GET TO KNOW ABOUT BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION By: Meenakshi Aggarwal

August 18, 2011

What is a barrier to communication? 

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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 

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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

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Conflicting values and beliefs Stereotyping and ethnocentrism Language and jargon

PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS 

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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

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Perception

Human memory process

ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS 

Such kind of barriers relate to the organization’s structure, culture, patterns of work and communication flows

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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  

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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