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Barriers To Communication

The document discusses barriers to communication. It identifies two broad categories of barriers: 1) those caused by the sender and recipient, such as fatigue, lack of understanding, and emotions, and 2) those from outside influences like noise, distractions, technology issues, and environment. Common internal barriers include perception errors, stereotypes, culture, and defense mechanisms. External barriers include noise, jargon, language differences, and channel issues. The document provides tips for overcoming barriers, such as developing strong communication skills, choosing the right time, recipient, and medium for messages.

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Etiel Machingambi
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69 views38 pages

Barriers To Communication

The document discusses barriers to communication. It identifies two broad categories of barriers: 1) those caused by the sender and recipient, such as fatigue, lack of understanding, and emotions, and 2) those from outside influences like noise, distractions, technology issues, and environment. Common internal barriers include perception errors, stereotypes, culture, and defense mechanisms. External barriers include noise, jargon, language differences, and channel issues. The document provides tips for overcoming barriers, such as developing strong communication skills, choosing the right time, recipient, and medium for messages.

Uploaded by

Etiel Machingambi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Course: Communication & Information Technology (CULCS 101)

Topic: Barriers to Communication

Presenter: Nembaware S. ([email protected])


BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Anything that interferes with the receiver’s
receiving the message as the source intended
the message to be received
Barriers
Interference/Disruption/Frustration/
Hindrance/Obstruction/Barricade/
Hurdle/Noise

Noise: Anything that distorts the


message intended by the source
 Problems with any one of the
components of the communication
process can become a barrier to
communication.

 Studying these barriers helps to


establish opportunities for
improving communication.
2 Broad Categories of Barriers
• Those which are found
within the sender and the
recipient

• Those which result from


outside influences in the
communication process
Barriers caused by sender and recipient

 When thinking of these remember that they


are only very rarely created deliberately by
either party.

 Mostly, they are a result of incomplete


understanding of the information, the
situation, or the vocabulary and attitude of the
other party.
Distortion
 Occurs either at the encoding or decoding
stage in the communication process.

 It occurs when language is put in a way that


leads to incorrect or partial understanding of a
message by the recipient.

 The message to be sent out needs to be clear.


Contrast these two messages:
 "Please be here about 7:00

tomorrow morning."
 "Please be here at 7:00 tomorrow

morning."
 The one word difference makes

the first message muddled and


the second message clear.
The problem may be semantics,
e.g., note this muddled
newspaper ad:
 "Dog for sale. Will eat anything.

Especially likes children. Call


888-3599 for more information."
Internal & External Barriers
Internal barriers are fatigue, poor listening skills,
attitude toward the sender or the information, lack
of interest in the message, fear, mistrust, past
experiences, negative attitude, problems at home,
lack of common experiences, and emotions

External barriers include noise, distractions, e-


mail not working, bad phone connections, time of
day, sender using too many technical words for the
audience, and environment
Common Barriers
Language
Perceptual errors
Stereotypes
Ethnocentrism
Pain discomfort
Jargon
Culture
Defence mechanism
Environmental/Physical Noise
Nature of the environment

Sounds related physical disturbance – affecting


audience attention

Mannerisms – playing with key bunch, tapping on


the desk

Air vibration, people talking

Eg: Poor outdated equipment


Physiological Barriers
May result from the receiver’s physical
state

An individual’s personal discomfort eg.


Poor health, poor eyesight or hearing
difficulties

Eg: a listener with hearing challenges in a


noisy place
Psychological Noise
oMental turbulence of any kind – affects attention

oBiases, prejudices – in both sender and receiver-


closed mindedness

oPre-occupation, ego hang-ups, fatigue, anxiety,


disinterest, cultural disparities

oSelf-centred attitude, defensiveness, resistance to


change
Semantic Noise
Semantics is the systematic study of meaning

At times problems arise in expression and


transmission of meaning

DeVito: interference is due to the receiver failing


to grasp the meanings intended by the sender – eg:
jargon, technical or complex terms
Language Barriers
When people do not speak the same language or
when they have different levels of proficiency in a
language

However, barriers can also exist even when


people speak the same language

Inappropriate register (slang, colloquial, formal,


informal, professional, jargon)
Encoding Barriers
Lack of sensitivity to the receiver

