1. BARRIERS
TO
COMMUNICATION

2. For Class Room Discussion
 Discuss the meanings of:
 Communication
 Barrier
 What do you understand by the term “barriers to
communication”.
 State all the barriers that you can think of that
impact your day-to-day communication.
 Which of the barriers to effective communication is
the most difficult to deal with? Explain.

3. Introduction
Communication is the process of transferring
knowledge, ideas, information and thoughts from one
person to another or a group of people.
Though we live in the Information Age, communication
barriers always exist.

4. What is a barrier?
Barrier is something that obstructs or blocks.

5. What is barrier in communication?
Barriers to communication are the hindrances or
difficulties involved in the process of communication
which distort the message from being properly
understood by the receiver.
Task: List any 5 barriers to communication.

6. Barriers – An Analysis
 A barrier can occur at any point in the
communication process.
 Barriers keep us from understanding other’s ideas
and thoughts.
Have you ever been talking to some one and they
misunderstood what you were saying?
Why do you think that happens?

7. Common Barriers To Communication
 Physical barriers
 Psychological barriers
 Semantic barriers
 Personal barriers
 Organizational barriers
 Social barriers
 Cultural barriers
 Ethical barriers

8. Physical Barriers
 Noise
Any sound that prevents a person from being heard.
Example: Ringing telephones inside the room or noise of traffic/aeroplanes
outside the building or noise of machines in factories.
(Physical noise interferes with a speaker's ability to send messages and with
an audience's ability to receive them.)
 Time & Distance
 Receiver has no time to listen
 Too much distance between the sender and receiver
 Defects in the medium of communication
Example: Bad network, interruptions in telephone)

9. Psychological Barriers
 Emotions
Play an important role on how we perceive a message. The
same message can be interpreted in a different way when we
are angry or when we are in a calm and composed mood.
► Play Audio No.1
 Lack of Self Confidence
When there is distrust due to fear, suspicion, dishonesty
between the sender and receiver of communication, the
sender will lack confidence in conveying the message.

10. Psychological Barriers
 Selective Perception
We all perceive only the part of message which is of our interest
based on our past experiences and background.
 Laziness
Authorities/managers sometimes assume that a message has
already been spread and hence will not pass the message
formally.

11. What To Do
 Consider the cultural make up of the intended
audience.
 Seek to understand the differences.
 Frame the message in such a way that it conveys
what you mean and also takes those differences into
account.

12. Semantic/Language Barriers

13. Semantic/Language Barriers
 Lack of common language
Two persons cannot communicate properly unless they
have a common language.
 Variance in expression or colloquialism is
common even among those who speak the
same language.
Example:
When Betty moved to Canada from England, she realized that many
expressions she used were interpreted differently in her new
country. One day she was sitting around a table with her co-workers
discussing the time each got up in the morning to get ready for work.
When it came to her turn, she said, “My husband knocks me up every
morning at 7:30”.
It was only after the laughter had died down did someone explain to her
the North American meaning associated with what she had just said.

14. Semantic/Language Barriers
 Poor vocabulary
If a person fumbles or cannot use right word at the right time,
his/her messages cannot be received correctly.
 Poor grammar, punctuations
Essential in framing correct sentences without distorting the
message
 Use of jargons
Avoid technical words and metaphors as far as possible.

15. What To Do
 Minimize the use of slang and idioms when
delivering the message
 Keep the language simple and free from jargons and
metaphors.
 Make clarity and simplicity the goal over showcasing
linguistic ability.

16. Social Barriers
 This is a huge barrier to communication and includes many
factors such as, conflict, violent and abusive situations, ability
to read and write in a particular language or style.
 In any conversation, it will be almost impossible to converse
with the other person if one part of the conversation is violent
or abusive.
 This violent or abusive nature may be because they have a
troubled past, and as a result they will have low self esteem
which could have caused them to be abusive and violent.

17. How to Overcome?
To overcome the social barrier,
 First, you have to build a good relationship with the person so
that he/she will feel more secure in your company and will also
trust you more.
 Or, if the person did not want to communicate with you at that
time you could always delay the time until he/she has calmed
down.

18. Personal Barriers
 Personal Attitude
When the person who delivers the message is not comfortable
with the message, he/she cannot deliver it properly.
 Lack of Confidence in Subordinates
If there is no good relationship between managers and
subordinates, subordinates will not communicate effectively.
 Message Overload
If too many messages are going on in the mind, one cannot
communicate information to others properly.

19. Few Other Personal Barriers
 Level of interpersonal trust between people
 Stereotypes and prejudice
 Egos
 Poor listening skills
 Tendency to evaluate or judge a sender’s message
 Inability to listen with understanding

20. Organizational Barriers
 Wrong Choice of Medium
Can choose from oral, written, visual communication
 Status Relationships
Messages will not be reported properly if subordinates are scared
of the managers
 Lengthy Process
If the hierarchy is too long, any communication (upward or
downward) will take a long time to reach persons.

21. Cultural Barriers
 Cultures provide people with ways of thinking--ways of
seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. Thus the
same words can mean different things to people from
different cultures, even when they talk the "same"
language.
 Many factors make up what we refer to as “culture”, but
mainly the cultural difference is about attitudes and
beliefs that come from our personal environment and
experience.
 Two people could get the same message but interpret it
in two entirely different ways because their cultures and
language differ.
Example:
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer, Electrolux used the following advertisement in an
American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux”.
This was developed for the Scandinavian advertising campaign and used in America without
any modification. (In American English, “sucks” is very bad or very annoying)

22. Ethical Barriers
Barriers to ethical behaviour in business organizations
are:
 moral silence - failing to speak up about issues that
are known to be wrong
 moral deafness - failing to hear or attend to moral
concerns raised by others
 moral blindness – failing to recognize the moral
implications of actions

23. Overcoming the Barriers
 Take the receiver more seriously
 Think more clearly about the message
 Deliver messages skillfully
 Focus on the receiver
 Use multiple channels and encoding
 Secure appropriate feedback