A number of barriers to effective communication exists in all organizations.
These can be classified into two, namely physical or technical, and socio-psychological barriers.
3.2.1 Technical and physical barriers
These barriers are those that can minimize the opportunities for effective communication to occur. These may include, among others:
i. Poor means of communication such as typing facilities, photocopying, telephone breakdown, poor audio-visual aids, and other related facilities.
ii. Time constraints that prevent the opportunity to communicate. Most physical barriers are relatively easy to remove, once they are known to exist.
3.2.2 Socio-psychological barriers
The more difficult sets of barriers are the socio-psychological barriers. These usually arise from perceptual differences of persons in communication relationships.
Many of the problems may be the result of attitudes, norms, values and beliefs held by parties. For example, the sender determines what he or she wants to communicate, how to phrase the message which is often influenced by his perception of himself, the image he has of the receiver, and his conception of this role in the organization. What you must be aware of, as a manager, is that the process of communication is an active (not a passive) process. People do not simply encode and decode messages passively, they actively select and interpret them, try to make sense of them, and strive to give expression to their thoughts.
Consider, for example, the sender, who initiates the communication process.
The message he intends to communicate is rarely self-evident; it often consists of half-formed thoughts and ideas. To communicate, he has to give expression to those thoughts and ideas by putting them into acceptable words (languages) and symbols.
This is a complex process, which would require you to choose appropriate language (technical and socially acceptable), the symbol and expression.
As for the receiver, we need to be aware that people do not passively receive messages; they select, filter and interpret them. If people think that a message is unlikely to be interesting or unimportant, they may ignore it altogether. Even when we have decided to concentrate on something, our mind may wander and we may switch our attention to some other things. Each of us, because of our unique background and socialization, develop our own frame of reference, which influences our perception of the world around us, and the way we see and respond to it.
3.2.3 Perception
This is the process by which we actively make sense of the world around us and respond to it, taking in information that is consistent with our frames of reference, and filtering out information that does not fit. If our personalities and perceptions were identified, we would all tend to think alike and communication problems would be rare.
3.2.4 Serial distortion
There is what is commonly referred to as serial distortion process. A common problem in a large organization is that messages often have to travel long distances, and to through several people, before they reach their final destination. When this involves oral communication, the chances are that the message received would be somewhat different from the original message-because everyone involved in receiving and transmitting it will inevitably add their own interpretation. In what ways can messages be so distorted?
a. Particular points in the message may be highlighted, that is to say, given an increased prominence and importance.
b. New information may be added (or subtracted) to make the message sound more interesting and palatable.
i. Certain details may be modified to suit either the receiver or the sender.
ii. The order of the events may be altered- often done to make the message seem more logical, but it can affect the accuracy.
iii. Gaps may be filled-in to make sense of the message, and make it sound more credible.
Sometimes, these distortions are deliberate. People may decide that a particular message reflects badly on them, or they may want to withhold it from others in order to exercise their own power. We must bear in mind that information can rapidly assume a political perspective in an organization. Often, however, the intention may not be malicious. It is simply that as we decide, interpret and decode any message we convey, and the more stages it passes through, the more room there is for distortion.
As a form of summary of the many ways distortions can block effectiveness in the communication process, table 1.9 on 50 provides a picture of the major phrases and possible barriers to effective communication.
Table 1.9 Major barriers to effective communication
Barriers Sender Recipient
Barriers in sending a messages
Inadequate information; pre-judgment about recipient, language
Barriers to reception Needs and anxieties; beliefs
and values, attitudes and opinions exploitations and prejudices
Barriers to understanding Semantics and technical
jargons; lack of
communication skills
Poor (concentration) listening abilities; pre-judgment
Barriers to acceptance Personal characteristics, dissonant behaviour, attitude and opinions, beliefs and values
Attitude, opinion, pre-judgment, beliefs, values, frame of reference previous experience
Barriers to acceptance Memory and retention level of acceptance
Personal characteristics; level of acceptance; flexibility for change
Source: Torrington & Chapman, 2017