How to Overcome Barriers of Communication

Updated April 21, 2023

Introduction to Barriers of Communication

Is it not strange that though we have communicated since infancy, it is still a communication problem we face. We often need help understanding during the reception or delivery of the information.

It happens in our daily social overtures and even in organizations where communication barriers cause many problems and hamper progress and ongoing projects.

Nearly 75 percent of the people involved in interpersonal communications stumble and make mistakes as either they need help understanding the facts or information needs to be properly conveyed to them.

Misinterpretation of facts, misapprehensions, cultural misunderstandings, and closed-door echo with incensed noise commonly act as communication barriers in achieving the targeted level of communication.

Effective communication becomes impossible due to these broadly defined barriers: Semantic, Psychological, Personal, Cross-cultural, Physical, etc.

10 major hurdle that creates 10 barriers of communication

Below are the 10 major hurdle that creates 10 barriers of communication:

1. Instructional barriers of communication

The wrong presentation of the symbols without knowing the audience’s purpose and nature can hurt their feelings. Misleading signs can distort the real impact of the presentation.

The issue arises when we fail to consider our listeners’ cultural background, religion, and strongly held beliefs, and instead impose our own thoughts on them. It can hurt the ego and self-esteem of the listeners, which can create barriers to communication.

2. Lack of Communication skills

A receiver is least likely to get the message’s meaning if the sender cannot select the right words. Usage of the wrong and difficult words might send a false impression in the eyes of the customers.

For instance, if a salesperson starts talking about the technicalities of his product that a customer cannot understand, they would whisk away.

If a communicator can speak well, stammer while chatting, or convey the barriers of communication, the meaning of what he intends to say properly and authentically, all efforts will be well-spent.

3. Lack of the sufficient knowledge

If we start communicating about something without knowledge of the subject, communication barriers are bound to occur. Many salespeople need help explaining many completed words or ideas simply or need to gain understanding about it.

Misformation means losing potential clients. In the organization, a lack of knowledge will become the biggest stumbling block in your career growth.

4. Overloaded knowledge

Conveying too much information is a great setback to communication why, as firstly, people might need more time to be ready to grasp too much information. Secondly, the information might be coming too fast that interpreting it becomes difficult.

Suppose you are talking about a product having many features; the conversation can become boring if you start talking about everything. The best is to deliver a few important and useful features, which entail effectiveness and value proposition.

5. Emotional turbulence

Your emotional aggression, be it anger, hostility, fear, resentment, etc., can be misconstrued and misinterpreted. You cannot convey your thoughts well as you feel severely engrossed in emotional turmoil.

6. Noisy distractions/sloppy style

If you are communicating something in a noisy environment, it can make distraught your communicative thoughts. The trouble with your mobile lines or noise in surroundings like restaurants can create communication barriers.

While writing, if your email message or letter does not contain the right words and is not properly formatted, the receiver won’t be able to get the news. Overcoming barriers in the communication process is a challenging task, and all efforts to do so can be dashed.

7. Inappropriate mode of communication

No matter how hard you try, delivering your message through inappropriate communication means is necessary. For instance, if specific instructions will have over the phone, it would be a waste for both the deliverer and the receiver.

Sending a message incorrectly creates trouble for the listener as it would be frustrating and time-consuming.

8. If your communication chain is long

A longer communication chain means more chances of barriers to communication. Sending a message through multiple receivers can distort, dilute, and alter the message. A final receiver might not be able to get the exclusive news.

9. No Feedback

Even a lack of feedback can deter effective communication. In your organization, your supervisor delivers instructions in long and complex sentences without giving you a chance to speak, and you might pretend to listen. Still, the same won’t give you results as you need help understanding instructions.

10. Impolite language

Using rude or slang language can impede all communication efforts, whether written or verbal. No one can bear rude or abusive language.

Communication means conveying your message to the people concerned. Distorted communication is not considered communication, regardless of the means through which it is delivered, whether it be spoken, written, or electronic. It entails theoretical assumptions and knowledge to ensure an effective communication process.

It is often seen that the communicator places blame on his listener or an audience for not listening or accepting the message, but often it is a sender of a message who needs to be blamed.

He must choose the communication system properly or behave according to the standard communication norms. As said by Wilbur Schramm, “Communication is something people do.

There is no meaning in a message except what people put into it. To understand the human communication process, one must understand how people relate to each other”.

