1) The document discusses effective workplace communication and provides guidelines to overcome communication barriers. It covers topics like the importance of communicating effectively, stages of communication, and barriers to communication such as linguistic, cultural and organizational barriers. 2) Some key points about effective communication are that it boosts employee engagement, encourages team collaboration, and increases productivity. The stages of communication include ideation, encoding, transmission, decoding and feedback. 3) Barriers to communication discussed include physical barriers like noise, as well as social, psychological, cultural and organizational barriers. Guidelines to overcome these barriers include clarifying ideas before communicating, diversifying communication channels, and ensuring proper feedback.

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Amity Institute of English Studies &
Research

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Course Code: BC613
Course Title: Professional & Business Communication
Module I: Workplace Communication
Sept., 2021
Faculty Resource:
Dr. Jamuna Emani

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• Topic of Presentation:
Importance of communicating effectively
Stages of communication: Ideation, encoding,
transmission, decoding & response
Barriers to effective communication: Physical,
Social-psychological, Cultural, Language and
organizational
Guidelines to overcome communication barriers
Channels of communication: Downward, upward,
horizontal & diagonal
Goals of organizational communication: Receiver
understanding, Receiver response, Favorable
relationship and Organizational goodwill

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Workplace communication:
• Workplace communication is the process of exchanging
information and ideas, both verbally and non-verbally between one
person or group and another person or group within an organization.
• It includes e-mails, videoconferencing, text messages, notes, calls,
etc.
• It is about the exchange of information through multiple
different mediums. Employees share ideas and businesses
communicate strategies and goals through communication, both
formal and informal.
• effective communication occurs when a message is sent and
received accurately.
• It can also happen in real time or asynchronously, which happens
when you’re communicating about work over email, with recorded
video, or in a platform like a project management tool

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Importance of communicating effectively:
• Effectively communicating ensures that you not only convey
your message to someone but also let them know about your
feelings and emotions.
• effective communication occurs when a message is sent and
received accurately.
• Whether it is amongst family members, friends, or office
colleagues, effective communication helps individuals get
through the tasks of life with ease.
• Your message will get lost if it’s not clear, concise and high
impact! Get to the point quickly, let the recipient know
exactly what you want, and use attention-grabbing techniques
whenever possible

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Clear, effective workplace communication can:
• Boost employee engagement and belonging
• Encourage team buy-in
• Increase productivity
• Build a healthy workplace and organizational culture
• Reduce conflict
• Increase retention

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• Every business, even a one-person business, is actually an economic and social system.
To produce and sell goods and services, any business must coordinate the activities of
many groups of people: employees, suppliers, customers, legal advisors, community
representatives, government agencies that might be involved, and others. This feat is
achieved largely through communication
• Communication in the workplace is important because it boosts employee morale,
engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. Communication is also key for better team
collaboration and cooperation. Ultimately, effective workplace communication helps drive
better results for individuals, teams, and organizations.

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• Team building – Building effective teams is really all about how those team members communicate and collaborate together. By
implementing effective strategies, such as those listed below, to boost communication you will go a long way toward building
effective teams. This, in turn, will improve morale and employee satisfaction.
• Gives everyone a voice – As mentioned above, employee satisfaction can rely a lot on their having a voice and being listened to,
whether it be in regards to an idea they have had or about a complaint they need to make. Well-established lines of
communication should afford everyone, no matter their level, the ability to freely communicate with their peers, colleagues and
superiors.
• Innovation – Where employees are enabled to openly communicate ideas without fear of ridicule or retribution they are far more
likely to bring their idea to the table. Innovation relies heavily on this and an organisation that encourages communication is far
more likely to be an innovative one.
• Growth – Communication can be viewed both internally and externally. By being joined up internally and having strong lines of
communication you are ensuring that the message you are delivering externally is consistent. Any growth project relies on strong
communication and on all stakeholders, whether internal or external, being on the same wavelength.
• Strong management – When managers are strong communicators, they are better able to manage their teams. The delegation of
tasks, conflict management, motivation and relationship building (all key responsibilities of any manager) are all much easier
when you are a strong communicator. Strong communication is not just the ability to speak to people but to empower them to
speak to each other – facilitating strong communication channels is key.

