barriers to organizational communication
TRANSCRIPT
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There are six crunching barriers to organizational communication:
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
Poor structure to the communication
As mentioned inEssentials of Business Communication, the structure of a
communication is an essential factor in how well a business communication is
received by an audience.
It doesn't matter whether that audience is an audience of one or one million,
good structure is essential if a communication is to be 'heard' amongst the
advertising and marketing 'noise' of today's business environment.
So a poor structure to your message or delivery is therefore a major barrier to
effective communication.
If you are wondering if your message or communication has the optimal
structure, it is probably a good idea to revisit theEssentials of Business
Communication page.
Weak delivery
It doesn't matter how important or impressive the subject of your
communication is, if you deliver it without any 'punch' you will not get as
many people to take your desired action as you would like.
A weak delivery is like the very funny joke with the badly-told punchline --- it is
not as funny or as memorable as you remember the original to be.
My mother is a shocker when it comes to jokes. I remember one evening shewas telling me a joke and, having successfully gotten all the way through the
lead up, couldn't remember the punchline. She fumbled and stumbled her
way, but couldn't get me to laugh. I couldn't see what the joke was. So she
rang the friend who told her the joke and got HER to tell me the punchline.
What was incomprehensible and unfunny suddenly became extremely funny.
It's all in the delivery.
It is important to not get confused between delivery and presenter. I know of
one English businessman, Richard Branson, who is a shy and reticent public
speaker. Yet I have seen audiences hang on his every word.
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Branson may not be a powerful orator, but his message and its structure are
very sound.
Similarly, I know of several businessman who are extremely confident in the
public's gaze, very happy to be in front of an audience. But because their
presentations and communications lack a suitable structure, they 'lose' their
audience within minutes, the audience becoming increasingly confused and
eventually frustrated by not being able to understand clearly and easily what
on earth these businessmen are on about.
The use of the wrong medium
You have to announce a temporary hold on non-essential stationery
spending in your department. How do you communicate this?
Believe it or not, I know of one company who were seriously considering
holding a major public meeting about this, with the department head havingto get up in front of the entire department in the staff restaurant and explain
why her staff couldn't order disposable fountain pens for a while.
I know of one group that were thinking of rolling out a small internal initiative
via an expensive multi-media cd-rom, one to be given to each member of
staff.
In the first case a simple memo would have sufficed; in the second a simple
announcement on their intranet would equally have gotten the message
across.
Similarly, an advertising campaign on local radio would be a highlyineffective way of reaching the desired audience if the message was
complex and really intended for a narrow niche audience.
A public presentation, with 'obligatory' PowerPoint TM slideshow full of
complex charts and data, would be the wrong medium if the message you
were trying to communicate would be better served by a white paper, or
some similar print-based format that allowed the audience to digest the
complexities at their own pace.
When considering which medium to use for which type of mesage you wish to
communicate, it is wise to analyse the following:
What is the fixed cost of production? Are there ad agency fees,broadcast or print fees that must be paid, irrespective of the number or
volume of items produced?
What are the variable costs -- such as cds, dvds, audio cassettes, printingcosts?
How long will it take to write, edit and produce your communication inyour chosen medium?
What percentage of your target audience are likely to have access toyour chosesn medium at the time you choose to publish/play/present it?
What percentage of your target audience will be likely to pay attentionto your chosen medium?
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Is your message a complex one? Would your message be more easilyand readily comprehended through auditory, tactile or visual (e.g
reading or images) modalities?
How quickly do you need your audience to comprehend and takeaction on your message?
A mixed message
It is very hard for an audience -- whether an audience of 1 or 1 million -- to
understand your communication if you unnecessarily obfuscate.
What?
If you deliberately, or otherwise, confuse them. A HUGE barrier to business
communication is the ability of 'business-speak' to confuse and alienate its
audience.
It does this in two ways:
1. By using terms and phrases that are 'jargon', the meaning of which are
possibly recognised but probably not fully understood
2. By trying to 'save time/paper' by rolling several different communication
messages into one.
A 'do-it-yourself' example of the former can be found here...
