Abstract
Communication is essential in all interpersonal relationships, including those between employers and employees. Understanding the communication process and working to improve any gaps is crucial for successful management and organizational prosperity. To mitigate the harmful impacts of ineffective communication, it’s important to recognize common barriers that hinder effective communication.
Barriers to effective communication can arise in various forms, including language barriers, cultural differences, physical disabilities, and emotional barriers. These obstacles can prevent individuals from understanding each other’s messages and lead to misunderstandings or conflicts. It is important to recognize these barriers and work towards overcoming them through active listening, empathy, and clear communication.
Communication can be defined as the act of giving or receiving information from another individual. This exchange of information may be intentional or unintentional and can occur through conventional or unconventional signals, including linguistic or non-linguistic modes. In an organizational environment, structures are established to promote meaningful and effective communication among employees across professional cadres. These structures enable intended meanings to be perceived and understood within the organization.
There are times when faults occur in the communication process, preventing the receiver from receiving the message due to delay, misdirection, or distortion. Overcoming these barriers requires additional skills to recognize and resolve any communication breakdowns. Barriers to communication can be categorized into three principal classes:
There are various types of barriers that can hinder effective communication. These include physical barriers, system design barriers, and additional barriers such as attitudinal, language, cultural, and interpersonal barriers.
Physical barriers refer to obstacles that physically prevent or disrupt communication. Examples of physical barriers include distance between communicators, loud background noise or music, poor lighting conditions, and even physical objects like walls or doors.
These barriers are caused by the nature of the environment in which the organization operates. For instance, if buildings that constitute the organization’s operating offices are located in different sites, access and transmission of information are hampered. Large working areas that physically separate staff make it difficult to transmit messages effectively. The use of outdated and poor information technology equipment in the wake of new advanced technology can impede communication not only in the context of intra-organization communication but also affecting inter-organizational communication systems. Acute and chronic staff shortages in an organization are major factors that impede effective communication. Poor organizational structure is usually characterized by an unfavorable climate, stringent rules and regulations, and complex communication channels.
Other physical barriers to communication can increase employee distraction from work and promote ineffective communication. These barriers may include excessive background noise, inadequate lighting systems, and poor office air conditioning.
System design faults and barriers
In situations where organizational structures are unclear and confusing, such as a lack of clarity in levels of authority, roles, and responsibilities, effective communication is severely impeded. Staff become uncertain about who to report to or what is expected of them professionally. When communication channels are too long and the medium selected for transmission is inappropriate, communication breakdowns may occur. Incorrect filtering of information as it passes between you and the receiver through gatekeepers such as secretaries, personal assistants, receptionists can lead to incorrect translation of your original ideas. It’s always advisable to eliminate intermediaries between you and the receiver by maintaining a lean communication channel. This reduces message distortion or misinterpretation. Channel barriers are also exacerbated by interpersonal conflicts existing between the sender and receiver leading to a lack of interest in engaging in communication or sharing information. Such interpersonal conflicts can also affect the clarity, accuracy, and overall effectiveness of communication.
Inappropriate or inefficient use of management information systems can stem from the installation of poor computer software systems.
Attitudinal barriers
Organizational staff problems can result from poor management practices, lack of employee consultation on issues, and personality conflicts in the workplace. Personal attitudes at work may stem from dissatisfaction, lack of motivation or prerequisite training for tasks, or resistance to change due to entrenched prejudices, attitudes or ideas. Attitudinal barriers can also be caused by limitations in mental or physical ability, understanding, intelligence and lack of trust in the source of information. All these factors affect individuals’ attitudes and opinions towards a subject as well as their communication with colleagues.
Psychological factors play a significant role in shaping human behavior and decision-making. These factors include emotions, attitudes, beliefs, values, personality traits, and cognitive processes. Understanding these psychological factors can help individuals improve their mental health and well-being, as well as enhance their relationships with others.
