Lecture 3

Barriers to Effective Communication

Dr. Radhika Kapur
Abstract
Communication is a very common concept in everyday life and takes place
in every setting, organization, area or a place, no work or operation or function is
carried out without effective means of communication. Within the process of
communication, it is apparent that barriers and obstacles do occur, which can be
avoidable and which cannot be avoidable; therefore an individual should inculcate
all the required skills, attitudes and traits amongst himself so that he can effectively
overcome all the barriers to communication. In this research manuscript, there have
been various crucial areas, kinds of barriers to effective communication, barriers to
effective communication within an organization and procedures for overcoming
them, psychological barriers to effective communication, content barriers to
effective communication and overcoming communication barriers. The main
emphasis has been laid upon the barriers that arise within an organizational
structure and the problems that arise due to occurrence of these barriers. This
research manuscript makes provision of pertinent information about the
communication barriers and what kinds of procedures should be adopted in order
to overcome them.

Keywords: Barriers, Effective Communication, Organization, Content,

Information, Factors

Introduction

Communication is stated to be one of the most crucial systems, which is

essential to develop in all areas. It does not matter how good the communication
 system is, how well formed and well developed it is, barriers do occur within the
communication systems, whether it is an organization, communication between the
family members, social network, institution and so forth. Barriers that take place
within the communication systems are very unfortunate and unwanted, every
individual wants that his functioning should be implemented in a smooth manner
without the occurrence of barriers, for instance, when a person is discussing a vital
issue with somebody, or two friends are having a friendly conversation and a door
bell rings or somebody enters then in most cases, it is displeasing. There are
number of reasons due to which these barriers take place, most of the barriers carry
a reason, for instance, if some important task is going on and a door bell rings and
somebody enters immediately, this might have occurred due to a particular reason
and there are also numerous factors which can be physical barriers, such as faults
that take place in the telephonic system, internet not working or any barriers which
are random (Usman, n.d.).

Kinds of Barriers to Effective Communication

There are barriers to communication which are of different kinds and possess
various kinds of characteristics: (Communication Theory, n.d.).

I Environmental and Physical Barriers – Under the environmental and physical

barriers, there have been classification of barriers as follows:

a) Time – This is the barrier which is concerned with developing quicker and speedy
channels of communication. For example, when communicating with somebody, if
the process is time consuming such as mailing letters then it is a barrier, any kind
of communication whether, it is done in a formal or an informal manner, if it is
highly time consuming then it proves to be a barrier and for efficient working,
 individuals need to develop a faster means of communication such as electronic
mail instead of sending letters by post.
b) Space – It is vital to eliminate the unwanted distance within the communication
system, if the condition requires it, for example, it can occur in telephonic
communication. If two persons need to discuss an important matter and one of
them is in India, whereas other one is in the United States of America, then
telephonic conversation may not prove to be very effective, then they can send
each other details through the system of email.
c) Place – The area, the environment where the communication is taking place should
be clear and not over-crowded. Noise pollution can be a barrier to effective
communication, this is obvious, where there is noise, there a person cannot
efficiently communicate, therefore places and areas with lesser people, proper
ventilation is required for effective communication.
d) Medium – The medium via which the process of communication is taking place
should be effective and appropriate. Communication takes place in various forms;
it is oral, written, audio, video, formal, informal, the medium used for the purpose
of communicating should be accurate, precise and understandable.

II Semantic Barriers – semantics is concerned with the meaning of words and

how they are used in sentences to convey meaning. When communicating with the
other persons, no matter what kind of communication means is utilized, whether it
is formal or informal, it is vital to make use of appropriate words, vocabulary and
language; all kinds of communication should reflect decency. Language and
vocabulary that is used in communication should be understandable to the persons;
if a person speaks only English and a word is used in Spanish then he may or
may not understand the word, for instance, if a person speaks only English, then
it could be a possibility that he might have studied other languages such as Spanish
or French. Two or more persons when they are communicating with each other
should use a common language, so that everyone can understand it well.

