Barrier to Effective Communication

Effective communication is an essential part of our daily lives. This becomes more
crucial in a workplace as there is a lot of value attached to what is being instructed.
However, there are some barriers which pose a challenge to an effective
communication. Let us take a look at these barriers.
Communication is a process by which you convey your message to someone or a
group of people. And if the message is conveyed clearly and unambiguously, then it
is known as effective communication. In effective communication, the message you
had sent would reach the receiver with very little distortion. However, it becomes
successful only if the receiver understands what the sender is trying to convey.
When your message is not clearly understood, there is every likelihood that you are
facing a barrier in communicating effectively. Barriers could cause a roadblock in
your professional and personal life and it could be one of the major hurdles in
achieving your professional goals.
Communication barrier is one of the problems faced by many organizations. Many
social psychologists opine that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning while conveying
the messages from a sender to a receiver. They estimate there are four basic places
where communication could be interpreted wrongly. A few barriers are given below.
Physical Barriers
One of the major barriers of communication in a workplace is the physical barrier.
Physical barriers in an organization includes large working areas that are physically
separated from others. Other distractions that could cause a physical barrier in an
organization are environmental factors such as background noise.
Language Barrier
Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is
the greatest barrier to effective communication. When a person uses inappropriate
words while conversing or writing, it could lead to misunderstanding between the
sender and a receiver. People speaking the same language can sometimes find it
difficult to comprehend what is being said. For example, a lorry is a 'truck', and an
elevator is a 'lift'. This difference in vocabulary can pose a barrier.
Emotional Barrier
Your emotions could be a barrier if you are engrossed in them for some reason. In
such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others or understanding the
message conveyed to you. A few of the emotional interferences include hostility,
anger, resentfulness and fear. People who suffer from ailments such as anxiety and
depression, tend to misconstrue what is being said about them. Also, as they are
battling something in their head, they may or may not be able to pay full attention
to the speaker, which may make them appear disinterested and spaced-out.
Lack of Subject Knowledge
If a person who sends a message lacks subject knowledge then he may not be able
to convey his message clearly. The receiver could misunderstand his message and
this could lead to a barrier.This is visible in cases where people may try to cover-up
their ignorance with some unverified facts. When I was working for a customer care

organization, I saw many employees say irrelevant and unverified things to

customers, just to avoid being labeled as ignorant. This creates confusion in the
mind of the listener.
Overdose of Information
Have you been to a meeting where the presenter talks about relevant things but
goes on with it in such a quick manner that you have no clue as to what was
mentioned earlier. If you have experienced this issue, then you might know how it
creates confusion and ambiguity. When too much of information is conveyed in a
short span of time, there is every likelihood that the receiver would not be able to
comprehend the information fully.
Perceptual barriers
The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently.
If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate: something like extrasensory
perception would take its place.The following anecdote is a reminder of how our
thoughts, assumptions and perceptions shape our own realities:
A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man from the next town.
"Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight. Can you tell me
what the townspeople are like?" "Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the
people in the last town you visited?" "Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to
themselves. Took me for a fool. Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very poor
service." "Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the same
here."
Cultural barriers
When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the
behaviour patterns of the group. These are the behaviours that the group accept as
signs of belonging. The group rewards such behaviour through acts of recognition,
approval and inclusion. In groups which are happy to accept you, and where you are
happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest and a high level of win-win
contact. Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high
level of game-playing replaces good communication.
Gender barriers
There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man and those in a
woman. A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man
speaks between 7,000 and 10,000. In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and
at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys. The reason for this lies in
the wiring of a man's and woman's brains. When a man talks, his speech is located
in the left side of the brain but in no specific area. When a woman talks, the speech
is located in both hemispheres and in two specific locations. This means that a man
talks in a linear, logical and compartmentalised way, features of left-brain thinking;
whereas a woman talks more freely mixing logic and emotion, features of both sides
of the brain. It also explains why women talk for much longer than men each day.
Interpersonal barriers
There are six levels at which people can distance themselves from one another:
1. Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both refusal to be in touch
and time alone.

2. Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real contact.

3. Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial activities.
4. Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules and procedures of
contact but no more.
5. Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about winning and losing.
They include "rackets" and "stamps".
6. Closeness is the aim of interpersonal contact where there is a high level of
honesty and acceptance of yourself and others.
Working on improving your communications is a broad-brush activity. You have to
change your thoughts, your feelings, and your physical connections. That way, you
can break down the barriers that get in your way and start building relationships
that really work
Reasons for Using Instructional Media in the Classroom
The teacher cannot always explain or show to the class everything by himself
because there are topics or lessons that are:
1. Happening too quickly or too slowly (films. Charts, movies, specimens)
2. Too complex to be appreciated (mock-up, models, diagrams, charts, pictures)
3. Too small to be observed (telescope, microscope, lens, drawings, films, slides,
models, pictures)
4. Too large to be easily comprehended (models, mock-ups, films, slides, diagrams)
5. Too dangerous to permit live observation (simulators, films, slides, pictures)
6. Taking place some diatance away in time and in space (simulators, films, field
trips, dramas, slides, pictures)