1. Communication is a process beginning with a sender who encodes the message and
passes it through some channel to the receiver who decodes the message. Communication
is fruitful if and only if the messages sent by the sender is interpreted with same meaning
by the receiver. If any kind of disturbance blocks any step of communication, the
message will be destroyed. Due to such disturbances, managers in an organization face
severe problems. Thus the managers must locate such barriers and take steps to get rid of
them.
There are several barriers that affects the flow of communication in an organization.
These barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the reciever, thus
making communication ineffective. It is essential for managers to overcome these
barriers. The main barriers of communication are summarized below.
b Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is generally how each individual
interprets the world around him. All generally want to receive messages which are
significant to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. A
same event may be taken differently by different individuals. For example : A person is
on leave for a month due to personal reasons (family member being critical). The HR
Manager might be in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate
manager might think of replacement because his teams productivity is being hampered,
the family members might take him as an emotional support.
The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Same word may mean
different to different individuals. For example: consider a word “value”.
a. What is the value of this Laptop?
b. I value our relation?
c. What is the value of learning technical skills?
“Value” means different in different sentences. Communication breakdown
occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver.
2. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool of information. It
is essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be
misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less
effective.
3. Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example a traveler
may pay attention to one “NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put all over the
city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for
effective communication. Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work
and his subordinate explains him his problem, the superior may not get what he is
saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate.
4. Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a
specified time period, the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to
meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages

2. are partially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus sufficient time should be
given for effective communication.
5. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions.
Physical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting,
unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud
speakers interferes with communication.
6. Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects
communication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry he interprets that
the information being sent is very bad. While he takes it differently if the
communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to be
good and interesting).
7. Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an
organization (i.e. more the number of managerial levels), more is the chances of
communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the
overall picture while the people at low level just have knowledge about their own
area and a little knowledge about other areas.
8. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One cant always
retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads
to communication breakdown.
Barrier
Explanation
Language
The communication message might not use vocabulary that is understood by the receiver
– e.g. too much use of technical or financial jargon
Noise
Various things stop a message from getting through or being heard – e.g. poor
connection, background noise, distractions, too many people speaking
Overload
Too much information can cause problems e.g. slow down decision making
Emotion
The relationship between the sender and receiver of communication might adversely
affect the message – which could be ignored or misinterpreted
Gaps

3. Too many intermediaries (e.g. too many layers in hierarchy through which message has
to be passed) might prevent or distort the message
Inconsistency
If people receive conflicting or inconsistent messages, then they may ignore or block
them
Most people would agree that communication between two individuals should be simple.
It’s important to remember that there are differences between talking and communicating.
When you communicate, you are successful in getting your point across to the person
you’re talking to. When we talk, we tend to erect barriers that hinder our ability to
communicate. There are seven of these types of barriers to effective communication.
Physical barriers are easy to spot – doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and
distance between people all work against the goal of effective communication. While
most agree that people need their own personal areas in the workplace, setting up an
office to remove physical barriers is the first step towards opening communication. Many
professionals who work in industries that thrive on collaborative communication, such as
architecture, purposefully design their workspaces around an “open office” plan. This
layout eschews cubicles in favor of desks grouped around a central meeting space. While
each individual has their own dedicated work space, there are no visible barriers to
prevent collaboration with their co-workers. This encourages greater openness and
frequently creates closer working bonds.
Perceptual barriers, in contrast, are internal. If you go into a situation thinking that the
person you are talking to isn’t going to understand or be interested in what you have to
say, you may end up subconsciously sabotaging your effort to make your point. You will
employ language that is sarcastic, dismissive, or even obtuse, thereby alienating your
conversational partner. Think of movie scenarios in which someone yells clipped phrases
at a person they believe is deaf. The person yelling ends up looking ridiculous while
failing to communicate anything of substance.
Emotional barriers can be tough to overcome, but are important to put aside to engage in
conversations. We are often taught to fear the words coming out of our own mouths, as in
the phrase “anything you say can and will be used against you.” Overcoming this fear is
difficult, but necessary. The trick is to have full confidence in what you are saying and
your qualifications in saying it. People often pick up on insecurity. By believing in
yourself and what you have to say, you will be able to communicate clearly without
becoming overly involved in your emotions.
Cultural barriers are a result of living in an ever shrinking world. Different cultures,
whether they be a societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a company, can
hinder developed communication if two different cultures clash. In these cases, it is

