Concepts and
problems of Communication:
Barriers to
Communication:
The
phenomenon of Communication is concerned with transfer of message. The message
should reach the Decoder in order to gain a proper Feedback. However, since no
two people are same, so communication style varies from person to person and in
a broad perspective, from an organization to organization, country to country
or culture to culture. For instance, Germans are quite thorough in their
reports; French are rather polite in their letters; Japanese people take much
deliberation on decision making; the Middle Eastern businessmen find it rude to
be quick however these trends are quite opposite in America, Britain and some
other countries.
Each person’s
mind is a unique filter. The problems in Communication occur when the
Communicators’ filters are sharply different. These problems are called
Barriers as they hinder the smooth process of communication.
There are a wide number of sources of noise or
interference that can enter into the communication process which prevent the achievement
of the desired result, such as individual:
·
Semantic Barriers
·
Convention of meaning
·
Physical Barriers
·
Psychological Barriers
i- Emotional Barriers
ii- Perceptual Barriers
iii- Barriers involving values, attitudes etc.
1. *Semantic
Barriers: since one of the principles of communication is to use the
symbols which have same meaning for the sender and receiver. The
way a symbol is perceived in a sender’s mind might be
different from how it
is perceived by the receiver. In such a situation,
communication would fail
and the desired result might not be gained, thus creating a
Barrier.
These
differences in semantic perception are common, but they are
sometimes confusing and cause humiliation. At often times,
it might end up
in serious miscommunication.
*Semantics: Semantics
is the study of meaning. It is concerned with describing how we represent the
meaning of a word in our mind and how we use this representation in
constructing sentences.
This
type of barrier can be removed. Basically, a symbol is the name or sign for
something existing in reality or a ‘referent’. But it can not be completely
associated with the referent. In order to completely associate the referent
with its symbols, close common experience surrounding the referent is needed.
If the common experience is less, the word would have a wider and vague meaning
for the symbol, the closer the common experience (surrounding the symbol in
connection to its referent) in the mind of sender and receiver, the greater is
the level of understanding.
For
instance, due to closer common experience with Laser most people know that laser stands for, ‘Light amplification
by stimulating the emission of radiation’. However, since few people have
common experience with accounting, FIFO (First In First Out) and LIFO (Last In
First Out) are alien terms to many ears.
The following
figure gives us the Communication Triangle of semantic understanding on basis
of common experience:
Fig: communication triangle
2. Problems in
Convention of Meanings: when the communicators; the sender and receiver
attribute different meanings to the same word, or use different words while
intending the same meanings, miscommunication occurs.
On occasions,
it sometimes happens that words intended to compliment someone, or a
matter-of-fact statement, or even a joke is interpreted as an insult. This is
because words, expressions and statements have often different denotative
meaning and connotative interpretation for the sender and receiver. The sender
might not have a hint about how his words are taken in the receiver’s mind.
·
Denotations are the dictionary
definitions of words. Since these meanings can be mentioned to the receivers to
inform them about certain things without pointing to their positive or negative
traits, most people agree on them. These words give the same meaning as their
dictionary definition if the communicators are using the same language and the
context supports it. For instance: car,
desk, pencil, spoon etc give the same meaning as their definition.
·
Connotations refer to different
associations carried by a word in addition to its dictionary definition. These
are the associations through feelings and qualitative judgments attached to a
word irrespective of what its literal meaning is. A word might have different
connotative association for different people. It generally depends upon a
person’s background and cultural limits. For instance, rain is a celebrated weather condition for most people in Asia; nevertheless, it is misery and boredom for many
people in West.
There are certain words
which are generally used in positive sense and thus they have a positive
connotation for example; efficient,
gentle, prompt etc. Others might have a doubtful connotation such as; amnesty, speed, grass, coke,
feminist, prophet etc. These words may arouse a confusion or argument.
In order to communicate
effectively, one must use words in their denotative rather than connotative
capacity. Thus, the words ‘house’ is a better choice than, ‘cottage, villa,
shack’ etc. though both of them refer to residential accommodation but people
might have different connotative associations with other words while everyone
has a positive connotation about house.
