Barriers to Effective Communication

Communication is a process by which you convey your message to someone or a group of people. And if the message is conveyed clearly and unambiguously, then it is known as effective communication. In effective communication, the message you had sent would reach the receiver with very little distortion. However, a communication becomes successful only if the receiver understands what the sender is trying to convey. When your message is not clearly understood, there is every likelihood that you are facing a barrier in communicating effectively. Barriers to effective communication could cause a roadblock in your professional and personal life and it could be one of the major hurdles in achieving your professional goals.

An effective communication barrier is one of the problems faced by many organizations. Many social psychologists opine that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning while conveying the messages from a sender to a receiver. They estimate there are four basic places where communication could be interpreted wrongly. A few barriers of effective communication in an organization are given below.

Physical Barriers - One of the major barriers of communication in a workplace is the physical barrier. Physical barriers in an organization includes large working areas that are physically separated from others. Other distractions that could cause a physical barrier in an organization are environmental factors such as background noise. Check out more information on physical barriers to effective communication.

Language - Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is the greatest barrier to effective communication. When a person uses inappropriate words while conversing or writing, it could lead to misunderstanding between the sender and a receiver. It is not only the difference in language that causes a barrier to effective communication. People speaking the same language can sometimes find it difficult to comprehend what is being said. For example, a lorry is a 'truck', and an elevator is a 'lift'. This difference in vocabulary can pose a barrier to effective communication.

Emotions - Your emotions could be a barrier to communication if you are engrossed in them for some reason. In such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others or understanding the message conveyed to you. A few of the emotional interferences include hostility, anger, resentfulness and fear. People who suffer from ailments such as anxiety and depression, tend to misconstrue what is being said about them. Also, as they are battling something in their head, they may or may not be able to pay full attention to the speaker, which may make them appear disinterested and spaced-out.

Lack of Subject Knowledge - If a person who sends a message lacks subject knowledge then he may not be able to convey his message clearly. The receiver could misunderstand his message and this could lead to a barrier to effective communication. This is visible in cases where people may try to cover-up their ignorance with some unverified facts. When I was working for a customer care organization, I saw many employees say irrelevant and unverified things to customers, just to avoid being labeled as ignorant. This creates confusion in the mind of the listener and creates a barrier to communication.

Overdose of Information - Have you been to a meeting where the presenter talks about relevant things but goes on with it in such a quick manner that you have no clue as to what was mentioned earlier. If you have experienced this issue, then you might know how it creates confusion and ambiguity. When too much of information is conveyed in a short span of time, there is every likelihood that the receiver would not be able to comprehend the information fully.

The above-mentioned barriers to effective communication are considered as filters of communications. You can overcome the barriers to communication through effective and active listening.