Barriers to Effective Communication at Work

Although we begin communicating from an early age, the process of transmitting information from one person or group to another is much more complex than it may seem. By the time a message travels from the sender to the receiver, there are multiple opportunities for errors to occur. Social psychologists estimate that 40-60% of the original meaning is often lost in the communication process. In workplaces, where people spend over 75% of their time interacting with others, it's not surprising that many organizational issues stem from poor communication.

Communication in the workplace is often further complicated by the lack of familiarity between colleagues, especially in complex team structures. It is essential to be aware of potential communication barriers and make a concerted effort to minimize misunderstandings to ensure messages are transmitted clearly.

It is critical to understand, and be aware of, the potential sources of communication barriers and constantly avoid these barriers by making a conscientious effort to make sure there is a minimal loss of meaning in your communication.

Here are some common barriers to effective communication in the workplace:

• The choice of words or language which a sender uses (called 'encoding the message') will influence the quality of communication. In the English language, there are about 500 basic words that are used every day. These 500 words have over 10,000 different meanings. Because language is a symbolic representation of a phenomenon, room for interpretation and distortion of the meaning exists.

• Misreading body language, tone, and other non-verbal forms of communication

• Ignoring non-verbal language

• Selective hearing

• Hesitation to be candid

• Distrust

• Value judgment

• Power struggles

• Unreliable transmission (due to noise or inconsistent sending)

• Defensiveness (a typical barrier in a work situation, especially when negative information or criticism is involved)

• Distorted perception - How we perceive communication is affected by experiences. Perception is also effected by the organizational relationship two people have. For example, communication from a superior may be perceived differently than from a subordinate or peer.

• Guilt

• Distortions from the past

• Stereotyping - assuming the other person has certain characteristics based on the group to which they belong without validating that they in fact have these characteristics

• Cultural differences - Effective communication requires deciphering the basic values, motives, aspirations, and assumptions that operate across geographical lines. Given some dramatic differences across cultures, the opportunities for miscommunication in cross-cultural situations are enormous.
  
  

What are the barriers to effective communication you need to overcome? How will you overcome these barriers in order to achieve success? How will you encourage others to be aware of barriers and work to overcome them in order to build and maintain effective communication within your organization? Answering these questions will begin the process of overcoming communication barriers.

Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, or organizational levels.

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