Barriers to Effective Communication

Communication is the process of transmitting information, knowledge or ideas from one person or individual to another. It is an important aspect of any business transaction and ensures that each party’s interests are met.

However, there are a number of factors that can make it difficult to communicate both internally within a business setup and externally with stakeholders. Many of these factors have solutions but are a great challenge at the beginning.

1. Language barrier

Globalization and expansion of businesses have brought with it trading with businesses from various parts of the world. The formal language used for business communication by two businesses in two different countries may not be the same and this can pose a challenge. For instance, a business manager operating in a country where the formal language is English may find it challenging to communicate with another manager operating in a country whose formal language is Spanish.

Because of such challenges, businesses need to invest in their employees and encourage the management team to learn new foreign languages. This would make the communication process easier and ultimately help in bringing in new business opportunities.

2. Physical barriers

These are the environmental factors affecting communication. They include the location of either of the parties in the communication process, noise and size of the room where communication is taking place. In face to face communication, a shorter distance makes it easier to hear the other party and provide feedback. Also, if a meeting is taking place in a large arena or room, it will be difficult for the attendees seated at the back to hear clearly what is being said. This would also lead to a lack of concentration on the part of those who can’t get the message being put across and if nothing is done to avert this, there will likely be misunderstandings.

A solution to this would be to use loudspeakers and reduce noise from the surrounding areas. The meeting can take place in a quiet place away from common noise pollutants. Also, the attendees in an arena can be divided into smaller groups where passing the message would be easier.

3. Physiological barriers

These are related to the state of the human body and mind. They include anger, stress, sickness, tiredness, hunger, etc. If the receiver of the message is in any of these states, he will most likely not be an effective listener and will be distracted. He may only hear and grasp just some of the information and lose concentration. This would eventually lead to misunderstandings and loss of trust by the other party.

A solution would be to find ways to reduce or completely do away with the physiological barriers. Stress management is a very important aspect of human lives because it affects us all and can negatively affect our business dealings and non-work relationships. Also, the parties to the communication process should be prepared by ensuring that they have something to eat before their meeting and take breaks in between if they are having a long meeting. This way they can take the chance to have some rest or grab something to eat.

4. Intellectual barriers

These include the level of education, background, and knowledge on the subject matter being discussed. All parties of the communication process need to understand each other including any words or expressions used. For instance, in a business meeting with a potential supplier, the manager in charge of supply and procurement needs to be conversant with the new technologies currently in the market and the best quality of raw materials needed. Otherwise, he may not do an efficient job on the meeting table and that may lead to losses.

A solution would be for each party to prepare adequately before the meeting and do research on what is to be discussed if something is not very clear to them at the onset.

5. Psychological barriers

These are the attitudes of the parties of the communication process. They may be biased on the speaker based on his appearance, mannerisms, race, gender or cultural background. For instance, in some cultures, women are not required to be leaders or trendsetters in business dealings, and so a woman presenting before a group of people with such opinions and stereotypes may not be well received. The message being delivered will most likely not be well grasped or may be ignored.

The same case applies to cultures where older people’s decisions are taken as the absolute truth and the right way of doing things. They can’t be questioned. Even if a younger executive has a better business proposal, the opinion of the older one is taken into consideration as opposed to the young executive’s.

A solution for this would be to educate people on the importance of incorporating the ideas of all members of the team and do away with bias. This is important because it also makes it easier for the business to interact better and forge more beneficial work relations with international businesses.

Conclusion

It is the intention of every business to maximize returns and in order to do that effective communication is very important.

It can, therefore, be clearly seen from the above points that every business has to consider many factors that act as barriers to effective communication. They need to be addressed early on. And as soon as a barrier is identified, management has a duty to look for solutions for the same.