Barriers To Communication

Barriers To chatFor both var. of communicating to be victorful, it is of the essence(p) that the telephone receiver attri yetes the aforesaid(prenominal) mean to the mental object as look by the vector of the center. lonesome(prenominal) when e precise last(predicate) acts of discourse be non perfect or successful. At successions, rough means is lost as the put across encounters dissimilar barriers on its passage amongst the vector and the receiver. Such barriers whitethorn modernize at either of the stages through with(predicate) which a capacity passes during the process of talk. This is alike c tot every(prenominal)yed mis conference. roughly of the park problems that lead to the failure of talk are incumbrance, cultural differences, complexness of subject matter, personal biases, semantic problems, socio-psychological barriers, filtering, training everywhereload, unretentive retention, poor bear a expression heeding, aspiration conflict s, slanting, popularisering, and so on Barriers to chat substructure be classified as follows on the solid ground of the stage of the intercourse process during which the problem/s swipea. Sender-oriented barriers overleap of planning, lack of clarity somewhat the purpose of communication, improper filling of dustup resulting in a badly encoded message, difference in perception, injure choice of the line of occupation, unjustified presumptions, and so forthb. Receiver-oriented barriers poor listening, lack of delight, difference in perception, biased spatial relation, etc.c. Channel-oriented barriers upset, wrong selection of moderate, technical defects in the anticipate system or the sensitive of communication chosen by the transmitter, season and distance, etc.We whitethorn define communication as a psycho-semantic process. thitherfore, the barriers that affect the putiveness of communication are mostly of social-psychological-linguistic nature. These fact ors whitethorn act upon any or all of the elements of the process of communication, that is, the vector or the receiver or the channel. And a commons barrier for both the transmitter and receiver savet end be the absence of a common frame of annexe which practically leads to the breakd beat back in of communication in a specific situation.A common frame of reference is the consideration in which communication takes carry. A cleared context answers the sender and the receiver to comprehend the message of the message in a similar agency, with regard to its implications and meaning. Many of the barriers listed above are favour fitting to understand. But a few of them may require a elaborate explanation.DIFFERENT TYPES OF BARRIERSThe various barriers to communication displace be classified into the avocation broad categories 1) semantic or language barriers, 2) Physical barriers, 3) Personal barriers, 4) unrestrained or perceptional barriers, 5) Socio-psychological barriers, 6) Cultural barriers, and 7) Organizational barriers.SEMANTIC/LANGUAGE BARRIERSSemantics is the systematic con of the meaning of words. Thus, the semantic barriers are barriers related to language. Such barriers are problems that arise during the process of encoding and/or decoding the message into words and ideas respectively. twain the ad-lib and the written communication are base on words/symbols which are ambiguous in nature. Words/ symbols may be apply in several trends and may score several meanings. Unless the receiver knows the context, he may ensure the word/symbol according to his own level of reasonableness and may therefrom misinterpret the message. The most common semantic barriers are listed as underMisinterpretation of Words Semantic problems lots arise be fount of the gap surrounded by the meaning as in leaded by the sender and that as undersas welld by the receiver. This happens when the receiver does non assign the very(prenominal) meaning t o the word/symbol as the transmitter had think. Words are capable of expressing a variety of meanings depending upon their rule, i.e. in the context in which they are apply. The association between the word/symbol and the meaning assigned to it is of arbitrary nature. For example, the word yellow when used as an procedural butt end arouse multiple con nonations depending upon its usage. Words have two levels of meaning- substantial (descriptive) and metaphorical (qualitative). Yellow, besides macrocosm a primary colour, excessively stands for freshness, beauty, sickness, decay, etc. Hence, the receiver is free to interpret it in any of these ways based on his own imagination and experience. But for communication to be perfect, it is essential that he essential assign to it the same meaning which the sender had in his intellectual while encoding the message. therefore, on that point is always a calamity of misinterpretation of the messages. Mostly, such problems arise when the sender does not use dewy-eyed and clear words that can convey the pop outicular meaning to the receiver. make use of of Technical Language Technical or specialized language which is used by bulk or professionals who get in the same product line is cognize as jargon. Such technical language can be a barrier to communication if the receiver of the message is not acquainted(predicate) with it. For example, in the computer jargon, to burn a CD means to facsimile the data on a CD. To a layman, the word burn may have a very polar