Barriers to Effective

Communication and Their

Management
COMMUNICATION

Tuğçe AYDIN
What is communication?
• Communication is a process through
which two or more people exchange
information, ideas, thoughts,
emotions in such a way that each
gain a common understanding of the
intended message.
• Communication is a dyadic concept.
• In Communication system 35%
message is carried verbally and
rest of the 65% non verbally.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is the
process of sending and
receiving messages
between parties
Basic Model Of Communication
Source Encoded Channel Decoded Receiver

Feedback
Significance of Communication
• Lifeblood of an individual,
organisation, society
• As you grow you communicate more
and more
• In all domains of life and in all
directions Downwards Sideways
Upwards
BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

Ayşe Bilge ÇAKIR

 Barrier ?
• Lack of Commonness is barrier
• A barrier to interpersonal
communications is anything that
prevents, restricts or impedes the
conveyance of meaning by words or
gestures between two or more
persons in a social setting.
• The term ‘Barriers’, ‘Obstacles’, ‘
Hindrances’ and ‘noise’ are all used
to describe the distracting stimuli
• associated with the
• communication process
Absence of defined role of any component = Creates Barrier
Barriers to Effective
Communication
• Social
• Psychological
• Cultural
• Physiological,
• System design
• Physical
• Receivers
1. Social
Barriers
Social Barriers

Social barriers refer to

differences and inequalities
associated with different
types of peoples in society.
Barriers can occur because of
people's genders, ethnicities,
races, religions, or
socioeconomic status.
Social Barriers
Gender
Age
Race
National or Cultural
Origin
Socioeconomic Class
Education Level
Urban or Rural
Residence
 GENDER
Major influence on the way we
communicate with others.
When men and women work together
in a group, men tend to be more
assertive and self-confident.
Women are more likely than men to
express their emotions, to reveal how
they feel about a situation.
 AGE
Young people and old people communicate
in different ways.
We do tend to judge a statement by
different standards if we know the
speaker’s age.
A person’s age or gender is not
important in judging the truth or
wisdom of what that person says .
Their maturity, their educational
backgrounds, and the different eras in
which they grew up make a Generation
Gap inevitable.
 RACE
Being aware of (and respecting)
differences in communication isn’t
the only facet of communication to
consider when talking about race and
ethnicity.
 RACE
It’s also important for individuals to
consider the words, both in casual
conversation and in addressing
others. While most individuals know
not to use racial slurs, there are some
unintentional slurs that people often
don’t realize they’re using
 RACE
• Above all else, listen to individuals
who belong to minority groups, and if
they say a word is racist or a slur,
don’t use that word.
National/Cultural
Origin
• Language (Semantic)
• Cultural norms and values
• Stereotypes
• Values and Beliefs
• Body language and gestures
Socioeconomic
Class
• To many, social status is an
indicator of credibility and
legitimacy, and this it seriously
effects how one communicates with
other
Socioeconomic
Class
• Key elements that are involves in
audience’s evaluation include title,
reputation, and extent to which
people can identify with the
communicator’s motives and
objectives
Socioeconomic
Class
• Status differences can create a bias
against those with perceived lower
status.
Socioeconomic
Class
• In our society, Social Status have greatly
influence the communication ever since
ancient times up until now. In terms of
communication with one another, there will
always be a “boundary” that separates high,
average, and low class people through the
way they speak or communicate with one
another
Socioeconomic
Class
• Rank affects communication, in such
situations, those with perceived lower
status need to build good will by
demonstrating competence and reliability
and identifying with common interests
Education Level
• Educated people are often perceived
as being more intelligent than those
who are not educated or who do not
have formal qualifications
Education Level
• This could lead to a breakdown in
communication because people may
feel they are equipped or nor
educated enough to understand the
message being sent by a more
educated or qualified person
Urban/Rural
Residence
COMMUNICATION-URBAN
• Language and content appeal to target
audience –as different segments and needs
• Medium appeal
• Positioning ad differentiation
communicated value proposition offerings
• Information rich
Urban/Rural
Residence
COMMUNICATION-RURAL
• Language –regional based
• Content – regional, cultural, caste appeal
• Benefit & cost conscious approach
• Visual based –color, logo, etc (attractive to
remember)
• Medium – carefully selected
2. Psychological
Barriers
Psychological Barriers

• These are mental barriers

that refer to the social
and personal issues of a
speaker towards
communicating with others
Psychological Barriers
• Attitude towards self
• Fear
• Attitude towards audience
• Attitude towards the message
• You Yourself is not convinced
with the subject
• Knowledge of subject
• Personality/Status of the
communicator
Psychological Barriers
• False assumptions
• Anger
• Attitudes and Values
• Negative Self-Image
• Fear and Defensiveness
• Implications and Inferences
• Abstracting
• Close-mindedness, overconfidence
and Apathy
Psychological Barriers
• Poor Listening
• Emotions
• Information Overload
 PERCEPTION
Our physical limitations are a
screen through which we
perceive things that exist in
our environment.
Our perception is also limited
by psychological screens
that we have developed.
Choosing from among the
many things within our range
of perception those that we
will notice, and block out
the rest is called “Selective
Perception”
Mother: Will you straighten up your
room?
Teenager: Why? What’s messy?
 Selective Perception
• Allows us not only to block out things
that are there, but also to see more
things than are there.

• Leads us to make our own reality!