An example of the latter is where a business communication mentions, in the
one communication, two or more completely separate events. Such as, forexample, a memo that talks about what management expect you to do to
conform to the latest departmental stationery budget cuts alongside an
events list of the up-coming staff picnic.
Another barrier arising from mixed messages is when a previously-held stance
is lightly overturned to meet some political or business expediency, then
upheld again.
An example of this would be where the acceptance of corporate gifts is not
allowed, but then allowed if it a brand new client who has contracted a large
amount of money to your business, then not allowed again after the gift-
giving and receiving season is over.
Or a company-wide budget cut that stops all business-class travel, but the
very senior management are found to be travelling first class.
Be very careful of mixing your messages, as mixed messages are a very real
barrier to effective business communciation.
The wrong audience
I once attended a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, of the British
Psychological Society.
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Fortunate to have been presenting a paper there, I was nevertheless
distracted by the very large number of other presenters, many of whom were
presenting papers that, on reading their paper's titles in the Proceedings,
looked really interesting.
With a couple of hours to spare before I was due to present, I picked what
appeared to be an interesting presentation, and sauntered casually into the
lecture room.
So you can imagine my dismay when I found, about five minutes into the
presentation, that the title was a 'trick' title, a play-on-words by the author
that no doubt struck him as funny and clever, but struck me as dastardly.
As Robert Cialdini would say, the presenter was a 'smuggler' of influence. That
is, he used a 'hot' topic of the day to entice an audience in, only to then
present to them something that had VERY little relevance to that 'hot' topic.
I was not alone (and not the first) in walking out of the lecture theatre and
heading for a 'second choice' presentation (which, incidentally,I did thoroughly enjoy!)
I also remember a very large and cumbersome booklet being left on my desk
overnight by a then employer. The booklet went to great lengths to inform me
of the latest company initiatives in a particular HR area. Whilst the time and
expense the company went to to create and publish the booklet was
considerable, the actual initiative itself affected perhaps less than a fifth of
the total employees in the company. Even then, from talking to colleagues in
that 'fifth' group, I doubted that more than a few of the fifth would have been
interested in it, too.
The company had its own intranet (it was one of the pioneers in the
computing industry) before business really understood the power and
potential of internet publishing, so it could have just as easily and far more
cheaply just emailed everyone with a link to specially-written pages on their
intranet.
But these were the days when it was the IT department that controlled access
to and publishing on the intranet, not individual business groups.
At least these days the HR Department could have published their own
webpages on the intranet and sent an email out to individually affected
employees.Presenting your message to the wrong audience for your business
communication is a complete waste of your time and money. Don't do it --
pick your audience then pick the medium that will best find them.
A distracting environment
There's nothing worse than trying to communicate your message to a group
of people who cannot 'hear' you.
Whether their inability to 'hear' you is because of: your voice not being strong enough
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too many others talking in the room at the same time police and ambulance sirens outside the venue too many phone calls coming in to their office while they're trying to read
your memo
interruptions while they try to read your report incoming emails keep popping up while they are reading your web-
based communication
their minds are full of other pressing matters they are supposed to be somewhere else at that moment their mobile phone keeps ringing, or vibrating if they've set it to 'silent'
instead of switching it off
their internet connection is slow their internet connection keeps dropping out there are too many interesting people to look at while they are on the
bus trying, in vain, to concentrate on your report (which is what is
happening to me as I sit here on a bus trying to write this -- there is a
'domestic' happening between a married couple and it makes for
fascinating, if voyueristic, watching!)
the room's airconditioning is not working and the room is hot and stuffy the room's heating is not working and the room is cold and clammyWell, there are of course a thousand possible distracting reasons why they
cannot or will not attend to your business communication.
The point is to do whatever you can, whilst acknowledging that this might benext to nothing, to reduce the number of distractions your chosen audience
might be subjected to.
There are many barriers in communication. Language can be a
barrier. If the receiver does not understand the language of the
sender, it is a barrier. In electronic communications, such as radio
or television, static or a weak signal can be a barrier. A badreceiver antenna can be a barrier as well. Emotions can cause
people to not be receptive to the words of another person, even if
the words are understood. That is a barrier. In short, anything that
interferes with a signal sent to a receiver is a barrier to
communication.
