Contents

INTRODUCTION

Seven Barriers to Great Communication 1

Barriers to Effective Communication 6

Overcoming Communication Barriers 8

CONCLUSION 9

REFERENCE 11

cha 23

INTRODUCTION

Seven Barriers to Great Communication

There are Seven type of Barriers to Communication. Many people think that communicating

is easy. It is after all something we do all our lives. There is some truth in this view.

Communicating is straightforward. What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the

barriers we put in the way. Here are the 7 top barriers.

Physical barriers

Physical barriers in the workplace include:

marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed closed

office doors, barrier screens, separate areas for people of different status large working areas

or working in one unit that is physically separate from others.

Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is

proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness

to others aids communication because it helps us get to know one another.

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

Emotional barriers

One of the chief barriers to open and free communications is the emotional barrier. It is

comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion. The roots of our emotional mistrust of

others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught to be careful what we said to

others.

They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive

fear of what others might think of us can stunt our development as effective communicators

and our ability to form meaningful relationships.

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.

Language barriers

Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to others who

are not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words and jargon. When we couch our

communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a global market place the

greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk in their language.

One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the Soviet leader Nikita

Khruschev saying to the Americans at the United Nations: "We will bury you!" This was

taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation.

However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev's words would have been: "We will overtake

you!" meaning economic superiority. It was not just the language, but the fear and suspicion

that the West had of the Soviet Union that led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.

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:

Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both refusal to be in touch and time

alone. Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real contact. Pastimes fill up time

with others in social but superficial activities. Working activities are those tasks which follow

the rules and procedures of contact but no more. Games are subtle, manipulative interactions

which are about winning and losing. They include "rackets" and "stamps".

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.

Barriers to Effective Communication

Workplace communication is not easy. This is a place where you meet people from different

walks of life and also from different cultural background. Language is one of the major

barriers to e 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 send would

reach the receiver with very little distortion. However, a communication becomes successful

only if the receiver understands what the sender is trying to convey. When your message is

not clearly understood you should understand that you are facing a barrier to communication.

Barriers to effective communication could cause roadblocks in your professional and

personal life and it could be one of the major hurdles in achieving your professional goals.

Barriers to Effective Communication

An effective communication barrier is one of the problems faced by many organizations.

Many social psychologists opine that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning the messages from

a sender to a receiver. They estimate there are four basic places where communication could

be interpreted wrongly. A few barriers of effective communication in an organization 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 the

environment, background noise

Language

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.

Emotions

Your emotions could be a barrier to communication if you are engrossed in youremotions 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.

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 to effective communication.

Stress

One of the major communication barriers faced by employees in most of the

organization is stress. When a person is under immense stress, he may find it difficult to

understand the message, leading to communication distortion. At the time of stress, our

psychological frame of mind depends on our beliefs, experiences, goals and values. Thus, we

fail to realize the essence of communication. The above-mentioned barriers to effective

communication are considered as filters of communications. You can overcome the barriers

to communication through effective and active listening.ffective communication.

Overcoming Communication Barriers

When you send a message, you intend to communicate meaning, but the message itself

doesn't contain meaning. The meaning exists in your mind and in the mind of your receiver.

To understand one another, you and your receiver must share similar meanings for words,

gestures, tone of voice, and other symbols.

Differences in perception

The world constantly bombards us with information: sights, sounds, scents, and so on. Our

minds organize this stream of sensation into a mental map that represents our perception or

reality. In no case is the perception of a certain person the same as the world itself, and no

two maps are identical. As you view the world, your mind absorbs your experiences in a

unique and personal way. Because your perceptions are unique, the ideas you want to express

differ from other people's Even when two people have experienced the same event, their

mental images of that event will not be identical. As senders, we choose the details that seem

important and focus our attention on the most relevant and general, a process known as

selective perception. As receivers, we try to fit new details into our existing pattern. If a detail

doesn't quite fit, we are inclined to distort the information rather than rearrange the pattern.