To overcome barriers in the effective communication process, he suggests designing and delivering the message in a way that captures the audience’s attention. There is a common connection between the receiver and a listener or between a source and its destination.

Thirdly he suggested a way to meet the personality needs of a person whereby both the receiver and the sender are at the same place and at that particular time- the first to convey and the second to respond.

In his “Effective Public Relations” in 1952, Cutlip presented the generally quoted seven C’s of communication, which explain the communication process.

1. Clarity
2. Credibility
3. Content
4. Context
5. Continuity
6. Capability
7. Channels

Applying these seven C’s can ensure communication is on the right track and will give valuable results. However, we would broadly decipher some methods which, if applied, can help you achieve what you want and make you the best communicator.

Methods to Remove Barriers

Below are the different methods to remove barriers to communication:

• Have Clarity In Your Thoughts: You should be clear about your objective and what you want to convey. Arrange your thoughts in proper order and then communicate accordingly. Aimless talks can be misleading, so you should always show that there is an aim or motive behind your address. Adequate reception and appreciation are ensured when communication is frequent and thoughts are expressed clearly.
• Understand the needs of your audience: You should be emotional and sensitive toward the needs of your receiver. Understand a person’s behavior, nature, culture, and religion. However, it does not mean you cannot express your feelings or thoughts, but it simply means that you are respecting his religious beliefs or opinions and then stating your point of view. Structuring the message according to the recipient’s level or ability is crucial for effective communication. If you are conveying the message to a layperson, avoid using technical words; the language should have professional sophistication and maturity if you are addressing the corporate elite.
• Seek the advice of others before Communicating: If you are going to a highly prolific meeting, seek advice from your seniors and colleagues on the level and kind of talk that should be given. The main advantage of this practice is simple, you can get many ideas to build your motivation and knowledge, and you can then use the same to meet your purpose.
• Take adequate care of your Tone, Language, and way you speak: Messages should frame in a simple and polite tone that attracts the listeners and keep the sentences short and simple. Use technical words only where they are most necessary. Keeping the receiver’s interest in mind and conveying information that is attractive to them is crucial for effective communication. Else you might find your audience or listening yawning while you are speaking.
• Have Feedback from the receiver: Avoid asking the listener, “Have you understood,” ask them their views about what you have said and the aspects they had grasped from your message, which is the most polite and best way to involve your listener a conversation. It would help you to have a better understanding of their aptitude and the interest they are showing in the subject.
• Retain Consistency about the Message: The message conveyed should conjure with the organizational goals and policies. Whenever you replace any old message instead of the new one, you should mention it and clear all the doubts.
• Keep a Routine check on the communication system: You should analyze the weaknesses in the communication system. You should try to determine whether your communication should be professional or informal. The situation needs to be analyzed to decide on the appropriate method of communication and whether the audience loves to talk informally or formally.
• Make use of body language: During communication, make sure you make the most appropriate use of your body language. Avoid showing too many emotions, as the receiver might misapprehend the message. Try always to keep a smiling face while talking and make eye to eye contact with the listener but make sure not to keep your eyes gazing at the person for more than five seconds and avoid too much fluttering of eyes, which indicate you are not confident. Sit in an upright position and feel relaxed.
• Avoid overloading too much information: People would get bored if they are bombarded with unnecessary and too much information. So try to deliver the parts which are useful and informative and of value to the listener in the most straightforward way. There should be clarity in the mind of the listener.
• Reduce the noise level as far as possible: Always make sure to speak and interact with someone with no noise and the least disturbance. Find the source of noise, remove it, and then start conversing.
• The communication chain should be short: You should only use the mediocre or send the message through the third person if it is urgent. Try to communicate directly with the person concerned. The risk of distortion of the facts gets more if the message is passed through a third party, and imagine if there are more people between the sender and receiver, the chances of filtering the messages are doubled.
• Keep your Anger in Control: Do not be aggressive or show your anger if you do not agree with any point of view or anything going against your ideology. State your thoughts politely with facts if you have, and reflect positivity in your talk and nature.

Simply communication is a social endeavor to give and receive what people want us to do and what we expect from others. We can communicate with our friends and colleagues in many ways. Still, its effectiveness can only ensure if a message is conveyed appropriately and a person can understand and comprehend it.

Above are just a few ways to remove the communicative hurdles. Still, the basic crux of the same is modifying your personality and adopting a certain way that meets the demand of our people.