Individual states of mind can be influenced by a variety of economic, sociological, and environmental factors. Environmental factors such as weather conditions have been known to affect people’s moods. For instance, people tend to feel more upbeat when the sun is shining compared to when it’s raining. Health issues, marital problems, and financial difficulties have all been shown to equally impact effective communication in the workplace.
In every message, there are two components: content meaning and relationship meaning. Content meaning primarily deals with the subject matter of the message, while the latter suggests the relationship between the sender and receiver. Negative reactions towards either component can lead to communication breakdown. Sometimes our state of mind affects our understanding of messages, causing us to unconsciously distort or ignore their content. In such emotional states, it’s better to acknowledge potential misunderstandings that may arise during communication.
Language Barriers
Different languages come with varying vocabulary, dialects, and accents shaped by national and regional cultural and geographical barriers. These semantic gaps can hinder effective communication by causing messages to be poorly expressed, misinterpreted, or based on unfounded assumptions. Inappropriate or poorly understood words can lead to confusion and misunderstanding between sender and receiver. This language barrier is especially problematic for organizations engaged in overseas business where linguistic abilities vary greatly.
Words chosen and used in any mode of communication should not prevent others from understanding the conveyed information. Misinterpretation or lack of comprehension can result, leading to inappropriate or no action being taken by the receiver. This can be financially costly to an organization, making it crucial to transmit only clear, coherent, and understandable information.
Cultural barriers can arise when people from different cultures interact with each other. These barriers can include differences in language, customs, beliefs, and values. It is important to be aware of these differences and to approach interactions with an open mind and a willingness to learn about other cultures. By doing so, we can break down cultural barriers and foster greater understanding and cooperation between people of different backgrounds.
Culture defines an individual in terms of perception and transmission of messages, with reference to age, education level, economic status, religion, political beliefs, ethics, aspirations and many more. All these factors create a barrier while communicating with another person because cultures impart on their members different and distinct ways of thinking, seeing, hearing and interpreting information. Even if they speak the same language, the same words always have different meanings with differences in cultures. Therefore even in an organizational setting, effective cross-cultural understanding is always affected. These cultural constraints are sometimes classified as cognitive constraints, behavioral constraints and emotional constraints. Cognitive constraints mainly affect an individual’s understanding of world views.
Behavioral constraints refer to the rules and regulations that dictate proper behavior in terms of verbal and nonverbal communication. They determine whether eye contact is appropriate when communicating, the distance between people when talking, and other polite gestures that vary from culture to culture. Emotional constraints govern the display of emotions during debates, including yelling, crying, or exhibiting anger. Cultures also define whether individuals can only share facts or express the rationality of information.
Interpersonal barriers
Barriers from employers are often driven by a lack of trust in their employees and inadequate knowledge of nonverbal communication cues. These cues include facial expressions, gestures, postures, body language, and eye contact. However, these gestures are usually learned through personal experiences and may not be universally understood.
Interpersonal barriers can also arise when employee needs are not considered or when the superior fears losing control. Bypassing or overloading of information can also contribute to these barriers.
On the other hand, employees may create interpersonal barriers due to a lack of motivation or cooperation, fear of penalties, distrust in their employer, or poor relationships with them.
Poor listening skills can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications. It is important to actively listen and give your full attention to the person speaking. This includes making eye contact, avoiding distractions, and asking clarifying questions if necessary. By improving your listening skills, you can strengthen relationships and avoid unnecessary conflicts.
Lack of attention on the part of the receiver is a common complaint in verbal communication. Naturally, people let their minds wander off when forced to listen to information that they consider as having no direct impact on their lives or information that is generally difficult to understand or execute. Very few of us have excellent listening habits, and this can be further worsened when there is the use of jargon phrases or complex terms.
When listening, it is prudent to fully concentrate and pay attention to the person you are communicating with. If there are terms that you do not understand clearly, ask your questions in a less threatening way and listen attentively without interrupting.