Incorrect filtering

Filtering is screening out before a message is passed on to someone else. In business, the

filters between you and your receiver are many; secretaries, assistants, receptionists,

answering machines, etc. Those same gatekeepers may also 'translate' your receiver's ideas

and responses before passing them on to you. To overcome filtering barriers, try to establish

more than one communication channel, eliminate as many intermediaries as possible, and

decrease distortion by condensing message information to the bare essentials.

Language problems

When you choose the words for your message, you signal that you are a member of a

particular culture or subculture and that you know the code. The nature of your code imposes

its own barriers on your message. Barriers also exist because words can be interpreted in

more than one way. Language is an arbitrary code that depends on shared definitions, but

there's a limit to how completely any of us share the same meaning for a given word. To

overcome language barriers, use the most specific and accurate words possible. Always try to

use words your audience will understand. Increase the accuracy of your messages by using

language that describes rather than evaluates and by presenting observable facts, events, and

circumstances.

Poor listening

Perhaps the most common barrier to reception is simply a lack of attention on the receiver's

part. We all let our minds wander now and then, regardless of how hard we try to concentrate.

People are essentially likely to drift off when they are forced to listen to information that is

difficult to understand or that has little direct bearing on their own lives. Too few of us

simply do not listen well! To overcome barriers, paraphrase what you have understood, try to

view the situation through the eyes of other speakers and resist jumping to conclusions.

Clarify meaning by asking non-threatening questions, and listen without interrupting.

Differing emotional states

Every message contains both a content meaning, which deals with the subject of the message,

and a relationship meaning, which suggests the nature of the interaction between sender and

receiver. Communication can break down when the receiver reacts negatively to either of

these meanings. You may have to deal with people when they are upset or when you are. An

upset person tends to ignore or distort what the other person is saying and is often unable to

present feelings and ideas effectively. This is not to say that you should avoid all

communication when you are emotionally involved, but you should be alert to the greater

potential for misunderstanding that accompanies aroused emotions. To overcome emotional

barriers, be aware of the feelings that arise in your self and in others as you communicate,

and attempt to control them. Most important, be alert to the greater potential for

misunderstanding that accompanies emotional messages.

Differing backgrounds

Differences in background can be one of the hardest communication barriers to overcome.

Age, education, gender, social status, economic position, cultural background, temperament,

health, beauty, popularity, religion, political belief, even a passing mood can all separate one

person from another and make understanding difficult. To overcome the barriers associated

with differing backgrounds, avoid projecting your own background or culture onto others.

Clarify your own and understand the background of others, spheres of knowledge,

personalities and perceptions and don't assume that certain behaviors mean the same thing to

everyone.

CONCLUSION

Overcoming Barriers in Communication

Communication is a key part in everyone’s life. Communicating is a skill that requires

constant learning. As easy as communicating may seem to be, communication is a rather

complex skill for all people to master. Multiple barriers exist for communication. For the

purpose of this paper there will be three specific communication barriers discussed, which

consist of: differences in people’s cultures, language interpretations, and a person’s ability to

listen properly. When it comes to the differentiations between cultures, three prominent

aspects are present. These are: language, cultural background (i.e. age, gender, level of

education), and economic status. People must understand that every language has words that

can be taken the wrong way, or that can be misunderstood. People must watch how they say

whatever they are trying to say, so as not to be misinterpreted. Then hand in hand with that

people must be open-minded and view all the different ways of interpreting what has been

said, rather than jumping to conclusions. This flows in with listening properly. A person can

not simply hear what is being said, they must listen to what is being said and the way the

person says it.

Our team has personally used these skills in the writing of this paper. Everyone in our team

lives in different areas of the United States, and all team members have different backgrounds

and lifestyles. As our group came together everyone had to learn about and understand each

other. Our team did not have to face the challenge of different languages, because English

was spoken, however, because of the online-classroom environment, our communication has

been via the internet, which creates an added challenge. When all communication is done

through writing and not face-to-face, it makes for a greater level of difficulty. This difficulty

proved to be a fairly easy task for our group to overcome.

REFERENCE

http://www.martin-hahn.biz/pages/attraction/

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Effective-Communication/91422

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Martin_Hahn

http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk/ie/Who%20Am%20I%203/Who%20Am%20I

%203-590.htm