MODULE 1

TOPIC 3: Barriers to Effective Communication

Course Learning Outcomes:
1. discover the barriers to effective communication
2. identify the impact of technology to communication
3. employ knowledge gained in answering given questions

Time Frame:

Learning Experiences:

Engage
Have you ever wondered why people
sometimes have
misunderstanding?

Explore
The process of communication has multiple barriers. The intended communique will often be
integration
companies,
people,
governments
nations,
trade
international
aided
technology.
effects
culture,
on
prosperity,
physical
societies
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other
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information
particular,
dramatically
Information
have
individual
consumers,
actors—
businesses—valuable
tools
pursuing
including
informed
trends
economic
easy
and
Globalization
partners.
flung
controversial,
Proponents
argue
countries
develop
their
raise
while
globalization
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multinational
in
Western
expense
local
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disturbed and distorted leading to a condition of misunderstanding and failure of communication.
The Barriers to effective communication could be of many types like linguistic, psychological,
emotional, physical, and cultural etc.

Explain
1. Linguistic Barriers
The language barrier is one of the main barriers that limit effective communication. Language is
the most commonly employed tool of communication. The fact that each major region has its
own language is one of the barriers to effective communication. Sometimes even a thick dialect
may render the communication ineffective.

As per some estimates, the dialects of every two regions changes within a few kilometers. Even
in the same workplace, different employees will have different linguistic skills. As a result, the
communication channels that span across the organization would be affected by this.
Thus keeping this barrier in mind, different considerations have to be made for different
employees. Some of them are very proficient in a certain language and others will be fine with
these languages.
2. Psychological Barriers
There are various mental and psychological issues that may be barriers to effective
communication. Some people have stage fear, speech disorders, phobia, depression etc. All of
these conditions are very difficult to manage sometimes and will most certainly limit the ease of
communication.

3. Emotional Barriers
The emotional IQ of a person determines the ease and comfort with which they can
communicate. A person who is emotionally mature will be able to communicate effectively. On
the other hand, people who let their emotions take over will face certain difficulties.

A perfect mixture of emotions and facts is necessary for effective communication. Emotions like
anger, frustration, humour, can blur the decision-making capacities of a person and thus limit the
effectiveness of their communication.

4. Physical Barriers to Communication

They are the most obvious barriers to effective communication. These barriers are mostly easily
removable in principle at least. They include barriers like noise, closed doors, faulty equipment
used for communication, closed cabins, etc. Sometimes, in a large office, the physical separation
between various employees combined with faulty equipment may result in severe barriers to
effective communication.

5. Cultural Barriers of Communication

As the world is getting more and more globalized, any large office may have people from several
parts of the world. Different cultures have a different meaning for several basic values of society.
Dressing, religions or lack of them, food, drinks, pets, and the general behaviour will change
drastically from one culture to another.

Hence it is a must that we must take these different cultures into account while communicating.
This is what we call being culturally appropriate. In many multinational companies, special
courses are offered at the orientation stages that let people know about other cultures and how to
be courteous and tolerant of others.

6. Organizational Structure Barriers

As we saw there are many methods of communication at an organizational level. Each of these
methods has its own problems and constraints that may become barriers to effective
communication. Most of these barriers arise because of misinformation or lack of appropriate
transparency available to the employees.

7. Attitude Barriers
Certain people like to be left alone. They are the introverts or just people who are not very social.
Others like to be social or sometimes extra clingy! Both these cases could become a barrier to
communication. Some people have attitude issues, like huge ego and inconsiderate behaviours.

These employees can cause severe strains in the communication channels that they are present
in. Certain personality traits like shyness, anger, social anxiety may be removable through
courses and proper training. However, problems like egocentric behaviour and selfishness may
not be rectifiable.

8. Perception Barriers
Different people perceive the same things differently. This is a fact which we must consider
during the communication process. Knowledge of the perception levels of the audience is crucial
to effective communication. All the messages or communique must be easy and clear. There
shouldn’t be any room for a diversified interpretational set.

9. Physiological Barriers
Certain disorders or diseases or other limitations could also prevent effective communication
between the various channels of an organization. The shrillness of voice, dyslexia, etc are some
examples of physiological barriers to effective communication. However, these are not crucial
because they can easily be compensated and removed.

10. Technological Barriers & Socio-religious Barriers

Other barriers include technological barriers. Technology is developing fast and as a result, it
becomes difficult to keep up with the newest developments. Hence, sometimes technological
advancement may become a barrier. In addition to this, the cost of technology is sometimes very
high.