4. important to find a common ground to work from. In work situations, identifying a
problem and coming up with a highly efficient way to solve it can quickly topple any
cultural or institutional barriers. Quite simply, people like results.
Language barriers seem pretty self-inherent, but there are often hidden language barriers
that we aren’t always aware of. If you work in an industry that is heavy in jargon or
technical language, care should be taken to avoid these words when speaking with
someone from outside the industry. Without being patronizing, imagine explaining a
situation in your industry to a child. How would you convey these concepts without
relying on jargon? A clear, direct narrative is preferable to an incomprehensible slew of
specialty terms.
Gender barriers have become less of an issue in recent years, but there is still the
possibility for a man to misconstrue the words of a woman, or vice versa. Men and
women tend to form their thoughts differently, and this must be taken into account when
communicating. This difference has to do with how the brain of each sex is formed
during gestation. In general, men are better at spatial visualization and abstract concepts
such as math, while women excel at language-based thinking and emotional
identification. However, successful professionals in highly competitive fields tend to
have similar thought processes regardless of their gender.
Interpersonal barriers are what ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other and
opening ourselves up, not just to be heard, but to hear others. Oddly enough, this can be
the most difficult area to change. Some people spend their entire lives attempting to
overcome a poor self-image or a series of deeply rooted prejudices about their place in
the world. They are unable to form genuine connections with people because they have
too many false perceptions blocking the way. Luckily, the cure for this is more
communication. By engaging with others, we learn what our actual strengths and
weaknesses are. This allows us to put forth our ideas in a clear, straightforward manner.
Communication is not a one-way street. To have others open up to you, you must be open
yourself. By overcoming these barriers to communication, you can ensure that the
statement you are making is not just heard, but also understood, by the person you are
speaking with. In this way, you can be confident that your point has been expressed.
The more you add information that isn’t necessary, the greater the risk your
listeners will misinterpret your point.
Communication Barrier #2
Distracting Gestures

5. The majority of individuals I work with fidget with their fingers, rings, pen — the list
goes on. If they don’t fidget, then they unconsciously talk with their hands. Their elbows
get locked at their sides and every gesture looks the same. Or they’ve been told they talk
with their hands so they hold their hands and do nothing.
Throughout the day, notice how you and others use gestures.
• Do you talk with your hands or gesture too often? If you’re constantly using
gestures, you’re not able to think on your feet and you’re creating static.
• Do your gestures have purpose?
• Ask for constructive feedback from friends, family and co-workers: “When I
gesture do I look like I’m talking with my hands?” “Do I use gestures too often or
not enough?”
How to Avoid This Barrier: Use Gestures for Emphasis
Confident speakers use gestures to add emphasis to their words. To gesture with purpose,
avoid locking your elbows at your sides or creating the same repetitious gestures. Instead,
expand your gestures from your sides and let your hands emphasize and describe your
message.
Add variety to your gestures by relaxing your arms back to your sides after you complete
a gesture.
“Static is created when what you say is inconsistent with how you
say it. ”
Benefits include:
• When your gestures create a visual for your listeners, they’ll remember more
information and will remember your message longer.
• Gestures will grab your listener’s attention.
• Gestures add energy and inflection to your voice and channel your adrenaline and
nervous energy.
Communication Barrier #4
Using PowerPoint as a Crutch
“The more you add information that isn’t necessary, the greater the
risk your listeners will misinterpret your point. ”
PowerPoint isn’t designed to serve as your notes. The purpose of visual aids is to enhance
and support your message through pictures and illustrations.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Design Visual Aids, not Wordy Slides

