Barrier of

Communication
 Definition
 Communication-
It is an activity of conveying
meaningful information.
It requires a sender, message, and an
intended recipient.

 Barrier-
An obstacle in a place that prevents us
from completing certain tasks.
 Communication
Barrier-
It can be defined
as the aspects or
conditions
that interfere
with
effective exchange
of ideas or thoughts.
Problems/ barriers/ breakdowns may arise
at any of the following levels:

The sender's level in-

Formulating/organizing thought,
ideas, message
 Encoding the message
The receiver's level in-
 Receiving the message;
The receiver's level in-
 Receiving the message;
 Decoding the received message;
 Understanding/interpreting the message.
 Transmission level where 'noise' occurs.
 The feedback/reaction level that is a
necessary condition of the completion of
the process.
Types of Barrier
of
Communication
 Physical Barrier
 Language Barrier
 Cultural Barrier
 Psychological Barriers
 Semantic Barrier
 Gender Barrier
 Organizational Barrier
 Perceptual Barrier
 Sender- Oriented Barrier
 Receiver- Oriented Barrier
Physical
Barrier
 Physical Barrier
 Physical Barrier are often due to the nature
of the environment.
 Physical Organizational Barrier includes
internal and external environment like: -
 Large working areas physically separated
from others.
 Poor lighting.
 Outdated equipment's.
 Background noise.
 These are often due to nature of the
environment. For example, poor outdated
equipment, particularly the failure of
management to introduce new technology,
may also cause problems.
 With distractions like background noise,
poor lighting or an environment which is too
hot or cold can all affect people’s focus and
concentration, which in turn interfere with
effective communication.
 Noise affects and interferes with our clear
understanding of information.
 It prevents the signal that carries
information from reaching up and breaks the
communication network.
 Especially in oral communication, the sound
of loudspeakers, machines and generators
not only obstruct communication, but also
disorient our thought process.
 Faulty telephone links also lead to distortion
of information that, in turn, may cause
misunderstanding.
 Technical problems in gadgets like
typewriters,
 fans or simply the sound of traffic may cause
so much noise that it may lead to complete
breakdown of communication.
 If people are engaged in their own
conversations they tend to become
inattentive towards what the speaker is
saying.
 Mobile phones with their weird ringtones
are a latest example of how communication
can be hindered due to noise. Awareness of
these factors is very helpful in controlling
this barrier.
 Physical noise can be managed easily by
ensuring that all gadgets are functioning
properly or having meetings in a soundproof
room.
 Psychological noise can be overcome by
trying to adopt a prejudice-free approach
towards the speaker. Taking notes facilitates
listening and avoid biases. Entering into
question/answer sessions also help. If the
distance between the speaker and listener is
not proper, the information is likely to get
distorted.
 Also, if the mike or microphone that is used
by the speaker is not functioning properly,
message will not be communicated properly.
 The time of communication is also
important -if a meeting stretches beyond a
certain time, the participants tend to lose
interest and may miss out on vital
information.
 Similarly, the vague timings of international
calls in multinational companies hamper
communication. People working in shifts
also face the same problem.
Factor Causing Physical
Barrier
 Defects in media
 Distraction in
environment
 Distance
 Ignorance of
medium
 Physical
disability
How To Overcome?
 To be updated with latest technologies.
 Choosing a suitable environment.
 Removing obstacle.
 Making signs easier to read, example,
you could supplement written signs with
pictures and visual signs.
 Self Motivation.
Language
Barrier
 Language Barrier
 Generally, it is the language that facilitates
communication, but if we encode our
communication with expressions, buzzwords
and jargon that is unfamiliar to the listener, it
may result in incomplete or
miscommunication.
 In a global market if we translate our
thoughts into a vocabulary that is alien to the
receiver, it clearly indicates that the listener
is excluded from the communication cycle.
 So, it is very important to use language
as a facilitator and not a barrier to
communication.
 Inability to converse in a language that is
known by both the sender and receiver is
the greatest barrier to effective
communication.
 When a person uses inappropriate words
while conversing or writing, it could
lead to misunderstanding between the
sender and a receiver.
 Language that describes what we want to
say in our terms may present barriers to
others who are not familiar with our
expressions, buzzwords and jargon.
 When we couch our communication in
such language, it is a way of excluding
others.
 In a global marketplace, the greatest
compliment we can pay another person is
to talk in their language.
 Language Barrier
 Different
Languages

