INTRODUCTION Barriers to Great Communication There are many types of Barriers to Communication.

Many people think that communicating is easy. It is after all something we do all our lives. There is some truth in this view. Communicating is straightforward. What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the barriers we put in the way. Here are the 5 types of barriers. Physical barriers Physical barriers in the workplace include: Marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed closed office doors, barrier screens, and separate areas for people of different status large working areas or working in one unit that is physically separate from others. Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness to others aids communication because it helps us get to know one another. Perceptual barriers The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. If we didnt, we would have no need to communicate: something like extrasensory perception would take its place. The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts, assumptions and perceptions shape our- own realities Emotional barriers One of the chief barriers to open and free communications is the emotional barrier. It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion. The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught to be careful what we said to others. They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what others might think of us can stunt our development as effective communicators and our ability to form meaningful relationships. Cultural barriers When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the behavior patterns of the group. These are the behaviors that the group accepts as signs of belonging. The group rewards such behavior through acts of recognition, approval and inclusion. In groups which are happy to accept you and where you are happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest and a high level of winwin contact. Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high level of game playing replaces good communication.

Language barriers Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our expressions, buzzwords and jargon. When we couch our communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a global market place the greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk in their language. One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev saying to the Americans at the United Nations: We will bury you! This was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation. However, a more accurate reading of Khrushchevs words would have been: We will overtake you! meaning economic superiority. It was not just the language, but the fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union that led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.

Barriers to Effective Communication Workplace communication is not easy. This is a place where you meet people from different walks of life and also from different cultural background. Language is one of the major barriers to e 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. I n effective communication, the message you had send would reach the receiver with very little distortion. However, a communication becomes successftil only if the receiver understands what the sender is trying to convey. When your message is not clearly understood you should understand that you are flicing a barrier to comiminication. Barriers to effective communication could cause roadblocks in your professional and personal life and it could be one of the major hurdles in achieving your professional goals. Barriers to Effective Co 111111 unication An effctive comiminication barrier is one of the problems theed by many organizations. Many social psychologists opine that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning 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 effctive communication in a n 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 the environment, background noise Language Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is the greatest batTier to effective communication. When a person uses inappropriate words while conversing or writing, it could lead to misunderstanding between the sender and a receiver. E IflOt Ions Your emotions could be a barrier to communication if you are engrossed in youremotions 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. Lack of Subject Knowledge Ifa 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. Stress One of the major communication batTiers fhced by employees in most of the organization is stress. When a person is under immense stress, he may find it difficult to understand the message, leading to communication distortion. At the time of stress, our psychological frame of mind depends on our beliefs, experiences, goals and values. Thus, we thil to realize the essence of communication. The abovementioned barriers to effective communication are considered as filters of communLcations. You can overcome the barriers

to communication through effective and active listening.ffctive communication.

Oercoining Coiiiinunication Barriers When you send a message, you intend to communicate meaning, but the message itself doesnt contain meaning. The meaning exists in your mind and in the mind of your receiver. To understand one another. you and your receiver must share similar meanings for words, gestures, tone of voice, and other symbols. Differences n perception The world constantly bombards us with information: sights, sounds, scents, and so on. Our minds organize this stream of sensation into a mental map that represents our perception or reality. In no case is the perception of a certain person the same as the world itself, and no two maps are identical. As you view the world, your mind absorbs your experiences in a unique and personal way. Because your perceptions are unique. the ideas you want to express differ from other peoples Even when two people have experienced the same event, their mental images of that event will not be identical. As senders, we choose the deta ils that seem important and focus our attention on the most relevant and general, a process known as selective perception. As receivers, we try to fit new details into our existing pattern. Ifa detail doesnt quite fit, we are inclined to distort the information rather than rearrange the pattern.

Incorrect filtering Filtering is screening out before a message is passed on to someone else. In business, the filters between you and your receiver are many: secretaries, assistants, receptionists, answering machines, etc. Those same gatekeepers may also translate your receivers ileas and responses befre passing them on to you. To overcome filtering barriers, try to establish more than one communication channel, eliminate as many intermediaries a s possible. and

decrease distortion by condensing message information to the bare essentia is. Language problems When you choose the words for your message, you signal that you are a member of a particular culture or subculture and that you know the code. The nature of your code imposes

its own barriers on your message. Barriers also exist because words can be interpreted in more than one way. Language is an arbitrary code that depends on shared deilnitions, but theres a limit to how completely any of us share the same meaning fr a given word. To overcome language barriers, use the most specific and accurate words possible. Always try to use words your audience will understand. Increase the accuracy of your messages by using language that describes rather than evaluates and by presenting observable fluets, events, and circumstances. Poor listening Perhaps the most common barrier to reception is simply a lack of attention on the receivers part. We all let our minds wander now and then, regardless of how hard we try to concentrate. People are essentially likely to drift off when they are forced to listen to information that is difficult to understand or that has little direct bearing on their own lives. Too few of us simply do not listen well! To overcome barriers, paraphrase what you have understood. try to view the situation through the eyes of other speakers and resist jumping to conclusions. Clarit meaning by asking nonthreatening questions, and listen without interrupting.

Differing emotional states Every message contains both a content meaning, which deals with the subject of the message, and a relationship meaning, which sugests the nature of the interaction between sender and receiver. Communication can break down when the receiver reacts negatively to either of

these meanings. You may have to deal with people when they are upset or when you are. An upset CfSOfl tends to ignore or distort what the other person is saying and is often unable to present feelings and ideas effectively. This is not to say that you should avoid all communication when you are emotionally involved, but you should be alert to the greater potential for misunderstanding that accompa nies aroused emotions. To overcome emotional barriers, be aware of the telings that arise in your self and in others as you communicate, and attempt to control them. Most important, be alert to the greater potential for misunderstanding that accompanies emotional messages. Differing backgrounds Differences in background can be one of the hardest communication barriers to overcome. Age, education, gender, social status. economic position, cultural background, temperament. health, beauty, popularity, religion, political belief even a passing mood can all separate one person from another a xi make understanding difficult. To overcome the barriers associated

with differing backgrounds, avoid projecting your own background or culture onto others. (1arif your own and understand the background of others, spheres of knowledge. personalities and erceptions and dont assume that certain behaviors mean the same thing to everyone.

CONCLUSION Overcoming Barriers in Commu nication Communication is a key part in everyones life. Communicating is a skill that requires constant learning. As easy as communicating may seem to be, comiminication is a rather complex skill for all people to master. Multiple barriers exist for communication. For the purpose of this paper there will be three specific communication barriers discussed, which

consist of: differences in peoples cultures, language interpretations, and a persons ability to listen properly. When it comes to the differentiations between cultures, three prominent aspects are present. These are: language, cultural background (i.e. age. gender, level of education), and economic status. People must understand that every language has words that can be taken the wrong way, or that can be misunderstood. People must watch how they say whatever they are trying to say. so as not to be misinterpreted. Then hand in hand with that people must be openminded and view all the different ways of interpreting what has been said. rather than jumping to conclusions. This flows in with listening properly. A person can not simply hear what is being said. they must listen to what is being said and the way the person says it.