4. barriers to communication

AssignmentChoose any one of the following questions:1) Explain the term conflict and examine how conflict

relates to organizational communication. (25)

2) With reference to any two communication models, discuss the view that individual models do not fully capture the complexity of human nature. (25)

3) Critically discuss any two categories of non-verbal communication and demonstrate how non-verbal communication can function in relation to verbal communication. (25)

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Problems with any one of the components of the communication process can become a barrier to communication.

These barriers suggest opportunities for improving communication.

Barriers to communication may be divided into two parts:

• Those which are found within the sender and the recipient

• Those which result from outside influences in the communication process

Barriers caused by sender and recipient When thinking of these remember

that they are only very rarely created deliberately by either party.

Mostly, they are a result of incomplete understanding of the information, the situation, or the vocabulary and attitude of the other party.

Distortion Occurs either at the encoding or

decoding stage in the communication process.

It occurs when language is put in a way that leads to incorrect or partial understanding of a message by the recipient.

The message to be sent out needs to be clear.

Contrast these two messages: "Please be here about 7:00

tomorrow morning." "Please be here at 7:00 tomorrow

morning." The one word difference makes the

first message muddled and the second message clear.

The problem may be semantics, e.g., note this muddled newspaper ad:

"Dog for sale. Will eat anything. Especially likes children. Call 888-3599 for more information."

Inadequate communication ski l ls

Communication skills are the ability to send or receive messages clearly and effectively with no possibility of misunderstanding. They include the ability to:

Express ideas clearly in writing Read not only words on the page, but also

interpret signs and symbols of all kinds, e.g. road signs or body language

If one or the other parties involved fails to possess the necessary communication skills, messages are incorrectly encoded or decoded

Lack of l istening abil i ty The ability to listen is an essential part of the

communication process. Lack of effective listening skills may have potentially disastrous results.

Unless the sender can listen, he/she will be unable to discover the real response of the recipient.

Unless the recipient can listen, he/she will be unable to grasp the true significance of the message.

Attitudes and feelings Our communication is governed by our attitudes and

feelings. These show themselves in the structuring of messages and

in our reaction to messages received. We all have certain attitudes to daily life produced by our

education, environment and general experience.

Attitudes and feelings If they are extreme, they are called

prejudices. They can distort our awareness of

messages in communications and thus hamper our communication process

Differences in background All communication depends on

background, or the stored codes. ideas, information and attitudes that both the sender and the receiver have.

The closer the backgrounds of the sender and receiver, the easier they will find it to communicate.

Opinions

Opinions may be based on facts and inferences, or misinformation and prejudices.

Beliefs Beliefs are views which usually are

not susceptible to test by experiment, or logical argument, e.g. political and religious dogma.

In communication, beliefs are important because large groups of sincere people will act consistently in conformity with their beliefs.

Personal characterist ics We are, to a great extent, shaped by our

previous history. However, within any culture, considerable

personal differences exist. These differences may pertain to language, age, sex, education, status or class.

Thus in both coding and decoding, it is important to evaluate the effect of these cultural and personal differences on the communication.

Non-verbal behaviour Non-verbal behaviour can change a

message substantially. E.g. “good morning” with a smile “good

morning with a frown send different messages.

Body language may unintentionally relay a different message than spoken language.

Sensitivity to such hidden or unconscious messages are an advantage in communication.

Communication chain When the message is sent via a

number of parties verbally, e.g. a to b to c to d

Activity Pass a message orally to 6 different

people through whispering. First and last person in each chain to write down the message, first person as he encoded it and last person as he decoded it.

Overcoming the barriers

Many of the most important barriers to communicating may be overcome by following a few simple rules:

Develop personal communication ski l ls

This is one of the simplest ways in whichcommunication may be improved.Communication skills cover the ability to: write clear language so that meaning is

expressed directly and without ambiguity talk to a wide range of people in formal and

informal settings read for the correct understanding of

information listen and understand

LISTEN ACTIVELY

Active listeners:

Listen politely Ask questions politely Acknowledges speaker’s point of

view Does not change or add anything to

what has been said

Know when to communicate

Judging the right moment to make a communication is important.

Choosing the right moment can help. E.g. Tackling your employer in the corridor when you want to ask him a favour is probably not a good idea.

Choosing the right moment, both in terms of psychological rightness and good timing, is thus a very important way of avoiding barriers of attitude in the recipient.

Know with whom to communicate Communication with the wrong

person can create all sorts of misunderstandings.

In business, communicating with the wrong person will give the impression of inefficiency, which would not be good for future communications.

Choose the medium careful ly Always think carefully about the

best kind of communication medium for a particular situation and recipient.

e.g. in business, written communication is essential but in some cases it would be too formal and restricting.

Match the expression to the recipient

The most important rule for communicating.

Distortion may occur at encoding when sufficient care is not taken over the vocabulary and background of the recipient by the sender.

Consideration must also be given of your relationship with the recipient.

Conclusion Following these rules will not guarantee

perfect communication on every occasion. There will be times when internal ‘distortion’

and external ‘noise’ will still erect barriers. However, striving to follow these rules on all

occasions makes communication far more effective as you learn to consider the other person’s point of view and assess the real purpose of what you are trying to achieve.