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LESSON 5

BARRIERS IN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION /COMMUNICATION FALLOFF

People in the world are not exactly alike. Cultures or countries are not the same. These differences,

however, can cause problems in conveying your meanings. Each person's mind is different from others. As

a result, message sender's meanings and the receiver's response are affected by many factors, such as

individual:

Semantic barriers

Conventions of meaning

Physical Barrier

Psychological barriers

Emotional barriers

Perceptual barriers

Barriers involving values attitudes etc

Semantic Barrier

A basic principle of communication is that the symbols the sender uses to communicate messages must

have the same meaning in both the sender's and receiver's minds. You can never be sure that the message in

your mind will be clearly sent to your receiver. The world is full with errors, as a result of differences in

semantic (meaning) understanding.

Symbol

Referent (reality)

Less Common Experience

Common Experience

Problem in Conventions of Meaning

Denotation

A denotation is usually the dictionary definition of a word. Denotative meanings name objects, people or

events without indicating positive or negative qualities. Such words as car, desk, book, house, and water

convey denotative meanings. The receiver has a similar understanding of the thing in which the word is

used.

Denotation

A connotation is an implication of a word or a suggestion separate from the usual definition. Some words

have connotative meanings, that is, qualitative judgments and personal reactions. The word man is

denotative, father, prophet, brother are connotative. Some words have positive connotations in some

contexts and negative meanings in others. For example, slim girl and slim chances.

Physical Barriers

Communication does not consist of words alone. Another set of barriers is caused by your own physical

appearance, your audience, or the context of the document or the presentation. Your ideas, however good

and however skillfully imparted, are at the mercy of various potential physical barriers.

For Writing

For Speaking

For Writing

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There is a whole barrage of possible physical blocks, jammed or jagged margins, fingerprints or smudges,

unclear photocopies, unreadable word processor printout, water or coffee, tea spots etc

For Speaking

Mumbling, not enunciating, speaking too quickly, noises become of hissing ventilation, blowing air

conditioning, ringing telephones, slamming doors etc.

Psychological Barriers

Because of the changing world, everyone has his own concept of reality. Also, human beings, sensory

perceptions touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste are limited, and each person's mental filter is unique. In

our daily interaction with others, we make various abstractions, inferences and evaluations of the world

around us.

Emotional Barriers

One possible psychological block is emotional, you may be emotionally block is you are announcing a new

policy you may become popular or unpopular

First mayor presentation

Writing someone you dislike

Other may feel hostile

Perception of Reality

The perceptual problem is that people think differently

Abstracting

Selecting some details and omitting others is a process called abstracting. On many occasions abstracting is

necessary. However, you should be cautious about "slanted" statements.

Differences in abstracting take place not only when persons describe events but also when they describe

people and objects.

Slanting is unfair in factual reporting. When presenting some particular facts, you include your own biased

ideas into it, you make slanting statement.

Try not to let personal preferences affect your factual reporting of information.

Perception of Reality

Inferring

Conclusions made by reasoning from evidence are called inferences. We make assumptions and draw

conclusions even though we are not able to immediately verify the evidence. Some inferences are both

necessary and desirable; others are risky, even dangerous.

Necessary Inferences

When we reach a foreign country, we are sure that we will be treated politely.

When we post a letter, we infer that it will reach its destination.

Conclusions we make about things we have not observed directly can often be against our wishes.

Barriers Involving Values, Attitudes etc.

Both personality and attitude are complex cognitive process. The difference is that personality usually is

thought of as the whole person whereas attitude may makeup the personality. The term attitude describes

people and explains their behavior. More precisely an attitude can be defined as a persistent tendency to feel

and behave in a particular way towards some object.

For example: Name does not like night shift, so his attitude is negative towards his work assignment.

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Barriers Involving Values, Attitudes etc.

A receiver's attitude toward a message can determine whether it is accepted or rejected. The effectiveness is

influenced also by the values, attitudes, and opinions of the communicators. People react favorably when

they receive agreeable message. Receivers' views of the information will affect their response. This response

could be what the sender desires or just the opposite.

Occasionally people react according to their attitudes toward a situation rather than to the facts.

Barriers Involving Values, Attitudes etc.

Closed Mind

Some people hold rigid views on certain subjects. They maintain their rigid views regardless of the

circumstances. Such a closed minded person is very difficult to communicate to.

Sender's Credibility

Other factors effecting attitudes, opinions and responses

Environmental stresses

Personal problems

Sensitivity