OVERCOMING BARRIERS

7 Ways to Overcome Barriers to Communication

Communication barriers exist all around us. Misinterpretations abound in our discussions with
team members. We delete, distort and generalize information in every conversation. And yet we
think we clearly understand what others are saying and why they are saying it.
These barriers exist because we put them there. There are many ways we interpret information
given to us by others, and these cause us to have a misalignment of understanding. How can we
reduce the barriers that effectively blind us to meaning and comprehension? Here are seven
ways:
1) Understand others see things differently to you. Try to predict the feelings and attitude
of the receiver. What will their expectation be? What about their state of mind when you
are communicating? What prejudices might they have? If you know these things before
communicating, you reduce the risk if misinterpretation.
2) Get feedback from the receiver. Dont just ask, Do you understand? They will more
often than not say yes because they see things in the way they want to understand it.
Ask instead what their understanding of the message is, and how they see it.
3) As often as possible, speak face-to-face. This will allow for questions and, most
importantly, allow you to see the body language, which will convey much more meaning
than over the phone or through email.
4) Use language that fits the audience. Dont try to impress by using language and words
that may be distorted by the listener(s). It simply makes them confused and inadequate.
Plus, they wont be listening to you while they try to work out what on earth you are on
about.
5) Use the right communication channel. Dont send an email if its quicker to pick up the
phone or go and talk to the person. Use email for its proper purpose. We are rapidly
losing the art of conversationdont add to that by using the wrong channel.
6) Have integrity and honesty in your communications. If you are seen as being someone
who lacks integrity, this will immediately be noticed and even more barriers will be built
up between you and the listener.
7) Make it easy for others to listen to you. Make your communication style that one of a
conversationalist, one who is able to make a point quickly, succinctly and with
conviction. If your key message is lost in the morass of a thousand words, people will
wonder what you mean and what the purpose is. Clarity and brevity are the watchwords.
Be aware that barriers exist in every contact, and it may not be possible for you to ensure clarity
every time, because others will have their own subconscious agenda. By following the above
ideas you certainly reduce the risk of barriers interrupting the key messages you want to make.



In addition to removal of specific barriers to communication, the following general guidelines
may be helpful to facilitate communication:
1. Have a positive attitude about communication. Defensiveness interferes with
communication.
2. Work at improving communication skills. The communication model and discussion
of barriers to communication provide the necessary knowledge to improve
communication. This increased awareness of the potential for improving communication
is the first step to better communication.
3. Include communication as a skill to be evaluated along with all the other engineering
skills for undergraduates.
4. Make communication goal oriented. Relational goals come first and pave the way for
other goals. When the sender and receiver have a good relationship, they are much more
likely to accomplish their communication goals.
5. Experiment with communication alternatives. What works with one person may not
work well with another. Use diverse communication channels, listening and feedback
techniques.
6. Accept the reality of miscommunication. The best communicators fail to have perfect
communication. They accept miscommunication and work to minimize its negative
impacts.
7. Use of simple and clear words should be emphasized. Use of ambiguous words and
jargons should be avoided.
8. Noise is the main communication barrier in most of engineering basis, which must be
handled on priority basis. It is essential to identify and eliminate the source of noise.
9. Listen attentively and carefully. There is a difference between listening and
hearing. Active listening means hearing with a proper understanding of the message.
By asking questions, the speaker can ensure whether his/her message is understood or not
by the receiver in the same manner as intended by him.
10. The organizational structure should be simple to facilitate communication between
various hierarchy levels. The number of hierarchical levels should be optimum, and there
should be an ideal span of control within the organization. Simpler the organizational
structure, more effective will be the communication.
11. The managers should know how to prioritize their work. They should not overload
themselves with the work, should spend quality time with their subordinates, and should
listen to their problems and feedbacks actively.






There are 6 C's of effective communication, which are applicable to both written and oral
communication. They are as follows:
Complete- The message must be complete in all respect and should convey all facts
required by the receiver. Incompleteness of the message may lead to misunderstanding or
incomplete understanding and confusion between the sender and the receiver. It is the
responsibility of the sender to make sure (before mailing the message) that the
information provided in the message is complete as per the purpose of the
communication.
Clear- Clarity in communication makes understanding easier and enhances the meaning
of a message. A clear message uses exact, appropriate, and concrete words and avoids
ambiguous words.
Correctness- Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical and
spelling errors in communication.
Concise- Conciseness means eliminating wordiness and communicating what you want
to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C's of communication.
Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication.
Consideration- Consideration implies stepping into the shoes of others. Effective
communication must take the receiver/s into consideration (i.e., the audience's
viewpoints, background, mindset, education level, etc.). The sender should make an
attempt to understand the audience, their requirements, emotions, as well as problems.
Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not hurt.
Courtesy- Courtesy in message implies that the message should show the sender's
expression as well as respect to the receiver. The sender of the message should be
sincerely polite, judicious, reflective, and enthusiastic.












QUESTIONS

1. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of good message?
A. Clear
B. Concrete
C. Concise
D. Vague
2. Which type of language or words should be avoided to be able to communicate clearly?
A. Ambiguous and jargon words
B. Simple words
C. Unusual words
D. Both A & C
3. Another thing that has to use in communication while he/she shows an emotional feeling
or nature of feeling to impress the receiver make good?
A. Facial expression
B. Body language
C. Sign language
D. None of the above
4. Why do they use the language that suits the taste of the audience?
A. To be able to distract the audience inadequate.
B. To be able to confuse the listener distorted.
C. To be able to understand the conversation each other.
D. To be able to train them.
5. Which is the following is not a type of courtesy?
A. Polite
B. Obedient
C. Reflective
D. Disrespect
6. What do you called the word that has someone has said and understands that it is serious,
important, or true?
A. Listening
B. Hearing
C. Whispering
D. Talking
7. What word that means is a disturbance, especially a random and persistent disturbance,
which obscures or reduces the clarity of a signal.
A. Sound
B. Talk
C. Noise
D. Speak
8. One of the 6 Cs of communication is not in the list, what is this word?
A. Complete
B. Coherent
C. Correctness
D. Consideration
9. What do you mean by Miscommunication?
A. Lack of clear or adequate communication.
B. An unclear or inadequate communication.
C. Failure to communicate accurately.
D. All of the above
10. Which one of the following is not an element of communication?
A. Sender
B. Feedback
C. Receiver
D. Context


















ANSWERS
1. D
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. D
6. A
7. C
8. B
9. D
10. D