BARRIER OF COMMUNICATION-:

Communication is a process involving transmitting and receiving information. If the message sent by the sender is received in the same way as it was intended, the process of communication is called successful. But sometimes this does not happen due to some barriers in the process of communication. Barriers affect adversely the effectiveness of communication. In this chapter we will discuss some such barriers, for the awareness of the problems in itself is half the solution.

1. Wrong Choice of Medium -: There are various media of communication available- oral, written, visual, audio-visual etc. The medium of communication should be selected according to the kind of situation. A wrong choice may leads to many disturbances. For examples, if an employee wants to discuss something important with his superiors, a telephonic conversation or written letter may not of as much help as the face-to-face dialogue.

2. Physical Barriers -:a)Noise - Noise is a big barrier in communication. In

factories oral communication is difficult due to excessive noise of the machines. There should be sound proof and separate places in factories or mills for discussing important affairs.

b) Defects in the medium - A defective telephone connection or a poor mobile network, a slow internet connection can create a lot of disturbance in the process of communication. Accept that technology can hinder as well as help your message. Use technology selectively and with clear thought before you send your message out across the organization.

c) Time and Distance - Distance can be a barrier in communication at times. However modern system of communication has overcome the problem of distance to a great extent. But we may not have them everywhere. Proper measures should be taken to minimize this barrier. Time can also be a barrier sometimes. Due to different schedules of employees in a particular organization a barrier might be created. Sometimes a wrong seating arrangement also affects communication. An organization’s view on ‘time allowed’ and ‘time available’ is often part of its unique culture. If everything is fast and furious in an organization, it will take longer for the message to get through. Why? Because a fast pace and tight timeliness diminish the opportunity for people to concentrate on one things at a time. They will need to revisit the message on a few occasions and in different ways before it takes hold in their mind.

In addition, tight timeliness diminish the change for interaction and collaboration. If employees want people to embrace their message, they must allow time in which they can connect and share their thoughts and feelings with others… and with you. Perhaps you need to delay the sharing of your message if you want people to spend the best amount of time on it.

3. Semantic and Language Barriers- : Semantic means pertaining to the meaning of words. Such barriers may arise because of many reasons. Too much use of ‘jargons’ or technical terms may lead to a failure in exact communication. The process of encoding a message should be strictly according to the receiver’s language and point of view. Sometimes the barrier can be because of use of the words which have many meanings. There are many such words which like charge, check, suit, screw, burn, write, paste, infected etc. such words should be carefully used. Murphy and Peck have described a barrier of ‘by-passed instructions’ arising because of same words meaning different meanings*. It is not always necessary that the receiver is at the same wavelength as you. In oral communication the barriers can arise because of words which have the same

pronunciations but have different meanings. It can also arise because of mispronunciations of the words. An incorrect language is a very big barrier in the process of communication. Wrong use of language can lead to much confusion. The drafting of a letter should be from proper hands. Sometimes, the use of many idiomatic and bombastic expressions may also lead to the failure of communication. Because of culture or environment many words may generate different responses in people. There may be a biased attitude of some people towards particular words or ideas. Such things must be kept in minds while conveying a message. Barrier of language can also be because of different language spoken in different places. Acceptance of English as international language has solved this problem to a great extent.

Note- * indicate that-

The example Murphy and Peck give is:

An office manager gave a letter to a newly appointed assistant and said ‘take it to our stock room and burn it’. In the office language the word burn was used to make a copy on a machine company operated by heat process. The letter was extremely important. However, the puzzled new employee, afraid to ask questions, burned the letter the only existing copy.

4. Organizational Barriers -:a)Complexity in organizational structure :

Organizations having many levels of hierarchy may have a slow flow of communication among various members having different authority levels in an organization. The system of flow of communication should not be very complicated.

b)Organizational culture, climate and interpersonal Relationships: Trust, Freedom, healthy relationship, friendly atmosphere, generate a healthy work atmosphere and more productive results. Confusions, quarrels, misunderstandings, ego-problems may create a communication gap in an organization, which may lead to dangerous results. Measures should be taken to keep the relations healthy. A regular get-together of all the members is very essential.

c)Over Rigidity of Rules and Regulation : Too rigid rules of an organization may lead to a slow flow of information among various members of an organization.

d) Superior subordinate relationships : The flow of information can arise because of poor superior-subordinate relationships in organizations.

e) Inadequate Facilities and opportunities : An organization may not have adequate means and media of communication or equipments. Open door

employment system, conferences, seminars and meetings being held in the organization also influence the flow of communication.

5. Barrier Relating to Superior-Subordinate Relationship: The subordinate must follow the orders from higher authorities, carry out his duties efficiently and provide full information regularly to the superiors. Similarly the superior should spend enough time with subordinates listening to their feedbacks and problems. But there can be some barriers in the process of superior-subordinate communication. These are barriers emanating from superiors as well as subordinates.

1. Barriers emanating from superiors: a) Shortage of time for employees.b) Lack of trust distorts the relations and therefore

the flow of communication between superiors and subordinates.

c) Lack of consideration for employee’s needs may adversely affect the relations between and employee.

d) Fear of losing power and control over employees, arising from lack of trust in people, may make the superior hesitate to speak freely even regarding an important matter. He may use a bossy tone to ensure his control even where it

is not desired. This may lead to prejudices in the minds of subordinates, and thereby distort the process of communication.

e) Bypassing also acts as a barrier. If the information is bypassed leaving intermediary channels, an information may not reach effectively to all the members. This may lead to confusions.

f) Overload of information is also a problem. Extra detailed information may lead to lack of focus on important issues, which leads to a big communication problem.