Lack of basic communication skills

Insufficient knowledge of the subject

Information overload

Emotional interference
Transmitting Barriers
oA bad cell-phone line

oAn e-mail or letter not formatted properly

oChannel barrier – if a sender chooses an


inappropriate channel of communication

oLong communication chain - confusion


Decoding Barriers
•Lack of interest

•Lack of knowledge

•Emotional distractions

•Physical distractions
Responding Barriers
No provision for feedback

Inadequate feedback
List of commonplace Barriers
 Information overload – messages that are so packed with
information that they are difficult to interpret and process
 Messages in which the information is so thin that the recipient
becomes bored or frustrated
 Negative timing in communicating the message can prevent its
conveyance. For example, experts obsessed with the urgency of
particular development issues may want to pressurize the people into
adopting the ideas rather too fast. The chances of resistance are high.
 Language Barrier (at 2 levels) – poor choice of language register –
using technical language/jargon/terminology that is not in the
receiver’s field – semantic distortion or poorly expressed messages –
also the wrong diction/choice of words eg. use of a patronizing tone
– peremptory and dictatorial orders
Cont......
 Differing status - Power differences – these can be a barrier to
communication. If the people at the top disseminate ideas without
going through community leaders, who are themselves already
knowledgeable, it is most likely they will use their influence to
discourage people from accepting change.
 Different cultural backgrounds – differences in approaching the
subject of immediacy – varying perceptions on pertinent/topical
concerns – receivers believing that the ideas being conveyed are
inferior to theirs – a message being communicated may not have an
immediate appeal to recipients of a certain cultural orientation
 Non-verbal behavior - Irritating mannerisms that stop people from
listening
 Lack of trust as well as lack of interest on the part of the receiver
Cont.......
Inadequate communication structures
Incorrect choice of medium or channel
Poor planning of information
 Organizational structure – size of
organization - closed communication
climate
Unethical communication
Physical distractions
Cont.......
Failure to analyze the needs of the receiver
 Poor listening and lack of attention to feedback
Assuming that the receivers know more than they
really do
 Insensitive behavior on the part of senders and
receivers
Too many people to pass on the message from the
sender to the receiver
 Poor feedback, as well as omissions and errors as
messages are passed on
Cont.......
 Insensitive or poor choice of language by
sender or receiver
 Insufficient information and lack of clarity
 Poor encoding or decoding skills – filling in
of imagined gaps – unjustified simplification
 Wrong emphasis in information – failure
by the receiver to make out a message’s most
important parts
Overcoming the barriers

 Many of the most important


barriers to communicating may
be overcome by following a few
simple rules:
Overcoming Barriers
Appreciate context adequately – set up, age group, gender, culture

Use appropriate register – context specific jargon


Deal with distractions – eg. Turn of source of noise, avoid disruptive



multi-tasking

Use corroboration to supplement encoding process – eg. Use off



gestures, facial expression, tonal variation etc

Solicit feedback from audience



Develop personal communication skills

This is one of the simplest ways in which


communication may be improved.
Communication skills cover the ability to:
 write clear language so that meaning is
expressed directly and without ambiguity
 talk to a wide range of people in formal and
informal settings
 read for the correct understanding of
information
 listen and understand
LISTEN ACTIVELY
Active listeners:
Listen politely
 Ask questions politely

 Acknowledges speaker’s point of

view
 Does not change or add anything

to what has been said


Know when to communicate
 Judging the right moment to make a
communication is important.

 Choosing the right moment can help. E.g. Tackling


your employer in the corridor when you want to ask
him a favour is probably not a good idea.

 Choosing the right moment, both in terms of


psychological rightness and good timing, is thus a
very important way of avoiding barriers of attitude
in the recipient.
Know with whom to communicate
 Communication with the wrong person
can create all sorts of misunderstandings.

 In business, communicating with the


wrong person will give the impression of
inefficiency, which would not be good for
future communications.
Choose the medium carefully
 Always think carefully about the best
kind of communication medium for a
particular situation and recipient.

 e.g. in business, written communication


is essential but in some cases it would be
too formal and restricting.
Match the expression to the recipient
The most important rule for
communicating.
 Distortion may occur at encoding when

sufficient care is not taken over the


vocabulary and background of the
recipient by the sender.
 Consideration must also be given of your

relationship with the recipient.


Conclusion
 These rules will not guarantee perfect
communication on every occasion.

 There will be times when internal ‘distortion’ and


external ‘noise’ will still erect barriers.

 However, striving to follow these rules on all


occasions makes communication far more effective
as you learn to consider the other person’s point of
view and assess the real purpose of what you are
trying to achieve.
Thank you……

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