The document outlines various barriers to communication, categorizing them into sender-oriented, receiver-oriented, physical, and organizational barriers. It details specific issues such as inadequate thought processes, poor listening, and noise interference that can hinder effective communication. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of addressing these barriers through proper ideation, feedback, and the establishment of efficient communication systems to enhance organizational success.

1. BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION
All communication that takes place is not always complete. There might be various barriers that render
the communication incomplete. These barriers could arise on part of the sender or the receiver’s part.
There can be a certain barrier which is neither sender -oriented, nor receiver- oriented, but created by the
physical environment. There might be a certain barrier arising due to malfunctioning organizational
system too.
Communication barriers can hence be categorized into:
I. Sender-Oriented barriers
II. Receiver-Oriented barriers
III. Physical barriers
IV. Organizational barriers
Sender-Oriented barriers
1. Inadequate thought process :
Before the sender sends out verbal messages, there has to be some thought process or ideation
taking place. If ideation is not appropriate, it might result in lack of clarity in
communication.
II. Improper Encoding: If the thoughts have not been put into proper words, it may give rise to
ambiguity. Lack of coherence between the thought and expression can render the communication
ineffective.
2 Improper channels: It is the duty of the sender to select appropriate channel of transmission.If it
not adequate, it can result into serious consequences. A message to be sent across to all
the members of the organization must be sent through a memorandum.If it is circulated
orally; it can result in misinterpretation of the actual message.
4. Frame of reference: The sender must be clear about the frame of reference being discussed and
must express his thought in the same reference.
Barriers in communication can arise if the frame of the receiver is different from the
sender’s frame. E.g. A company head talking about some specific project has to make it
clear to the audience in the meeting about the specifications of the project in reference so
that it is not misunderstood for some other project in progress.

2. 5. Emotional outburst: An emotionally charged sender can never express his opinion in a candid
manner. His views would be influenced by his emotions of anger, frustration, excitement or hostility
whatever he might be undergoing at those particular moments. Emotional outburst leads to biased opinion
leading to barrier in communication.
6. Cultural difference: In case the sender belongs to a different cultural background than the receiver,
there can be chances of miscommunication. E.g. There can never be proper, complete communication
between a Russian and Japanese unless both of them know and understand the common language
English.
7. Time Pressure: Time constraint can put the speaker or writer in a disturbed state of mind and can lead
to inadequate transmission of message. A presenter put under strict time constraint would find it difficult
to express himself completely.
8. Physiological Barrier: Poor health and any sort of illness can harm the communication efficiency of
the sender. Bad throat can completely spoil a presenter's job leading to a major breakdown in
communication.
9. Semantic Problem: In case the sender does not have adequate knowledge of sentence structures, he
might not be able to interpret his thoughts effectively. Right communication requires right knowledge of
semantics on part of the sender.
10. Over/under communication: Sometimes, the sender tends to say more than what is required and
sometimes much lesser than what is required. This result is over/under communication. Communication
must be to the point and exact, just as much as it is required by the receiver.
11. ‘I’ attitude: A speaker focusing too much on the ‘I’ element in communication spoils it. It can lead
to complete disinterest of the audience if the speaker centers the whole communication on himself.
12. Information overload: A sender given the task to handle too much of information at an instance
would tend to miss out on certain important matter. E.g. A salesperson who is supposed to submit daily
report, submitting it after a week would definitely find it difficult to describe all the specifications to his
senior.
13. Poor Memory: A sender suffering from poor memory can misinterpret facts, leading to serious
barriers in communication. He might supply distorted information to the audience.
Receiver-Oriented Barriers