III Cultural Barriers – Communication also takes place between people

belonging to different nationalities, religions, castes, creeds, races, ethnicities etc.
in other words, when two persons are communicating with each other, there may
be differences in their cultural backgrounds. It is vital to overcome all the barriers
that might occur within the course of communication. It is crucial to make people
aware of ones own culture with whom they are communicating. In the form of
communication, it is vital to form an understanding and acceptance of another
person’s culture.

IV Psychological Barriers – In the process of communication, it is vital to

understand each other’s mindset and mental capacity; this applies in every case
whether it is a professor giving a lecture or a conversation between the employer
and an employee. If someone is communicating with the other individual or a
group of individuals with an attitude of disinterest or unwillingness then the
process of communication will not be effective. In this case, it would have believed
to be that attitude of the communicators is inappropriate for the purpose of making
the process of communication effectual. It is therefore considered crucial to
overcome the psychological barriers.

V Perception of Reality – When communicating, it is important to understand

various perceptions of a situation or of an issue or a problem. There are different
levels of perceptions that are involved when communicating about a particular
topic, condition, problem, issue, situation, dilemma, stress or a concept. Lacking
understanding about different levels of perceptions may prove to be a barrier. In
order to implement effective communication, it is vital to gain the ‘perception of
 reality’ which means information about facts, knowledge, figures, actuality and
what is true. While communicating, it is important to be open, flexible and
transparent.

Barriers to Effective Communication within an Organization and Procedures for

overcoming them

Communication is known to be the key factor for the success of any

organization, within any kind of an organizational structure, individuals have to
work in collaboration, they need to conduct meetings, discuss with each other
various issues regarding their functions and activities; on the other hand, if they
develop amongst themselves strained relations and hard terms then they will not be
able to work effectively and incur profitability, productivity and goodwill within
the organization. In concerning communication, there are some barriers that every
organization deals with; individuals are of the viewpoint that the process of
communication is very simple and straightforward, which is true but, what makes
the process complicated, difficult and tedious, the answer to this is barriers.
Barriers are the ones that make the process of communication difficult. Within an
organization, the common barriers that are part of the communication are: (Zaineb,
2010).

a) Perceptual Barriers – These are the barriers which arise due to differences of
opinion between two people, differences of the viewpoints does prove to be a
major barrier, therefore these differences do generate a requirement for effective
communication; any kind of disagreement between two persons is not healthy for
the functioning of the organization.
b) Emotional Barriers – At times it happens that people do not develop interest in
communicating with their fellow employees due to the feelings of fear, mistrust,
 anger or annoyance, that may arise within their minds and these are stated to be
emotional barriers.
c) Language Barriers – Language is the means which is said to be the most effective
means of communication with others. The language provides understanding of the
content that an individual is willing to express or communicate with the others.
When two persons or groups of people are involved in communicating with each
other and if a common language is used that is understandable to all individuals
then their objectives will be fulfilled and the process of communication will be
made effective. Within an organization, it is vital to develop a common language in
order to communicate appropriately. For example, when international students
come to study in India, they are not familiar with the national language, hence
English is considered to be the common language that is understood by all and
utilized for the purpose of communication.
d) Cultural Barriers – Within an organization, individuals belonging to different
nationalities, regions, cultures, religions, castes, creed and different status groups
are employed together. These people at times do familiarize themselves with other
people’s cultures and backgrounds, whereas other times they are even unaware. A
cultural barrier occurs when people of different cultures are unable to communicate
with each other efficiently and this inability may be due diverse factors such as
different backgrounds, languages, customs, viewpoints, ideas, notions and so forth.
e) Physical Barriers – Within an organizational structure, it is vital to have team
spirit and individuals should work in coordination with each other and be
cooperative towards each other. Formal and informal means of communication
occurs within an organization. One of the crucial factors is proximity within an
organizational structure. There is a system of hierarchy and those individuals who
are placed at the higher levels of the hierarchy have closed doors, offices and
cabins and are physically placed at the distance; their subordinates are in this way
 unable to communicate with them and this is a physical barrier to effective
communications.
One of the ways to improve the process of communication with an
organization and to remove the barriers to effective organizational communication
is by forming a positive attitude within the workplace. It is vital to be considerate,
respectful and polite with ones colleagues, superiors and subordinates in order to
create an integrated working environment. Barriers prove to be highly
unproductive and will not lead to goodwill of the organization. It is up to the
individuals to possess this responsibility of overcoming the barriers, working in
coordination with the co-workers, efficiently supervising and managing the
subordinates and maintaining trustworthy relations with ones employers and
superiors.

