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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