barriers.docx

7/30/2019 barriers.docx

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Many people think that communicating is easy.

It is after all something we've done all our lives.

There is some truth in this simplistic view.

Communicating is straightforward.

What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the barriers we put inthe way.

Here are the 7 top barriers.

1. Physical barriers

Physical barriers in the workplace include:

marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into whichstrangers 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 cohesiveteams is proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they

can call their own, nearness to others aids communication because it helpsus get to know one another.

2. Perceptual barriers

The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the worlddifferently. 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 andperceptions shape our own realities:

A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man from the nexttown. "Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight.

Can you tell me what the townspeople are like?"

"Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in the last town youvisited?"


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"Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a fool.

Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very poor service."

"Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the samehere."

3. 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 wewere taught to be careful what we said to others.

"Mind your P's and Q's"; "Don't speak until you're spoken to"; "Children

should be seen and not heard". As a result many people hold back fromcommunicating their thoughts and feelings to others.

They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certainrelationships, excessive fear of what others might think of us can stunt our

development as effective communicators and our ability to form meaningfulrelationships.

4. 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 andinclusion. 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-wincontact.

Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high

level of game-playing replaces good communication.

5. 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 andjargon. When we couch our communication in such language, it is a way of

excluding others. In a global market place the greatest compliment we canpay another person is to talk in their language.


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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 UnitedNations: "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 ofthe Soviet Unionthat led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.

6. Gender barriers

There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man andthose 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, girlsspeak 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 aman talks, his speech is located in the left side of the brain but in no specificarea. 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.

7 Interpersonal barriers

There are six levels at which people can distance themselves from oneanother:

1.Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both

refusal to be in touch and time alone.2.Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real

contact.3.Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial

activities.

4.Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules andprocedures of contact but no more.

5.Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are aboutwinning and losing. They include "rackets" and "stamps".


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6.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. Youhave 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.

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Communication is a process beginning with a sender who encodes the message and passes it through some channelto the receiver who decodes the message. Communication is fruitful if and only if the messages sent by the sender isinterpreted with same meaning by the receiver. If any kind of disturbance blocks any step of communication, themessage will be destroyed. Due to such disturbances, managers in an organization face severe problems. Thus themanagers must locate such barriers and take steps to get rid of them.

There are several barriers that affects the flow of communication in an organization. These barriers interrupt the flow

of communication from the sender to the reciever, thus making communication ineffective. It is essential for managersto overcome these barriers. The main barriers of communication are summarized below.


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Following are the main communication barriers:

1. Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is generallyhow each individual interprets the world around him. All generallywant to receive messages which are significant to them. But anymessage which is against their values is not accepted. A sameevent may be taken differently by different individuals. For

example : A person is on leave for a month due to personalreasons (family member being critical). The HR Manager mightbe in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, theimmediate manager might think of replacement because histeams productivity is being hampered, the family members mighttake him as an emotional support.

The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown.Same word may mean different to different individuals. Forexample: consider a word value.

a. What is the value of this Laptop?b. I value our relation?c. What is the value of learning technical skills?

Value means different in different sentences. Communication breakdown occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver.

2. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool of information. It is essential to control this information flow elsethe information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less effective.

3. Inattention:At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example a traveler may pay attention to one NO PARKING sign, buif such sign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for effective

communication. Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate explains him his problem, the superiomay not get what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate.4. Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified time period, the failure of which has

adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages arepartially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus sufficient time should be given for effective communication.

5. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions. Physical distractions are also there such as,poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakersinterferes with communication.

6. Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication. If the receiver feels that communicator isangry he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he takes it differently if the communicator is happy and

jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to be good and interesting).7. Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the number of managerial levels)

more is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the overall picture while thepeople at low level just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas.

8. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is being told specially if he is not

interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.

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barriers.docx