Most of the organizations will not be able to afford a decent tech for the purpose of
communication. Hence, this becomes a very crucial barrier. Other barriers are socio-religious
barriers. In a patriarchal society, a woman or a transgender may face many difficulties and
barriers while communicating.

Elaborate
The Impact of Technology to Communication

A. Positive Impact
Technology has transformed the once big and far world into a tiny global village. Thanks to
technology, we now have the power to communicate with anybody on the other side of the
world. The points below summarize these benefits.
 No barriers: Communication is now easy; in case of situations when you want to convey
something urgently to someone, mobiles and emails come in handy.
 Strengthened relations: Technology has made it easy to keep in touch with old contacts,
and has also helped strengthen relationships.
 Better solutions: Technology has brought the world closer and promoted exchange of
thoughts to find better solutions to any problem.
  E-schools: Services like video-conferencing has made it possible to give best education
to students via expert faculty on the web.
 Impact on relations: Finding someone to date was never so easy, thanks to the dating and
chatting websites! Technology is the rationale behind the success of long distance
relationships. Video chats and social networking sites have played a big role in keeping
people in touch.
 Development: Technological advancements in the modes of communication have
promoted faster decision-making, and led to the development and progress of the world.
Video conferencing has played a considerate role in promoting faster decision-making.
Most of the businesses depend on technology for communication.

B. Negative Impact
The most prominent negative effect of technology – the charm of the good old world is missing.
The letters and lengthy face-to-face conversations have gone away, and have been replaced by
texting or chatting. See the given points below for details.
 Impact on interpersonal communication: The current generation lacks essential
interpersonal skills (the ability to express the ideas and thoughts to others face-to-face). A
major reason for this tendency is increased frequency of communication through texting
and chatting on websites.
 Effect on nonverbal communication: Technological means have also affected nonverbal
communication. Lack of face-to-face interaction has reduced the nonverbal grasping
power of individuals.
 Near yet far: Teenagers especially are always hooked to the social networking sites. They
are more close to online friends, but the gap between parents and kids has increased
considerably. Communication is missing, some parents are not technology savvy and not
used to the communication styles of their kids, and this has increased the generation gap.
 Reduced social interactions: Consider the socializing among people. Life has changed a
lot; there are no social meetings and get-togethers (the frequency has reduced). People are
more bothered about their online life rather than the real social life.
 Has led to many addictions: People have literally become addicted to the Internet and cell
phones, and this addiction has led to many anxiety disorders. People addicted to the
Internet feel lonely and isolated.
 Malicious motives: Many people abuse the social networking sites and communicate to
unsuspecting beings pretending someone else. This tendency of people has done more
harm than good.

As you can see, the impact is both positive and negative. But logically thinking, technology has
bettered the communication process and has done negligible harm. The positive points of the
technological advancements cover up the negative points. It all depends on how we use these
means; use the technological means of communication for sane purposes, and don’t abuse them
for malicious motives.-- Hemangi Harankhedkar

Evaluate
Having read the text on the barriers, how do you usually deal with the barriers to effective
communication?
Sources:

https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-correspondence-and-reporting/communication/barriers-
in-communication/

https://theparentcentre.org.za/impact-of-technology-on-
communication/#:~:text=Development%3A%20Technological%20advancements%20in%20the,
depend%20on%20technology%20for%20communication.

TOPIC 4: Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings

Course Learning Outcomes:
1. define what multicultural means
2. discover the barriers that affect communication in multicultural settings
3. research about gestures that have different meanings

Time Frame:

Learning Experiences:

Engage
Multicultural refers to a society that contains several cultural or ethnic groups. People
live alongside one another, but each cultural group does not necessarily have engaging
interactions with each other. For example, in a multicultural neighborhood people may
frequent ethnic grocery stores and restaurants without really interacting with their
neighbors from other countries.

Explore
Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings
It is indeed a challenge to communicate to a person with cultural diversity because a context may
differ depending on the person’s perception of word meaning in relation to their culture.
The culture shapes so much of the way a person interacts with each other, and then when
you think about language barriers and vocabulary used by different generations, it is easy
to see where miscommunication can happen.

