barriers to effective communication

1. Recognizingbarrierstoeffectivecommunicationisafirststepinimprovingcommunicationstyle. Do
yourecognize these barriersfromyourownpersonal andprofessional experience?
EncodingBarriers. The processof selectingandorganizingsymbolstorepresentamessage requiresskill
and knowledge. Obstacleslistedbelowcaninterfere withaneffectivemessage.
1. Lack of SensitivitytoReceiver. A breakdownincommunicationmayresultwhenamessage isnot
adaptedto itsreceiver. Recognizingthe receiver’sneeds,status,knowledge of the subject,and
language skillsassiststhe senderinpreparingasuccessful message. If acustomeris angry,for example,
an effectiveresponse maybe justto listentothe personventforawhile.
2. Lack of Basic CommunicationSkills. The receiverislesslikelytounderstandthe message if the sender
has trouble choosingthe precise wordsneededandarrangingthose wordsina grammatically-correct
sentence.
3. InsufficientKnowledge of the Subject. If the senderlacksspecificinformationaboutsomething,the
receiverwill likelyreceiveanunclearormixedmessage. Have youshoppedforanitemsuch as a
computer,andexperiencedhowsome salespeople canexplaincomplicatedtermsandideasinasimple
way? Otherscannot.
4. InformationOverload. If youreceive amessage withtoomuchinformation,youmaytendtoput upa
barrierbecause the amountof informationiscomingsofastthat youmay have difficultycomfortably
interpretingthatinformation. If youare sellinganitemwithtwenty-five terrificfeatures,picktwoor
three importantfeaturestoemphasize insteadof overwhelmingyourreceiver(ho-hum) withan
informationavalanche.
5. Emotional Interference. Anemotional individual maynotbe able tocommunicate well. If someoneis
angry,hostile,resentful,joyful,orfearful,thatpersonmaybe toopreoccupiedwithemotionstoreceive
the intendedmessage. If youdon’tlike someone,for example,youmayhave trouble “hearing”them.
TransmittingBarriers:Thingsthatgetin the wayof message transmissionare sometimescalled“noise.”
Communicationmaybe difficultbecauseof noise andsome of these problems:

2. 1. Physical Distractions. A badcellularphone line oranoisyrestaurantcan destroycommunication. If
an E-mail message orletterisnotformattedproperly,orif itcontainsgrammatical andspellingerrors,
the receivermaynotbe able toconcentrate on the message because the physicalappearance of the
letterorE-mail issloppyandunprofessional.
2. ConflictingMessages. Messagesthatcause a conflictinperceptionforthe receivermayresultin
incomplete communication. Forexample,if apersonconstantlyusesjargonorslang to communicate
withsomeone fromanothercountrywhohasneverheardsuchexpressions,mixedmessagesare sure
to result. Anotherexample of conflictingmessagesmightbe if asupervisorrequestsareport
immediatelywithoutgivingthe reportwriterenoughtimetogatherthe properinformation. Doesthe
reportwriteremphasize speedinwritingthe report,oraccuracy in gatheringthe data?
3. Channel Barriers. If the senderchoosesaninappropriate channelof communication,communication
may cease. Detailedinstructionspresentedoverthe telephone,forexample,maybe frustratingfor
bothcommunicators. If you are on a computertechnical supporthelpline discussingaproblem, it
wouldbe helpful foryoutobe sittinginfrontof a computer,asopposedtotakingnotesfromthe
supportstaff and thenreturningtoyourcomputerstation.
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