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Importance of communicating effectively: (Contd…)
• The main Skills Required for Effective Communication are
Listening
Body Language
Effective Speech and Expression
Confidence
Understanding The Difference
The Art of Balance

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Stages of Communication :
It includes Five stages:
1. Ideation
2. Encoding
3. Transmission
4. Decoding
5. Response

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Stages of Communication: (Contd…)
• Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new
ideas, where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either
visual, concrete, or abstract. Ideation comprises all stages of a thought cycle, from
innovation, to development, to actualization.
• The communication process begins when the sender has an idea to be communicated.
The idea will be influenced by complex factors surrounding the sender. The sender must
begin by clarifying the idea and purpose. What exactly does the sender want to achieve?
How is the message likely to be perceived? Knowing this information provides a higher
chance of successful communication
• Encoding stage - the message goes through the process of encoding by the sender. This
means that the message is encoded symbolically in forms of words, pictures, gestures,
or through other important means
• . Because no two people interpret information in the exact same way, the sender must be
careful to choose words, symbols and gestures that are commonly understood to reduce
the chances of misunderstanding. Therefore, a sender must be aware of the receiver’s
communication skills, attitudes, skills, experiences, and culture to ensure clear
communication.
• Transmission of message: In this step, the sender actually transmits the message
through chosen medium. In the communication cycle, the tasks of the sender end with
the transmission of the message. Visual, verbal or written

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• Decoding – When the message reaches the receiver, the message must be decoded into its
intended meaning. Therefore, the receiver must translate the words, symbols, and gestures
as the sender intended. Because no two people interpret information in the exact same way,
incorrectly decoding a message can lead to misunderstanding. Successful decoding is
more likely when the receiver creates a receptive environment and ignores distractions.
Alert receivers strive to understand both verbal and nonverbal cues, avoid prejudging the
message, and expect to learn from the communication.
• Step 5: Feedback – A vital part of the communication process is feedback. Feedback
occurs the sender and receiver check to ensure the message was understood as intended.
Feedback is a shared responsibility between the sender and the receiver and can be verbal
or non-verbal. For example, the sender can elicit feedback by asking, “Do you have any
questions?” The sender can also improve the feedback process by only providing as much
information as the receiver can handle. Receivers can encourage clear communication by
providing clear, timely, descriptive, and non-judgmental feedback. For example, the
receiver can shake his/her head up and down to confirm “yes” I have a question.

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Barriers to Effective Communication:
• A barrier is anything, either natural or manmade, that keeps
something from passing through. An example of a barrier is a
fence. A membrane, tissue, or mechanism that blocks the
passage of certain substances. Lack of education can be a
barrier to success.
• The following are the main barriers to Effective
Communication:
Linguistic Barriers
Social - Psychological Barriers
Physical Barriers
Cultural Barriers
Organisational Structure Barriers

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Barriers to Effective Communication: (Contd…)
Culture & Linguistic Barriers:
• Cultural barriers are those that arise due to lack of similarities among the different cultures across the
world. A term that can be harmless in one culture can be regarded as a slang in another culture.
Moreover, various beliefs can differ from one culture to another.
• The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are
expressed. For example, the concept of personal space varies between cultures and between different
social settings.
• A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication,
i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different
languages, or even dialects in some cases.
• Social - Psychological Barriers: The social barrier is the inequalities that exist between different
individuals in a society like socioeconomic status, religion, race, ethnicity, and gender. Psychological
barriers are due to the emotional character and mental limitations of human beings. These barriers
result in absent-mindedness, the fear of expressing one's ideas to others, excitement and emotional
instability—all accounting for an overwhelming number of communication problems.
•

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• Emotional barriers and taboos. Some people may find it difficult to express their emotions and some topics may
be completely 'off-limits' or taboo. Taboo or difficult topics may include, but are not limited to, politics, religion,
disabilities (mental and physical), sexuality and sex, racism and any opinion that may be seen as unpopular
• expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions or stereotyping. People often hear what they
expect to hear rather than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusion
• Psychological Barriers: Psychological barriers play an important role in interpersonal communication as the state
of the mind of the sender or the receiver can make it difficult to understand the information that is conveyed, which
often leads to misunderstanding.
• Here are some instances where psychological barriers to communication can be seen.
• 1. Premature evaluation of information by the receiver even before it is transmitted can lead to barriers in
communication, as it will create premature conclusion to the message, which withholds the original message.
• 2. Inadequate attention from the receiver’s end at the time of communication can lead to barriers of communication
as the information conveyed by the sender is not properly received by the receiver.
• 3. When information is passed within multiple sources, the final information is distorted as the receivers of the
message are not able to retain everything that was conveyed. This can cause communication barriers.