 No Clarity in
Speech
 Language Barrier
 Using Jargons

 Not being specific

How To Overcome ?
 Learn the language.
 Hire an interpreter.
 Carry a translating dictionary.
 Instead of trying to communicate with
hand signs and offend them, research
some different signs that mean
something polite and respectful.
Cultural
Barrier
Cultural Barrier
 C
 Cultures provide people ways of
thinking-- ways of seeing, hearing, and
interpreting the world.
 Similar words can mean different
things to people from different cultures,
even when they talk the "same"
language.
Different Cross Cultural
Barrier
 Language

 Values
 Social Relation

 Concept of time
 Concept of
space

 Gestures
Factors Causing Cultural
Barrier
 Diversified cultural background.
 Language and Accent.
 Behavior and Nature.
 Religion.
How To Overcome ?
 Cross culture environment.
 Have a thorough knowledge of your
counterpart’s culture background.
 Conduct effective communication
workshop.
 Work in groups and run frequent
meeting.
Psychological
Barrier
 Psychological Barriers
 Psychological barriers
can be described as
the cause of distorted
communication
because of human
psychology problems.
 Strong emotion, be it of love, hate, anger or
jealousy, can rob a person of power to think
 or reason. They simply lose control of the
situation and try to read more to the message
 than is being actually written or spoken.
Emotions can make or mar a deal.
 However, in a business relationship it is never
advisable to be extravagant in displaying
emotions.
 In most cases, what a person does under the
spell of emotions may not be in the interest of
healthy communication.
 Types of Psychological
Barriers
 Attitudes and opinion
 Emotions
 Closed mind
 Status-consciousness
 Selective Perception
 The source of communication
 Inattentiveness
 Faulty transmission
 Poor retention and Unsolicited communication
 Attitudes and opinion
 Personal, attitude and opinion often act as
barriers to effective communication.
 If an information agrees with our opinions
and attitudes, we tend to receive it
comfortably.
 It fits comfortably in the filter of our mind.
 But if an information disagrees with our
views or tends to run contrary to our
accepted beliefs; we do not react favorably.
 At times, there may be an attitudinal
problem between management and
employees the management may fail to
understand the opinions of its workers.
 In its authoritarian mood, it may choose
to ignore the feelings of its employees.
 But not paying heed to the viewpoint of
the workers can cause major lacunae in
understanding. Strikes are an outcome of
such lack of understanding.
 Emotions
 Emotional states of mind play an
important role in the act of
communication.
 If the sender is perplexed, worried,
excited, afraid, nervous, his thinking will
be blurred and he will not be able to
organize his message properly.
 The state of his mind is sure to be
reflected in his message.
 It is a matter of common observation
that people caught in a moment of fury
succeed only in violent gesticulation.
 If they try to speak, they falter and keep
on repeating the same words.
 In the same way, the emotions of the
receiver also affect the communication
process.
 If he is angry, he will not take the
message in proper light.
 Closed mind
 A person with a closed mind is very
difficult to communicate with.
 He is a man with deeply ingrained
prejudices.
 And he is not prepared to reconsider his
opinions. He is the kind of man who will
'say, "Look, my mind is made up.
 I know what I know. And I do not want to
know anything else. So just don/t bother
me.
 You approach such a man with a new
proposal to improve his business and he
will immediately retort, "Look here
gentleman, do you presume that you know
my business better than I know?
 I have been in this line for the last
twenty years.
 What can you teach me?" Such a person is
not open to conviction and persuasion. And
in all likelihood, he has not learnt anything
in the twenty years he has been in business.
 If closedminded people can be
encouraged to state their reasons for
rejecting a message or a proposal, they
may reveal deep-rooted
prejudices/' opinions and emotions.
Perhaps, one can make an attempt to
counteract those prejudices, opinions, etc.
 But if they react only with anger and give
a sharp rebuff to anyone who tries to
argue with them, they preclude all
possibility of communication.
 Status-consciousness
 Status consciousness exists in every
organization and is one of the major barriers
to effective communication. Subordinates are
afraid of communicating upward any
unpleasant information.
 They are either too conscious of their inferior
status or too afraid of being snubbed. Status
conscious superiors think that consulting
their juniors would be compromising their
dignity.
 Status consciousness proves to be a very
serious barrier to face-to-face
communication.
 The subordinate feels jittery and nervous,
fidgets about where he is standing, falters in
his speech and fails in communicating what
exactly he wanted to say.
 The officer, on the other hand, reveals impatience
and starts giving comments or advice before he
has fully heard his subordinate.
 The fear of insult does not allow them to shed
