Kinds of Barriers to Effective Communication

There are barriers to communication which are of different kinds and possess various kinds of
characteristics:

I Environmental and Physical Barriers – Under the environmental and physical barriers, there
have been classification of barriers as follows:
a) Time – This is the barrier which is concerned with developing quicker and speedy channels of
communication. For example, when communicating with somebody, if the process is time
consuming such as mailing letters then it is a barrier, any kind of communication whether, it is
done in a formal or an informal manner, if it is highly time consuming then it proves to be a
barrier and for efficient working, individuals need to develop a faster means of communication
such as electronic mail instead of sending letters by post.
b) Distance – It is vital to eliminate the unwanted distance within the communication system, if
the condition requires it, for example, it can occur in telephonic communication. If two persons
need to discuss an important matter and one of them is in India, whereas other one is in the
United States of America, then telephonic conversation may not prove to be very effective, then
they can send each other details through the system of email.
c) Place – The area, the environment where the communication is taking place should be clear
and not over-crowded. Noise pollution can be a barrier to effective communication, this is
obvious, where there is noise, and there a person cannot efficiently communicate, therefore
places and areas with lesser people, proper ventilation is required for effective communication.
d) Medium – The medium via which the process of communication is taking place should be
effective and appropriate. Communication takes place in various forms; it is oral, written, audio,
video, formal, informal, the medium used for the purpose of communicating should be accurate,
precise and understandable.

II Semantic Barriers – When communicating with the other persons, no matter what kind of
communication means is utilized, whether it is formal or informal, it is vital to make use of
appropriate words, vocabulary and language; all kinds of communication should reflect decency.
Language and vocabulary that is used in communication should be understandable to the
persons; if a person speaks only English and a word is used in Spanish then he may or may not
understand the word, for instance, if a person speaks only English, then it could be a possibility
that he might have studied other languages such as Spanish or French. Two or more persons
when they are communicating with each other should use a common language, so that everyone
can understand it well.

III Cultural Barriers – Communication also takes place between people belonging to different
nationalities, religions, castes, creeds, races, ethnicities etc. in other words, when two persons are
communicating with each other, there may be differences in their cultural backgrounds. It is vital
to overcome all the barriers that might occur within the course of communication. It is crucial to
make people aware of one’s own culture with whom they are communicating. In the form of
communication, it is vital to form an understanding and acceptance of another person’s culture.

IV Psychological Barriers – In the process of communication, it is vital to understand each

other’s mindset and mental capacity; this applies in every case whether it is a professor giving a
lecture or a conversation between the employer and an employee. If someone is communicating
with the other individual or a group of individuals with an attitude of disinterest or unwillingness
then the process of communication will not be effective. In this case, it would have believed to
be that attitude of the communicators is inappropriate for the purpose of making the process of
communication effectual. It is therefore considered crucial to overcome the psychological
barriers. Psychological barriers also refer to opinions on various castes, cultures, people,
concepts etc.

V Perception of Reality – When communicating, it is important to understand various

perceptions of a situation or of an issue or a problem. There are different levels of perceptions
that are involved when communicating about a particular topic, condition, problem, issue,
situation, dilemma, stress or a concept. Lacking understanding about different levels of
perceptions may prove to be a barrier. In order to implement effective communication, it is vital
to gain the ‘perception of reality’ which means information about facts, knowledge, figures,
actuality and what is true. While communicating, it is important to be open, flexible and
transparent.

VI Emotional Barriers - Emotional Barriers are the mental walls that keep you from
openly communicating your thoughts and feeling to others. They prevent you from being
yourself and living your life to the fullest. Individuals with emotional barriers tend to be
extremely reserved, cautious and insecure. Emotional barriers that prevent individuals from R

 Anger - Anger can affect the way your brain processes information given to you. For
example, angry people have difficulty processing logical statements, limiting their ability to
accept explanations and solutions offered by others
 Pride - The need to be right all the time will not only annoy others, it can shut down
effective communication. For example, you might focus only on your perspective, or you
might come up with ways to shoot down other people before you even listen to their points.
 Anxiousness - Anxiety has a negative impact on the part of your brain that manages
creativity and communication skills. For example, your constant worries can hinder your
ability to concentrate on the information you are giving or receiving.

VII Organizational Barriers- The Organizational Barriers refers to the hindrances in the flow
of information among the employees that might result in a commercial failure of an organization.
The major organizational barriers are listed as:
 Rules and policies - Often, organizations have the rule with respect to what message,
medium, and mode of communication should be selected. And due to the stringent rules, the
employees escape themselves from sending any message.
 Hierarchical positions - The people occupying the upper echelons of the hierarchy are
superior to the ones occupying the lower levels, and thus, the communication among them
would be formal. This formal communication may often act as a barrier to the effective
 communication. Such as the lower level employee might be reluctant in sending a message to
his superior because of a fear in his mind of sending the faulty or wrong message.
 Organizational Facilities - The organizational facilities mean the telephone, stationery,
translator, etc., which is being provided to employees to facilitate the communication. When
these facilities are adequately offered to the employees, then the communication is said to be
timely, accurate and according to the need. Whereas, in the absence of such facilities, the
communication may get adversely affected.
 Complex organizational structure - The communication gets affected if there are a greater
number of management levels in the organization. With more levels, the communication gets
delayed and might change before reaching the intended receiver.