicating. Barriers to communication can therefore be broadly classified as follows:A. Physical Barriers Physical barriers are those which are mostly beyond the control of the persons involved in the communication process. Some can be controlled, but at times the defect lies in the environment. i. Noise Noise is the major cause of disruption in communication. When two people are communicating on the shop for a factory, the noise from the machinery and assembly line may result in the recipient met hearing what is said. Similar disruption due to noise can occur due to traffic on the roads. ii. Defects in the hearing of the person If the communicating persons, is hard of hearing, he or she may hear something different from the original message spoken. iii. Information overload In the recipient is bombarded with too much information, the vital message may be lost in all the clutter. For example when too much work is done on a computer it results in the machine getting hanged. Similarly if all modes are simultaneously used to communicate or if lengthy unnecessary matter is supplied, the receiver may tend to overlook what the message is all about and concentrate on the unimportant information. A. Mechanical Barriers Mechanical Barriers occur due to defects in the medium of communication. For example if the telephone line is faulty, the message heard may be unclear. Also if there is a postal strike, the letter will be delayed. Sometimes the internet and email accounts stop working for sometime or suddenly stop when only half the communication has been completed. These barriers cannot be foreseen and so are not written easy control. However at times,

the person may switch mediums, like from telephone to email, to complete the abrupt conversation.

B. Psychological Barriers Psychological Barriers are the most common barriers that we all commit at some point of time they are related to the sender or the receiver of the communication and so can be controlled, if the person at fault understands the barrier and makes an effort to overcome it. Some of the common psychological barriers are as follows: i)

Abstracting or selective perception When information is passed on to us we selectively choose to read, listen and remember whatever we want or whatever appeals to us. We tend to focus only on a part of the message that is important to us and leave out the rest of the matter. This is known as abstracting or selective perception.

ii)

Slanting The perception and attitude we have about the sender of the message or about the message itself makes us in favour of or against the message. This is not correct because the message should be viewed objectively, in the manner it was intended to be. But our bias does not allow us to understand the correct meaning of the message.

iii)

Closed mind A person may be narrow - minded and not in favour of new ideas and suggestions such a person has closed or made up his mind even before evaluating all the alternatives. Younger employees may feel frustrated that even good suggestions are not heard by the superior with a closed mind. The superior may then end up taking a decision of inadequate and incomplete information.

iv)

Resistance to change Some people are opposed to change in any form even if it is going to benefit them. They want to maintain the status quo and the old way of doing things. They would rather fall back on customs, norms and traditions rather than adapt to the current situation.

v)

Defensiveness

If the intended message contains something that makes us feel threatened or challenges our decisions, we tend to immediately go on the defensive mode and try to reject defensive mode and try to reject the message and justify our stand even if we may have had a mistake. vi)

Self-image Each and every person has some image about himself has some image about himself or herself. Self- image is the image that we truly believe, is our image. So we tend to accept messages or feedback that is in tune with our self-image and personality. We request anything that we feel will hamper out self image.

vii)

Filtering Filtering means leaving out vital information, to make the message appear different, when passing it on. Filtering may be done on purpose, when we want to protect ourselves, when we want to with old information from a competing coworker or when we do not want the boss to know the full impact of some unfavourable news. Sometimes filtering may even be done unknowingly when we omit some information according to our understanding of the original message and add our own interpretation to it.

viii)

Allness Allness occurs when an individual thinks he knows everything and there is no way he can be wrong. He does not even think it is necessary to consult someone else for a second opinion or for a better suggestion.

ix)

Snap Reactions This barrier takes place when the recipient does not bother to hear the complete message or to read everything what is written. He takes a decision, gives a reaction or makes a comment on the basis of incomplete information. This acts as a barrier and he may have to repent later for his snap reaction.

x)

Halo Effect Halo effect occurs when one person has a very good image or perception about the other person. He feels that the person can do no wrong, he accepts whatever the person says as correct and valid and considers the person as a role model.

xi)

Unjust or faulty assumptions This is just the opposite of halo effect. We tend to have a negative bias against someone and we do not want to hear anything said by that person or we tend to think that everything said by him will be untrue and false.

xii)

Polarization Polarization occurs when we consider the message either entirely positive or entirely negative. Even people are viewer as either good or bad. No middle the road approach is adopted.

A. Language Barriers Language barriers may arise when the recipient is not well-versed with the nuances of the language or when the sender makes errors in grammar, punctuation or pronunciation. Some of the languages barriers are as follows: i.

Vocabulary The vocabulary used should be understood by the sender and the recipient. The sender should use the level of language that is understood by all.

ii. Jargon Jargon is the use of certain technical terms. For e.g. certain medical terms may be common with doctors and medical practitioners but not with other professionals or common people. Thus while framing a message the sender should keep in mind who the audience is likely to be iii. Ambiguity Similar words may mean different things depending on the context. Some of these words may have same spelling but different meaning or same pronunciation and different meaning. Thus it is necessary to make the communication as clear as possible to avoid any ambiguity with regard to the meaning and interpretation of words or sentences. A. Organizational Barriers Communication is of vital importance to the functioning of business or carrying out tasks in an organizational scenario. But in such a high – pressured environment, barriers to communication, which leads to improper or ineffective communication, are almost

inevitable. However, a successful organization is one that trains its employees to improve their communication skills and develops certain systems and procedures where communication through a fixed format is followed. Some of the organizational barriers to communication are as follows. i. Ineffective downward communication Downward communication is when the superior or stop management have to communicate with the subordinates or all employees of the organization. It also takes place when the head office communicates decisions to the branch offices or dealers etc. During such communication the chain may be long till the last employee gets the message. Along the way the message may get distorted due to human error. At times, some managers may withhold some information thinking that it is not required to be told to the lower staff. If the lower staff who execute the work, do not have the information in its entirety they may not be able to complete the task in the right manner. ii. Too much of written communication In an official scenario, written communication is relied upon, so that everyone follows a particular format or order and the message can be passed around. Also written communication provides a proof for what has been communicated. However, there may be an information overload. Too many circulars, notices and data sheets may lead to clutter and an accumulation of files. In such a scenario, the important message may be overlooked. iii. Organization structure and size If the organization is very large in size and it follows a tall hierarchy with many different departments, communication may be distorted along the way or the speed of communication may be greatly reduced. Even if there are offices of the organization across cities and countries or sales offices in remote areas, communicating effectively becomes a problem. Many other considerations such as language nuances and time differences also have to be taken into account.

F.

Cross – Cultural Barriers

Culture is a shared set of values and attributes of a group. It is the sum total of the way people live and work and culture is passed from one generation to another. Every culture and people of a country take pride in their customs and traditions and it is considered good manners if we as guests adhere to the norms and rules followed in these specific countries. This will help to foster business and personal ties. Some of the communication may arise are as follows:-