their inhibitions and discuss their viewpoints
without the fear of rejection.
 Consequently, there is a total failure of
communication; the subordinate returns to his
seat dissatisfied and simmering inside, while the
officer resumes his work with the feeling that his
employees have no consideration for the value of
his time and keep on pestering him for nothing.
 Filtering of information by superiors for selfish
reasons or for reasons of confidentiality often
leads to conflict in the mind of juniors thereby
causing communication gap.
 While clarity and conciseness are factors that
help communication, too much information can
act as a barrier.
 Selective Perception
 Selective perception is also a major roadblock
to communication.
 For example, a mother usually fails to see any
fault in her child.
 It is her selective perception that blinds her to
the shortcomings of her child. She only sees
and believes what she wants to. The same
applies in an organizational setup.
 Normally, we try to translate our perception
and treat it as reality.
 The background, need and motivation of an
employee govern his perception which, in
turn, affects his understanding.
 The mind filters the message received from
the signs and gives it meaning according to
individual perception. Perception is also
influenced by the class and community to
whom he belongs.
 For example, a poor man's perception of
money varies from a rich man's view of
money. Thus, more than words it is our
perception that adds meaning to a message.
 The source of
communication
 If the receiver has a suspicion about or
prejudice against the source of
communication, there is likely to be a
barrier to communication.
 People often tend to react more
according to their attitude to the source
of facts than to the facts themselves.
 Think of an executive in the habit of
finding fault with his employees.
 If once in a while he begins with a
compliment, the employees immediately
become suspicious and start attributing
motives to the compliment.
 If a statement emanates from the grapevine,
the manager will not give credence to it, but
the same statement coming from a trusted
supervisor will immediately be believed.
 Inattentiveness
 People often become inattentive while
receiving a message in particular, if the
message contains a new idea.
 The human mind usually resists change,
for change makes things uncertain
 It also threatens security and stability.
 So the moment a new idea is presented
to them, they unconsciously become
inattentive.
Faulty transmission
 A message is never communicated from
one person to another in its entirety.
 This is true in particular of oral messages.
 It has to be 'translated' in simple language
so that they may easily understand it. But
translation can never be perfect.
 In the process of interpretation,
simplification and translation, a part of the
message gets lost or distorted.
 If a decision has been taken hy the Board of
Directors, it must be in the form of a lengthy
resolution.
 This resolution cannot be passed on to the
factory workers in the same form.
 A scientific study of the communication
process has revealed that successive
transmissions of the same message are
decreasingly accurate. In oral communications,
something in the order of 30 per cent of the
information is lost in each transmission.
 Poor retention
 Poor retention of communication also acts as
a barrier.
 Studies show that employees retain only
about 50 per cent of the in- formation
communicated to them.
 The rest is lost.
 The structure of thought must be received
and retained by the listener to understand
the arguments.
 The cues that signal the movement of
thought from one set of ideas to another must
be retained by the listener to be able to grasp
the full sense of message discussed.
 Thus if information is communicated
through three or four stages, very little
reaches the destination, and of that very
little also only a fraction is likely to be
retained.
 Poor retention may lead to imperfect
responses, which may further hamper the
communication process.
 Unsolicited communication
 Unsolicited communication has to face
stronger barriers than solicited
communication.
 If I seek advice, it should be presumed
that I will listen to it.
 But if a sales letter comes to me unso-
licited, it is not very sure that I will pay
much attention to it.
Semantic
Barrier
 Semantic Barrier
 The Semantic Barriers refers to the
misunderstanding between the sender and
receiver arising due to the different
meanings of words, and other symbols used
in the communication.
 The semantic barriers usually arise when the
information is not in the simple language
and contains those words or symbols that
have multiple meanings.
 Language is the main tool of
communication and words are the main
components of language. Words are used in
a variety of ways. Many words have more
than one meaning which can vary with the
situations in which they are used.
 To minimize misinterpretation, it is always
wise to be brief, clear and precise about
what you write.
 Bombastic words, circumlocution and
jargon must be avoided at all costs because
it only,
 adds bulk to the original message without
aiding understanding.