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• Semantic barriers are also known as language barriers. These barriers are caused due to
improper communication between the sender and the receiver. The following instances of semantic
barriers can be witnessed in communication.
• Poor quality of message: Message when communicated should be precise and easy to understand,
that makes it easy for the receiver to grasp the information conveyed.
• Sometimes, due to the lack of clarity or complexity of the way of providing information from the
sender, there can be a case of semantic barriers.
• For e.g. A manager is conversing in English to a group of workers who understand and speak
Bengali. It will create confusion among workers as they will not be able to understand what is being
conveyed by the manager.
• Technical language: Language barriers also arise when the sender of the message is speaking in
technical terms while the receiver is unaware of the terms. It creates confusion and
misunderstanding between the sender and receiver by acting as a barrier to effective
communication.
• The use of jargon. Over-complicated, unfamiliar and/or technical terms.

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• Organisational barriers: Organisational barriers are those barriers that are caused due to
the structure, rules and regulations present in the organisation. The various types of barriers
that can be encountered due to superior subordinate relationships where the free flow of
communication is not possible.Sometimes the complexity of organisational structure and
multiple managers make it difficult to convey information properly, and the information
gets distorted leading to miscommunication.
• Conflicts in the Workplace
• Conflict can happen for a variety of reasons and when it does, it becomes a barrier to
effective communication. The nature of the conflict is not necessarily important, what is
important is working to resolve the conflict. When conflict is not eradicated, it grows and
then people begin to take sides, which further impedes effective communication.
• Most of these barriers arise because of misinformation or lack of appropriate transparency
available to the employees.

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• Physical Barriers to Communication
• They are the most obvious barriers to effective communication. These barriers are mostly
easily removable in principle at least. They include barriers like noise, closed doors, faulty
equipment used for communication, closed cabins, etc. Sometimes, in a large office, the
physical separation between various employees combined with faulty equipment may
result in severe barriers to effective communication.

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Barriers to Effective Communication: (Contd…)
• Physical Barriers: Physical barriers are described as structural
obstructions in both humanmade and natural environments
that block effective communication so that messages cannot be
sent from the sender to the receiver. Some of the physical barriers
are noise, technological problems, and organizational environment.
• Cultural Barriers: Every country has numerous religions practised
by its people. so the differences in their values and beliefs are also
an example of cultural barriers. Body language and gestures: Body
language and gestures are another elements of the cultural barrier. It
is impossible to communicate without body language and gestures.
• Organizational Structure Barriers: Organizational Barriers refers
to the hindrances in the flow of information among the
employees that might result in a commercial failure of an
organization

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Guidelines to overcome communication barriers: (Contd…)
Clarify ideas before communicating-The person sending the
communication should be very clear in his mind about what he wants to say. He
should know the objective of his message and, therefore, he should arrange his
thoughts in a proper order
Diversify your communication channels: If you feel like you’re not communicating
well enough with your team, it may not be an issue of a communication barrier. In fact,
your team members may not be in love with your preferred method of
communication. Team chat apps, video messaging apps, voice call apps, screen sharing
apps, etc.
Document your communication processes: Suppose you use several methods to
communicate: email, team chat app, and Zoom. A documented standard operating
procedure (SOP) tells your team members where they communicate which information.
If you have a documented procedure, your team members will know where to
communicate their message at all times.

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• Be Aware of Language, Tone and Content of Message:
• The sender should take care of the fact that the message should be framed in clear
and beautiful language. The tone of the message should not injure the feelings of
the receiver. As far as possible the contents of the message should be brief and
excessive use of technical words should be avoided.
• Ensure Proper Feedback:
The purpose of feedback is to find out whether the receiver has properly understood the
meaning of the information received. In the face-to- face communication, the reaction on the
face of the receiver can be understood.
• Be a Good Listener:
It is the essence of communication that both the sender and the receiver should be good
listeners. Both should listen to the each other’s point of view with attention, patience and
positive attitude. A sender can receive much relevant information by being a good listener.

