Real Life Examples of Barriers to Communication

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Type of barrier

Example

Factor(s) affected

1

Physical Barrier

Noise

Hearing and listening during oral communication get affected at places like a noisy factory and crowded markets

Completeness and clarity

Time

A communication made at wrong time will be received incompletely.

Consideration and courtesy

Distance

Faulty seating arrangement in the room can also become a barrier to effective communication, for whichever seats the employees may be occupying, they definitely want an eye contact with one another for effective delivery and receipt.

Completeness and clarity

Environment

Warm weather or cold weather can cause affects on people's perceptions and their abilities to make decisions. Different climates affect people's views in different ways and can be a barrier to communication caused by environment.

Clarity

Defects in medium/ channel

Defects in courier service or defects in fax/ printer causing delay and incomplete delivery of message.

Completeness and clarity

2

Physiological Barrier

Physical limitations of humans

Health conditions, hearing problem, poor eye sight etc. may lead to incomplete grasping of the communication that one receives.

Completeness and clarity

Mental limitations of humans

Inability of young children to understand complex and lengthy instructions and inability of elder men to understand  new technologies

Consideration

3

Language & Semantic Barriers

Accent / pronunciation

Variation in accent between people from different countries  would create inadequate exchange of ideas during verbal communication (eg: English conversation between a Japanese and a Russian)

Clarity and Correctness

Use of Jargons

Use of jargons in oral and written communication while addressing people who are not well aware of the subject will not convey the message fully.  Use of abbreviations / acronyms

Completeness, consideration and courtesy

Interpretation of words

In a written communication - audience is invisible - semantic gap between intended meaning and interpreted meaning remains unknown

consideration and courtesy

Different meanings of words

A word with different meanings can create confusion and lead to improper communication.  Eg: The words like “Cheap” and “fellow” may convey different meaning to different people.

Consideration, clarity

 and courtesy

Denotations and Connotations

The difference between the direct word meaning and the emotional meanings attached to that word can create improper communication. Eg: The word “home” refers to family, comfort and security also to some.

Consideration, clarity

 and courtesy

Poor vocabulary

The inadequate command of the communicator over the language will create improper communication due to use of improper words. Not having enough vocabulary power, will lead to use of wrong words .

Concreteness, Completeness and correctness

Grammar and Punctuations

Improper use of grammar and incorrect positioning of punctuations in a written communication will convey a total different message. The differences in phrases “Let’s eat Grandpa” and “Let’s eat, Grandpa” has the power to save a life.

Concreteness, Completeness and correctness

4

Technical Barriers

Disruption in satellite and microwave  transmission due to climatic conditions.

Completeness and clarity

5

Cross Cultural Barriers

Heterogeneity of populations

Gestures have different meanings in different places due to variation in culture. Eg:- Head nodes mean different in different countries,.

consideration and courtesy

Different customs & traditions

Bowing forward is as a welcome gesture for Japanese, but certain cultures do not understand the same,

consideration and courtesy

Different social perceptions

Touching the cheeks is an act of greeting for some, while its misinterpreted as a sexual advancement by some

consideration and courtesy

6

Psychological Barriers

Personal Psychological

An individual’s assumptions and perception about others affect the way a communication is received. Eg: Perception of a senior official about freshly joined juniors as being inexperienced makes him receive oral communication in an incomplete way.

Completeness, clarity and correctness.

Socio Psychological

Distrust after fails to deliver the right message. When the receiver is biased or hostile towards the sender the message is – either ignored or misinterpreted.

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.

Completeness and correctness and clarity

7

Status Barriers

Hierarchy

Status consciousness is a very serious barrier. Subordinates fail to communicate to with their superiors because either they are too conscious of their low status or too afraid of being snubbed off.

Completeness and correctness and clarity

8

Organizational Barriers

Hierarchical

Many executives keep distance from their subordinates thinking it too degrading to consult them

Consideration and courtesy

Specialization

Specialization of different groups of people can prevent members of different departments from communicating effectively. The perception “those geeks just dont understand us” is an example.

Consideration and courtesy

 Wrong choice of medium

A wrong medium or an inappropriate medium chosen for communicating a message will act as a barrier to communication. On a shop floor use a long written memo of instructions is not suitable whereas your information on a new product in the market could be only through an effective and attractive advertisement.

Consideration, courtesy and conciseness.

Communication overload

Excessive information can confuse receivers. For example, If you receive a message with too much information, it may tend to put up a barrier because you may have difficulty comfortably interpreting that information.  If you are selling an item with twenty-five terrific features, pick two or three most important features to emphasize instead of overwhelming your receiver with an information avalanche.

Conciseness.

Organisational policy

Organisational policies determine the relationship and depth of communication among all the persons in an organisagtion. For example, it can be the policy of the organisation that communication should be in the written form. Then, anything that could be conveyed in a few words shall have to be communicated in the written form. Consequently, work gets delayed.

Concreteness, consideration and courtesy.