Barriers to Communication

Barriers to communication

When a sender sends the idea in an unchanged form to receiver and the receiver responds to it, then the process of communication is supposed to have been perfect. But this process of communication cannot always exist due to the number of factors which stand in its way as barriers. The factors that can lead to miscommunication are called barriers to communication. They may create misunderstanding and confusion; and sometimes communication breaks down completely.

Physical Barriers

The barriers which are caused by the sender’s or receiver’s physical constraints, known as physical barriers.

Noise: Noise means” Interference that occurs in a signal that prevents you from hearing sounds properly.” Noise may reduce the effectiveness of the communication. Therefore, it is necessary to take preventive action to reduce the level and intensity of noise to make communication effective.

Improper Time: Improper time of communication also hinders the process of communication. E.g. an hour at closing hour to execute an urgent work may cause resentment in the employee who has to catch train/ bus for going back to his home.

Distance: When receiver of the communication is far away it becomes difficult for the sender to check whether he has received, understood, accepted the message or not for an effective communication.

Listener may miss out important part of the message due to the disturbance of telephone lines. In such cases the distance between the transmitter and the receiver become mighty barrier.

Linguistic Barriers

Wrong Pronunciation

Improper use of Grammar

Accent

Semantic Barriers

Semantic is the science of meaning. The same words and symbols carry different meaning to different people. People interpret the message in terms of their own behavior and experience. The use of different languages, different interpretations of different words and symbols, poor vocabulary and poor grammatical knowledge are some of the semantic barriers.

a.      Language difference: Communication is mainly carried through spoken and written words. When there is no common language between speaker and receiver semantic barrier arises.

b.      Inadequate knowledge and vocabulary: Poor knowledge of the subject in which the communication is to be held is also a major barrier to communication. Communication cannot be effective if the words used are inappropriate and inadequate because such words will not make clear the idea to be communicated.

c.      Psychological Barriers

Psychological barriers are the most difficult barriers to communication because they arise due to human nature, feelings, emotions, aims, and aspirations. These barriers create a psychological distance, causing misunderstanding among people at work.

·       Closed mindedness: A person may close his mind to communication receptions, if he considers himself to be a person who knows ‘all’ about the particular subject. It is very difficult to communicate with a person who has deeply rooted prejudiced mind. Superiority complex, limited intellectual background, etc.

·       Status barrier: Status is a position or social rank of a person in group. It depends upon the person’s ability, amount of pay, job skills, seniority, type of work assigned, age, etc. when the employees are status conscious, it becomes one of the major barriers to communication.

·       Emotions: Barriers may also arise due to emotions also because when emotions are strong, it is difficult to know the frame of mind of the other person. Emotional attitude of both, the communicator as well as the receiver, obstructs free flow of communication.

·       Distrust: Distrust distorts mutual understanding and takes away pleasurable and acceptable aspects of communication. Communication is likely to fail when the receiver has a suspicion about the source of communication.

·       Premature evaluation: It is the human nature to evaluate before receiving the complete message. Such premature evaluation prevents effective communication.

     How to overcome Barriers to Communication

Communication takes place when one person transfers information and understanding to another person. An effective communication is one which is followed by the receiver of the message and his reaction or response is known to the sender. It is a two-way process.

Brevity and clarity Before transmitting the message, the sender should ensure that he precisely includes only the relevant facts comprised in the message. The language used in the message should be very clear, and in no way should it be misleading. The message should be meaningful.

Continuity of communication Whether the sender and the receiver agree or disagree, it must be kept in mind that the communication link should never be snapped altogether, and the continuity of the communication should be maintained.

·   Choice of right transmission medium The medium for transmitting is important, therefore it is necessary to choose the right medium. For submitting a report, one should go for the written form of communication. For congratulating someone, a face to face interaction brings the required warmth in relationship.

·     Mutual trust. Both the sender and the receiver should have a feeling of trust for each other. Only then they can exchange ideas with full confidence.

·      Unbiased attitude. Neither the sender nor the receiver should form a negative opinion about each other before sending out or taking in a message.

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