Barriers to Effective Communication

Barriers
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At each stage in the process of communication (encoding, transference, and decoding) there is possibility of interference. Such interference is known as Noise and they hinder the communication process.

Example: water bucket page (7) If water is carried in a leaky bucket, depending on the number of holes the bucket has and what distance the water is being carried will finally result in how much water reach the destination

The holes can be compared with the noise. Each noise may affect the amount of information transferred. When a piece of information is transferred from the sender to the receiver More noise decreases the amount of correct information received.

We tend to misinterpret a message because of barriers. Hence all barriers have to be eliminated to ensure clarity of communication. For elimination we must identify the barriers or else people will misunderstand our words and react in a way that we do not expect.

Basic barriers a. Noticing of lack of attention: b. Shyness and fear of communication:

c. Language:
d. Barrier of listening: e. Avoidance of response:

Types of barriers:
1. Linguistic and Cultural Differences: - Different language - Miss-matching of information between sender and receiver. (lack of knowledge, technical/non-technical)
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Besides many common reasons; such as:

b. default language structure d. poor expression of ideas f. insufficient vocabulary, h. lack of understanding, etc.

a. Inappropriate words, c. Inappropriate thoughts, e. complex language, g. unable to clarify,

Note: Poor transmission of messages are due to Cultural differences due to different background and experience to generate different perceptions . These cultural differences greatly effect on interpretation (decoding) of any sent message .

2. Environmental barrier:
The environment where communication is performed. * Noise * Loud voice * Other live activities * Machine sound * Cross communication * Visual distractions * Unhealthy atmosphere * Uncomfortness due to various reasons. Etc.

3. Channel: The information when is transferred through inappropriate channel. * Use of faulty machine/means i. defect fax machine ii. defect telephone iii. cuts on wire etc * Bad/untidy written messages * Inappropriate facial expression/gesture (in case of oral message) etc.

4. Receivers attitude / behavior:

* Not attentive * Half interested * Unable to decode * Arrive at an early conclusion * Not listening to the last word * Lack of knowledge * Own interpretation * Listen only what is interest to him - etc

5. Transmission journey:
* When message needing distance traveling * It loses accuracy (grapevine) * At the end poor retention of information * Some portion of message is lost during the transmission Hence: It is advisable to check back and retransmit the message several times till 100% transmitted

6. Lack of planning: * No sufficient time devoted on; i. Thinking ii. Planning and stating the purpose of the message iii. What appropriate time iv. What appropriate channel to use v. No corrective action on whether the message will be well perceived by the receiver.

7. Semantic Distortion:
* It is regarding social and psychological effect of language. * It may change the outer meaning of the message communicated. Note: 1. In many advertisement message, found such barriers. 2. In an organization the message from management has to be very clear to not to understood differently by different people.

Overcoming barriers to effective listening

Overcoming listening barriers

Effective listening
> Listen actively > Taking careful notes > Frequent eye contact > Remain focused on content > comprehend key points > Adjust to deliver style > Give speaker nonverbal signs > Question at appropriate time > Focus on message > Making distinction between main points & supporting details > Look for opportunity to learn

Ineffective listening
> Listen passively > No notes / ineffective notes > Little / no eye contact > Getting distracted > Miss all key issues > Not adjusting to deliver style > No non-verbal feedback > Question as and when wish > Concentrating on posture > Unable to distinguish main points from details > Assuming, know every thing

Exercise and reading