Explain
integration
companies,
people,
governments
nations,
trade
international
aided
technology.
effects
culture,
on
prosperity,
physical
societies
Technology
other
globalization.
information
particular,
dramatically
Information
have
individual
consumers,
actors—
businesses—valuable
tools
pursuing
including
informed
trends
economic
easy
and
Globalization
partners.
flung
controversial,
Proponents
argue
countries
develop
their
raise
while
globalization
creation
unfettered
market
multinational
in
Western
expense
local
Resistance
people.
has
both
governmental
a
people
to
capital,
goods,
constitute
of
To
between
associated
globalization,
nations
how
the
them
manage
globalization.
the
interaction
economic
policy
find
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therefore
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Barriers to Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Setting
Some of the barriers to effective communication are language, medium of
communication, personality and culture. Culture became a barrier to an effective communication
when a person has different language bearing, and they have different interpretation to such
words. Example of which is the “ok sign” done by everyone.

One gesture has a lot of interpretation. In US, the ok sign means “ok”, while in Brazil it means
an insult when you do the “ok sign”. The picture above clearly states the different meaning of a
hand gesture. It goes to show that when the culture is different from someone else,
misunderstanding will likely to occur.

The best way to avoid such things is to learn other‘s culture and to set an awareness as to how
one will react and behave when such situation arise. It is also relevant to know and
understand the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication and how it takes place to
multicultural setting. It is advised to know and learn the culture beforehand to avoid
misconception.

Upon learning the culture, expect differences. A person with different culture from you has
different language or may speak at different volumes, less or direct in showing emotion or
may or may not engage in small talks. Be wary of how you deliver your words or show your
gesture because it may lead to a lot of misconception. It is important to use formal words in
order to not offend others despite of cultural differences. This is the best way to deal in
multicultural setting locally and globally.

Elaborate
One
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Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written Language

Registers are the style of language spoken and writing that is appropriate for a certain situation.
It could be formal, informal or neutral. In writing discipline, the language registers
determines the vocabulary, structure, and some grammar in writing.

There are different language registers for different types of writing that everyone uses, just as
the language everyone spoken. Communication depends on how you communicate with
different
people.
Example:
To your brother: What's up? Good thing you came to visit!
To the President: Good morning, Mr. President. Thank you for visiting.

A. Formal Language Register

In academic writing, formal writing is required but said to be the most difficult because it
uses formal language and formal structures of grammar. Common examples are essays, business
letters and reports among others.

B. Informal Language Register

This is written in a manner of talking to a closest someone such as friends and family. We
used informal language in this type of writing because it shows how we know them very well.
Informal writing includes:
 Personal e-mails
 Phone texts
 Short notes
 Friendly letters
 Most blogs
 Diaries and journals

C. Neutral Language Register

In neutral writing, it does not necessarily mean formal or informal, and it is incorporated with
non-emotional topics. It is not positive or negative but also delivers facts.
Examples:
 reviews
 articles
 some letters
 some essays
 technical writing

In one prominent model, Martin Joos (1961) describes five styles in spoken
English:
1. Frozen: Also referred to as static register. Printed unchanging language, such
as Biblical quotations, often contains archaisms. Examples are the Pledge of Allegiance of the
United States of America and other "static" vocalizations. The wording is exactly the same every
time it is spoken.
2. Formal: One-way participation; no interruption; technical vocabulary or exact
definitions are important: ; includes presentations or introductions between strangers.
3. Consultative: Two-way participation; background information is provided – prior knowledge
is not assumed. "Back-channel behavior" such as "uh huh", "I see", etc. is common.
Interruptions are allowed. Examples include teacher/student, doctor/patient, expert/apprentice,
etc.
4. Casual: In-group friends and acquaintances; no background information provided; ellipsis
and slang common; interruptions are common. This is common among friends in a
social setting.
5. Intimate: Non-public; intonation is more important than wording or grammar; private
vocabulary. Also includes non-verbal messages. This is most common among family members
and close friends.

Evaluate
Living in a multicultural community, how do you deal with your differences with the people
around you?
Sources:
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/bicol-university/bsba-financial-
management/practical/module-6-9-local-and-global-communication-in-multicultural-
settings/10577171/view
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/bicol-university/bsba-financial-
management/practical/module-6-9-local-and-global-communication-in-multicultural-
settings/10577171/view
https://springinstitute.org/whats-difference-multicultural-intercultural-cross-cultural-
communication/
Name: _________________________ Date: _______________
Course/Year: _____________ Score: __________

Assessment
TOPIC 3: Barriers to Effective Communication

1. Among the stated negative impact of technology to effective communication, which

is/are the one/s that you already have experienced (or currently experiencing)? (5)

2. Personally, how has technology helped you so far in effectively communicating to

people? Provide 3 and expound. (5)

TOPIC 4: Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings

Research 10 gestures from different countries that could have different meanings in Philippine
context). (10 points)
Illustration OR description Origin Meaning
1.
2.
3.

(…and so on)