BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Introduction

Communication barriers refer to

the obstacle or problems that
stand in the way of effective
communication.
These communication barrier
give rise to many inter personal
and interdepartmental problems
Identifying barriers

Communication is about overcoming barriers.

State all the barriers

that you can think of
that impact on your
day-to-day
communication.
Some barriers are :

1. Physical barriers;
2. Physiological barriers;
3. Linguistic barrier;
4. Mechanical barriers;
5. Overload barriers;
6. Cultural barriers;
 Physical barriers

The physical difference between the sender

and the receiver of any message serves as
an obstacle to effective communication

Eg: The constant telephone

interruption
Some obstacle under this are :

• Noise
• Time and Distance
• Circumstantial factors
• Defects in the medium
• Age
Physiological / Individual barriers

These arise by the

feelings, fears, desires
and hopes of persons
involved in
the communication.

These exist in both in

sender and receiver of
communication
 Some obstacle under this are :

• Status barrier

• Closed mind

• Halo effect

• Poor attention and retention

• Attitudes and opinions

 Linguistic / Semantic barriers

Words means different things to

different people.

Language reflect not only

personality of
individual but also
culture of society in which
he/she is living
 Some obstacle under this are :

• Lack of common language

• Semantic barriers

• Wrong interpretation

• Poor vocabulary

• Unqualified assumption
 Mechanical barriers

The Mechanical barrier is mainly due to the

defects in the device used for communication

Eg : Fail of postal system or internet in between

 Overload barriers

When overload comes many of

the important Information
may be deleted and
misinterpreted
 Cultural / Geographic barriers;

Common barriers are due to Time, Geographic

location
effects of time upon reception of message and other
factors
Measures to Overcome the barriers

 Two-way communication

 Feedback

 Simplifying Language

 Listen carefully

 Developing a trusting climate

Measures to Overcome the barriers
(continued)
Watch Non-Verbal cues

Clarity in message

Fostering good relationship

Accuracy

Setting common goals