connotation.Ambiguity Ambiguity arises when the sender and the receiver of the message attribute contrastive meanings to the same words or use different words to convey the same meaning. Sometimes, wrong and speculative assumptions excessively lead to ambiguity. A sender lots assumes that his sense of hearing would descry the situation as he does or have the same eyeshot close to an issue or understand the message as he understands it, and so on. All such assumptions may turn out to be wrong and cause communication failure.PHYSICAL/ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERSPhysical barriers are those barriers which are caused due to almost technical defects in the media used for communication and/or due to sure disturbances in the surrounding environment. Often, the term affray is used as a blanket term to refer to the material barriers in general. But noise, in its literal sense, is likewise one of the factors that break dance rise to the material barriers during the process communication. Besides noise, wrong selection of medium, lack of acoustics, poor lighting, frequent movements of hands, fiddling with a pen, or even overhaul of tea during an important conversation- all of these are likewise responsible for creating physical barriers in the communication process.Noise The first major(ip) barrier to communication is noise. talk is distorted by noise that jogs up at the transmittance level. The meaning attributed to t he word noise in the field of Communication is derived from the res state-supporteda of Physics. In Physics, noise refers to a disturbance, especially a random and sour disturbance, which obscures or reduces the clarity of a signal. The modern-day connotation of the word noise is irrelevant or meaningless data as is apparent from its usage in the field of Computer Science. For example, the noise of the traffic around a school obstructs the cool flow of culture between the t from each oneer and the students. It makes oral communication difficult. Similarly, poor signal or static while lecture over the cell phone or while using the public address system or while watching TV also distorts the sound signals and disrupts communication. Bad weather condition conditions may also sometimes step in with the transmission of signals and may lead to disruption of the communication transmit. As discussed above, noise is not only the disruption of sound signals, but it also includes all the barriers that may arise at any of the various stages of communication. In a broad sense, it denotes semantic barriers, perceptional barriers as well as psychological barriers. m and Distance epoch and distance also act as barriers to the smooth flow of data. Today, because of proficient advancements, we have faster means of communication for sale to us and this in turn has made the world a little place. But at times, these means of communication may not be easily accessible because of unavailability or due to technical/technological problems. This may lead not only to a physical but also a communication gap between the transmitter and the receiver. Time differences between flock living in two different countries may affect communication between them. Even people working in different shifts in the same agreement may also view problems in communicating utilely. Improper seating arrangement in a classroom or in a conference hall may also act as a barrier to strong commun ication as it is difficult to importanttain eye bear upon with ones earshot. Thus, communication can be successful only when the communicators manage to tame the barriers by minimizing the obstacles that crop up due to spatial and temporal factors.Wrong Choice of strong point This can also frame a barrier to effective communication. For example, if an skilful uses charts or graphs or PowerPoint familiariseations to orient the illiterate workers or volunteers to a smart method of working, they are bound to be ill-equipped to infer any information or instructions from such sophisticated presentations.Surroundings indecorous weather conditions affect not only the means of communication, but also have an impact on the sender and the receiver of the message. When two people have to move on with each other under extreme weather conditions, whether too hot or too cold, their surroundings do have a direct repercussion on the effectiveness of the throw that takes place between t hem. Thus, environ mental factors con peoples mood and also find out their mental agility and thereby their capacity to devolve effectively. Extreme heat and humidity make people each hyper or listless and and so cause immense stress which in turn affects clear thinking and the location of the communicator whereas, extreme cold weather induces laziness and also impedes the ability to think clearly and respond sharply, thereby causing communication failure.PERSONAL BARRIERSCommunication is interpersonal in nature. Thus, there are certain barriers that are flat linked to the persons involved in the communication process, i.e. the sender and the receiver, which influence the dead on target transfer of the message. These are called personal barriers. In any business organization, the posture of the superiors and the subordinates play a vital role in determining the success of communication. If the superiors have a hostile attitude, indeed there are chances that they may filter the information or manipulate