BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION By: Meenakshi Aggarwal
August 18, 2011
What is a barrier to communication?
Anything that prevents a message from being conveyed. Synonymous in many ways with noise A barrier is usually of human rather than technological origin Human barriers are less visible but more consequential
Common barriers to communication: Apparent ‘cause’
Practical Example
Socio- cultural
Message from organisation misinterpreted by members of a particular group
Psychological
Message from external stakeholder ignored due to ‘groupthink’
Organizational
Message coming down from the organization are at times given too much interpretation
Physiological
Message in an internal report not received due to blindness
Economic
Message not available to a public sector organisation due to lack of resources
Technological
Message not delivered due to technical failure
SOCIO- CULTURAL BARRIERS
An individual can be a carrier of culture but one person cannot create culture By participating in a culture we are confirming to social norms, whether implicitly or implicitly Similarly, there are norms in communication too, e.g.- gestures, the meaning of a color, tone of speech and meaning of symbols These norms can also be barriers to communication
Iceberg metaphor for culture
Key socio- cultural elements
Group think- Social phenomenon which occurs when group behavior dominates and stifles the decision making process. Characterized by
Similarity and hidden differences Reliance on shared rationalizations Collective patterns of defensive avoidance Lack of vigilance Suppression of worrisome defects Unwarranted optimism
Conflicting values and beliefs Stereotyping and ethnocentrism Language and jargon
PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
Those barriers relating to the individual and the individual’s mental and emotional state Key psychological barriers
Filtering Perceptions Faulty memory Poor listening skills Emotional interference
ď Ż
Perception
Human memory process
ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS
Such kind of barriers relate to the organization’s structure, culture, patterns of work and communication flows
Most common organizational barriers
Information overload Message competition Information distortion Message filtering Conflicting messages Communications climate Status differences Structural problems
Overcoming Bias in Language Example
Unacceptable
Preferable
Gender bias Salesman
Salesperson; Sales representative
Manpower
Workforce; Workers
Man-made
Artificial; Manufactured
Ethnic bias
Jim Wong is an Jim Wong is very tall unusually tall Asian
Disability bias
Crippled workers face many barriers on the job
Workers with physical disabilities face many barriers on the job
Overcoming the barriers
Taking the receiver more seriously Thinking more clearly about the message Delivering messages skilfully Focusing on the receiver Using multiple channels and encoding Securing appropriate feedback
QUESTIONS