MODULE 2 BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION PROCESS pptx

This Presentation outlines the hindrances to the process of Communication.

1. Barriers to Communication

2. Barriers are problems that distort or disrupt the flow of information. T hey represent all obstacles that may arise in a team and cause misunderstandings and miscommunication between communicators.  As a result of such communication-related challenges, teams are likely to waste both time and money trying to get back on course.

3. PHYSICAL BARRIERS

4. Time and distance The barriers related to time and distance tend to happen to remote teams whose members work from home. Remote teammates do not work in the same office, or even at the same time. Instead, they may operate on a different continent and in a different time zone. This makes real-time communication difficult, and in-person communication inconvenient, or near impossible — unless one teammate is willing to accommodate the other, and work during the night, or fly across the globe on a regular basis.

5. Personal space In verbal, in-person communication, personal space plays a crucial role. Namely, this distance that applies only to in-person communication may act as a facilitator to good communication, or as a barrier to effective communication — depending on whether it’s properly interpreted and arranged.

6. Workplace design Workplace design has a crucial influence on the effectiveness of communication in the workplace. For example, the seating arrangements can facilitate effective communication — when members of a team who needs to communicate and collaborate on a daily basis are seated at connected desks. But the seating arrangement can also hinder effective communication.

7. Work environment The chief element of a work environment that may hinder effective communication is comfort — or, better yet, the potential lack of if. Namely, if the company or home office is too hot/cold, people may not be able to fully focus on the information being communicated in business situations. The same applies if the desks and chairs are too low/high, if the chairs are uncomfortable, or if the office lighting is too bright/dim.

8. Background noise Noise is a common barrier to effective communication. It includes several types of distractions, but may not be limited to: colleagues talking nearby (often experienced by people who work in an office); family members/roommates/partners talking nearby (often experienced by people who work from home); copy machines, kitchen noise, and other inside noise; thunderstorms, grass mowers, car sirens, and other outside noise.

9. Communication channel issues Issues with communication channels may arise as a key physical communication barrier. They may be tied to ignorance of medium and technical problems with the said communication mediums. Teams often need to use various channels of communication to communicate and collaborate. Most of the time, these channels serve as communication facilitators. But, if a teammate is unfamiliar with how best to use the said communication channel, the channel may turn into a communication barrier.

10. Most of the time, however, all communicators using a channel of communication will be familiar with how best to use the said channel. But technical problems may still arise and hinder effective communication. These technical problems may include: Hardware issues — such as modem issues that slow down your internet connection; Software issues — such as bugs in apps.

11. Perceptual filters Perceptual filters to effective communication include our thoughts, assumptions, preferences, values, and attitudes. They represent lenses through which we view people, situations, topics, or events. These “filters” may lead to misunderstandings, stereotyping, and assumptions in communication . Such “filters” often make us closed-minded to opinions that are different from our own, or ideas that go beyond what we consider “usual”, “expected”, or “normal”.

12. Nonverbal language (as a perceptual barrier) Nonverbal facial expressions, triggers, and cues represent the body language people emit while communicating. This body language may be connected with the intended meaning of the messages the communicator is trying to convey. But, it may also be intentionally or unintentionally misleading. In line with that, other people may perceive the nonverbal language of their fellow communicators correctly — or not.

13. Emotional barriers to effective communication

14. Emotional barriers to effective communication represent the emotions that may hold you back from communicating what you want to your teammates. These emotions may also hold you back from listening to others attentively and accepting their point of view on matters discussed. These key emotional barriers include anger, pride, and anxiety.

15. Anger Anger is an emotional barrier to communication that actually affects how your brain processes information. Because of anger, you are less likely to be logical in discussions. Moreover, you are less likely to contribute productively to solving problems — and more likely to oppose other people’s ideas. The people you are projecting your anger to are likely to become defensive, scared, or even feel hurt. As a result, people are less likely to contact you in case of an emergency — even if you objectively are the best person to solve the problem.

16. Pride Pride is an emotional barrier to communication that inhibits healthy communication in several ways. For one, pride as an emotion implies you take pride in what you say and do. This, in turn, implies, you talk more than you listen — and active listening is an important skill of effective communicators. Moreover, people who are prideful need to be right to justify the said pride. As a result, teammates become wary of inviting you to brainstorming sessions — because your idea always needs to be the best one, or else you become difficult to work with.

17. Anxiety Anxiety is another emotional barrier to effective communication — one that can hurt your communication skills and effectiveness. For one, you won’t be able to concentrate on what others are saying because you’ll constantly worry about what you want to say. Moreover, anxiety may even push you to avoid certain social situations, even in a professional setting.

18. Cultural barriers to Effective communication

19. According to the definition by Joynt & Warner (1996), culture is: “ the pattern of taken-for-granted assumptions about how a given collection of people should think, act, and feel as they go about their daily affairs ”. In line with this definition, cultural barriers to effective communication represent the different culture-related behavior patterns that may arise as an obstacle to well-balanced communication among teammates .

20. These culture-related behavior patterns may revolve around language, nonverbal language, cultural norms, beliefs, and values. They may also manifest as stereotypes or status-based self-importance.

21. Language Language can be a crucial barrier to effective communication — especially for teams who operate across the globe and have different mother tongues. After all, if you don’t understand your teammates and they don’t understand you, you can’t communicate .

22. Nonverbal language (as a cultural barrier) We already talked about nonverbal language when we addressed the perceptual barriers to effective communication. However, nonverbal language can also be connected with the culture of the speaker. In other words, the same gestures or facial expressions can have different meanings in different cultures. In such cases, we can regard nonverbal language as an important culture-based communication barrier.

23. Cultural norms, beliefs, and values Each culture holds its own cultural norms, beliefs, and values. Holidays, religions, customs, signs of respect, or even rules for proper business conduct may differ from culture to culture. As a result, people who come from different cultures may find it difficult to effectively communicate, because they may perceive the behavior of their fellow communicators as unusual, uncomfortable, or simply disrespectful. Of course, this is rarely the intention of the said communicators.

24. Stereotypes According to the definition in social psychology, a stereotype represents a “fixed, over-generalized belief about a particular group or class of people”. In other words, we have a particular idea about how a particular group or class of people think or behave — and we assume that every member of a particular group or class thinks or behaves in the same way.

25. Such an approach to people who belong to different cultures builds prejudices and stops us from viewing the members of the said cultures for what they really are — unique individuals.

26. Stereotypes come in different forms: microaggressions, biases, or discrimination are all common and likely to disrupt effective communication between the members of different cultures. One particular source of stereotypes and prejudices is Ethnocentrism.

27. According to the classic definition by Melville J. Herskovits, ethnocentrism represents “a feeling of superiority regarding one’s own culture or way of life”. Some views of ethnocentrism specifically mark the phenomenon as a type of bias. For ethnicism to arise, there must be an “in-group” and an “out-group”. Social theorist, Theodore W. Adorno, and his colleagues have created a broader definition that defines ethnocentrism as a combination of “a positive attitude toward one’s own ethnic/cultural group (the in-group) with a negative attitude toward the other ethnic/cultural group (the out-group).”

28. For ethnocentric people, it’s always “us” vs “them” — which translates poorly to the effectiveness of many communication situations.

29. Semantic Barriers

30. Use of Polysemic words Lack of Proper Vocabulary Use of Technical Jargon Use of Homophones Different Accents

31. https://pumble.com/learn/communication/communication-barriers/#Physical_barriers_to_effective_team_communication