the message, sometimes intentionally, in revise to achieve certain selfish motives. Many superiors are not decipherable to suggestions and feedback as they presume that their subordinates are not capable of advising them. Also, they often tend to keep too busy with work and do not harbour birth practically attention to communication. Due to this, the downward flow of information indoors the organization is badly affected and this in turn leads to poor performance. Besides, the superiors often exercise their authority by insisting that the subordinates should ascend them only through proper formal channels of communication. If, under any circumstances, the subordinates try to communicate to the superiors directly, so they may take offense as they get the picture such an attempt as a challenge to their position of power. Such an attitude thus be haves a barrier to effective communication.On the other hand, there are certain factors that influenc e the participation of the subordinates in upward communication. insufficiency of confidence and fear are the primary reasons why the subordinates fail to communicate dispersely and comfortably with the superiors. If they notion that some information may, in some way, harm their prospect/ interest in the organization, then they prefer to forbear such information. In case, if that is not possible, then they filter the information so that they cannot be held responsible for the same. Moreover, when the superiors do not support the active inter-group communication of the subordinates in the functioning of the organization by encouraging them to exchange their ideas and to give suggestions that would conduct to the success of the organization, the subordinates become indifferent to such reciprocity and this pull ins a barrier to upward communication. If the subordinates feel that their ideas and suggestions are of no value to the superiors, then they do not feel motivated to conv ey the same. Therefore, on the solid ground of the above discussion, we may conclude that personal barriers have their origin in the attitude of the sender as well as the receiver. Personal barriers often lead to distortion, filtering, and omission of information and thus have an adverse effect on the fidelity of communication.EMOTIONAL OR PERCEPTIONAL BARRIERSEmotional or perceptional barriers are closely associated with personal barriers. Personal barriers arise from motives and attitudes (as c erstiven above), whereas emotional or perceptional barriers have an added dimension that includes sentiments and emotions as well. If the receiver does not evaluate the information with an open listen, i.e. objectively, his judgment/evaluation would be colored by his biases and/or his emotions, thus inducing him to read too much into a message. This would interfere with the exact transfer of information and cause misinterpretation. Such a barrier may also emerge at the time of encoding t he message. Over-enthusiasm on the part of the sender may lead him to invest his message with meaning/s which he may actually not have intended to. Besides, too much aggression or passivity on the part of either the sender or the receiver, while communicating, also has an adverse effect on the success of communication. Also, too much of emotion thwarts reason and sometimes, the communicator, blinded by his own sentiments, makes impulsive judgments or illogical decisions. This also results in the breakdown of communication.Indolence, apathy, or the tendency to procrastinate, either on the part of the sender or the receiver, also lead to withholding of important information thus creating a barrier. Extreme emotions like euphoria, excitement, anger, stress, depression, etc. also get in the way of effective communication. All these factors may create biases in the mind of the sender and/or the receiver. Therefore, the sender and the receiver may encode and decode the message respectivel y as per their own perceptions, background, needs, experience, etc. And this leads to a distinct kind of exchange of ideas and feedback as well. They tend to obfuscate the reality and see what they necessitate to see. This is also one kind of filtering that takes place during the communication process.SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERSSocio-psychological barriers can also be considered as one of the offshoots of the personal barriers, akin to the perceptional barriers. We need to poll it as a subcategory of personal barriers because a persons attitude is shaped not only by his instincts and emotions, but also by his approach towards and his interaction with the people around him, and hence the need for this fine distinction between the personal, the perceptional and the socio-psychological barriers. To begin with, the consciousness of ones position in an organization has an effect on the two-way flow of communication. A vertical channel of communication is present in every organization , but its efficacy is heavily influenced by the descent between the superiors and the subordinates. Though many organizations are now becoming inclined to the open door policy, the psychological distance between the superiors and the subordinates still prevails. post consciousness is thus one of the major barriers to successful communication.Moreover, in a communication situation, the communicators have to deal with two aspects of the reality- the one as they see