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Guidelines to overcome communication barriers: (Contd…)
• Try to understand your coworkers: At the very core, the majority
of communication problems in the workplace arise because we
don’t understand the other side. To prevent this from happening,
make sure that all of your team members have some idea of what
other teams and coworkers are doing. You can do this by having a
handbook with an overview of all your positions in a company, or
by introducing the duties of a new employee as you onboard them.
• Communicate only what’s necessary: The bulk of issues in
communications happen because we communicate things which
aren’t necessary or include people who aren’t necessary. You can
always create a dedicated group or channel for random discussions
unrelated to work. It’s high time to learn the difference between
“reply” and “reply to all” in emails and other modes of
communication. If you only send out messages to people who really
need to see them and take action, you will save their time and yours.

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• Avoid Information Overload: The managers should know how to prioritize their work.
They should not overload themselves with the work. They should spend quality time with
their subordinates and should listen to their problems and feedbacks actively.
• Give Constructive Feedback: Avoid giving negative feedback. The contents of the
feedback might be negative, but it should be delivered constructively. Constructive
feedback will lead to effective communication between the superior and subordinate.
• Proper Media Selection: The managers should properly select the medium of
communication. Simple messages should be conveyed orally, like: face to face interaction
or meetings. Use of written means of communication should be encouraged for delivering
complex messages. For significant messages reminders can be given by using written
means of communication such as : Memos, Notices etc.

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Guidelines to overcome communication barriers:
• Diversify your communication channels
• Document your communication processes
• Try to understand your coworkers
• Communicate only what's necessary

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Channels of Communication:
Some of the most important types of direction in formal
communication are:
1. Downward
2. Upward
3. Horizontal or Lateral and
4. Diagonal or Cross-wise
• Formal communication is designed by the management.
• It is an official communication which takes place through the
line of authority or chain of command

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Channels of Communication: (Contd…)
1. Downward (or Down Stream) Communication: Communication
in the first place, flows downwards. That is why, traditionally this
direction has been highlighted or emphasized. It is based on the
assumption that the people working at higher levels have the
authority to communicate to the people working at lower levels.
This direction of communication strengthens the authoritarian
structure of the organisation.
2. Upward (or Up Stream) Communication: The function of
upward communication is to send information, suggestions,
complaints and grievances of the lower level workers to the
managers above. It is, therefore, more participative in nature. It
was not encouraged in the past, but modern managers encourage
upward communication. This is a direct result of increasing
democratisation.

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Channels of Communication: (Contd…)
3. Lateral (or horizontal) communication: This type of
communication can be seen taking place between persons
operating at the same level or working under the same
executive. The main use of this dimension of communication is
to maintain coordination and review activities assigned to
various subordinates. Occasions for lateral communication arise
during committee meetings or conferences in which all members
of the group, mostly peers or equals, interact.
4. Diagonal (or crosswise) Communication: Diagonal or
crosswise communication takes place when people working at
the same level interact with those working at a higher or lower-
level of organizational hierarchy and across the boundaries of
their reporting relationships.

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Goals of Organizational Communication:
• The main goal of communication is to convey information—
and the understanding of that information—from one
person or group to another person or group.
• This communication process is divided into the following
basic components:
Receiver understanding
Receiver response
Favorable relationship and
Organizational goodwill

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Goals of Organizational Communication: (Contd…)
1. Receiver Understanding. Receiver understanding is the first
and most important goal of business communication.
Receiver understanding emphasizes clarityOpens in new
window and unambiguous meaning — the message must
be so clear that the receiver understands it as the sender
intends it to be understood.
2. Receiver response, the second goal of business
communication is crucial to know if the message is
understood. The receiver response may be positive, neutral,
or negative. It may be conveyed through words, action or
both. The situation often determines the appropriate format
of response.

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Goals of Organizational Communication: (Contd…)
3. Favorable Relationship: To establish a strong business
relationship, the sender and the receiver should relate to each
other in three important ways: positively, personally, and
professionally. Favorable relationship generally benefits
both the sender and the receiver.
4. Organizational goodwill: To achieve effective business
communication, both the sender Opens in new window and
the receiver Opens in new window must be sensitively
involved, but the sender must take responsibility for
achieving the basic goals of business
communication: Receiver understanding. Receiver
response. Favorable relationship.

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Reference:
https://www.sandler.com/blog/4-ways-overcome-communication-barriers-
workplace/