 Also, only a few understand it - for the rest

it only adds to the confusion. Mastering
English language requires a lot of skill. One
word may have several meanings.
 According to Murphy and Peck, the word
'run' has 110 meanings in the dictionary -
71 as a verb, 35 as a noun and 4 as an
adjective. Careful use if the correct word in
the right context is important.
 Types of Semantic
Barrier
 Symbols, or Words with Different Meanings
 Faulty Translation
 UnclarifiedAssumptions
 Denotations and Connotations
 Technical jargons
 Bad Expression
 Gaps in Transmission
Symbols, or Words with
Different Meanings
 There are several words that carry
differentmeanings and often, people
get confused with these words and
interpret these differently due to the
difference in their educational and
social backgrounds
 Such as, the word “Crane” has
different meaning as shown in the
sentences below: -
 The bird sanctuary is full of cranes.
 The builder used a crane to lift
heavy steel rods.
 The girl has to crane her neck to
watch the movie.
 Faulty Translation
 Sometimes, the sender translates the
message as per his level of understanding
irrespective of the recipient’s
comprehension level.
 For example, a manager collected
informationfrom his superiors and
subordinates andtranslated the same
information to all his employees,
 according to the understanding level
of the superiors, and this led to the
misinterpretation of the message.

 Thus, it is required to mold the

message according to the
understanding levels of the
employees to have an intended
response.
 Unclarified
Assumptions
 Sometimes the sender creates assumptions
about certain things which he feels the receiver
must be knowing about it and focus only on
the subject matter.
 But in the case of a special message, if the
assumptions are vague and unknown to the
receiver then the communication might get
adversely affected.
 Denotations and
Connotations
 The denotation means the literal meaning of the
word, it just shows the name of the object and
does not imply any negative or positive qualities.
 The denotation barriers arise due to the sender
and receiver using a different definition and
meaning of the word used in the message.
 Such as word crane is used in the context of
bird species but it is interpreted as a vehicle that
lifts the objects.
 Whereas the implied meaning of the
word is called connotation that arouses
personal reactions and qualitative
judgments.
 The connotation barriers arise when the
people use words that hold different
meanings in different abstract situations,
contexts, feelings, etc.
 For example, the word beautiful and
confidence has a positive connotation, but
can have any of the meaning depending on
the context in which it is used.
Gaps in Transmission
 Sometimes people rely on their own
assumptions about a particular situation and do
not bother to clarify their doubts.
 Such assumptions are usually drawn when the
origin message is not properly coded and
leaves the room for doubts.
 People try to fill-in these gaps in
communication on the basis of their own
understanding which may not always match
those of the sender.
 This causes a big barrier in
communication.
 For example, if an employee, Mr. X, is
only informed about the arrival of Mr. A
from London and the sender of this
information assumes that Mr. X will
receive Mr. A at the airport, it is a clear
case of unclarified assumption, Lastly,
gap in transmission may also occur due
faulty translation.
If words are played around with,
confusion may prevail.
Any change or translation can never
be as effective as the original.
All these semantic barriers may prove
to be a big obstacle in effective
communication.
 Technical jargons
 Often people working in the technical groups
such as engineers, production managers, IT
managers, etc. use the technical jargons in their
communication which is quite difficult for the
layman to understand. Thus, the use of
technical jargons in communication can act as
a barriers. Thus, semantic barriers lead to
misunderstanding of the information and the
objective of communication, i.e. for which it
was intended, gets disrupted.
 Bad Expression
 The message is not formulated properly
and the language used is so difficult that it
could be misinterpreted by the recipient.
 The message is said to be badly expressed
if the wrong words are chosen, the
sentences are not sequenced properly, and
there is a frequent repetition of words or
sentences.
 The badly expressed messages consume
a lot of time as it requires corrections
and clarifications and also the impact of
the message gets reduced.
How to Overcome Semantic Barrier
 We should prefer words which are familiar to
the receiver in the interpretation we wish to
give them.
 If we want the receiver to give an unfamiliar
meaning to a familiar word within the context
of our message, we should make it amply clear
the first time we use it.
 If we feel that a word being used by us is
likely to be unfamiliar to the receiver, we
should make its meaning clear the first time we
use it.
Organizational
Barrier
 Organizational Barrier
 Organizational structure greatly affects the
capability of the employees as far as the
communication is concerned .
 All the internal factors which hinder or
block the process of communication are
known as organizational barriers.
 Some such factors have already been
discussed like restrictive environments,
deceptive tactics, communication network.
 There occurs a delay in communication. The
people at different layers may use, manipulate
or withhold information for several reasons.
If the organization is authoritarian in nature, it
becomes even more difficult to have a
congenial working environment.
 While communicating, it is equally important
to ensure that the medium chosen to
communicate the message is appropriate.
 If formal information is to be given, it should
always go in a written form, while for the not-
so-serious discussions,
 face-to-face interaction should be preferred.

