Question

State any four barriers to communication which are concerned with problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding the message into words or impressions.

State any four semantic barriers of communication.

Explain the following ‘Semantic barrier' to communication:

Technical jargon

Explain the following ‘Semantic barrier' to communication:

Body language and gesture decoding

Answer 1

Semantic barriers

1. Badly expressed message: Sometimes intended meaning may not be conveyed by a manager to his subordinates due to badly expressed messages which may be on account of inadequate vocabulary, usage of wrong works, omission of needed works, etc.
2. Symbols with different meaning: A word may have different meanings and the receiver has to perceive one such meaning for the word used by the communicator. 
3. Faulty translations: If the translator is not proficient with both languages, mistakes may creep in causing different meanings to communication. 
4. Unclarified assumption: Confusion might emerge from distinct assumptions having different interpretations. 
5. Technical Jargon: It is usually found that specialists use technical jargon while explaining to persons who are not specialists in the concerned field and therefore they may not understand the actual meaning of many words. Poor communication results from this, such as patients not understanding what doctors are saying. 
6. Body language and gesture decoding: Miscommunication can occur when body language differs with the words being used. If there is no match between what is said and what is expressed in body movements, communications may be wrongly perceived.