BARRIERS AND BREAKDOWN

IN COMMUNICATION

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNICATION
DR. RONALD IMPERIO

SHEILA H. SANOGAL, MASTER’S DEGREE IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE

WHAT IS BARRIERS AND BREAKDOWN IN
COMMUNICATION?

A communication barrier is
anything that prevents us from
receiving and understanding the
messages others use to convey
their information, ideas and A communication
thoughts. They can interfere with breakdown is defined as a
or block the message you are failure to exchange
trying to send. information, resulting in a
lack of communication.
SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

A. LACK OF PLANNING
SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION
BARRIERS
B. UNCLARIFIED ASSUMPTION
SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
C. SEMANTIC DISTORTION

2 Types of Semantic Distortion

1. Denotative Barriers- Direct meaning of any word which must be
shared by two people to understand each other. They disagree on
the meaning of a word as they are unaware of the other persons’
meaning.
2. Connotative Barriers- refers to the difference of meaning
according to different abstract situations, contexts, actions and
feelings. Both the communicators know both meanings of the
word, but use only one meaning according to the context, which
might be being used differently in the context.
SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
D. POORLY EXPRESSED MESSAGE

No matter how clears the idea in the mind of the

sender of communication, it may still be marked
by poorly chosen words, omissions, lack of
coherence, poor organization of ideas, awkward
sentence structure, unnecessary jargons and
failure to clarify the implications of the message.
This lack of clarity and precision, which can be
costly, can be avoided through greater care in
encoding the message
7.2 A. COMMUNICATION BARRIERS IN
THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
• Communicating in an international environment is particularly
difficult because of wide variations in language, culture and etiquette.
• For instance, in western culture, the color black is often associated
with mourning, while in the Far East; white is the color of mourning.
In business dealings in the United States, people generally use the
first name while in many other countries; people generally address
one another by their last names.
7.2 A. COMMUNICATION BARRIERS IN
THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
THREE MAIN BARRIERS ON THE WAY INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
1. LANGUAGE BARRIER / LINGUISTIC BARRIER is a term that is used
to describe the inability of passing information between two or more
people due to linguistic differences.
Examples of language barriers that prevent individuals from effective
communication include:
• Dialects - While two people may technically speak the same language,
dialectal differences can make communication between them difficult.
Examples of dialectical language barriers exist worldwide. Chinese, for
example, has a variety of dialects that are commonly spoken, including
Cantonese and Mandarin.
• Language Disabilities - Language disabilities are physical impediments
to language. Physical language disabilities that cause language barriers
include stuttering, dysphonia or an articulation disorder and hearing
loss.
7.2 A. COMMUNICATION BARRIERS IN
THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
THREE MAIN BARRIERS ON THE WAY INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
2. CULTURAL BARRIER are a result of living in an ever shrinking world.
Different cultures, whether they be a societal culture of a race or simply
the work culture of a company, can hinder developed communication if two
different cultures clash.
Examples of cultural barriers that prevent individuals from effective
communication include:
• Generational - Each age group has a different general approach to
work, which often leads to conflicts with older workers describing
younger workers as "slackers," and younger workers criticizing older
workers as being "out of touch."
• Status and Resistance - Workers who are accustomed to workplaces
where seniority and status are emphasized may find it difficult to
adapt to more fluid environments, where job titles are de-emphasized
and production methods do not always follow a predetermined set of
guidelines.
7.2 A. COMMUNICATION BARRIERS IN
THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
THREE MAIN BARRIERS ON THE WAY INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION

• 3. PSYCHOLOGICAL OR
EMOTIONAL BARRIER refers to the
psychological state i.e. Opinions,
attitudes, status consciousness,
emotions, etc. of a person that deeply
affects the ability to communicate. The
communication largely depends on the
mental condition of a person, if the
person is not mentally or emotionally
sound, then he cannot communicate
effectively either as a sender or a
receiver.
7.2 B. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT COMMUNICATION
DIFFER IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES
• Explicit Communication refers to
the things we say or write, often
messages intended to influence the
behavior of others. "Do this" and
"Don't do that" count as examples
of explicit communication. They
leave as little room as possible for
interpretation or ambiguity.
• Implicit Communication, on the other
hand, refers to the things we do,
individually or collectively, usually
without regard to the messages
others receive. It could be corporate
culture or perhaps body language. It
might even be a decision not to
communicate at all.
7.2 B. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT COMMUNICATION
DIFFER IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES
7.2 B. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT COMMUNICATION
DIFFER IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES
7.2 C. LOSS BY TRANSMISSION AND
POOR RETENTION
• Successive transmissions of a
message by different people tend
to decrease its accuracy. In other
words, if a message is transmitted
from one person to another in a
series, the message tends to lose
accuracy. While communicating
orally, approximately 30 percent
of the information is lost in each
transmission.
Poor retention of information is
another serious problem. Studies
indicate that employees are able to
retain approximately 50 percent of
what they are told and supervisors
are able to retain around 60
percent of the information they
receive.
7.2 C. LOSS BY TRANSMISSION AND
POOR RETENTION
7.2 D. POOR LISTENING AND PREMATURE
EVALUATION
• There are many talkers but few Some people are always in a hurry by
listeners. Everyone probably has habit. These kinds of people most
observed people entering a likely make quick judgments and jump
discussion with comments that
into conclusions. They do not consider
have no relation to the topic. One
reason may be that these persons all aspects of the information such as
are pondering over their own social, cultural, economic, etc. and
problems- such as preserving their often end up taking quick and wrong
own egos or making a good decisions.
impression on other group
members instead of listening to
the conversation.
7.2 D. POOR LISTENING AND PREMATURE
EVALUATION
7.2 D. POOR LISTENING AND PREMATURE
EVALUATION
7.2 D. POOR LISTENING AND PREMATURE
EVALUATION
THANK YOU!