6. How you design your visual aids will determine your ability to stay connected with your
listener.
• Create PowerPoint slides with more pictures and fewer words.
• Ask yourself, “Why am I using this PowerPoint slide?”
• Identify how your PowerPoint slide best supports your message based on the
following criteria:
o Listener expectations and needs.
o Listener experience and knowledge level.
o Objectives.
o Time frame.
o Number of participants.
• Save details for handouts. Your listeners will appreciate a conversational
approach with interaction accompanied by take-aways they may use as a resource.
• Stay away from software overkill. If you’re clicking the mouse every few
seconds, your visual aids are the message and you are the backup.
• If you’ve been using the same PowerPoint design for more than six months, it’s
time to make a change!
• Stop disconnecting with your listener by talking to your visual aids. Only speak
when you see eyes! Pause when you refer to your visual aids and stay connected
with your listener.
Communication Barrier #5
Verbal Static
Um… what perception… like… do you create… you know… when you hear… um… a
speaker using… uh… words that clutter… you know… their language? Knowledgeable,
credible and confident are labels which probably don’t come to mind.
As I travel the country, the number one challenge individuals need to overcome to
increase their influence is the ability to replace non-words with a pause. We use non-
words to buy ourselves time to think about what we want to say. These words are
distracting and your listener misses your message.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Eliminate Filler Words
“PowerPoint isn’t designed to serve as your notes. The purpose of
visual aids is to enhance and support your message through
pictures and illustrations. ”
Benefits for you:
• Think on your feet.
• Get to the point and avoid rambling.
• Take a relaxing breath.

7. • Hold your listener’s attention.
• Gain control over your message.
Benefits for listener:
• Hear, understand and respond.
• Act on what you say.
Communication Barrier #6
Lack of Eye Connection
The only way to build a relationship is through trust. When you forget what to say, you
will look at the ceiling, floor, PowerPoint slides or anywhere away from your listener.
When you disconnect you’ll say: “uh” “um” “so” “and”, etc.
How to Avoid This Barrier: Keep Your Eyes On Your Audience
When speaking to more than two individuals, connect with one individual for a complete
sentence or thought. Take a moment to pause as you transition your eyes from one
individual to another.
When rehearsing, ask your listener to immediately give you feedback when you look
away from them while you’re speaking.
Physical barriers are often due to the nature of the environment.
Thus, for example, the natural barrier which exists, if staff are located in different
buildings or on different sites.
Likewise, poor or outdated equipment, particularly the failure of management to
introduce new technology, may also cause problems.
Staff shortages are another factor which frequently causes communication
difficulties for an organisation.
Whilst distractions like background noise, poor lighting or an environment which
is too hot or cold can all affect people's morale and concentration, which in turn
interfere with effective communication.
System design faults refer to problems with the structures or systems in
place in an organisation.

8. Examples might include an organisational structure which is unclear and
therefore makes it confusing to know who to communicate with.
Other examples could be inefficient or inappropriate information systems, a lack
of supervision or training, and a lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities which
can lead to staff being uncertain about what is expected of them.
Attitudinal barriers come about as a result of problems with staff in an
organisation.
These may be brought about, for example, by such factors as poor management,
lack of consultation with employees, personality conflicts which can result in
people delaying or refusing to communicate, the personal attitudes of individual
employees which may be due to lack of motivation or dissatisfaction at work,
brought about by insufficient training to enable them to carry out particular tasks,
or just resistance to change due to entrenched attitudes and ideas.
OTHER COMMON BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
INCLUDE:
Psychological factors such as people's state of mind. We all tend to feel
happier and more receptive to information when the sun shines.
Equally, if someone has personal problems like worries about their health or
marriage, then this will probably affect them.
Different languages and cultures represent a national barrier which is
particularly important for organisations involved in overseas business.
Individual linguistic ability is also important. The use of difficult or
inappropriate words in communication can prevent people from understanding
the message.

9. Poorly explained or misunderstood messages can also result in confusion. We
can all think of situations where we have listened to something explained which
we just could not grasp.
Physiological barriers may result from individuals' personal discomfort,
caused, for example, by ill health, poor eye sight or hearing difficulties.