CS COMMUNICATION SKILLS 1

KABARAK UNIVERSITY
Private Bag - 20157 KABARAK, KENYA
kabarak.ac.ke

COMMUNICATION SKILLS I (COMS 110)

Name: Lincoln Theophilus Owiti

Adm. No.: CS/M/1443/09/21
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Tel: 0708939628
Email: [email protected]

Lecturer: Dr. Everlyn O. Suleh

COMMUNICATION BARRIERS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS

Communication is a process by which the information is exchanged from the sender to the receiver via a
particular channel, for instance verbally or through radio, in some situations the receiver sends a feedback.
Although information is relayed, it is susceptible to barriers/ noise that either terminates the message or
disrupt the intended meaning.

In addition to that, communication barriers or noise are classified into three distinct groups, these are:
physical, physiological and semantic noise.

Physical Barriers

These are elements or physical factors that serve the purpose of hindering the flow of a successful
communication, as illustrated below:

a) Noise
For instance, loud noise coming from a nearby construction site or loud music; technological noise also
involves disturbance in the audio signal. There are possible solutions to these:

-Reduce the noise as much as possible;

-Sound proofing the room, building, home or workplace;
-Periodically check communication devices such as phones or computers for faults.

Thunder creates loud noise that disrupts hearing, so the most convenient way of solving this is by sound
proofing rooms/ buildings.
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b) Architecture
An example is the junior team of a company on the second finding it hard to easily
access their seniors on the same floor due to poor working place architecture since
operate in closed cabins. The most possible solution:

-Closed work places are outdated and significantly affect the flow of information.
With collaborative communication being the new mantra, organizations must
shift to an open office space to prevent communication limitations. It’s
important to change or renovate workplaces to suit such an approach.

c) Dim light
Insufficient or no light prevents effective communication, for example, one cannot
make out what is being said in the dark without witnessing appropriate facial
expression from the speaker. Furthermore, those who use sign language lose ability of
communicating at all. The obvious solution is to provide sufficient lighting both day
and night.

d) Distance
This is mostly experienced in organizations with employees working remotely. This
prevents personal communication that is replaced by video conferencing, phone
calls, emails and even texting. Network issues occur for example, slow internet or
reception; a solution to this is- to communicate physically as much as possible, a
a face-to-face communication enhances information perception through body
language and physical files are easily exchanged.

e) Temperature
When it is either too hot or cold the receiver will not be attentive to listen since they
are experiencing discomfort and their attention will be focused much on either
getting cool or warm. Therefore, a building needs an Air Conditioner to be installed
and the individuals should dressing according to the weather.

Cold temperature can also disrupt communication by freezing lines and open
systems disrupting communication medium. In such cases insulation should be
provided to regulate temperatures.

f) Time
Different time zones can create a time limit, or just a time limit may occur; therefore
a sender must construct a precise message for the receiver if the time is very limited.
This ensures conveying the crucial information in the absence of a detailed
conversation.
g) Poor equipment
One finds it hard to read emails on a glaring screen. Solution is to provide screens
with anti-glare.

Physiological Barriers
These may result from an individuals' personal discomfort, caused—for example—by ill health, poor eyesight
or hearing difficulties. These limitations are normally extended to the human mind/ psychology hence socio-
psychological barriers.
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a)Illness
When someone is ill they face weakness both psychologically and physically. Therefore communication
between a healthy and a person under the weather turns out to be unsuccessful since, the ill participant’s
psychological state is pegged on the aspect of getting rest hence he/ she neither can perceive or put across
information eloquently, therefore, communication is barred from occurring efficiently. The appropriate solution
is for communication to be done when the two parties are both in good health to avoid misinformation.

b)Poor eyesight
Poor eyesight prevents successful flow of communication since the receiver cannot perceive what has/ had been
written; this may lead to distortion of information or non-communication at all especially when using print or
writing as a form of communication. The possible solutions might be:
 Providing special print material for individuals. For example in an examination in order for questions to be
communicated well there must be a large print paper.
 Using a considerable font while writing.
 Providing special lens media for viewing print material.

c)Hearing difficulties
Hearing problems prevent one from getting what is being uttered.
Message presented through verbal means require articulate pronunciation and audibility.
If hearing problems cannot be corrected then participants should be brought closer to the sound. For scenarios
such as hearing-impairment; sign-language and text are reasonable.

d)Socio-psychological barriers
One’s psychological state affects the way they relay information to others and the way we receive information
from them. This one of the most significant barriers under the subclass of intra-personal barriers of
communication.