The essential elements of communication are as follows:
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Communication Barrier #1
Lack of EnthusiasmDo youreallybelieve your product is better than the competitions? Do
you look as confident as yousay you are? The benefits of your product will not
be believable if you dont communicate your passion, enthusiasm, and
commitment through your facial expressions.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Show Some
Enthusiasm Begin paying attention to the type of facial expressions you use and
when you use them. You may not be aware of when you frown, roll youreyes, or scowl.
Make sure your facial expressions are appropriate based on your topic,listeners and objective. When youre smiling while communicating a
serious or negative message, you create a discrepancy between your
facial expression and your message. The same discrepancy applies when
youre communicating a positive message without facial expressions.
Once you have increased your awareness of facial expressions, practicethe skill of incorporating them into your message, matching the
appropriate expression to each situation. You wouldnt want to have a
stone-cold look on your face when you are expressing your passion for
your companys products.
Communication Barrier #2
Distracting Gestures
The majority of individuals I work with fidget with their fingers, rings, penthe
list goes on. If they dont fidget, then they unconsciously talk with their hands.
Their elbows get locked at their sides and every gesture looks the same. Or
theyve been told they talk with their hands so they hold their hands and do
nothing.
Throughout the day, notice how you and others use gestures.
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Do you talk with your hands or gesture too often? If youre constantlyusing gestures, youre not able to think on your feet and youre creating
static.
Do your gestures have purpose? Ask for constructive feedback from friends, family and co-workers: When
I gesture do I look like Im talking with my hands? Do I use gestures too
often or not enough?
How to Avoid This Barrier: Use Gestures for
Emphasis
Confident speakers use gestures to add emphasis to their words. To gesturewith purpose, avoid locking your elbows at your sides or creating the same
repetitious gestures. Instead, expand your gestures from your sides and let
your hands emphasize and describe your message.
Add variety to your gestures by relaxing your arms back to your sides after you
complete a gesture.
Static is created when whatyou say is inconsistent
with how you say it.
Benefits include:
When your gestures create a visual for your listeners, theyll remembermore information and will remember your message longer.
Gestures will grab your listeners attention. Gestures add energy and inflection to your voice and channel your
adrenaline and nervous energy.
Communication Barrier #3Lack of FocusThe more you add information that isnt necessary, the greater the risk your
listeners will misinterpret your point.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Stay Focused
1.
When you begin to say too much and feel like a train about to derail, putthe brakes on and get yourself back on track PAUSE!
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2. Keep your objective in mind. Think in terms of what your listener needs toknow about what you want them to do, not what you want to tell them.
3. Put thought into your words.4. Focus your message on three significant points.5. Pay attention to your listener. Are they hanging on your every word or are
they dazed? Are they attentive or fidgeting?
Communication Barrier #4
Using PowerPoint as a CrutchThe more you add information that isnt necessary, the
greater the risk your listeners will misinterpret your point.PowerPoint isnt designed to serve as your notes. The purpose of visual aids is
to enhance and support your message through pictures and illustrations.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Design
VisualAids, not Wordy Slides
How you design your visual aids will determine your ability to stay connected
with your listener.
Create PowerPoint slides with more pictures and fewer words. Ask yourself, Why am I using this PowerPoint slide? Identify how your PowerPoint slide best supports your message based on
the following criteria:
Listener expectations and needs. Listener experience and knowledge level. Objectives. Time frame. Number of participants.
Save details for handouts. Your listeners will appreciate a conversationalapproach with interaction accompanied by take-aways they may use as
a resource.
Stay away from software overkill. If youre clicking the mouse every fewseconds, your visual aids are the message and you are the backup.
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If youve been using the same PowerPoint design for more than sixmonths, its time to make a change!
Stop disconnecting with your listener by talking to your visual aids. Onlyspeak when you see eyes! Pause when you refer to your visual aids andstay connected with your listener.
Communication Barrier #5
Verbal StaticUm what perceptionlikedo you createyou know when you
hearuma speaker usinguhwords that clutteryou know their
language? Knowledgeable, credible and confident are labels which
probably dont come to mind.
