Communication Barriers

By Shiwani 

Although the primary goal of communication is for the receiver to interpret the message as the sender intended, frequently this goal is not achieved.  Communication barriers are obstacles to the communication process.  Learning to recognize external and internal communication barriers will help you plan your messages and become a more effective communicator.

External Barriers

Conditions outside the receiver and the sender that detract from the communication process are called external barriers.  Examples include environmental factors, such as lighting, heat, humidity, comfort, and noise.

The appearance of a written document also may be an external barrier to communication.  A document can create an external barrier it is smudged, contains error in content, spelling, grammar, or is presented in an inappropriate format.  You could become so distracted with the appearance of the document that you fail to comprehend its contents.

Another external barrier to communication within an organization is a “closed or authoritarian climate.”  In such an environment, decisions and policies often are made and implemented by command.  Consequently, workers may stop offering suggestions because they may feel that making suggestions is useless.

Internal Barriers

People have different personalities, educational backgrounds, experiences, cultures, statuses, and biases.  These differences can result in internal barriers that affect a sender’s willingness and ability to express messages and a receiver’s ability to interpret them accurately.

In meetings, extroverts (outward, outspoken, and outgoing individuals) are apt to express ideas and appear to be very knowledgeable.  Introverts (inward, quiet, and shy individuals) may not express their opinions until someone asks for them.  One-to-one conversation is easier for extroverts than introverts.  To avoid becoming a communication barrier, extroverts need to make sure they think before they speak.  For introverts to avoid becoming a barrier, they need to make sure they speak.

Another internal barrier to communication can be the motivation or interests of the receiver.  If the receiver is interested in the topic or project, he or she will listen and probably participate in any discussion.  If he or she is not interested, he or she may not listen or participate.

Which type of barrier, internal or external, is each of the following?

1. The receiver is sick.

2. The room is so hot that it distracts the listener.

3. The street noise is so loud the listener cannot hear the radio.

4. The reader cannot concentrate because of a personal problem.

5. The reader thinks the letter contains too many spelling and grammar errors.

Ten Barriers to Effective Communication

Description

As a business coach and mentor working in the Midlands and London, I am constantly helping business owners and directors with the ways they communicate and what the barriers are. People think that just because we talk, we think people hear but unfortunately this is not the case. Communication is of course how we talk to ourselves and with other people. This article talks about the ten different areas involved and how you can improve dramatically the way we communicate.

After reading this tip sheet, you will:

learn the importance of each barrier to communication

recognise that people don’t hear the same thing that has been spoken

understand that we are so much in our own heads that we have little time, energy or emotion left for listening

realise that due to more and more external chatter from radios, mobiles and traffic, good communication is getting harder and harder

receive huge amounts of information when you communicate effectively

Ten Barriers to Effective Communication

There are many barriers to good communication mainly because every one of us hears, translates what we hear and acts upon the information received in different ways. The challenge for the communicator is to remember this at all times when s/he is communicating (transmitting) the message. This challenge is often bad enough on a one-to-one basis but it is made more difficult when dealing with a crowd of people.

Here are some pointers to help improve your communication:-

Differences in Perception

Each person views the world in different ways based on past experience, age, nationality, culture, education, occupation, sex, status and personality. Individual perception of the world interprets situations in different ways. These differences can often be at the root of many communication difficulties – see also the article on Different Behaviour Spectrums.

Jumping to Conclusions

There are five basic differences to what has been said or written for the person who is transmitting and the person who is receiving the communication: -

People see or hear what they want to see or hear,

People see or hear what they expect to see or hear,

People see or hear what they think they saw or heard

People see or hear what they actually saw or heard

People see or hear what their brain tells them they have seen or heard.

This is often in direct contrast to what is written or said. These situations depend upon the amount of listening that the person (the “receiver”) is doing at the time of contact.

Unfortunately we aren’t always listening or seeing with 100% concentration, even though we might think we are. The lack of concentration results in people “jumping to conclusions” based on what they think they saw or heard, or completing the sentence with their own words or thoughts, which can be totally different from what was said or written.

Bearing in mind these well-known documented facts that we all come across continuously, it is often surprising that evidence is believed from even eye witnesses in court trials!

Stereotyping

Most people learn from their own experiences and run the risk of treating different people as if they were the same i.e. if you’ve met one copper/second hand or double glazing salesman/shop steward/doctor/accountant/teacher you’ve met them all. The problem is that in order to get the messages out over and above standard stereotype one first needs to break the mould. Once broken away from the stereotype one can start to get the message out.

Lack of Knowledge

Communication is always difficult if the person “transmitting” the message and the people who are receiving the message have a different knowledge background, some with a lot mixed in with those with a little. The problem therefore is where to start and the communicator needs to be aware of the discrepancies and take them into account. It is really important not to assume the same levels, because even those people who have driving licenses don’t know the Highway Code to the same depth, even though we should all know it equally well!

Lack of Interest

The levels of concentration, which are directly related to the quality of reception of the information, are linked almost exclusively to the level of interest created by the communicator in the subject being discussed. It is very easy to believe that their interest is the same as ours, when undoubtedly it won’t be. They might be there under duress, suffering from being unwell or in low spirits, things that you will never know. It is therefore crucial for the communicator to raise the “bar” and appeal to the person’s curiousity and needs in a way that is interesting.

Different levels of Self-Expression

The ability to express ourselves even on a one-to-one basis is hard enough but even worse on a group basis. This aspect of communication is obviously very important and can be improved by increasing one’s vocabulary with reading and with careful planning of the presentation. It is also necessary to understand the vocabulary level on the side of the audience i.e. do not use long difficult words or long/complex sentences.

Emotions

Emotions can totally change the interaction and the way communication is received. Any strong emotion will result in only the emotion being transmitted with no information. Some emotion is needed like energy, enthusiasm, vitality and commitment, all aspects of a positive attitude but if there are traces of negative energy like anger, depression, frustration, hurt then probably it is better to leave the information giving to another time.

Personality

The personalities of the other people can have a profound effect on the way communication is given and received. One only has to remember school teachers, headmasters, bullies, people in authority and intimidating looks to see people literally shrivel and dry up. So it is really important to either match the personalities present or not be there in the first place.

Location

Some locations are better than others for presentations and communicating to others. Even simple changes to layout of the room, more or even fewer lights, change of temperature, more space to move around in, or less background noise (turning off the distracting air conditioner/loudspeaker) can make a big difference to the way you as the presenter and the receivers feel.

Jargon/Gobbledygook

We have all experienced the person who seems to speak in forked tongues or another language. The worst are the technical/doctors/accountants/computer people of this world, although all sectors of industry and commerce seem to have their own language. Try and keep the jargon out but if it is needed give some translation as you are going along. There is nothing worse that to start off interested and then to gradually switch off, as the words become stranger and stranger. The best thing is to keep it simple and follow the six “C’s”.

Clear - Concise – Courteous – Constructive – Correct – Complete.