Psychological Barriers to Effective Communication

Communication is stated to be an ongoing continuous process. Everyone is

continuously communicating with the people around them, such as their family
members, friends, helpers, neighbors, relatives, workplace members, and when a
person goes out for shopping then too with the shopkeepers and other people
communication takes place. Communication is also referred to as a skill that is
pertinent in ones daily life and an individual is required to be competent in this
skill by him self or via means of observing others (Skills you need, 2011).
Psychological barriers to effective communication have been classified into:
a) Marital Barriers – When an individual is married, then also communication is
considered to be one of the most important factors in a relationship. Between
spouses there are psychological barriers to communication that might develop; the
reasons may be due to irrelevant information, fear, insecurity or
misunderstandings; these reasons are not always correct but when a marital barrier
 occurs then it is a possibility that these reasons might be the cause. For example,
partners within the course of time may feel that they are not happy with each other
and the ultimate outcome is divorce or separation; when the partners have decided
that they are going to get separated or divorced then there is lack of
communication between them. These factors are indicated as psychological
barriers between the partners.
b) Academic Culture – In academic institutions such as a university; there are
different departments, each department has a chairperson, professors, students and
other staff members. Communicating in an effective manner is extremely crucial
within the university or in any other academic institution. For example, a professor
teaches a topic and some students within the class may have differing viewpoints
so that does not mean that the professor will not instruct or communicate with
those students. Within the university, there are different cultures, subcultures,
nationalities, traditions, norms, values etc; in one classroom, it is a possibility that
out of so many students, there may be few Sikhs, Muslims, Christians or Hindus,
they all have to develop mutual ties and communicate effectively with each other
which is essential in acquiring academic learning. A psychological barrier that
might arise in the case of an academic institution are some students may face
difficulties in some programs, they may find some concepts hard to understand,
these are considered to be psychological barriers because they are unable to
understand from a different perspective through a logical viewpoint.
c) Communication Flow – In accordance with the communication flow theory,
individuals can communicate only up to a certain extent; the reason for this is that
the knowledge they possess is limited. Directly this means that people who are
smart have good communication skills as compared to people who are not very
knowledgeable; this also depends upon the nature of the person, for instance,
individuals who are isolated, who do not have a large social network and who do
 not inculcate themselves into communication with others should not be hold
responsible, the reason being that they possess inadequate information that is
required for effective communication. It is the individual himself who decides
whether he/she possesses efficient communication skills.

