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Session 02: Effective Communication & Barriers To Communication

This document discusses competencies for effective communication and barriers to communication. It identifies 7 common barriers: 1) physical barriers, 2) perceptual barriers, 3) emotional barriers, 4) cultural barriers, 5) language barriers, 6) gender barriers, and 7) interpersonal barriers. Each barrier is then explained in 1-2 paragraphs with examples. The document emphasizes that overcoming communication barriers requires changes to thoughts, feelings, and physical connections to build better relationships.

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Kailash Jaiswal
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87 views

Session 02: Effective Communication & Barriers To Communication

This document discusses competencies for effective communication and barriers to communication. It identifies 7 common barriers: 1) physical barriers, 2) perceptual barriers, 3) emotional barriers, 4) cultural barriers, 5) language barriers, 6) gender barriers, and 7) interpersonal barriers. Each barrier is then explained in 1-2 paragraphs with examples. The document emphasizes that overcoming communication barriers requires changes to thoughts, feelings, and physical connections to build better relationships.

Uploaded by

Kailash Jaiswal
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Session 02

Effective communication &


barriers to communication
Competencies for
Effective Communication

1. Identify common misconceptions, barriers, and


biases that interfere with effective
communication.
2. Explain the steps that managers can take to
speak effectively on the job.
3. Identify ways that managers can improve their
listening skills.

2
(continued
Competencies for
Effective Communication
(continued
)
4. Identify active listening skills and apply them in
managerial situations.
5. Describe nonverbal communication and explain
how knowledge of it can help you on the job.
6. Explain the importance of good writing, and identify
how you can make your business writing more
effective.
7. Identify techniques for communicating by e-mail.

3
Communication Myths

 “We communicate only when we want to


communicate.”
 “Words mean the same to me and to you.”
 “We communicate chiefly with words.”
 “Nonverbal communication is silent
communication.”

4
(continued
Communication Myths
 “The best communication is a one-way
message—from me to you.”
 “The message I communicate is the
message that you receive.”
 “There is no such thing as too much
information.”

5
Barriers to Communication
 Many people think that communicating is easy.
 It is after all something we've done all our lives.
 There is some truth in this simplistic view.
 Communicating is straightforward.
 What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating
are the barriers we put in the way.
 Here are the 7 top barriers.
1. Physical barriers
 It includes marked out territories, empires and
fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed
closed office doors, barrier screens, separate
areas for people of different status large working
areas or working in one unit that is physically
separate from others.
 Research shows that one of the most important
factors in building cohesive teams is proximity. As
long as people still have a personal space that
they can call their own, nearness to others aids
communication because it helps us get to know
one another.
2. Perceptual barriers
 The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the
world differently. If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate:
something like extrasensory perception would take its place.
 The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts,
assumptions and perceptions shape our own realities:
 A traveler was walking down a road when he met a man from the next
town. "Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town
tonight. Can you tell me what the townspeople are like?"
 "Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in the last
town you visited?"
 "Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a
fool. Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very poor service."
 "Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the same
here."
3. Emotional barriers
 One of the chief barriers to open and free
communications is the emotional barrier. It is
comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion.
The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in
our childhood and infancy when we were taught to
be careful what we said to others.
 "Mind your P's and Q's"; "Don't speak until you're
spoken to"; "Children should be seen and not
heard". As a result many people hold back from
communicating their thoughts and feelings to others.
 They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be
wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what
others might think of us can stunt our development
as effective communicators and our ability to form
meaningful relationships.
4. Cultural barriers

 When we join a group and wish to remain in it,


sooner or later we need to adopt the behaviour
patterns of the group. These are the behaviours
that the group accept as signs of belonging.
 The group rewards such behaviour through acts of
recognition, approval and inclusion. In groups
which are happy to accept you, and where you are
happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest
and a high level of win-win contact.
 Where, however, there are barriers to your
membership of a group, a high level of game-
playing replaces good communication.
5. Language barriers

 Language that describes what we want to say in our terms


may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our
expressions, buzz-words and jargon. When we couch our
communication in such language, it is a way of excluding
others. In a global market place the greatest compliment
we can pay another person is to talk in their language.
 One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the
threat by the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev saying to the
Americans at the United Nations: "We will bury you!" This
was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation.
 However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev's words
would have been: "We will overtake you!" meaning
economic superiority. It was not just the language, but the
fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union
that led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.
6. Gender barriers
 There are distinct differences between the speech patterns
in a man and those in a woman. A woman speaks between
22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks
between 7,000 and 10,000. In childhood, girls speak earlier
than boys and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice
that of boys.
 The reason for this lies in the wiring of a man's and
woman's brains. When a man talks, his speech is located
in the left side of the brain but in no specific area. When a
woman talks, the speech is located in both hemispheres
and in two specific locations.
 This means that a man talks in a linear, logical and
compartmentalized way, features of left-brain thinking;
whereas a woman talks more freely mixing logic and
emotion, features of both sides of the brain. It also explains
why women talk for much longer than men each day.
7 Interpersonal barriers
 There are six levels at which people can distance themselves
from one another:
 Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both
refusal to be in touch and time alone.
Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real
contact.
Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial
activities.
Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules and
procedures of contact but no more.
Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about
winning and losing. They include "rackets" and "stamps".
Closeness is the aim of interpersonal contact where there is a
high level of honesty and acceptance of yourself and others.
 Working on improving your communications is a broad-brush
activity. You have to change your thoughts, your feelings, and
your physical connections.
 That way, you can break down the barriers that get in your way
and start building relationships that really work.

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