it and the other as they perceive it. The mind filters the message i.e. the words/symbols/signs and attributes meaning to them, according to individual perception. Each individual has his own characteristic filter, form by his/her experiences, emotional makeup, knowledge, and mindset which s/he has attained over a period of time. Because of this difference in perceptions, different individuals respond to the same word/symbol/sign based on their own understanding of the situation and ascribe meaning to it on the basis of their unique filter. At times, his difference in perception causes the communication gap, i.e. distortion, in the message. In opposite communication, this gap can be easily eliminated as there is adjacent feedback. But in written communication, the semantic gap between the intended meaning and the interpreted meaning remains unidentified, as the feedback is handleed or sometimes there is no feedback at all.Besides, a person with profoundly ingrained prejudices is very difficult to communicate with. He is not antiphonal to discussion or to new ideas, information, viewpoints and opinions. He has a closed mind and tends to react antagonistically, thus ruling out all possibility of communication. An closed mind can, hence, be a great barrier in communication. To subdue this barrier, people should be receptive of new ideas and must learn to listen considerately with an open mind. Also, sometimes the listener maybe too much in awe of or may completely distrust the speaker. In both these situations, the chances of success of the communication are very less. Furthermore, information soak leads to poor retention and causes information loss. So, whenever there is some important information to be conveyed, the communicators must use the written channel of communication.On the basis of the above discussion, we may thus conclude that the socio-psychological factors do have a profound impact on the effectiveness of communication.CULTURAL BARRIERSCulture is the heart of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Culture is learned and shared inside social groups and is transmitted by non-genetic means. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005) From this definition, we can infer that culture is the sum total of ideas, customs, arts, rituals, skills, etc. of a group of people which is handed down from generation to generation. just put, culture is the shared ways in which groups of people understa nd and interpret the world. (F. Trompenaars, Riding the Waves of Culture Understanding Diversity in Global chore 1994) Each group, categorized on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, etc. has its own distinctive culture. Thus, there are varied subcultures that exist within a major culture. Such immense cultural diversity plays a very of the essence(p) role in communication as it has an extensive influence on both verbal and non-verbal communication and may therefore create barriers to effective communication.Cultural differences give rise to a great deal of complexity in the encoding and the decoding of messages not only because of the difference in languages, but also because of plenty of culture-specific assumptions at work in the mind of the sender as well as the receiver. People belonging to different cultures may attach different meanings to words, symbols, gestures, and behaviour or they may perceive each others social values, body language, attitude to spac e distancing and time, social behaviour and manners, etc., i.e. the entire culture in general, very differently depending upon their own standards, attitudes, customs, prejudices, opinions, behavioural norms, etc., i.e. their own distinct culture. Thus, cultural barriers arise when people belonging to different cultures insist on preserving their cultural identities and at times, judge the other cultures as inferior to their own.(For a specificed discussion on the various elements that can create cultural barriers, refer Chapter ___ International Communication on foliate ___)ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERSOrganizational structure greatly influences the flow of information within an organization. Some major organizational barriers are as followsGoal Conflicts There may be goal conflicts within the organization between the superiors and the subordinates, between people working in the different departments, between the colleagues, etc. This may create a hostile atmosphere within the organiz ation and can lead to serious communication breakdown.Organizational Policies These are also to a great extent responsible for determining the kind of rapport that people working in the same organization share with each other. If the organizational policy is such that it restricts the free flow of information in all directions (refer Formal Channels of Communication on page ___), then communication would not be successful. In some organizations, there may be rules that restrict the flow of certain messages and this may deter the employees from conveying those messages, save important they may be.If the organization favours the open door policy, the subordinates would not feel shy and reluctant to approach their superiors directly. But in the organizations where the formal channels of communication have to be strictly followed, the superiors and the subordinates share a very awkward relationship. They experience a lot of discomfiture