2. Barriers emanating from subordinates :a)There may be complexity in the structure of an

organization, which may make it difficult for subordinates to communicate freely with superiors.

b) If a subordinate is indifferent to communicate with superiors, that may create a gap in the process of communication.

c) Lack of cooperation and mutual understanding may lead to hiding of some important information, essential for organization.

d) Poor relationship between superior and subordinates- subordinates must develop a healthy relationship with superiors. Inn their relationship the superior has a bigger role to play,

but the subordinate should make efforts to keep the relationship between them healthy.

e) Hesitation on the part of subordinates is a major barrier in the process of effective flow of information.

6. Psychological Barrier : Psychological barriers are the prime barriers in interpersonal communication. There can be many psychological barriers in communication.a)Selective Perception : The receiver may have a

world of his own around himself. He projects his expectations and apprehensions in decoding the messages. He may not take that part of information which does not match with his expectations. Having poor concepts of himself and the people may act as a big barrier in the process of communication. People with negative attitude of life and world around them generally make many mistakes in understanding other’s thoughts. People with such mindsets always misunderstand a message and colour the objective reality of it in their own subjective way.

b) Halo Effect : The awe in which a speaker is held by the listener conditions the process of communication (Especially the oral communication). If the speaker is highly trusted as an honest person, his statements are readily taken

as true. Oral communication is greatly conditioned by the impressions about the speaker on the listener. This sometimes acts as a barrier in communication, since the impression of the speaker and not the worth of the message is the determining factor.

c) Complexes: A sense of superiority or inferiority may prevent proper oral interaction between the persons. These complexes can be because of various reasons. Complex of superiority basically arises from frog-in-the well attitude. Those who know very little tend to think they know more than others, and that everyone around them is a fool or knows less than them. They generally have a high opinion about their smartness. This affects communication to a great extent. Such people always disregard everyone around them, which irritate people and hinder the process of communication. Complex of inferiority is just the opposite of superiority complex. Lack of confidence in oneself causes this problem. Norman Vincent Peale says that the chief cause of inferiority complex is ‘lack of faith’- faith in life, man’s goodness, oneself, etc. It can have many other causes as well, most of which are to be found in childhood experiences of a person. People with inferiority complex fail to take

initiative or involve themselves in conversation or any kind of communication.

d)Closed and all knowing mind : Listening is an important part of communication, which requires a curious mind- always eager to know new things irrespective of the source. People with know all or closed mind refuse to receive new ideas. Generally in business or other work areas there are people who feel too content with their ways that they don’t even like to discuss new ideas. What’s more, they discourage people who are innovative. The closed mind is a big barrier in communication, which demands willingness to enter into a new dialogue.

e) Self-centered attitudes: We, sometimes, tend to see or hear things of our own interests. We pay attention to that which is useful to us and leave the rest. People with such attitude fail to see how people think and feel. This attitude may prevent us from seeing things from other’s point of views, which hinders communication to a great extent. People having self centred attitudes normally fail to develop good relationship with people around them.

f) Abstracting : Abstracting is a mental process of evaluation of thought content in terms of relative important of ideas in the context of the total message. Abstracting acts as a barrier when a listener approaches a message from a particular

viewpoint focusing on some aspects at the cost of other things in the message. The rest of the communication is missed. Abstracting is partial and selective listening.

g)Cognitive Dissonance : At times the listener fails to accept or respond to new information or ideas, as he is not ready to change from the old set of beliefs. As a result a dissonance between what is said and what is heard is created. Cognitive Dissonance interferes with the acceptance of a new idea the way it happens to be.

7. Other Barriers : There are other barriers besides the ones we discussed above. They are:a)Cultural Differences : It affects communication

between people from different social environment. Words colour and symbols have different meaning in different societies. This can act as a barrier sometimes.

b)Circumstantial Physical Factors : Sometimes physical factors like small room size, poor lighting, disorderly seating arrangement, poor voice qualities, and faulty equipments used etc. cause hindrance in communication.

c) Filtering : This refers to filtering of message in the receiver’s minds because of his attitude, beliefs, experiences and thinking ability. Misunderstanding

and different problems may arise, as the sender’s message passes through the mental filters in the mind of receiver plus others such as low interest in the message or distraction and fatigue causing loss of concentration.

OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION: The aforementioned barriers can be overcome in following ways: 1. The medium of communication should be cleverly

chosen. The medium should be according to the content and kind of the message to be conveyed. E.g. telephone should be preferred to a face-to-face talk when talking about an important issue.

2. Use of over difficult language and unnecessary use of jargons should be avoided.

3. Language should be correct and clear. The message should be clearly encoded in the language.

4. The accent should be correct. The words must be pronounced clearly.

5. Accuracy in the message should be maintained. The message should not be unduly long.

6. Coordination between superior and subordinates is an important factors in an organization. Superior should forget about his ego and should

be friendly to the subordinates. Similarly the subordinate should not give the boss any chance to show his bossism. A mutual interpersonal trust among members and between superior and subordinates reduces communication gap and creates a more productive environment.

7. Complexes should be worked on and removed from the mind, a little information about the psychological truths can help in improving the personality.

8. For removing barriers arising because of organizational structures, a simple and flexible organizational structure should be followed. Flexibility improves the flow of communication between different levels, and the communication becomes better. The rules and regulation should not be unduly rigid. Extra tall hierarchical structures should be avoided, as they may give rise to status problem- because of big differences in status level. Proper channels of communication should be there in an organization.

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PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: There are 7c’s in communication, they are as follows- Clarity Completeness Conciseness Consideration Courtesy Correctness Coherence

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