Stereotyping can be harmful and unfair. It involves making assumptions about a person based on their race, gender, religion, or other characteristics without getting to know them as an individual. Stereotyping can lead to discrimination and prejudice, which can have serious consequences for individuals and society as a whole. It’s important to recognize our own biases and work towards treating everyone with respect and dignity.
Stereotyping occurs when we consciously or unconsciously categorize a person or group of people based on oversimplified conceptions, opinions, or beliefs. This creates a communication barrier, especially when the receivers of the message are already aware that the sender’s message is biased. Unqualified generalizations by senders who refuse to acknowledge change undermine the clarity and credibility of information. Another form of stereotyping involves polarizations or creating extremes, which further alienates receivers and worsens the impact of ineffective communication.
Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication
Physical barriers that limit effective communication should be eliminated. This can be achieved by ensuring that employers and employees work in close proximity while still protecting the privacy of every employee. Distractions during communication should also be eliminated to promote attention and concentration.
The systems of management employed should encourage employee motivation by promoting participation and constructive dialogue. Additionally, these systems should be flexible, dynamic, and transparent.
Communication is a two-way traffic and the moment information is sent, the sender becomes the receiver through the feedback mechanism. Feedback builds and promotes two-way communication that benefits both parties as it acts as a mirror of communication. Prompt feedback enables senders to confirm whether receivers have received messages in their original versions without any alterations. To achieve this, acquiring basic communication skills is paramount to ensure messages are clear, complete, concrete, concise, correct and courteous.
For effective communication to be achieved, the sender must acknowledge and ensure that the message is well adapted to the receiver. It is important to understand the receiver’s needs, knowledge of the subject matter, status in the organization, language skills, and emotional status. On the other hand, our emotional status should not impede our communication with others in the organization. Dislike, anger, hatred and other emotions that may impede communication must be controlled.
Employees should be given the opportunity to access the organization’s resources in order to develop trust between them and their employers. Self-expression and idea generation are prerequisites for unlocking any psychological or emotional prejudices. Expectations should be communicated succinctly without using absolute words or phrases, such as never,” “forever,” or “always,” when giving instructions to staff. These words can make employees develop fear of authority. Furthermore, when passing on instructions or communication to a colleague, it is necessary to put yourself in their shoes so as to avoid developing emotions if something goes slightly wrong in the execution of instructions. In cases where the information is slightly complex, instructions should not only be verbally communicated but also written down for reference.
When communicating within an organization, it is important to focus on the issue at hand rather than the person. It is crucial not to take everything personally. Opinions and needs should be communicated in terms of the task or assignment, and a coworker’s personality should not be criticized when critiquing their work. Communication must be genuine and not manipulative. One must express themselves honestly and openly to foster a culture of understanding and fruitful collaboration within the organization.
Professional relationships involve some form of emotional human attachment. It is sometimes necessary to show sensitivity, empathy, and care for those with whom you work. If one remains detached and does not show any care, it becomes very difficult to develop an effective communication channel.
There should be underlying consistency between written information, verbal communication, and nonverbal cues. In many cases, nonverbal cues such as grinning can be equally or even more convincing than verbal messages. However, when discussing or expressing serious issues, grinning may distort the intended message.
Individual perceptions are always unique. Our understanding of the world is shaped by a myriad of factors, including our backgrounds. Our backgrounds define us differently in terms of age, education level, gender, socio-economic status, cultural and religious beliefs, temperament, political beliefs and affiliations etc. All these factors determine how we relate to and communicate with other people; hence defining how effectively we can communicate in organizations. Accepting that these inhibitions can affect the effectiveness of communication is the first step in building an effective and successful communication system.
If we effectively clarify ourselves, we can comfortably understand others’ backgrounds in terms of their spheres of knowledge, personalities and perceptions. Understanding all these factors and incorporating them into an effective communication system will ensure that not only is the content and context of information understood but it will also improve our interpersonal relationships.
Reference:
Developing Skills for Personal Effectiveness Unit no FG4D: Communication Skills. Barriers to effective communication.
http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk/ie/Who%20Am%20I%203/Who%20Am%20I%203-590.htm
