Barriers To Communication

Index

Introduction Communication process Some facts Barriers in communication Barriers sender, receiver and both. How to overcome these barriers Conclusion

Introduction

Communication:
The transmission of a message/ideas/ attitudes/emotion, from a sender to a receiver which is understood by the receiver as the sender intended.

Communication process
ENCODING

IDEA

ROUTE

Sender
FEEDBACK INTERPRETING

Receiver

Communication is limited in nature

Let us see why? (some facts) People remember:
10 20 30 50 80 90 % % % % % % of of of of of of what what what what what what they they they they they they read hear see see and hear say say and do

Some more Information

If you tell 100 people something:

After After After After 24 hours, 25 % have forgotten it 48 hours, 50 % have forgotten it 72 hours, 75 % have forgotten it one week, 96 % have forgotten it

Why this happens

A barrier in Communication reduces the impact of the communication during & after the process is over. To be more precise, communication process must address the barriers that exist in the process So, Communication is about overcoming barriers.

An Example: a video

Barriers in communication

The common barriers in communication are: Environmental barriers Personal barriers Administrative and financial barriers Time barriers

Environmental barriers

Crowded, noisy environment. People taking, music playing. No Privacy. The presence of an assistant. Telephone call.

Personal barriers

Lake of confidence. Personal shyness. Internal conversation or internal monologue (self talk). Lack of objectivity. Culture differences Language. Emotion Discomfort in sensitive situations. Values and believe.

Administrative and financial barriers

Administrative decisions. Management strategy. Financial support. Number of staff. Goal conflicts

Time barriers
Lack of time. Inappropriate time to talk. Inferring (conclude)

Barriers sender

Lack of planning purpose of communication Objectives to be achieved Choice of wrong language, resulting in badly encoded message Unshared & unqualified assumptions Different perception of reality Wrong choice of the channel

Barriers Receiver

Poor listener Inattention Mistrust Lack of interest Premature evaluation Semantic Difficulties Bias / Lack of trust Different perception of reality Attitudinal clash with sender Not in a fit physical state

Common barrier both sender & receiver

Absence of a common frame of reference affecting smooth interpretation of thoughts, feelings and attitudes from the sender to the receiver in a specific situation

Other Barriers

Filtering: A sender s purposely manipulation of information so that it will be seen favorable to the receiver.

Information overload: A condition in which

information inflows exceeds an individuals processing capacity. In this situation people tends to select out, ignore, or forget information.

Other Barriers

Perception: Receivers selectively see and hear

depending upon their needs, motivations, background, experience and other personal characteristics. They dont see reality, but interpret what we see and call it reality.

for the sender to encode his message in such a way that receiver decodes it to get the intended meaning. One must aim at simplicity, clarity and brevity so as to minimize the chances of different interpretations.

Semantic Problems: It is of vital importance

How to overcome these Barriers

Eliminating differences in perception Use of Simple Language Reduction and elimination of noise levels Know what you want to convey Active Listening Emotional State Simple Organizational Structure Avoid Information Overload Give Constructive Feedback Proper Media Selection Flexibility in meeting the targets

Conclusion
Communication is about overcoming the barriers i.e. (environmental, personal, administrative, financial and time). For communication to be effective, one has to understand that barriers exist and the knowledge of minimizing these barriers is the only way by which we will be better effective communicators.

Communication is the real work of leadership.

Nitin Nohria

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