BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATION

DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION
BARRIERS
Aspects of or conditions in a workplace that interfere with
effective exchange of ideas or thoughts. Such barriers include
(1) status differences
(2) gender differences
(3) cultural differences
(4) prejudices
(5) the organizational environment

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
PYHISICAL BARRIERS
ORGANISATIONAL BARRIERS
CULTURAL BARRIERS
LANGUAGE BARRIERS
CHANNEL BARRIERS
INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS
INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS
ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS
LISTENING BARRIERS
BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING

PHYSICAL BARRIERS
Physical barriers are often due to the nature of the environment.
Physical Organizational Barrier includes internal and external
environment like :
large working areas physically separated from others
poor lighting
staff shortage
outdated equipments
background noise

ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS

Poor organizational culture, climate

Stringent rules and regulations
Status and relationship
Complexity
Inadequate facilities/ opportunities of growth and improvement

CULTURAL BARRIERS
The beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's
employees and management interact and handle outside
business transactions.

Age and gender

Education and cultural background
Social status and economic position
Temperament
Popularity
Religion
Political belief
Ethics, values, motives
Assumptions

LANGUAGE BARRIERS
Different languages, vocabulary, accents, dialects represent
national/ regional barriers.
Semantic gaps are words having similar pronunciation but multiple meanings.
E.g - Write your name on top of the test paper.
I couldn't remember the right answer.
to/two/too

Badly expressed message, wrong interpretation and unqualified assumptions.

The use of difficult or inappropriate words/ poorly explained or misunderstood
messages can result in confusion.

CHANNEL BARRIERS
If the length of the communication is long, or the medium selected is
inappropriate, the communication might break up
It can also be a result of the inter-personal conflicts between the
sender and receiver
Lack of interest to communicate
Information sharing or access problems which can hamper the
channel and affect the clarity, accuracy and effectiveness.

INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS

Lack of Trust
Lack of Knowledge of non-verbal communication
Wish to capture authority
Lack of Motivation
Lack of co-operation, fear of penalty and poor relationship

INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS

Individual's perceptual and personal discomfort.

Two individuals mental perception may/may not be identical
Style
Selective perception
Halo effect
Poor attention and retention
Defensiveness
Close mindedness
Insufficient filtration

ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS
It comes about as a result of problems with staff in the organization.
Limitation in physical and mental ability, intelligence,
understanding, pre-conceived notions, and distrusted source divides
the attention and create a mechanical barrier which affects the
attitude and opinion.

LISTENING BARRIERS

Interrupting the speaker

Not maintaining eye contact with the speaker
Rushing the speaker to complete what he/she has to say
Making the speaker feel as though he/she is wasting the
listener's time
Being distracted by something that is not part of the on-going
communication
Getting ahead of the speaker and completing his/her thoughts
Ignoring the speaker's requests
Asking too many questions, for the sake of probing

BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING

Unclear messages
Lack of consistency in the communication process
Incomplete sentences
Not understanding the receiver
Not seeking clarifications while communicating