MISCOMMUNICATION/ BARRIERS

Miscommunication takes place when the message received is not the same as message sent. All communication is subject to misunderstandings but business communication is particularly difficult and sometimes disastrous as the material is often complex. Both the sender and the receiver may face distractions that divert their attention. Communication can easily make or break an organizations effectiveness. Just think about the times when you or others misunderstood an oral or written communication. Most likely, you even passed on that message, believing it was correct and appropriate. Feelings could have been hurt, products could have been ordered incorrectly, manufactured the wrong way or even cancelled- all of it by mistake.

Organizational structure: Irrespective of the size, all organizations have communication policies that describe the protocol to be followed. It is the structure and complexity of this protocol that usually gives rise to communication barriers. A rigid hierarchical structure usually restricts the flow of communication. When the process of communication is hierarchical, information flows through a number of transfer points. There is a strong possibility that messages may get distorted, delayed or lost at these points. Opportunities for feedback are often limited making it difficult to correct misunderstandings

DIFFERENCE IN STATUS

When people belonging to different hierarchical positions communicate with each other, there is a possibility of miscommunication. Employees at the lower levels of hierarchy are overly cautious while sending messages to managers and talk about subjects they think the managers are interested in. Similarly, people of higher status may distort messages by refusing to discuss anything that would tend to undermine their authority in the organization.

LACK OF TRUST: Establishing credibility or building trust among subordinates or with colleagues is a difficult task. Understanding can be obstructed by prejudices. Without trust, free and open communication is effectively blocked, thereby threatening the organizations stability. You may be very clear in communication, but that is not enough. People should trust you to accept or freely discuss with you on what you communicate.

CLOSED COMMUNICATION CLIMATE: An organizations communication climate is influenced by its management style. A directive, authoritarian style blocks free and open exchange of information that characterizes good communication. INCORRECT CHOICE OF MEDIUM: Choosing an inappropriate communication medium can distort the message and block the intended meaning. One should select a medium that suits the nature of the message and the intended recipient.

CHOICE AND MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION

Nature of Message Type of Media Cues Nature of Feedback Media Quality Personal Oral) Face to face Verbal and non-verbal Immediate Richest Personal (Oral) Telephone, computers, etc Verbal and vocal Close to immediate Rich Personal and impersonal(Written)/Addressed Documents Letters, Memos, Reports, etc Verbal and visual Delayed/No Leaner Impersonal/ Unaddressed Documents Circulars, Fliers, etc Verbal and visual Almost Nil Leanest

INFORMATION OVERLOAD
At times, people load their messages with too much information. The recipients facing information overload sometimes tends to ignore a part of the message, delay responses to messages they deem unimportant, answer only parts of some messages, or react only superficially to all messages.

MESSAGE COMPLEXITY

There are two significant reasons for any message to become complex in a business setting- one, the dry and difficult nature of the message itself and the other, the difficulty in understanding it. Understanding may be faulty because of the use of ambiguous symbols or wrong meaning may be attached to words and other symbols. Cross-cultural barriers result not only in communication hindrances but also end in damaged relationships and possibly loss I business.

MESSAGE COMPETITION
Invariably most of the business messages compete for the full and undivided attention of their receivers. This may happen at two levels- intra-personal and inter-personal. If you are talking on the phone while scanning a report, both messages will fail to get focused attention.

UNETHICAL CONVERSATION

Relationship within and outside the organization depend on trust and fairness. Deceptive and inadequate information may lead to miscommunication.

PHYSICAL DISTRACTIONS

Physical barriers like poor acoustics, uncomfortable chairs, poor lighting, hearing or visual impairment or a headache can block or reduce the receivers concentration. A noise or confined environment can hinder communication. Transmission may be interrupted by static in the channel, like an experience in a poor telephone connection. Fear of possible consequences of change obstructs communication.

It's not always easy and often takes a lot of determination. But making an effort to remove the obstacles - tangible and intangible - that stand in our way, can be the key to building relationships that really work 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

Physical barriers in the workplace include: 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.
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 traveller 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."

2. Perceptual barriers

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 behavior patterns of the group. These are the behaviors that the group accept as signs of belonging. The group rewards such behavior 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 compartmentalised way, features of leftbrain 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.

OTHER COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

No matter how good and effective a communicator one maybe, yet the fact is that one does face certain barriers, from time to time, which forces them to work on becoming even more effective in their skills to communicate. Given here are the communication barriers that occur while listening, speaking and in the case of non-verbal communications

LISTENING BARRIERS

Interrupting the speaker Not maintaining eye contact with the speaker Rushing the speaker to complete what he/she has to say Making the speaker feel as though he/she is wasting the listener's time Being distracted by something that is not part of the on going communication Getting ahead of the speaker and completing his/her thoughts Ignoring the speaker's requests Topping the speaker's story with one's own set of examples Forgetting what is being discussed Asking too many questions, for they sake of probing

BARRIERS WHILE SPEAKING

Unclear messages Lack of consistency in the communication process Incomplete sentences Not understanding the receiver Not seeking clarifications while communicating