Table of Contents
There are many reasons why interpersonal communications may fail. In many communications, the message (what is said) may not be received exactly the way the sender intended. It is, therefore, important that the communicator seeks feedback to check that their message is clearly understood.
The skills of Active Listening, Clarification and Reflection may help but the skilled communicator also needs to be aware of the barriers to effective communication and how to avoid or overcome them.
There are many barriers to communication and these may occur at any stage in the communication process. Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted and you, therefore, risk wasting both time and/or money by causing confusion and misunderstanding.
Effective communication involves overcoming these barriers and conveying a clear and concise message.
Common Barriers to Effective Communication:
- The use of jargon. Over-complicated, unfamiliar and/or technical terms.
- Emotional barriers and taboos. Some people may find it difficult to express their emotions and some topics may be completely ‘off-limits’ or taboo. Taboo or difficult topics may include but are not limited to, politics, religion, disabilities (mental and physical), sexuality and sex, racism and any opinion that may be seen as unpopular.
- Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the receiver. (See our page Barriers to Effective Listening for more information).
- Differences in perception and viewpoint.
- Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.
- Physical barriers to non-verbal communication. Not being able to see the non-verbal cues, gestures, posture and general body language can make communication less effective. Phone calls, text messages and other communication methods that rely on technology are often less effective than face-to-face communication.
- Language differences and the difficulty in understanding unfamiliar accents.
- Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions or stereotype. People often hear what they expect to hear rather than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusions.
- Cultural differences. The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed. For example, the concept of personal space varies between cultures and between different social settings.
A skilled communicator must be aware of these barriers and try to reduce their impact by continually checking understanding and by offering appropriate feedback.
There are seven types of Barriers:-
- Physical Barriers
- Cultural Barriers
- Language Barriers
- Perceptual Barriers
- Interpersonal Barriers
- Gender Barriers
- Emotional Barriers
1. Physical Barrier
Physical barriers are easy to spot – doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and a distance between people all work against the goal of effective communication. While most agree that people need their own personal areas in the workplace, setting up an office to remove physical barriers is the first step towards opening communication.
Many professionals who work in industries that thrive on collaborative communication, such as architecture, purposefully design their workspaces around an “open office” plan. This layout eschews cubicles in favour of desks grouped around a central meeting space. While each individual has their own dedicated work space, there are no visible barriers to prevent collaboration with their co-workers. This encourages greater openness and frequently creates closer working bonds.
Examples Of Physical Barriers
Examples of physical barriers that prevent individuals from effective communication include:
- Environment – Some barriers are due to the existing environment. For example, if you are standing in adverse weather conditions, your conversation would be hampered because you would not be able to pay full attention to what the other person is saying.
- Distance – Distance also plays an important part in determining the course of a conversation. For example, if the staff in an organization are made to sit in different buildings or different floors, they might have to substitute face to face communication with phone calls or emails.
- Ignorance of Medium – Communication also includes using signs and symbols to convey a feeling or a thought. However, if there is a lack of ignorance about the medium in which sender is sending the message, the conversation can be hampered.
2. Cultural Barriers
Cultural barriers are a result of living in an ever-shrinking world. Different cultures, whether they be a societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a company, can hinder developed communication if two different cultures clash. In these cases, it is important to find a common ground to work from. In work situations, identifying a problem and coming up with a highly efficient way to solve it can quickly topple any cultural or institutional barriers. Quite simply, people like results.
Examples Of Cultural Barriers
Examples of cultural barriers that prevent individuals from effective communication include:
- Generational – Each age group has a different general approach to work, which often leads to conflicts with older workers describing younger workers as “slackers,” and younger workers criticizing older workers as being “out of touch.”
- Status and Resistance – Workers who are accustomed to workplaces where seniority and status are emphasized may find it difficult to adapt to more fluid environments, where job titles are de-emphasized and production methods do not always follow a predetermined set of guidelines.
3. Language Barriers
Language barriers seem pretty self-inherent, but there are often hidden language barriers that we aren’t always aware of. If you work in an industry that is heavy in jargon or technical language, care should be taken to avoid these words when speaking with someone from outside the industry. Without being patronizing, imagine explaining a situation in your industry to a child. How would you convey these concepts without relying on jargon? A clear, direct narrative is preferable to an incomprehensible slew of speciality terms.
Examples Of Language Barriers
Examples of language barriers that prevent individuals from effective communication include:
- Dialects – While two people may technically speak the same language, dialectal differences can make communication between them difficult. Examples of dialectical language barriers exist worldwide. Chinese, for example, has a variety of dialects that are commonly spoken, including Cantonese and Mandarin.
- Language Disabilities – Language disabilities are physical impediments to language. Physical language disabilities that cause language barriers include stuttering, dysphonia or an articulation disorder and hearing loss.
4. Perceptual Barriers
Perceptual barriers are internal. If you go into a situation thinking that the person you are talking to isn’t going to understand or be interested in what you have to say, you may end up subconsciously sabotaging your effort to make your point. You will employ language that is sarcastic, dismissive, or even obtuse, thereby alienating your conversational partner.
Think of movie scenarios in which someone yells clipped phrases at a person they believe is deaf. The person yelling ends up looking ridiculous while failing to communicate anything of substance.
Examples Of Perceptual Barriers
Examples of perceptual barriers that prevent individuals from effective communication include:
- Perceptual Filters – We all have our own preferences, values, attitudes, origins and life experiences that act as “filters” on our experiences of people, events and information. Seeing things through the lens of our own unique life experiences or “conditioning” may lead to assumptions, stereotyping and misunderstandings of others whose experiences differ from our own.
- Triggers and Cues – What we say is affected by how we say it (tone, volume) and by our nonverbal cues, such as body language and facial gestures. For example, you may perceive a situation differently if the person you are speaking with is smiling or frowning, has body odour and is standing too close or is not giving you direct eye contact.
5. Interpersonal Barriers
Interpersonal barriers are what ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other and opening ourselves up, not just to be heard, but to hear others. Oddly enough, this can be the most difficult area to change. Some people spend their entire lives attempting to overcome a poor self-image or a series of deeply rooted prejudices about their place in the world. They are unable to form genuine connections with people because they have too many false perceptions blocking the way.
Luckily, the cure for this is more communication. By engaging with others, we learn what our actual strengths and weaknesses are. This allows us to put forth our ideas in a clear, straightforward manner.
Examples Of Interpersonal Barriers
Examples of interpersonal barriers that prevent individuals from effective communication include:
- Desire to Participate – The lack of desire to participate in the communication process is a significant barrier. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to communicate with an individual that clearly does not want to.
- Desire to Explore – Unwillingness to explore different ideas, opinions, and priorities create communication barriers every day of our lives. A clear lack of desire to explore your views, opinions, or ideas can be extremely frustrating.