3. Physical barriers:
communication does not take place through words alone. Since 55% of
communication is perceived or decoded through body language and facial
expressions, so barriers might occur by the physical appearance of
communicators; the sender or the receiver, or the context of a document and
even the presentation of a document.
In a message, the sender’s ideas,
however well composed they are, might not bring considerable results due to
physical barriers. In a written
message the barriers might be: jammed or jagged margins, finger-prints or
smudges on paper, unclear photocopies, unreadable word-processor printout,
stains of water or tea or oil etc.
In a presentation, barriers might occur if the sender or speaker has
poor verbal skills, is mumbling, not enunciating or describing in details,
speaking too quickly or using accented style. There might be other sources of
disruption like noise of hissing ventilations, ringing telephones, slamming
doors, Environmental Disturbances
like traffic noise, loud sound, passing train etc.
4. Psychological
Barriers: the world around us is constantly changing and thus people are
becoming more conscious and they have more knowledge, they are more aware and
they think more. Therefore, every mind in this world is unique in itself. Every
mind has a different mental filter so the perception of reality is different
for them. A person not only perceives through their sensory experience, but
mental experiences also add to perception. Therefore, every person makes
various abstractions, inferences and evaluations of the world. Thinking too
much and forming a person’s own idea can sometimes lead to barriers to
communication.
·
Emotional Barriers: sometimes
barriers occur due to our emotional state. In such situations we normally block
our emotional dynamics. In unpleasant situations or when the reaction is unknown
to us we prefer to create this barrier. But this might give the wrong notion to
the receiver, consequently resulting miscommunication.
·
Perception of reality: human mind is
involved in automatic activity of abstracting and inferring. It’s a healthy
activity to increase mental capacity but at times it can lead to barrier in
communication.
i- Abstracting and Slanting: focusing on
some detail and omitting others is called Abstracting. However there is a
difference between necessary or desirable abstracts and slanting. Often the
communicators are bound by the limits of time, space expense or purpose, so
instead of picking up the whole details, they use important highlighting detail
in composing a message. For instance, in
an application we can not write every detail so we abstract. In such cases, abstracting is desirable. But omitting
too much detail might change the context of the message. This might end up in a
bias-oriented message creating a
barrier in communication and thus is known as slanting. For instance, the news
reporters can not pick the details of their own choice while announcing the
news as this might turn out to be a
slanted message.
ii-
Inferring: we
are naturally inclined to make conclusions from evidence or premises or by
reasoning. We make assumptions, we reason with our selves on these assumptions
and we make conclusions. Like abstracting, inferences are also desirable and
necessary at times but at other occasions, they can cause much risk. Inference is necessary or desirable
for business and professional basis. System analyst, marketing specialists,
advertisers, architects, engineers, designers and even lawyers and civil
servants need to analyze the given factual data and draw inference for solving
problems and planning procedures. Normally, we make inferences that are based
on direct observation or on reasonable evidence and are fairly reliable. These inferences are necessary. However,
sometimes our inferences might be incorrect or unreliable. There is always a
chance of failure in calculation of consequences. Thus, rendering our inference
at risk. A communicator must inform another communicator about the chances or
risks involved in the inference or it might end up in creating a communication
barrier.
·
Barriers involving values, attitudes,
opinions etc: sometimes barriers may occur in communication due to
difference in opinions, values and attitude of communicators. Following are some of the problems which may
cause communication barriers:
1.
Cross-cultural differences:
different cultures have different norms. A miscommunication can be caused if
the communicators are unaware of each other’s norms. For instance, Muslim men
do not shake hands with women, however, it is considered impolite by Western
women if men would not shake hands with them. So, in such a situation where
they come across there might be a miscommunication.
2.
Favorable or Unfavorable Information:
the sender must always hold a positive
attitude by giving the receiver Favorable information from their point of view.
If unfavorable information is given to the Receiver this might cause an
attitudinal barrier to communication
3.
