Barriers to Effective Communication

1. BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

2. DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION BARRIERS Aspects of or conditions in a workplace that interfere with effective exchange of ideas or thoughts. Such barriers include ( 1) status differences (2 ) gender differences (3 ) cultural differences ( 4) prejudices (5 ) the organizational environment

3. BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION PYHISICAL BARRIERS ORGANISATIONAL BARRIERS CULTURAL BARRIERS LANGUAGE BARRIERS CHANNEL BARRIERS INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS LISTENING BARRIERS BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING

4. PHYSICAL BARRIERS Physical barriers  are often due to the nature of the environment. Physical Organizational Barrier includes internal and external environment like : large working areas physically separated from others poor lighting staff shortage outdated equipments background noise

5. ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS Poor organizational culture, climate Status and relationship C omplexity I nadequate facilities/ opportunities of growth and improvement

6. CULTURAL BARRIERS Age and gender Education and cultural background Social status and economic position Temperament Health and beauty Popularity Religion Political belief Ethics , values, motives Assumptions Aspirations Rules and regulations , Standards and priorities

7. LANGUAGE BARRIERS Different languages, vocabulary, accents, dialects represent national / regional barriers. Semantic gaps are words having similar pronunciation but multiple meanings. B adly expressed message, wrong interpretation and unqualified assumptions. The use of difficult or inappropriate words/ poorly explained or misunderstood messages can result in confusion.

8. CHANNEL BARRIERS If the length of the communication is long, or the medium selected is inappropriate, the communication might break up I t can also be a result of the inter-personal conflicts between the sender and receiver L ack of interest to communicate I nformation sharing or access problems which can hamper the channel and affect the clarity, accuracy and effectiveness.

9. INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS Lack of Trust Lack of Knowledge of non-verbal communication Wish to capture authority F ear of losing power of control Lack of Motivation L ack of co-operation, fear of penalty and poor relationship

10. INDIVIDUAL BARRIERS I ndividual's perceptual and personal discomfort . T wo individuals’ mental perception may/may not be identical Style S elective perception Poor attention and retention D efensiveness C lose mindedness I nsufficient filtration

11. ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS It comes about as a result of problems with staff in the organization. Limitation in physical and mental ability, intelligence, understanding, pre-conceived notions, and distrusted source divides the attention and create a mechanical barrier which affects the attitude and opinion.

12. LISTENING BARRIERS Interrupting the speaker Not maintaining eye contact with the speaker Rushing the speaker to complete what he/she has to say Making the speaker feel as though he/she is wasting the listener's time Being distracted by something that is not part of the on-going communication Getting ahead of the speaker and completing his/her thoughts Ignoring the speaker's requests Asking too many questions, for the sake of probing

13. BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING Unclear messages Lack of consistency in the communication process Incomplete sentences Not understanding the receiver Not seeking clarifications while communicating