Barriers in communication
Barriers means hurdles/hindrances or
obstacles which affect/hamper the free flow of
communication
Types of communication barriers
Semantic barriers (concerned to the
language)
Socio-psychological barriers (concerned to
the societal factors and other psychological
factors)
Personal barriers (concerned to the person’s
individual thoughts, may be a part of
psychological barriers)
Physical and mechanical barriers
Organizational barriers
Semantic barriers
Semantic is the “science of meaning” or
The branch that deals with linguistics and
meanings
These arise from the use of language-oral or
written
Rightly said-
“As thinking can corrupt the language ,the
language can also corrupt the thinking”
Types of semantic barriers:-
Vocabulary-(lack of knowledge about words
and their meanings, can be overcome by
studying more)
Jargon- specific or technical language
Faulty translations-(may be due to language
or due to the fact that words have denotative
and connotative meaning)
Unclarified Assumptions: (due to the
assumptions of sender)
Words with different meanings/variety of
meanings:( the word ‘charge’ has around 15
meanings)
Badly expressed message( lack of clarity,
precision, wrong diction, poor sentence
construction etc)
Body language and gestures: (when verbal
and non-verbal communication don’t go in
matching)
Physical and mechanical barriers:
Noise –(anything that distracts the
concentration while various activities of the
communication process.)
Types of noise:
Environmental noise-(to cold or too hot
weather, body odour etc )
Physical noises-(loud speakers ,gossips etc)
Psychological noises-(ego clash, preoccupied
thoughts ,fatigue ,anxiety etc)
Competing noises: (noises due to the limited
resources and time, requirement of
multitasking etc )
2.Distance : between the sender and
receiver , how much they are separated by
the geographical distances
3.Time :information is always ‘time bound’.
Information late is always obsolete.
4.Information Overload: (leads to errors in
implementation of information, there may
be red tapism, important part of
information may not be worked upon )
5. Faulty Equipments :( low ink in fax
machine ,distractions at phone )
Organizational barriers :
Which arise due to the structure of
organization, its culture and its peculiar style
of working .
Types of organizational barriers:
1.Status Relationship-
(due to the various levels in the organization)
(status refers to the regard and attitude
displayed and held towards a position by the
members of organization.)
2. Rules and regulations :-
(may lead to the delay in action or
reluctance in the convey of message)
3. Complex organizational structure :-
( Like- long communication lines
several layers of supervision
co-existence of specialists )
Superior-sub-ordinate relationship-
(in case there is a lack of cordial
relationship /w bosses and employees ,then
there may be a fear among employees to be
the victims of boss’ anger and the employers
think that the workers may raise their voices
high.)
Personal barriers
-which arise due to the personal traits of
either the sender or receiver.
1.lack of confidence in subordinates
2.Ignoring communication
3.Pre-mature evaluation
4.Emotional conflicts (say, being over
emotional)
5.Poor listening
6.Poor retention
7.Halo effect
How to overcome these barriers?
1.Two way communication
2.Flat organizational structures
(with fewer levels and lesser amt of
supervision)
3.Improved relationship
(mutual trust among employers and
employees)
4.Timely information (MIS may be used by the
mgmt)
5. Clarity of message
(no ambiguity ,language should be clear and
simple)
6.Dynamism
(there must be flexibility to adapt to certain
sudden or drastic changes)
7.Consistency of message
(consistent with the rules , objectives ,policies
and programmes of the org.)
8.Feedback-(must be taken regularly ,even the
non verbal communication must be taken into
consideration)
9.Empathetic listening-(to avoid premature
evaluation )
