Barriers to effective human communication

 Barriers to effective human communication

Barriers to effective communication can retard or distort the message and intention of the message being conveyed which may result in failure of the communication process or an effect that is undesirable. These include filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotions, language, silence, communication apprehension, gender differences and political correctness

This also includes a lack of expressing "knowledge-appropriate" communication, which occurs when a person uses ambiguous or complex legal words, medical jargon, or descriptions of a situation or environment that is not understood by the recipient.

• Physical barriers. Physical barriers are often due to the nature of the environment. An example of this is the natural barrier that exists if staff is located in different buildings or on different sites. Likewise, poor or outdated equipment, particularly the failure of management to introduce new technology, may also cause problems. Staff shortages are another factor that frequently causes communication difficulties for an organization.

• System design. System design faults refer to problems with the structures or systems in place in an organization. Examples might include an organizational structure that is unclear and therefore makes it confusing to know whom to communicate with. Other examples could be inefficient or inappropriate information systems, a lack of supervision or training, and a lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities which can lead to staff being uncertain about what is expected of them.

• Attitudinal barriers. Attitudinal barriers come about as a result of problems with staff in an organization. These may be brought about, for example, by such factors as poor management, lack of consultation with employees, and personality conflicts which can result in people delaying or refusing to communicate, the personal attitudes of individual employees which may be due to a lack of motivation or dissatisfaction at work, brought about by insufficient training to enable them to carry out particular tasks, or simply resistance to change due to entrenched attitudes and ideas.

• Ambiguity of words/phrases. Words sounding the same but having different meanings can convey a different meaning altogether. Hence the communicator must ensure that the receiver receives the same meaning. It is better if such words are avoided by using alternatives whenever possible.

• Individual linguistic ability. The use of jargon and difficult or inappropriate words in communication can prevent the recipients from understanding the message. Poorly explained or misunderstood messages can also result in confusion. However, research in communication has shown that confusion can lend legitimacy to research when persuasion fails.

• Physiological barriers. These may result from individuals' personal discomfort, caused-for example by ill health, poor eyesight, or hearing difficulties.

• Cultural differences. These may result from the cultural differences between communities around the world, within an individual country (tribal/regional differences, dialects, etc.), between religious groups and in organizations or at an organizational level - where companies, teams and units may have different expectations, norms and idiolects. Families and family groups may also experience the effect of cultural barriers to communication within and between different family members or groups. For example words, colors and symbols have different meanings in different cultures. In most parts of the world, nodding your head means agreement, and shaking your head means no, except in some parts of the world.

• Bypassing. These happen when the communicators (sender and receiver) do not attach the same symbolic meanings to their words. It is when the sender is expressing a thought or a word but the receiver takes it in a different meaning. For example- ASAP, Restroom.

Fear of being criticized is a major factor that prevents good communication. If we exercise simple practices to improve our communication skills, we can become effective communicators. For example, read an article from the newspaper or collect some news from the television and present it in front of the mirror. This will not only boost your confidence but also improve your language and vocabulary.