Barriers of Communication

Everyone has experienced, at one time or another frustration of feeling misunderstood and being
unable to make us understood by others. Communication should be simple but is often difficult
because people tend to create barriers. Barriers often lead to your message becoming unclear and
confusing to others. For communication to become more effective one has to overcoming these
barriers to send a clear message.

Cultural Differences can be a barrier to communication because of the variations between cultures
and the different background, beliefs and opinions of others. Some people may think your being racist
because of the way you speak to them and if you argue back to them about their opinions and beliefs,
they may get offended. Cultural Differences can also be the way people dress, their religions,
interests and the kind of food they may eat.

Read more: Identify different reasons why people communicate essay

Also certain hand gestures in America may have different meaning in other countries which could
distort your message. A way to overcome this barrier is to respect other people’s opinions and beliefs
and to educate yourself. Foreign languages are also barriers to communicate because you might
attempt to speak to someone in English but the other person may speak Spanish. You wouldn’t be
able to communicate with them due to the language you speak. A way to overcome this barrier would
be attempting to use the other individual’s preferred spoken language to communicate or get an
interpreter to help you.

One barrier of communication can be the surroundings of which the communication is going to take
place. The space of which the communication is being held is very important, as it is vital that all
people communicating can see one another’s facial expressions. Since we spend more time hitting
the letters on a keypad than actually participating in face-to-face communication it is important to try
and overcome this barrier when possible. For example when you’re having a conversation with
another via text messaging or emails it is very easy for the message to be misinterpreted because
emotions are sometimes hardier to decipher. A lot of communication is based on body language
when talking face to face.

When we communicate things that we care about, we do so mainly using nonverbal signals. Wordless
communication, or body language, includes facial expressions, body movement and gestures, eye
contact, posture, and the tone of your voice. By texting and emailing this barrier is created and
confusion can happen. So, if it is an important conversation or an important message to relay to
another person it is best to talk to them face to face. This would lower ones chances of distorting the
message or creating more problems because of a distorted message. Identify the barriers that you
put up can help you overcome them and communicate better with others. Effective communication
helps us better understand a person or situation and enables us to resolve differences. By learning
these effective communication skills, you can better connect with your spouse, kids, friends, and
coworkers.

References

MUSCARELLO, P. (2012). Breaking the Communication Barrier. Business Officer, 46(1), 11-13.

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