As I travel the country, the number one challenge individuals need to
overcome to increase their influence is the ability to replace non-words with a
pause. We use non-words to buy ourselves time to think about what we want
to say. These words are distracting and your listener misses your message.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Eliminate Filler
WordsPowerPoint isnt designed to serve as your notes. Thepurpose of visual aids is to enhance and support your
message through pictures and illustrations.
Benefits for you:
Think on your feet. Get to the point and avoid rambling. Take a relaxing breath. Hold your l isteners attention. Gain control over your message.Benefits for listener:
Hear, understand and respond. Act on what you say.
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Communication Barrier #6
Lack of Eye ConnectionThe only way to build a relationship is through trust. When you forget what tosay, you will look at the ceiling, floor, PowerPoint slides or anywhere away
from your listener. When you disconnect youll say: uh um so and, etc.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Keep Your Eyes
On Your AudienceWhen speaking to more than two individuals, connect with one individual for
a complete sentence or thought. Take a moment to pause as you transitionyour eyes from one individual to another.
When rehearsing, ask your listener to immediately give you feedback when
you look away from them while youre speaking.
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Following are the main communication barriers:
1. Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is generally howeach individual interprets the world around him. All generally want
to receive messages which are significant to them. But any
message which is against their values is not accepted. A same
event may be taken differently by different individuals. For
example : A person is on leave for a month due to personal
reasons (family member being critical). The HR Manager might be
in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, the
immediate manager might think of replacement because his
teams productivity is being hampered, the family members might
take him as an emotional support.
The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown.
Same word may mean different to different individuals. For
example: consider a word value.
a.What is the value of this Laptop?b.I value our relation?c.What is the value of learning technical skills?
Value means different in different sentences. Communication
breakdown occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver.
2. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool ofinformation. It is essential to control this information flow else the
information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or
overlooked. As a result communication is less effective.
3. Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example atraveler may pay attention to one NO PARKING sign, but if suchsign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive
messages should be ignored for effective communication.
Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and his
subordinate explains him his problem, the superior may not get
what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate.
4. Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to beachieved within a specified time period, the failure of which has
adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal
channels of communication are shortened, or messages are
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partially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus sufficient time
should be given for effective communication.
5. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noiseto distractions. Physical distractions are also there such as, poor
lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affectscommunication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers
interferes with communication.
6. Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affectscommunication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry
he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he
takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that
case the message is interpreted to be good and interesting).
7. Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy inan organization (i.e. more the number of managerial levels), more
is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the
people at the top level can see the overall picture while the
people at low level just have knowledge about their own area
and a little knowledge about other areas.
8. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit.One cant always retain what is being told specially if he is not
interested or not attentive. This leads to communication
breakdown.
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METHODS OF OVERCOMING BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION OR
FACILITATING COMMUNICATION
Overcoming the communication barriers requires a vigilant observation and
thoughts of potential barriers in a particular instance of communication. State
all the anticipated barriers that may have impact on your day-to-daycommunication. Strategies to overcome barriers will be different in different
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situations depending upon the type of barriers present. Following are some of
the important general strategies that will be commonly useful in all the
situations to overcome the barriers of communication.
Taking the receiver more seriously Crystal clear message Delivering messages skillfully Focusing on the receiver Using multiple channels to communicate instead of relying on one channel Ensuring appropriate feedback Be aware of your own state of mind/emotions/attitude
8.1. Facilitators of Communication
In addition to removal of specific barriers to communication, the followinggeneral guidelines may be helpful to facilitate communication:
Have a positive attitude about communication. Defensiveness interferes withcommunication.
Work at improving communication skills. The communication model and discussionof barriers to communication provide the necessary knowledge to improve
communication. This increased awareness of the potential for improving
communication is the first step to better communication.
Include communication as a skill to be evaluated along with all the other nursingskills for undergraduates.
Make communication goal oriented. Relational goals come first and pave theway for other goals. When the sender and receiver have a good relationship, they
are much more likely to accomplish their communication goals.
Experiment with communication alternatives. What works with one person may notwork well with another. Use diverse communication channels, listening and
feedback techniques.