Pre-conceived notions: People attend to stimuli in the
environment in very different ways. We each have shortcuts that we use to
organize data. Invariably, these shortcuts introduce some biases into
communication. Some of these shortcuts include stereotyping, projection, and
self-fulfilling prophecies. Stereotyping is one of the most common. This is
when we assume that the other person has certain characteristics based on the
group to which they belong without validating that they in fact have these
characteristics. In such a case, it becomes extremely difficult to communicate. Sometimes, these notions are
developed due to inadequate or incorrect information. This would certainly
affect the success of communication. The required feedback would be
jeopardized.
4.
Closed Minds: sometimes, receivers
are just stubbornly closed minded. They do not want to receive any information
at all. They either have rigid views on certain subjects or simply reject
other’s view because they don’t want to communicate. Dealing with such people
is difficult but the task can be achieved with the help of a mediator of court
of law.
5.
Sender’s credibility: serious
barriers can be caused if the credibility of the sender is doubtful. This might
be due to lack of information or previous bad experience. For instance, if a
politician has lied in the past, his credibility might cost him election next
time. If a sales-person uses deceptive tactics to sell the product, it would
cause credibility breach. Thus, in cases where the sender’s credibility is
doubtful, communication barriers might occur disrupting the process of
communication.
6.
State of Mind: human beings constantly go in
and out of strange experiences. This impacts their state of mind. The
experience might be personal or professional causing the state of mind to be
inappropriate for a communicative occasion. On such occasions, a barrier might
hinder the process of communication. In such cases, a person should either
avoid the occasion or try to hide his/her state of mind.
Over-view
of Communication Barriers:
In a nutshell, most barriers can
be classified into the following classes:
Barriers to reception:
1- Environmental stimuli
2- The receiver’s attitudes and values
3- The receiver’s needs and expectations
Barriers to understanding:
1- Language and semantic
problems
2- The ability of the receiver to listen and receive, especially messages which threatens his or her self
concept.
3- The length of the communication
4- Status effects
Barriers to acceptance:
1- Prejudices
2- Interpersonal conflicts between sender and receiver.
Overcoming barriers to
communication:
1. If communication
is oral, it must be clear and not heavily accented.
2. Words must be
chosen in such a way that miscommunication is avoided.
3. People should
be oriented to listen with attention and read with concentration.
4. If instruments
are used they should be in proper working condition.
5. The
communicator should try to reach the audience by speaking and writing from
their point of view. The ‘you’ attitude must be used on all occasions. Semantic
noises must be avoided.
6. All
communication should try to persuade and not rush or overwhelm people.
Psychological barriers can be effectively overcome through persuasion.
7. Proper
arrangement must be made to obtain feedback. The sooner you obtain feedback the
sooner will you be able to change your mode and manner of communication and
make it more effective.
8. Make sure you
are using the proper channel of communication whether it is through written,
verbal or with visual aids.
Action to be
taken to overcome barriers of effective communication –
·
Sender
should make note of the following:
WHO : To whom should the message go ?
WHY : Why am I communicating ? What are my motives?
WHAT : Decide what to communicate. Be clear about what you need to communicate.
WHEN : Choose the best time for optimum reception.
HOW : Use language the receiver will understand and which unambiguous.
WHERE : Choose a location which will not interfere with the reception,
understanding and acceptance of the message.
Keep checking with the receiver.
·
Receiver
should take care of the following:
Be fully ATTENTIVE to sender
Listen ACTIVELY to the messages being sent.
ASK for clarifications, reception where necessary.
Keep checking with sender.
·
Together
Realize that misunderstandings are bound to occur, and be ALERT for all cues to
this effect.
LISTEN, listen, listen, and listen again.
TEST your understanding of the message.
Share OPINIONS, feelings and perceptions generated by the message.
Conclusion:
The
world around us constantly bombards us with sights, sounds, scents and other
sensory experiences. However, we do not perceive every thing through sensory
organs rather we use our mental filters to balance things on our perception.
This might cause barriers to effective communication. But through knowledge of
these barriers chances of miscommunication can be reduced.
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