Overcoming Communication Barriers

1. Eliminating Differences in Perception – Within the organization when

individuals are recruited, their performance, qualifications, skills, abilities,
knowledge, attitude should be taken into consideration; there should be proper
training and development programs, employee selection procedures and
individuals should possess effective communication skills especially regarding the
English language, they should be fluent in English, in speaking as well as in
writing.
2. Use of Simple Language – While communicating no matter what language, the
use of words should be understandable, clear and simple; usage of complicated
words might make an individual perplexed and such words should be avoided.
3. Reduction and Elimination of Noise Levels – Noise is the most common barrier
which occurs everywhere, for instance, when family members are communicating
at home, constant noise comes from busy neighborhoods, or at the workplace too
while working on the computers, people may get engaged in informal
conversations, hence that leads to emergence of noise levels. It is necessary to
identify the sources of noise and then formulating measures in order to eliminate
those sources.
4. Active Listening – The receiver should listen to the speaker with awareness and in
a considerate manner; he/she should respond by asking questions, the speaker
should always be aware of the fact that the listener understands everything that he
is saying and this overcomes the barrier to effective communication.
 5. Emotional State – During communication, the speaker is required to make
effective use of body language and not depict ones emotional state; for example, if
the speaker is upset due to some reason than he should not portray his distress in
his speech, the listeners might misinterpret the information if it is delivered by a
speaker in a distressed mood.
6. Avoid Information Overload – Employers as well as the employees should not
overload themselves with work; they should manage their work for the day
accordingly, extended working hours should be avoided and employees should also
take out time during their working hours to listen to the subordinates and workers
grievances; they should practice effective time management skills.
7. Provide Constructive Feedback – While making provision of feedback to the
employees and subordinates, negativity should be avoided and feedback should
always be delivered in a constructive manner; negative feedback is stated to be a
barrier to effective communication. The content of the feedback can be negative, if
the superior feels that there have been some misinterpretations, but it should be
communicated in a constructive manner with a positive attitude.

Discussion and Summary

In the concluding part of this manuscript, it is vital to highlight that effective

communication is very essential not only for the development and progress of the
organizational structure, educational institution, academic learning or in
implementation of ones daily routine tasks but also for the individual as a whole.
There are number of barriers that do come within the course of communication,
these are environmental and physical barriers, semantic barriers, cultural barriers,
psychological barriers and perception of reality. Within an organizational structure,
many barriers arise and there have been formulation of certain measures and
procedures for overcoming them, these are perceptual barriers, emotional barriers,
language barriers, cultural barriers and physical barriers; the most effective and
successful means of overcoming barriers of effective organizational
communication is by forming an optimistic approach within the workplace and it is
regarded as mandatory to develop politeness, good manners and respect within
ones approaches and attitude. Psychological barriers to effective communication
can be marital barriers, academic culture and communication flow. Content
barriers to effective communication are non-assertive behavior, anger or
frustration, personal bias, team diversity, lack of confidence, inappropriate
priorities, organizational structure, distractions and interruptions, tunnel vision,
rank differences and task preoccupation. In the final part of the manuscript, steps
have been identified to overcome the communication barriers, these are,
eliminating differences in perception, use of simple language, reduction and
elimination of noise levels, active listening, emotional state, simple organizational
structure, avoid information overload, provide constructive feedback, proper media
selection and flexibility in meeting the targets.

It is essential to overcome the barriers by identifying the causes that give rise to
them, some of the barriers are avoidable whereas some are unavoidable and an
individual is not left with any option but to face the barriers. Keeping the
technology updated, developing within oneself effective speaking and listening
skills, being respectful, being fluent in English language, not speaking to each
other while working on an important assignment, developing effective leadership,
stress management, anger management, time management skills and so forth, these
are some of the ways that lead to avoidance of barriers; some of the barriers are
unavoidable such as inappropriate priorities, when these kinds of barriers come up
then the individual should develop within himself the confidence and aptitude to
deal with such kinds of barriers. Implementation of solutions to remove those
barriers leads to effective communication as well as efficiency in achieving the
desired goals and objectives. Finally, it can be stated that barriers do come up
within the course of communication, but in order to effectively communicate,
individuals should possess efficient speaking and listening skills, they should make
sure that the listeners are understanding their viewpoints and concepts, they should
make use of simple language, whether it is an oral or a written communication, be
courteous and polite so that individuals do not misinterpret any kind of
communication, possess efficient knowledge of the concepts and ideas that they
are communicating and there should be no personal bias or discrimination between
people of different religions, cultures, race, ethnicities, creed and socio-economic
backgrounds.

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