BCA - Barriers of Communication
Introduction:
The word "communication" derived from the Latin word "communicare" meaning to make it common. Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to another. It involves ensuring that your message has reached the target audience as well as the receiver understands and responds to it as you want them to.
Definitions of Communication
The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium. …The successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings.
-Oxford English Dictionary
Communication is a process of passing information and understanding from one person to another.
-Keith Davis
Communication is the process by which information is passed between individuals and organisations by means of previously agreed symbols.
-Peter Little
As above mentioned definitions indicate communication involves exchange of thoughts between two parties. But it is more than simply the transmission of information. The crucial element of the whole process is meaning. Every communication consists of a minimum of one sender, a receiver, and a message. The transmission of a message from sender to recipient risks being affected by many things because communication impacts how people interact. These include the location, medium used to communicate, the cultural situation, and the emotions involved. However, communication helps people to interact and share various aspects of life.
Process of Communication
Communication involves transmitting non-verbal and verbal information in a channel that includes a sender, medium of communication, and a receiver. The following are the essential concepts of communication;
Sender
The sender begins the process of communication. The sender has to be clear about the purpose of the communication and about the target audience of the communication.
Encoding
Sender begins with the encoding process wherein he uses certain words or non-verbal methods such as symbols, signs, body gestures, etc. to translate the information into a message. The sender’s knowledge, skills, perception, background, competencies, etc. has a great impact on the success of the message.
Message
Once the encoding is finished, the sender gets the message that he intends to convey. The message can be written, oral, symbolic or non-verbal such as body gestures, silence, sighs, sounds, etc. or any other signal that triggers the response of a receiver.
Communication Channel
The Sender chooses the medium through which he wants to convey his message to the recipient. It must be selected carefully in order to make the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipient. The choice of medium depends on the interpersonal relationships between the sender and the receiver and also on the urgency of the message being sent. Oral, virtual, written, sound, gesture, etc. are some of the commonly used communication mediums.
Receiver
The receiver is the person for whom the message is intended or targeted. He tries to comprehend it in the best possible manner such that the communication objective is attained. The degree to which the receiver decodes the message depends on his knowledge of the subject matter, experience, trust and relationship with the sender.
Decoding
Here, the receiver interprets the sender’s message and tries to understand it in the best possible manner. An effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the message in exactly the same way as it was intended by the sender.
Feedback
The Feedback is the final step of the process that ensures the receiver has received the message and interpreted it correctly as it was intended by the sender. It increases the effectiveness of the communication as it permits the sender to know the efficacy of his message. The response of the receiver can be verbal or non-verbal.
Barriers to Communication
The sender sends the message and the recipient is the receiver of the message. The process of communication is never smooth as it is affected by the barriers of communication.
Barriers to effective communication can result in confusion which can lead to incorrect information being conveyed or miscommunication which can lead to loss of business.
Following are some of the barriers to effective communication:
Physical barriers
Language and Semantic barriers
Socio-Psychological barriers
Organizational barriers
Cross-cultural barriers
1.Physical Barriers
Physical barriers to communication are those that arise due to certain factors like faulty equipment, noise, closed doors and cabins that cause the information sent from sender to receiver to become distorted. Physical barriers are basically obstacles that prevent a message from reaching the intended recipient. Some obstacles can be controlled by the management; some can't be controlled because they are in the environment.
Defects in the medium
Defects in the devices used for transmitting messages are external. Usually, they are not within the control of the parties engaged in communication. The telephone, the postal system, the courier service, or electronic media may fail. Messages can get delayed, distorted and even lost while being transmitted.
A partial failure of the mechanical equipment is more harmful than a total failure because a partial failure may carry an incomplete or distorted message.
For example, a fax message can be wrongly delivered as a wrong number can get dialled on the telephone. The printout may not be clear at all. It is advisable to call up and check that the fax has been received.
If a medium like the telephone is out of order, the communication may have to be postponed or sent by an alternative medium.
Noise in the Environment
Noise is any disturbance which occurs in the transmission process. In face-to-face communication which is carried by air vibration, the air may be disturbed by noise such as traffic, factory work, or people talking. In a factory, oral communication is very difficult because of the noise of the machines. Organisations that can afford sound-proof rooms can overcome this barrier to some
Information Overload
When there is too much information, some of it is blocked in transit and may not reach the intended audience. Advertising and sales information is an example of overload; so much communication about products floats through so many media that a good deal of it does not reach the potential buyer.
2. Language and Semantic Barriers
Semantic barriers are also known as language barriers. These barriers are caused due to improper communication between the sender and the receiver.
Language is our most important and powerful tool of communication; and yet it is a tricky tool that needs skill in handling.
Words with multiple meanings
First of all, many words have multiple meanings. Just look into a good dictionary and see how many meanings you can find for some commonly used words like "charge", "spring", "check", "suit", "ring". The meaning that comes to your mind first depends on your occupation ("charge" may mean electrical charge to an engineering student, but fee/rent to a commerce student).