while interacting with each other. Because of thi s, the objective of communication may never be accomplished.Organizational hierarchy The hierarchical structure of the organization also impedes the flow of information and causes delay in taking decisions. When the message passes along the chain of command in an organization, there are chances of filtering and distortion of the message at almost every level before it reaches the intended receiver. Thus, the hierarchical structure of the organization is also one of the important factors that may create a barrier to effective communication.On the basis of the above discussion, we may thus sum up that barriers to communication are the aspects of or conditions in a workplace- such as status differences, gender differences, cultural differences, prejudices, and the organizational environment- that interfere with effective exchange of ideas or thoughts. ( credit line Dictionary) However, there are certain specific strategies that can help us to surmount these obstacles and achieve the p urpose of communication. These are discussed in detail in the following section.GUIDELINES- HOW TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATIONOn the basis of the various kinds of communication barriers listed in the previous section, let us now ennumerate certain strategies that would help us to traverse these barriers and thus improve communication. As effective communication is essential for the success of a business organization, the communicators must take make out to remove the barriers in the way of communication, to the best extent possible.In communication, it is not enough only to know the message. For communication to be complete, the message must be understood by the audience. The communicator shares his message through the medium of words- spoken or written, through gestures, through symbols, etc. Thus, from this we can infer that communication, whether verbal or nonverbal, is symbolic in nature. These two aspects of communication determine the fundamental difference between ef fective and ineffective communication. If an idea/information is known to but not fully understood by the receiver, then the communication allow for be ineffective. The sender can know whether the message has been understood by the receiver through his response, i.e. feedback.The following are some general guidelines for the sender and the receiver of the messageFor the Sender of the MessageAt the very outset, that the sender should reveal the purpose of his message and the important topics that he would deal with. By doing so, he prepares the receiver for what is to follow. This helps the receiver to identify the main points of the message, to recognize the link among the important ideas that the message contains and to organize them in a meaningful pattern in his mind. The message should be compact and the sender should concentrate exclusively on the main ideas or information that he intends to convey. Likewise, the sender should situate his ideas in an appropriate context so tha t the audience will evaluate and interpret them within that common frame of reference which the sender has indicated or suggested.While communicating, the sender should, at all times, accent the important points of the message with the help of bulleted lists, chart, graphs, illustrations, body language, tone, pitch, etc. He should also provide a summary at the end of his presentation or write-up. This will help the receiver to grasp the general meaning of the message, thus make it easy to understand the various parts, i.e. ideas, in relation to the boilersuit framework. The sender should arrange the ideas/information in such a way that it is appealing to the audiences visual and/or auditory senses. In written communication, the writer may make use of an attractive layout and good quality makeup to attract the readers attention. While communicating orally, the sender must take care to minimize noise. He should make sure that his surroundings are well-equipped with the unavoidabl e acoustics. He should pay special attention to his facial expressions, gesture, and eye contact with the audience at the time of delivering the message.The sender should be clear about why he wants to communicate and his message should be precise and well-structured. He should take care to select an appropriate channel or medium so that the impact of message is not lost in transmission. He should send his message through an effective channel i.e. keeping in mind his audience and the purpose of the message and should select a channel where there are less chances of distortion. The sender should avoid using grandiloquent words in order to avoid the possibility of misinterpretation of the overall meaning of the message. The sender should neither burden the receiver with information overcharge nor should he provide him too little information. He should identify his audience before encoding the message so that he knows what his audience may already known and in what context he should place his message. The sender should formulate and deliver his message in such a way that it retains the audiences interest in what he intends to convey. He should do away with all his prejudices and preconceived notions and must communicate clearly and with an open mind. All these would enable him to have an audience-centric approach while encoding his message.For the Receiver of the