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Barriers in Effective Communication

Good communication is not synonymous with talkingothe r peop le in toaccepting your point of view.Regardless of how well you express yourself ,other peoplewill not always agree with you. While you send a message,youintend to commun icate meaning, but th e messageitself doesn t containmeaning. The meaning exists in yourmind and in the mind of yourreceiverto un der s ta nd on e a no the r , you an d y ou r re c e i ve r mu s t s h a r e s i m i l a r meanings for words,

gestures, tonic of voice and other symbols.

Differences in perceptionThe world constantly bombards us with information:

sights, sounds, scents,and so on. Our minds organize thisstream of sensation inlay a mental mapthat represents ourperception or reality. In no case is the perception ofacertain person the same as the world itself, and no twomaps are identical.As you view the world, your mind absorbsyour experiences in a unique andpersonal way. Because yourperceptions are unique, the ideas you want toexpressdiffer from other people. Even when two people haveexperiencedthe same event, their mental images of thatevent will not be identical. Assenders, we choose the detailsthat seem important and focus our attentionon the most relevantand general, a process known as selective perception.Asreceivers, we try to f i t new detai ls into our exist ing

pattern. I f adetai ld o e s n t q u i t e f i t , w e a r e i n c l i n e d t o d i s t o r t th e i n f o r ma t i o n r a t h e r t h a n rearrange the pattern.

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Incorrect FilteringFiltering is screening out before a message is passed on to

someone else.Inoff ices, the f i l ters between you an d your receiver are many; secretaries,assistants, receptionists etc.Those samegatekeepers may also translateyour receiver s ideas and responses beforepassing the m on to you . Toovercome filtering barriers,try to establish more than onecommunicationch an ne l , e l im in a t e as man y in te r me

di ar ie s as po ss ib le , an d de cr ea se distortion bycondensing message information to the bare essentials

Language problemsWhen you choose the words for your message, yousignal that you are amember of a particular culture orsubculture and that you know the code. The nature of yourcode imposes its own barriers on your message.B a r r i e r s a l s o e x i s t b e c a u s e w o r d s c a n b e i n t e r pr e t e d i n mo r e t h a n o n e wa y . Language is

arbitrary code that depends on shared definitions, but theresalimit to how completely any of us share the same meaning for agiven word. To overcome language barriers, use the mostspecific and accurate wordspossible. Always try to usewords your audience will understand. Increase theaccuracy ofyour messages by using language that describesrather thanevaluates and by presenting observablefacts, events, and circumstances.

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Poor ListeningPerhaps the most common barrier to reception is simply a

lack of attentionon the receivers part. We all let our mindswander now and then, regardlessof how hard we try toconcentrate. People are essentially likely to drift off whenthey are forced to listen to information that is difficult tounderstand orthat has little direct bearing on their ownlives. Too few of us simply do not listen well! To overcomebarriers, paraphrase what you have understood, tryto view thesituation through the eyes of other speakers and resist

jumpingto conclusions. Clarify meaning by asking non-

threatening questions, andlisten without bias.

Differing BackgroundsDifferences in background can be one of the hardestcommunicationbarriersto overcome. Age, education, gende r, soci al status, economic posi t ion,cul tural background, temperament, hea l th , popu lar ity, re ligion, even ap a s s i n gm o o d c a n a l l s e p a r a t e o n e p e r s o n f r o m a no t h e r a n d m a k e understanding diff icult. To overcomethe barriers associated with differingbackgrounds, avoidprojecting your own background or culture ontoo the rs .C la r i f y you r own and unders tand the backgrou nd o f o th e rs , sph ere s o f knowledge , persona li ties and percept ions and don t assume that certainbehaviors mean the same thing to everyone.

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Cultural Background and BiasDifferences in background can be one of the hardest

communication barriersto overcome. When your receivers lifeexperiences differ substantially fromyours, communicationbecomes more difficult. We allow our past experiencestochange the meaning of the message. Our culture,background, and biascan be good as the y al low us t ouse our past experiences to understandsomethingnew, it is when they change the meaning of the messagethenthey interfere with the communication process. Toovercome the barriersassociated with differing backgrounds,

avoid projecting your own backgroundor culture onto others.Clarify your own and understand others backgrounds,spheres ofknowledge, personalities and perceptions.

NoiseE q u i p m e n t o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l n o i s e i m p e d e s c l e a rc o m mu n i c a t i o n . The sender and the receiver must both be

able to concentrate on the messagesbeing sent to each other.Noise is any interference in thecommunicationp r o c e s s t h a t d i s t o r t s o r o b s c u re s t h e s e n d e r s m e a n i n g a n d s u c h c o m m u n i c a tion barriers can exist between people and within organizations.

OurselvesFocusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can

lead tocon fus i onand con f l i c t . The M e G e n e r a t i o n i so u t w h e n i t c o m e s t o e f f e c t i v e communication.Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness(wefeel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we

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know more than theother), and ego (we feel we are the centreof the activity).

MessageDistractions happen when we focus on the facts ratherthan the idea. Oureducational institutions reinforce thiswith tests and questions. Semanticd i s t r a c t i o n s o c cu rw h e n a w o r d i s u s e d d i f f e r e n t l y t h a n y o u p r e f e r .Fo r example, the word chairman instead of chairperson maycause you to focuson the word and not the message.

EnvironmentalBright l ights, an at t ract ive person, unusual s ights, orany other stimulusprovides a potential distraction.

Smothering

W e t a k e i t f o r g r a n t e d t h a t t h e i m p u l s e t o s e n d us e fu l i n f o r ma t i o n i s automatic. Not true! Too often webelieve that certain information has novalue to others or theyare already aware of the facts.

StressPeople do not see things the same way when under stress. Whatwe see

andbel ieve a t a gi ven moment is inf lue nced by ourpsychological frames of references which include our beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences and

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goals.

ConclusionThese barriers can be thought of as filters, that is, the

message leaves thesender, goes through the abovefilters, and is then heard by the receiver. These filters mufflethe message and the way to overcome filters isthroughac t i ve l i s ten ing and fee dba ck . Your ab i l i t yt o o ve r co me t h e s e ba r r i e r s determines yourcommunication success and effectiveness.

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DO'S FOR BREAKING THE BARRIER:

- Allow employees access to resources, self expression and ideageneration.- Express your expectations to others.- Use less of absolute words such as "never", "always", "forever",etc.- Be a good, attentive and active listener.- Filter the information correctly before passing on to someoneelse.- Try to establish one communication channel and eliminate the

intermediaries.- Use specific and accurate words which audiences can easilyunderstand.- Try and view the situations through the eyes of the speaker.- The "you" attitude must be used on all occasions.- Maintain eye contact with the speaker and make himcomfortable.- Write the instructions if the information is very detailed or

complicated.- Oral communication must be clear and not heavily accented.- Avoid miscommunication of words and semantic noise.- Ask for clarifications, repetition where necessary.- Make the organisational structure more flexible, dynamic andtransparent.- Foster congenial relationship which strengths coordinationbetween superior and subordinate.- Focus on purposeful and well focused communication.

- The message of communication should be clear and practical.- Get Proper Feedback.

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DONT'S FOR BREAKING THE BARRIER:

- Be a Selective Listener, this is when a person hears anotherbut selects not to hear what is being said by choice or desire tohear some other message.- Be a "Fixer", a fixer is a person that tries to find other person'sfault.- Be a daydreamer.- Use long chain of command for communication.- Use too many technical jargons.- Jump to conclusions immediately.

- Interrupt the speakers and distract him by asking too manyirrelevant questions.