Different pronunciation but same spelling
Words like "minute" and "wind" are pronounced in two different ways to mean two entirely different things. Some words like "present", "transfer", "record" are used as verb and as noun with a difference in stress in speaking, but no difference in spelling. A person may be present at a function and receive a present (stress on pre-), and present (stress on -sent) some thoughts on the budget.
Similar sound but different spellings/meanings
Similar sounding words like "access" and "excess", "flour" and "flower", "cite". "site" and "sight" can cause misunderstanding in speech. Many people confuse "week" and "weak," "steal" and "steel" in writing.
Technical terms
Technical terms can be a barrier to communication. Such terms are limited to the group of persons who work together, or work in the same kind of occupation; they need to use technical terms in their work. Often, these words have other meanings in ordinary language, and are differently understood by people who do not belong to that occupational group.
Example: Mouse - i) a piece of equipment, connected to a compute
ii) a very small animal with fur and a long thin tail
Consider the new meanings given to ordinary words by computer technology; to people who are not familiar with computers may not understand the meaning of it, for them "mouse" is only an animal.
Concrete noun
Even a concrete noun like "table" may suggest a writing table or a dining table or a statistical table to different persons; similarly, "chair" could be something to sit on, or a position to occupy.
New words are being coined almost everyday; everyone does not understand them and many of them are not in the dictionaries yet. More importantly, semantic barriers arise because words mean different things to different persons. It is said, "meaning is in people, not in words." Age, education, cultural background and many other factors influence the meaning we give to words.
3. Socio-Psychological Barriers
The psychological barrier of communication is the influence of the psychological state of the communicators (sender and receiver) which creates an obstacle for effective communication.
All individuals are different from each other in terms of attitudes, natures, beliefs, viewpoints and overall personality traits. When two or more individuals are communicating with each other, in some cases, their beliefs, viewpoints and interests do not match with each other. When these do not match, the communication process doesn't take place in an effective and expected way as well as a person doesn't feel interested in communicating. As a consequence of it an individual doesn't pay attention to a matter of communication which may give rise to socio-psychological barriers.
Some common forms of socio-psychological barriers include:
Self-centred Attitudes
We tend to see and hear everything in the light of our own interests and needs and desires. We pay attention to messages which are useful to us, and often do not pay enough attention to those messages which do not interest us. Self-interest may prevent us from seeing the point of view of others. A person who is highly self-centred also fails to build up good relationships with other people as well create obstacles in grasping more information or knowledge. In order to win the goodwill of others with whom we work, we must be able to understand how other people feel and think.
Selective Perception
Sometimes, we fail to get the complete message which is sent to us. We see, read or hear selectively according to our own needs, interests and experience. We project our expectations into the communication as we interpret the message. We may not perceive some of the aspects and information content of the message.
Information Overload
Whenever the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity, the result is an information overload. Thus, the communicator could select, ignore, pass or even forget information. Hence, there is loss of information and less effective communication.
Close Mind
Limited intellectual background, limited reading and narrow interests can cause a person's mind to be narrow. This limits the ability to take in new ideas. For example, Persons with a closed mind do not take any suggestions for change. Young employees with bright ideas and fresh approaches feel frustrated by the closed mind of the senior people in an organisation. Persons with a closed mind have limited understanding of human nature; this makes it difficult for them to receive communications with sympathy.
This becomes a serious barrier to receiving grievances and appeals. Organisational procedures like grievance committees, counselling and suggestion schemes are meant to overcome this barrier.
State of Health
Physical condition can affect communication efficiency. Pain or fever certainly makes a person disinclined to engage in communication; but even if the general state of health is poor, communicating ability is reduced. The mind is not sufficiently alert; there will be gaps in attention while reading or listening; there is lack of energy to think clearly and to find the right words. Perception is low when the state of health is poor. Emotions, which play an important part in successful communication, are easily disturbed.
Poor Listening
Most people do not listen very well due to various distractions, emotions, excitement, indifference, aggressiveness and wandering attention.
One of the major reasons for bad listening is an individual’s continual thinking about his own problems and worries. The poor listener always feels that the thought in his mind is more interesting than what the speaker is saying.
Status Difference
Status consciousness is a very serious barrier. Subordinates fail to communicate with their superiors because either they are too conscious of their low status or too afraid of being snubbed off.
Similarly many executives keep distance from their subordinates thinking it too degrading to consult them.
Distrust
Distrust leads towards failing to deliver the right message. When the receiver is biased or hostile towards the sender the message is – either ignored or misinterpreted.
Premature evaluation
Premature evaluation prevents effective communication. Some people form a judgement even before receiving the complete message. And once judgement is already formed the mind is closed to the rest of the message.
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