Accept the reality of miscommunication. The best communicators fail to haveperfect communication. They accept miscommunication and work to minimize its
negative impacts.
Use of simple and clear words should be emphasized. Use of ambiguous wordsand jargons should be avoided.
Noise is the main communication barrier in most of the health care settings, whichmust be handled on priority basis. It is essential to identify and eliminate the source
of noise.
Listen attentively and carefully. There is a difference between listening andhearing. Active listening means hearing with a proper understanding of the
message. By asking questions, the speaker can ensure whether his/her message is
understood or not by the receiver in the same manner as intended by him.
The organizational structure should be simple to facilitate communicationbetween various hierarchy levels. The number of hierarchical levels should be
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optimum, and there should be an ideal span of control within the organization.
Simpler the organizational structure, more effective will be the communication.
The managers should know how to prioritize their work. They should not overloadthemselves with the work, should spend quality time with their subordinates, and
should listen to their problems and feedbacks actively.
There are 6 C's of effective communication, which are applicable to both
written and oral communication. They are as follows:
1. CompleteThe message must be complete in all respect and shouldconvey all facts required by the receiver. Incompleteness of the message
may lead to misunderstanding or incomplete understanding and confusion
between the sender and the receiver. It is the responsibility of the sender to
make sure (before mailing the message) that the information provided in
the message is complete as per the purpose of the communication.2. ClearClarity in communication makes understanding easier and
enhances the meaning of a message. A clear message uses exact,
appropriate, and concrete words and avoids ambiguous words.
3. CorrectnessCorrectness in communication implies that there are nogrammatical and spelling errors in communication.
4. ConciseConciseness means eliminating wordiness and communicatingwhat you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other
C's of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective
communication.
5. ConsiderationConsideration implies stepping into the shoes of others.Effective communication must take the receiver/s into consideration (i.e.,
the audience's viewpoints, background, mindset, education level, etc.). The
sender should make an attempt to understand the audience, their
requirements, emotions, as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of
the audience is maintained and their emotions are not hurt.
6. CourtesyCourtesy in message implies that the message should show thesender's expression as well as respect to the receiver. The sender of the
message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective, and enthusiastic
(Figure 1.10).
Encourage Open CommunicationSometimes, all a manager has to do is lead by example and his employees
will follow. Promote direct and honest communication by having an open-
door policy so employees can come to you when they have issues. Engage in
active listening with your employees so they know that communication is atwo-way street. To reduce miscommunication among your staff, encourage
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them to share their needs with management and their colleagues. Articulate
the companys vision and explain that the key to realizing that vision is to work
together as a unit.
Promote Knowledge Sharing
Some managers know their employees job titles but not the intricacies oftheir work. For example, you give a sales representative her quotas and you
are only concerned with whether she meets them. You do not know how she
generates her leads or how she secures her sales. So the employee does not
feel isolated and to encourage her feedback, ask her to explain her specific
job activities and the amount of time spent on each. She may even have
suggestions that can improve the companys bottom line.
Motivate Your EmployeesWhen employees are unmotivated, productivity suffers. Also, communication
may come to a standstill. Keep your employees motivated by supporting
them in times of uncertainty. Set aside a certain time of the day when theycan individually come to you to discuss issues. Or, have group meetings or
roundtable discussions that encourage their input on specific assignments.
Maintain a positive attitude while overcoming obstacles.
Establish Clear ExpectationsMiscommunication is less likely to occur when employees know what is
expected of them. This includes their objectives and how to meet them. They
should also know how you expect them to interact with, and treat, each
other -- for example, whether you will tolerate disrespect between your
employees or whether you will penalize them for it should not be a mystery.
Treat your workers fairly to avoid discriminating and to convey that you do nottolerate it in others.
Build Team AtmosphereEffective teamwork allows your employees to look beyond their self-interests
and focus on what is best for the team. Team-building helps to break
communication barriers and enables employees to find new ways of working
together. When placing employees in teams, look at their skills and abilities
and assign responsibilities accordingly. Improve communications by planning
team activities outside of work, such as group lunches or after-work events.
Invite all of your employees instead of only a select few.
