COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

Excellence in Business Communication,

Thill, Bovee. (2008)

NOISE AND DISTRACTIONS

External distractions range

Poor acoustics
Uncomfortable meeting rooms
Crowded computer screens with instant messages and
reminders.
Multitasking

Internal distractions

Thoughts and emotions that prevent audiences from

focusing on incoming messages.

COMPETING MESSAGES
Compete with other messages that are trying to
reach your audience.
Information Overload

Difficult to discriminate between useful and useless

information.
Amplifies workplace stress.

FILTERS

Human or technology intervention between the

sender and the receiver.

Intentional (filling e-mail messages based on sender

or content)
Unintentional (aggressive spam filter that deletes
legitimate e-mail)
Organizational culture
People or companies that deliver your message can
distort it, either accidentally or to meet their own
needs.

CHANNEL BREAKDOWNS

The channel simply breaks down and fails to

deliver your message.

A colleague you were counting on forgot to deliver your

message to your boss.
Data sent to a customer might have gotten lost in the
mail.
Computer server might have crashed and prevented
your blog from displaying.

CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION ANXIETY

Strategic communication in business and the professions,

OHair, Dan. (2008). 6th ed.

Novelty: People are especially anxious in new

communication situations.

Formality: Prescribed actions and behavior and allow

little deviation from those norms.

Subordinate status: Being in a subordinate position

often causes people to feel intimidated.

Conspicuousness: Situations that put people at the

center of others' attention.

Large groups: speaking in front of large groups

Lack of skill: does not have the communication skills

necessary to be effective in some situations.

Past experiences: Failure in certain communication

situations may cause anxiety about future encounters.

Evaluation: Knowing that communication skills are

being assessed.

HOW TO SOLVE BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS

Communicating for Result: a guide for business and the

professions. Hamilton, Cheryl. (2008). 8th ed.

UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION

What are the facts?
What can you infer from the information youre
given?
What additional information might be helpful?
Where could you get it?
Try to imagine yourself in the situation.
The fuller an image you can create, the better

BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS
There are several possible solutions.
Consciously develop several solutions.
Measure them against your audience and
purposes.
Which solution is likely to work best?

IF YOU WANT TO ADD OR CHANGE

INFORMATION, GET PERMISSION FIRST.

You can add facts or information to the problems

only if:

Realistic
Consistent with the way real organizations work
Does not change the point of the problem.

THANK YOU