Barriers to Effective Communication
Communication is the basic need of the human species. According to the Merriam – Webster’s dictionary communication is defined as “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, language or behaviour” (1)
When we talk about communication from a business perspective, we talk about corporate communication. For a business to run efficiently, good lines of communication must be established between management and staff, from top to bottom and vice-versa, as well as suppliers, investors and even customers. Although it might sound trivial or even irrelevant to bring up a topic about barriers to effective communication, but in this ever changing world that we live in, it is a very fundamental problem being faced by corporations. A barrier is anything that gets in the way of the purpose of communication, or causes people to misunderstand each other.
The various barriers (2)
There are many different barriers to effective communication in an organization, but some of the major ones are follows:
1. Physical barriers: The modern workplace is symbolised by physical barriers, marked out territories, closed office doors, barrier screens, and separate areas for people of different status. This causes a lack of proximity and an indifferent attitude among employees.
2. Perceptual barriers: No two human beings are the same and therefore the way they perceive things is also different. This effects communication too, because the world is seen in a different light by the person/people we might be communicating with. They might perceive our words or actions in a very different way than what we intended to.
3. Emotional barriers: Emotional barriers are comprised of fear, mistrust, suspicion, lack of confidence and shyness. This is the most common barrier in corporate communication, especially in large organizations.
4. Cultural barriers: Due to advancements in...