 Anger - when rage is demonstrated by a sender over a communication channel, it affects the manner in
which the receiver will get the message,it makes one lose focus on the current moment. The sender may
seem angry or often aggressive/ violent. The receiver therefore will obviously feel threatened or intimidated
as a result of interpreting the message differently. An obvious solution is the participants engaging in a
conversation considering the use of a respectful tone, if there is a matter to disagree on; the offended party
should raise their disappointment in an accepted way.
 Attitude - this is a pre-learned disposition can be closely linked with a persons ‘s belief and value systems.
A positive or negative attitude affects communication, if you believe you are threatened then you will react
emotionally instead of listening attentively to the message intended.

If the sender of the message has a positive attitude, it may persuade the receiver to actually do what the
sender requested.

 Low self-confidence - if a sender looks down on themselves, his or her ability to deliver a message
effectively hence the message may end up being void/ meaningless. The best way to gain self-esteem is by
creating confidence by mastering the message well by practice in order to deliver it in a confident way.
 Defensive- when a sender is fearful he/ she tends to be defensive about the subject matter that needs to be
put across, the sender may try hard to communicate and put information in a way employing melodramatic
gestures and facial expression.

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Semantic Barriers
These are the obstacles caused in encoding and decoding messages due to problems in interpretation of
meaning.
The absence of clarity and precision in the subject matter of communication disrupt the semantic aspect of the
message thus failure in expression.
For example:

a) Jargon
Using technical terminology while delivering a message to the audience whom do not relate with the
terminologies makes the communication less effective, moreover, the message loses meaning to the receivers.
Therefore, it is advisable to deliver messages with relevant terms to the audience of a specific discipline.

b) Ambiguity
Using words with multiple meanings without putting it in a certain concept to mean a particular idea bring about

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disruption in understanding of what was really meant. Therefore using words appropriately is really necessary
especially if it has more than one meaning, moreover ambiguous statements should also be fashioned in a way
they reflect the speakers words.

c) Poor grammar and sentence structure

Wrong use of language leads to lose in the meaning of the message being passed. Therefore a speaker should
focus on the rules of grammar of that particular language to avoid misleading or delivering a void message.

d) Bypassing
For example, a mother asks her daughter to help her do the laundry. The faithful girl goes to the laundry room
and realizes her mother wanted her to do all the laundry by herself as she handles other tasks, contrary to what
she thought, doing the laundry with her. To avoid such situations a speaker should illustrate what they mean so
that the receiver of the message and the sender should have one idea instead of an idea superseding the other.

e)Dialects
Different communities posses varied dialects (pronunciation) of language therefore a sender of a message
should consider a common dialect that can be easily understood by the user, try using common pronunciation.

References
Physical Barriers To Communication: Meaning, Examples And How To Over Overcome Them (September 7th, 2021). Retrieved
September 29th, 2021, from
https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/physical-barrier-to-communication/

Kristina Martic (October 13th, 2020).Top 13 Communication Barriers and How to Tackle Them. Retrieved September 21st, 2021, from
https://blog.smarp.com/communication-barriers#:~:text=%205%20Ways%20to%20Eliminate%20Communication%20Barriers
%20in,and%20personalized%20content.%20People%20want%20to...%20More%20

Commuication. (2021, September 20). Retrieved October 2, 2021, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

Physiological Barriers to effective communication. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from

https://ifioque.com/communication-barrier/psychological_barriers

Retrieved October 1, 2021, from

https://agrieconomics.uonbi.ac.ke/sites/default/files/cavs/agriculture/agriecon/barriers%20of%20communication%202.pdf

Shalini Verma, Technical Communication for Engineers (Pg. 108/9) | Psychological Barriers

Christiansen, Bryan, Chandan, Harish C., Handbook of Research on Human Factors in Contemporary Workforce Development (Pg.
212) | Barriers to Effective Human Communication

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