Resolve Conflict EffectivelyConflicts are inevitable in the workplace. If a breakdown in communication is
the reason for the conflict, strive to diffuse it quickly and effectively. Listen to
all sides before arriving at your conclusion. Apply resolutions that are in line
with company policy. If necessary, seek intervention from your human
resources department or equivalent. If your strategies fail to improve
communication between your workers, ask HR to assist or consider hiring a
workplace consultant to provide communication training to your employees.
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1. Allowing your emotions to speak for
you.
Emotions can hijack a conversation. Unlessyou manage them, strong emotions bypass
the logical part of the brain and cause you to
react and speak before thinking. Strong
emotions do not want patience, precision, or
perspective . . . all of which is necessary for
effective teaming and productiverelationships of any kind.
2. Caring more about yourself than the
other person or the team.
Communicating and connecting is all about
finding what is important to the other person.
On a team or in a relationship, it is never
successful when a person care more about
himself/herself than other people. Never.
3. Assuming that you understand and
failing to really listen.
It is easy to jump to conclusions without
getting all the information. Sometimes we think
we understand, when in fact we don't. People
are complex and situations are complex.
There is always more to the story. Even if
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spin information to make yourself look better, it
creates disconnection and distrust. No hidden
agendas.
7. Bringing a cynical or negative mindset
from the beginning.
The attitude you bring to a conversation will
determine the quality of the conversation. If
your mindset is full of cynicism & negativity, it isnot likely you will care, listen, or communicate
well. And you certainly won't connect. If you
want to connect, get your mind right.
8. Using a style that doesn't connect with
the other person.
People have different styles of communicating
and interacting with others. You must be
willing and able to flex you way you
communicate. Don't get stuck in your style.
Rigidity will get you into trouble. Flexibility will
help you connect. Blessed are the flexible forthey shall not break.
9. Hearing what you want to hear.
We listen selectively. There is a strong
tendency to listen for confirming information
and ignore any information that doesn't fit with
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what we believe. We hear what want to hear
rather than what is actually said. The bottom
line is that if you don't listen, you won't
connect.
10. Not putting in the effort necessary for
real communication.
In today's accelerated, rapidly moving world it
is easy to get lazy about communication.Connecting with others is a skill that requires
focus & discipline. You have to work at it. If
you do not put in the effort, you will not get
the results. You don't get the relationships you
want. You get the relationships you build.
Most Common Barriers to EffectiveCommunication1. Physical Barriers: this has to do with poor or outdated
equipment used during communications, background noise, poor
lighting, temperatures that are too hot or too cold.
2. Attitudes: emotions like anger or sadness can taint objectivity.
Also being extremely nervous, having a personal agenda or
needing to be right no matter what can make communicationsless than effective. This is also known as Emotional Noise.
3. Language: this can seem like an easy one, but even people
speaking the same language can have difficulty understanding
each other if they are from different generations or from different
regions of the same country. Slang, professional jargon and
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regional colloquialisms can even hurt communicators with the best
intentions.
4. Physiological Barriers: ill health, poor eyesight or hearing
difficulties, pain.
5. Problems with Structure Design: companies or institutions canhave organization structures that are not clear, which can make
communications difficult. Also to blame for faulty communications
are bad information systems, and lack of supervision or training of
the people involved.
6. Cultural Noise:people sometimes make stereotypical assumptions about others basedon their cultural background.
7. Lack of Common Experience: its a great idea to use examples or stories to explain a point
that is being discussed. However, if the speaker and the audience cannot relate to these
examples because they do not have the same knowledge or have not shared the same
experiences then this tool will be ineffective.
8. Ambiguity and Abstractions Overuse: leaving things half-said, using too many
generalizations, proverbs or sayings, can all lead to communications that are not clear and thatcan lend themselves to misinterpretations.
9. Information Overload: it takes time to process a lot of information and too many details can
overwhelm and distract the audience from the important topics. Keep it Simple, Sweetie.
10. Assumptions and Jumping to Conclusions: This can make someone reach a decision about
something before listening to all the facts.
All of these barriers to effective communication can either distract those involved or
otherwise hinder your communications. Make sure theyre not in the way of making your
point crystal-clear!
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