Question

Discuss in brief various barriers to communication.

Explain any three barriers to communication.

Briefly explain any two barriers to communication.

Explain any two barriers to communication.

Answer 1

1. Semantic Barriers:
   1. Words with different meanings: The primary means of communication are written and spoken language. However, various people will interpret some terms differently. 
   2. Denotations and connotations: There are two different meanings for words: denotative and connotative. A word's denotative connotation indicates its literal meaning. It merely names things without implying their good or bad attributes. Some examples of denotative nouns are computer, room, chair, and book. Conversely, connotative terms like “honest,” “precise,” “competent,” and “cheap” evoke subjective evaluations and individual responses.
   3. Bad expression: Misunderstanding arises when the message is not properly framed and presented, causing the recipient to not understand it. 
   4. Faulty translation: Every centre must process the information it gets and convert it into a format that can be sent on. People frequently translate words literally, which takes away from the meaning of the original.
   5. Unclarified assumptions: A message’s sender frequently makes some assumptions. Communication suffers when these presumptions are imprecise and unknown to the recipient.
2. Physical and Mechanical Barriers:
   1. Noise: Noise from construction, traffic, human voices, typewriters, fans, and other sources frequently obstructs communication. Oral communication is challenging in factories due to the loud noises made by the machines.
   2. Distance and time: Physical distance between the sender and the receiver serves as a barrier to smooth communication.
   3. Information overload: Information overload is a term used to describe excessive communication. The recipient's mental capacity prevents him from understanding and absorbing.
3. Organisational Barriers:
   1. Long chain of command: When the scalar chain is unduly long, distance between top manager and workers increases.
   2. Poor Spatial Arrangements: Faulty arrangements of furniture, partitions, pathways, etc. prevent eye contact between the speaker and his listeners.
   3. Inappropriate Medium: Choice and use of an unsuitable medium may act as a barrier to communication.
4. Socio-Psychological Barriers:
   1. Attitudes and opinions: Personal attitudes and opinions often interfere with communication.
   2. Emotions: Emotions cause us to lose focus, skew our judgement, and improperly arrange our messages.
   3. Status and fear: Every company has status differences, and status consciousness is a significant communication obstacle.
   4. Closed mind: A person may have a closed mind due to deep-rooted prejudices, a superiority complex, a limited intellectual background, a narrow interest, etc.
   5. Inattention: Lack of attention on the part of the listener or reader is a common barrier to communication.
   6. Distrust: Communication is likely to fail when the receiver is suspicious about the source of communication.
   7. Premature evaluation: Some people form a judgement before receiving the complete message. Such premature evaluation prevents effective communication.
   8. Poor retention: In the process of transmission, a part of the message is lost.
   9. Perceptual distortion: Perception implies noticing and understanding.
   10. Resistance to change: When a message urges some change and the receiver is opposed to the change, the process of communication is hampered.