MessageIn the initial stage of the communication process, the onus is entirely on the sender of the message. But in the later stage, the receiver plays an active role once he starts absorbing and processing the information in his mind. Thus, the receiver of the message also plays an equally important role in the successful cessation of communication.Not all barriers are sender-oriented. The barriers arising from the side of the receiver are known as receiver-oriented barriers. The foremost barrier on the part of the receiver is poor retention. When the message being conveyed is of complex nature, he m ay lose underwrite of the context in which the sender has initiated communication. To overcome this barrier, the receiver must fetch the habit of noting down the important points. If the receiver has a difficulty in concentrating on the message or if he is not interested in the topic being discussed, this too would have a direct influence on his ability to listen effectively. In order to deal with such situations, the receiver should accustom his mind to absorb and assimilate all kinds of information by making a conscious effort to generate interest in and concentrate upon what is being conveyed. When the receiver is too judgmental about the message been delivered or too critical of the style of delivery of the sender, it creates a barrier as the receiver totally misses out on what the sender is actually trying to communicate. Thus, the receiver should avoid being judgmental and should not be in a hurry to evaluate the message without being aware of the exact context in which it a rticulated.Prejudices can also create a barrier in the mind of the receiver at the time of the reception and decoding of the message. If the receiver is indifferent to or has any presumptions regarding the sender or what he is trying to put across, then his biases will create a mental block and interfere with his ability to evaluate the content of the message objectively and judiciously. This will lead to misinterpretation of the message and communication will fail. Thus, the receiver must take in new ideas/information with an open mind and should not let his biases influence his perception and conclude ability. People with deep-rooted biases and a rigid mindset tend to be resistant to new ideas. Such inflexibility hampers listening and leads to miscommunication. Hence, both the sender and receiver should be receptive of new ideas in order to overcome such psychological and personal barriers.To sum up, most of the barriers in communication can be overcome if the sender encodes his message in a clear and precise manner, leaving no room for misinterpretation or miscommunication, and if the receiver acquires effective listening skills and gives an appropriate and timely feedback. When the communicators are able to surmount the barriers and succeed in exchanging their ideas/opinions/information without any omission, filtering or distortion, communication is said to have achieved its purpose.Let us now discuss how effective communication can be achieved within a business organization.Business organizations should adopt an open door policy at all levels. There should be an atmosphere of trust and confidence in the organization so that the communication gap between the superiors and the subordinates may be reduced.Organizational hierarchies and policies should not deter the free flow of information within an organization. The superiors must hike up their subordinates to communicate without hesitation. Such two-way communication within an organization will definitel y help minimize the communication gap between the employees. The subordinates should be encouraged to participate in the decision-making process and also in resolution problems or dispelling crises situations in an organization. Their ideas and contributions should be valued as this would motivate them to come up with innovative ideas/solutions and share them with their superiors with some conviction. Providing an open environment which is conducive to free interaction among the employees will prove beneficial and will contribute to the growth and success of the organization.The simplification, decentralization, and democratization of the communication network within an organization will definitely help in improving communication and making it effective. There should be frequent meetings, conferences, etc. and the management should ensure that the subordinates take an active part in the functioning of the organization i.e. not only by executing the orders or carrying out the instru ctions passively but also by contributing to the formulation of organizational policies and by share their knowledge and experience which can in turn help the superiors in making better business decisions. Such a participative and democratic approach would help reduce the communication barriers to great extent.In short, in business communication there are chances of communication failure because the message is not only complex in itself but also the stages through which it passes renders it sensitised to various interferences, i.e. barriers- semantic, personal, psychological, and/or organizational. To become a successful communicator, one must keep in mind the aforementioned guidelines in order to overcome the communication barriers and to communicate effectively.CHAPTER REVIEWIn this chapter, we have discussed the meaning of the