• Most clearly seen in the human

tendency to stereotype others.
 MOTIVATION
A Motive is a Reason For
Action!
The most strongest
motivations are those
that are most personal.
We are motivated by money,
fame, power, love, status, security,
skill, ambition...etc
it can be both positive
or negative.
 TUNNEL VISION
A closed way of thinking, especially
about abstract topics, such as
religion and politics.
• The person with tunnel vision is one who
has firmly fixed ideas
• The opposite side is open-mindedness
• Person with tunnel vision has attitude
seems to say; “I’ve already made up my
mind, Don’t confuse me with the facts!!!”
 EGO DEFENSIVENESS
A response pattern in which a person
who follows this pattern sees a
disagreement as a personal
attack .
A self-centered
communication

More than just being selfish

 NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Almost always obstacles to good
communication!
Especially true barrier if the
emotion is uncontrolled, unfocused,
or misdirected.
Other Psychological Barriers
• People’s State of Mind
Happy, Sad
• Personal Problems/Worries
• Pre conceived notions of Communicator
or Receiver
• Mental limitations of human beings,
failure to refer language to
experience, the confusion of concept.
3. Cultural
Barriers
 Cultural Barriers
These are communication
problems encountered by
people due to their own
personal values, beliefs, and
traditions which are in
conflict with others
 Cultural Barriers
Semantic Problems: Distortion
in communication comes from
semantics- the use of words or
expressions which have a
different meaning for the
sender or receiver.
Created when communicators
use technical jargon- usage
common to a particular field or
specialization.
 Cultural Barriers
• Language
Different languages, dialect, individual
linguistic ability, use of difficult words,
inappropriate words, pronunciation
• Norms and values
• Belief
• Social practices and traditions
4. Physiological
Barriers
 Physiological Barriers
• Individuals’ personal discomfort
ill health, poor eye sight, hearing
difficulties
• Speech and voice defect, feeling of
inferiority, diseases, physical
appearance, lack of skill.
5. System
Design
 System Design
• Organisational Structure
unclear, to whom to communicate,
• Insufficient or inappropriate
information systems
• Information overloaded
• A lack of clarity in roles and
responsibilities
• A lack of supervision or training
The distortion of message is any kind
of loss, deformation, miss
presentation or alteration taken
place in original message while
sending it to audience.
Types of Distortion :
1. Systematic Distortion – Purposely
changed
2. Fog Distortion – information is lost
3. Mirage Distortion - extra, unwanted
information
Status And Power Differences
Differences in
communications are
likely to parallel the
differences in power.
Imbalance or asymmetry
in negotiating power
leads the high power
party to perform
significantly better than
the low power party.
6. Physical
Barriers
 Physical Barriers
• These are the natural or
environmental conditions
that act as barriers in
communication whenever we
are sending our messages
 Physical Barriers
• Channel
– Availability of channel to receiver (Common channel)
– Choice of channel
– Handling of channel by communicator
– Reach : depending on size of audience, mike, etc.
– Noise level in Channel
– Presentation of information/message treatment
Muddled messages
“Dogs for sale.Will eat anything.Especially likes
children. Call 888-3599 for more information.”
• Climate
– Extreme temperature (Hot/Cold)
– Bright/ Dim Light
– High Humidity
• Comfort
Physical Barriers Cont…..
Distractions:It occurs
where people
are constantly coming
in and leaving for one
reason or another, and
eexperienced the
frustration that is
created by this
ddistracting traffic
flow.
Physical Barriers Cont…..
• Distractions
– Noise (Co-workers, Doors, etc.)
– Photographer
– Any announcements
– Instruction Sheet
– Late Comers
• Physical Setting of Classroom/
Lecture Hall
– Sitting Arrangement
– Audio-Visual Aids
7. Receivers
 Receiver-The Ultimate
• Absenteeism/Day Dreaming/ Pretending
Listening
• Strayers: They constantly take the group off
the track. They drag the discussion out of
context
• Gabbers: They are the people who like to talk
first and try to dominate in the discussion.
They think that they are the only ones with
anything worth saying
• Silent: They are just as well informed as many
other members of the group but they rarely
contribute verbally

Listening without observing speaker’s tone, gesture, posture and

facial expression is like getting the words of a song without music
Relating to Receiver
• Problem of homogeneity: The more homogeneous
the audience is, the greater are the chances
for successful communication.

• Problem of cooperation and involvement: The listeners

must cooperate and get actively involved in
the communication process, they must try to get
tuned together with the communicator.

• Negative attitude of the audience towards the

communicator: If the audience has negative attitude
for the communicator or if the credibility of
communicator as perceived by the audience is low,
no successful communication will take place.
 Problems in Communication
Relating to Transmission of Message

• Wrong handling of the channels: If the channels

selected for communication are not handled effectively,
their potential for carrying a message will be dissipated.
• Wrong selection of channels: If the channel selected is
not in accordance with the objective/subject,
interpretation will not be in a desired way.
• Use of inadequate channels in parallel: For the message
to have got through and received properly, use of more
than one channel in parallel or at about the same time is
essential.
• Physical distraction: Failure to avoid physical distraction
often obstructs successful sending of the message.
 Points to Remember
• Communication is a two way process.
• Effective communication= Bridging the gap between
encoded and decoded message= Establishing Common
Understanding
• Responsibility of effective communication mainly lies
with the communicator
• Feedback is an important return message. Ensure
getting and using it effectively for better
performance
• Know the roadblocks. This will help you to handle
the communication process in an effective way
• Use Heart and Mind and Soul for an effective
result
• Communication is a skill, learn and practice
 To Sum up

To Become an Effective communicator

Make effective use of
Heart and Body, Mind and Soul
PERFORMANCE TASK 2
• Create a video clip showing
examples/situations of
communication failure.
• At the end of the video, explain what
communication barrier is being shown
and how enumerate ways how to solve
it.
 PERFORMANCE TASK 2
Post/upload your video to our google classroom in
oral communication following this captions:

Santos, Angelica A.
Grade 11 ODL HUMSS (state your strand)
#PT2 Barriers to Effective Communication

• Deadline of submission is on October 11, 2021

ONLY.