 If the management acts too harsh and

issues warnings on every small thing, it
will hinder healthy communication.
 Even the layout of the office plays a role in
communication.
 The spatial set-up of the workplace, the
color scheme, the decor, the ambience, the
furniture arrangement may contribute or
obstruct communication.
 Factors Causing
Organizational Barrier
 Status relationship
 One way flow
 Organization
structure
 Rules and regulations
 Too many levels in
organization structure
 Poor structure to the communication.
 A weak delivery.
 The use of the wrong medium to deliver
the communication.
 A mixed message.
 The message is delivered to the wrong
audience.
 A distracting environment.
 How to Overcome
Organizational Barrier
 Keep receiver in mind
 Open communication environment
 Avoid too many transfer stations
 Avoid communication when emotionally
disturbed
 Be aware of diversity in culture, language etc.
 Use appropriate non-verbal cues
 Select most suitable medium
 Analyze feedback
Gender
Barrier
 Gender Barrier
 Relationships, respect, workplace authority
and education are common ways men and
women are pitted against each other.
 Overcoming barriers in gender
communication isn’t simple but can be made
clear with a little patience and understanding.
 This barrier arises because men and women
have different ways of thinking and
communication.
 There are distinct differences between the
speech patterns in a man and those in a
woman. A woman speaks between 22,000-
25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks
between 1,000-10,000 words a day.
 During childhood, girls speak earlier than
boys and at the age of three, have a
vocabulary twice that of boys.
 The reasons for this lie in the wiring of their
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 compart mentalized 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.
Challenges faced by Women
 Gender bias: - We live in a male dominated
environment where we give priority to the
man then women.
 There is continuous prejudice towards women
abilities that are following: -
 Gender stereotypes views.
 Work –life balance pressure.
 Lack of Networking opportunities.
 Lack of encouragement.
 Physical problems.
 Factor Causing Gender
Barrier
 Fear and Shy
 Misunderstanding
 Environment
How to Overcome?
 The process of bridging the gap in gender
communication requires the great deal of
patience and understanding that only time and
attention will teach.
 Educate your team about gender and gender
bias.
 Encourage diversity.
 Avoid Stereotypes.
 Create Safe “Identity Workspaces”: -
Companies should encourage women to build
communities in which similarly positioned
women can discuss their feedback, compare
notes, and emotionally support one another's
learning. Identifying common experiences
increases women's willingness to talk openly,
take risks, and be vulnerable without fearing
that others will misunderstand or judge them.