Barriers to Communication

Your soul blossoms to the Light as a flower opens to the

sun.

Barriers in communication
indicate:
Obstacles
Difficulties that obstruct access to
communication
Also known as noise
Barriers and malfunctions operate almost
simultaneously
By careful observation one can easily
identify the context at three particular
communication situations:
at the point of reception
in perception
in acceptance

Whenever things become difficult we must remain quiet

and silent.

Table: Barriers and Malfunctions

In Reception

In Perception

In Acceptance

1. Hostility and
prejudice mainly
amongst listeners

Communicators not
careful about
possible distortions

Receivers not
interested

2. Communicators
themselves are not
sure communicators

Communicators fail
to put ideas into
words

Culture of
managerial
toughness in some
organisation

3. Attitude of
arrogance on both
sides

Listening and twoway dialogues are

not used

Disagreement and
criticism are frowned
upon

4. Receivers needs,
desires and
expectations not
considered

Problems of
language or
ambiguity in
expression

Interpersonal
conflicts between
sender and receiver

Do not think of what you have been, think only of what you want to be and you are
sure to progress.

Psychological
Intrapersonal
Socio-cultural

Physical

Kinds of
Barriers
Interpersonal

Technical

Semantic
4

Organisational

Intrapersonal Barrier

Which occurs from within

Caused due to differences in
experience, education, value and
personality
Each of us interpret the same
information in different ways

When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of the
silence.

Psychological Barriers
Inferiority Complex
Superiority Complex
Wrong Assumptions
Leads to distorted communication
Are made because sender does not have
adequate knowledge about receivers background

Categorical Thinking
I know it all people-pansophists
Refuse to accept any further information
Overuse of words-all, always, everything,
everytime
6

Do not belong to the past dawns, but to the noons of

future

Socio-cultural Barriers
Also known as cross cultural barriers
Cultural background affects how individuals
view the world
What they value, how they interact with
others
We grow in a culture that provides a pattern
of acceptable behaviour and beliefs
It is the background against which all our
actions and beliefs become meaningful
Culture can be seen the way we live, the
clothes we wear and the opinions we hold
7

Culture is communication and communication is culture..

Edward Hall

Socio-cultural Barriers
Differences in cultural values and perceptions can
be an invisible source of great misunderstanding
between people of different regions.
Some differences:
Heart vs. mind
Particularists vs. Universalists
Specific vs. diffused relationships
Nepotism vs. meritocracy
Hire-and-fire Policy
Individualism
Notion of Time
8

10

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Interpersonal Barriers
Caused due to external factors
Can occur between two or more
people
or organizations
Three kinds:
Physical
Semantic
Technical

12

Physical Barrier

The environment in which

communication occurs
The physical conditions
Can generally be eliminated or
reduced
If meticulous preparation is done

13

A smile acts upon difficulties as the sun upon cloudsit disperses

them,

Physical Barriers

14

Semantic Barriers
Semantics is related to meanings of
words.
To be more exact, it is related to
connotative and denotative meanings
of words and its study.
Every word has a direct meaning
called the denotative meaning.
In addition to its exact or lexical
meaning, words also acquire implied
meanings called connotative
meanings.
15

Thy smile within my heart makes all my strength.

 Also known as linguistic barrier

Related to words, choice of words
Differences in languages and their
perceptions
Word choice
Connotation
Implications

16

Semantic Barrier/

Word Choice

Beside/ Besides
Continuously/Continually
Do not use cell phones inside the lab.
Do not use cell phones in side lab.
The project is all ready to launch.
The project is already to launch.
We are working on the project all together.
We are working on the project altogether.

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Semantic Barrier/

Connotation

It is a meaning based on:

Experiences
Interests
Attitudes
Emotions

It can also be sarcasm

Example:
Well, that certainly was fast work.

18

Semantic Barrier/

Connotation

The solution lies in using:

Simple
Familiar words

19

Progress: to be ready, at every minute, to give up all one is and all

one has in order to advance on the way.

Compare
thereact
following text
Although
all metals
with pieces:
oxygen,
their
Although all metals react
reactivity is different.
with
oxygen,
their
Some metals, such as
reactivity is different.
sodium and potassium,
Some metals, such as
react
with
oxygen
sodium and potassium,
trenchantly. They ignite react
with
oxygen
even
if
retained vigorously. They catch
unenclosed in the air. fire even if kept open in
Magnesium needs to be the air. Magnesium needs
inflamed
before
it to be heated before it
combines with oxygen. combines with oxygen.
Once inflamed to an Once
heated
to
an
ignition
temperature, ignition
temperature,
magnesium
ribbon magnesium ribbon burns,
blazes with fire, yielding producing intense heat
intense heat and light.
and light.
20

Trenchantly, ignite, unenclosed, inflamed, blazes,

yielding

List of some commonly used

words and their plain equivalents
Complex

Simple

Complex

Simple

abandon

Give up

unscramble

interpret

ablaze

On fire

amenable

Responsive

commence

begin

dissuade

discourage

confer

grant

futile

useless

bespeak

suggest

inexorable

unstoppable

21

Implications
Related to connotation
Is a meaning given through connotation rather than from specific
details
Eg.
Drawn from words:
My work is
under valued.

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inference

statement

My salary isnt
high enough.

Actual
meaning of
the statement

I dont get
enough
positive
feedback
from my
supervisors
.

 Drawn from actions:

Two employees
laugh as their
supervisor passes.

The supervisor
infers that workers
are making fun of
him.
23

More likely, to
signal nothing at
all

The workers however

wanted to signal that
their morale is high.

Technical Barriers
Faulty instruments

Lack of Technical knowledge

24

Organizational Barriers

Information Overload
Frequent Transfers
Complex Communication Channels
Fear of Superiors

25

Information Overload

IO has a serious effect on the communication

quality.
It refers to difficulty a person can have in
understanding an issue and making decisions that
can be caused by the presence of too much
information.
IO leads to people getting jammed with message
handling to the detriment of other activities.

26

A typical business manger is said to read one million words per week.

Overcoming Barriers to
Communication
Identify the reason for communication
failure.
Take pre-emptive measures to overcome it.
Try to bridge the gap.
Respond to the context and content of the
persons words and deeds, rather than
assumed motives.
Understand the limitations of people from
different backgrounds.
Avoid hot buttons like ethnic jokes, racist
comments, gender-biased statements etc.
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Queries???

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Perfection is not a maximum or an extreme. It is an

equilibrium and harmonization.