3. 1. Insufficient Knowledge: In case the receiver lacks in knowledge about what the speaker is
conveying, there would be a barrier in communication. For example, a technically incompetent
receiver might find it difficult to understand a technically competent sender.
2. Poor Listening: Listening requires deliberate effort on part of the receiver. We might hear a lot of
things around us but we have to pay special attention to listen what we wish to. A poor listener
might miss out on a lot of important details given by the speaker.
3. Inability to comprehend: Even if listening has been adequate and the receiver is unable to
comprehend well, there would be barrier in communication. Proper understanding of the context
is equally important for complete communication.
4. Inadequate feedback: In the absence of proper feedback by the receiver, the communication
process is considered incomplete. Feedback confirms that the sender has been understood well
enough. Lack of feedback denotes shortcoming in communication.
5. Know-it-all attitude: If the receiver responds to the communication with a know-it-all attitude, the
communication goes ineffective because the receiver is missing out on the details given by the
sender. Hence, complacence on part of the receiver can lead to barrier in communication.
6. Wrong perception: Same things can mean differently to different people. Serious barriers in
communication can occur in case the sender’s message is perceived wrong by the receiver. For
example, delay in the execution of a project in hand must be explained and understood well by
the subordinate and the seniors respectively, or it might be perceived as an act of carelessness on
part of the sub ordinate.
7. Assumption: At time, one tends to assume the reasons for certain happenings without knowing
the actual reason. Example, a student coming late to school might be assumed to be a bad
example for others unless he tells that he got late because he had been helping on old lady to
reach her destination.
8. Prejudices: In case the receiver is prejudiced about the speaker, she would not be able to
comprehend him appropriately. A sender being thought about as a bully would be misunderstood
even if he is saying something genuine with good intentions.
9. Tendency to evaluate: Many a time, while the speaker is still speaking ,we tend to jump to the
conclusion without listening to the whole matter and we miss out on important information while
we are busy doing our own evaluation. This leads to barriers in communication.
10. Difference in interest and attitude: If the sender is communicating something that is of hardly any
interest to the receiver, the latter would not bother to attend to it, leading to barriers.
11. Mental blocks : If the audience listening to the speaker is suffering from self-created mental
blocks, the speaker would hardly have any impact on the audience. For example, a social worker
trying to convince a group of villagers to promote 100% literacy would hardly have any
desirable response if it is an orthodox community.

4. 12. Difference of self experience: In case the receiver has not undergone the same situation the
speaker is talking about, he would not be able to comprehend the scenario being described. A
person who has not undergone a catastrophic situation like fire, would not be able to understand
the speaker’s experience of dealing with such a situation.
13. Arguments /refutations: Arguments can render the whole process of communication go haywire.
While we argue, we don’t listen to what others have to say.
Physical Barriers
1. Noise : Noise can be of various types.A hammer sound creating disturbance while a meeting
is going on is an example of physical noise. A member sitting in a meeting thinking about
his own personal issues makes the voice of the chairperson fade away amidst the noise going
on in his own mind. An outsider butting in,while a class is going on is also an example of
noise.
2. Malfunctioning equipment: A poorly functioning telephone handset can turn a telephonic
conversation unpleasant. Similarly, disturbance in the mike system can spoil a speech. An
erroneous projector can spoil a presentation.
Organizational Barriers
1. Complex Hierarchy: If there are too many stages in organizational hierarchy, it
leads to misinterpretation of facts. A message sent by the top authority has all the
chances of getting distorted by the time it reaches the lowest level in hierarchy.
2. Lack of rapport: In case,there is lack of rapport among the members working with
an organization, there would always be barriers in communication. Easy flow of
communication can take place only when there is cordiality at the workplace.
3. Inefficient Communication System: If the system of internal and external
communication in an organization is not adequate, it would lead to
miscommunication, not only within but with other organizations as well. If the
messages are not circulated through proper memorandums and duly signed by all the
members, information would be wrongly spread.
REMEDIES
1. Proper Ideation
2. Appropriate encoding
3. Selecting proper channel
4. Communication with a relaxed mind
5. Availability of adequate time- duration
6. Balanced communication
7. Receiver oriented communication

5. 8. Alertness
9. Proper feedback
10. Unbiased listening
11. Open minded communication
12. Cordiality in communication
13. Noise control
14. Proper equipment
15. Rapport building
16. Efficient Communication system
Communication can be smoothened if certain basic requisites are taken care of, both by the sender and
receiver. Before planning important sessions of communication such as meetings, conferences and
seminars, physical noise should be controlled to optimize audience understanding and response.
Organizations must be careful of maintaining efficient means of communication within and outside.
Efficient communication can lead to success of an organization and poor communication can turn it into a
total failure.