Barriers to

Communication
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Barriers to Communication
Barriers to
communication
Physical
Barriers
Faulty Transmission /
Poor Retention
Language
By-passed
instructions
Status Barrier
Socio
Psychological
Cross Cultural
Barriers

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Barriers to Effective
Communication
There are a wide number of sources of
noise or interference that can enter into
the communication process.

Obstacles that prevent a message from reaching the
intended recipient and beyond the control of persons
concerned.
Noise
Time and Distance
Faulty Instruments
Physical Defects /State in the individual
Information Overload

Physical & Mechanical Barriers
Faulty Transmission / Poor
Retention
Successive transmission of the same message are
decreasingly accurate.
Approx 30% of communication is lost each time it is
transmitted.
People retain around 50-60% of the communicated
message.

Language Barrier
When people belonging to two different language
groups try to communicate.
(Different meanings/interpretations attached)
When the message is badly expressed.
Vague words, lengthy sentences, poor construction
of sentence, repetition.
Use simple words and clear sentences.

By-passed Instructions
It is a form of language barrier.
Often instructions given by superiors and not clearly
understood by subordinates as certain words have
double meaning.
Words with dual meaning ring, fall.
Similar sounding words Flour/Flower, See/Sea,
Week/Weak.

Socio Psychological Barriers
Resistance to change sticking to old beliefs
Unclarified Assumptions making assumptions
based on what we hear she is untidy, Thats a good
product
Different perceptions.
Closed mind- Rigid mind, not open for discussion.
Fear losing job, superiors, fear of being laughed at.
Halo Effect- The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which
one's judgments of a persons character can be
influenced by one's overall impression of him or her.
Allness - Allness occurs when an individual thinks he
/she knows everything and there is no way he/she can be
wrong.
Socio Psychological Barrier
Abstracting Selecting some facts & omitting others.
Focusing only a part of the message that is important to
us.
Slanting Reflecting biased thinking.
Inferences- conclusions drawn from evidence
Defensiveness- Acts or behaves in support of
something, shows anxiety to avoid criticism or attack
hidden flaws.
Filtering-
Filtering means leaving out vital information, to make the
message appear different, when passing it on. May be
done with a purpose or unconsciously.
Snap Reactions- The person does not hear fully and
reacts impulsively.

Status Barrier
Occurs due to organizational structure. Each
organization has a hierarchy which creates various
status levels.
Hence a Jr. Accounts executive giving suggestions
to the CFO may be regarded as insubordination.
Hence Status block is lack of free flow of
information between superiors and subordinates due
to respective positions.

Culture is a shared set of values and attributes of a
group.
Hence when the sender and receiver are from
different cultural groups a cross cultural barrier is
formed.
Character High Context vs. Low Context
Language
Non -Verbal behavior
Space
Paralanguage Volume, Rate & Emphasis
Time
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Cross Cultural barrier

Overcoming Barriers
Use of Simple Language
Use Constructive Feedback
Active Listening
Control Emotions
Watch Non-Verbal Cues
Eliminating differences in perception
Reduction & elimination of Noise Levels
Simple Organizational Structure
Avoid Information Overload
Selection of proper channels of communication




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