Course: Communication & Information Technology (CULCS 101)
Topic: Barriers to Communication
Presenter: Nembaware S. (snembaware@cut.ac.zw)
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Anything that interferes with the receiver’s
receiving the message as the source intended
the message to be received
Interference/Disruption/Frustration/Hindr
ance/Obstruction/Barricade/Hurdle/Noise
Noise: Anything that distorts the message
intended by the source

Problems with any one of the
components of the communication
process can become a barrier to
communication.

Studying these barriers helps to
establish
opportunities
for
improving communication.
•
Those which are found
within the sender and the
recipient
•
Those which result from
outside influences in the
communication process
Barriers caused by sender and recipient

When thinking of these remember that they
are only very rarely created deliberately by
either party.

Mostly, they are a result of incomplete
understanding of the information, the
situation, or the vocabulary and attitude of the
other party.
Distortion

Occurs either at the encoding or decoding
stage in the communication process.

It occurs when language is put in a way that
leads to incorrect or partial understanding of a
message by the recipient.

The message to be sent out needs to be clear.
Contrast these two messages:
 "Please be here about 7:00
tomorrow morning."
 "Please be here at 7:00 tomorrow
morning."
 The one word difference makes
the first message muddled and
the second message clear.
The problem may be semantics,
e.g., note this muddled
newspaper ad:
 "Dog for sale. Will eat anything.
Especially likes children. Call
888-3599 for more information."

Internal barriers are fatigue, poor listening skills,
attitude toward the sender or the information, lack
of interest in the message, fear, mistrust, past
experiences, negative attitude, problems at home,
lack of common experiences, and emotions
External barriers include noise, distractions, email not working, bad phone connections, time of
day, sender using too many technical words for the
audience, and environment
Language
Perceptual errors
Stereotypes
Ethnocentrism
Pain discomfort
Jargon
Culture
Defence mechanism
Nature of the environment
Sounds related physical disturbance – affecting
audience attention
Mannerisms – playing with key bunch, tapping on
the desk
Air vibration, people talking
Eg: Poor outdated equipment
May result from the receiver’s physical
state
An individual’s personal discomfort eg.
Poor health, poor eyesight or hearing
difficulties
Eg: a listener with hearing challenges in a
noisy place
oMental turbulence of any kind – affects attention
oBiases, prejudices – in both sender and receiverclosed mindedness
oPre-occupation, ego hang-ups, fatigue, anxiety,
disinterest, cultural disparities
oSelf-centred attitude, defensiveness, resistance to
change
Semantics is the systematic study of meaning
At times problems arise in expression and
transmission of meaning
DeVito: interference is due to the receiver failing
to grasp the meanings intended by the sender – eg:
jargon, technical or complex terms
When people do not speak the same language or
when they have different levels of proficiency in a
language
However, barriers can also exist even when
people speak the same language
Inappropriate register (slang, colloquial, formal,
informal, professional, jargon)
Lack of sensitivity to the receiver
Lack of basic communication skills
Insufficient knowledge of the subject
Information overload
Emotional interference
oA bad cell-phone line
oAn e-mail or letter not formatted properly
oChannel barrier – if a sender chooses an
inappropriate channel of communication
oLong communication chain - confusion
•Lack of interest
•Lack of knowledge
•Emotional distractions
•Physical distractions
No provision for feedback
Inadequate feedback
List of commonplace Barriers
 Information overload – messages that are so packed with
information that they are difficult to interpret and process
 Messages in which the information is so thin that the recipient
becomes bored or frustrated
 Negative timing in communicating the message can prevent its
conveyance. For example, experts obsessed with the urgency of
particular development issues may want to pressurize the people
into adopting the ideas rather too fast. The chances of resistance
are high.
 Language Barrier (at 2 levels) – poor choice of language register
– using technical language/jargon/terminology that is not in the
receiver’s field – semantic distortion or poorly expressed
messages – also the wrong diction/choice of words eg. use of a
patronizing tone – peremptory and dictatorial orders
Cont......
 Differing status - Power differences – these can be a barrier to
communication. If the people at the top disseminate ideas
without going through community leaders, who are themselves
already knowledgeable, it is most likely they will use their
influence to discourage people from accepting change.
 Different cultural backgrounds – differences in approaching the
subject of immediacy – varying perceptions on pertinent/topical
concerns – receivers believing that the ideas being conveyed are
inferior to theirs – a message being communicated may not have
an immediate appeal to recipients of a certain cultural
orientation
 Non-verbal behavior - Irritating mannerisms that stop people
from listening
 Lack of trust as well as lack of interest on the part of the receiver
Cont.......
 Inadequate communication structures
 Incorrect choice of medium or channel
 Poor planning of information
 Organizational structure – size of
organization - closed communication
climate
 Unethical communication
 Physical distractions
Cont.......
 Failure to analyze the needs of the receiver
 Poor listening and lack of attention to feedback
 Assuming that the receivers know more than they
really do
 Insensitive behavior on the part of senders and
receivers
 Too many people to pass on the message from the
sender to the receiver
 Poor feedback, as well as omissions and errors as
messages are passed on
Cont.......
Insensitive or poor choice of language by
sender or receiver
 Insufficient information and lack of clarity
 Poor encoding or decoding skills – filling in
of imagined gaps – unjustified
simplification
 Wrong emphasis in information – failure by
the receiver to make out a message’s most
important parts

Overcoming the barriers

Many of the most important
barriers to communicating may
be overcome by following a few
simple rules:
Appreciate context adequately – set up, age group, gender, culture
Use appropriate register – context specific jargon
Deal with distractions – eg. Turn of source of noise, avoid disruptive
multi-tasking
Use corroboration to supplement encoding process – eg. Use off
gestures, facial expression, tonal variation etc
Solicit feedback from audience
Develop personal communication skills
This is one of the simplest ways in which
communication may be improved.
Communication skills cover the ability to:
 write clear language so that meaning is
expressed directly and without ambiguity
 talk to a wide range of people in formal and
informal settings
 read for the correct understanding of
information
 listen and understand
Active listeners:
Listen politely
 Ask questions politely
 Acknowledges speaker’s point of
view
 Does not change or add anything
to what has been said
Know when to communicate

Judging the right moment to make
communication is important.
a

Choosing the right moment can help. E.g. Tackling
your employer in the corridor when you want to ask
him a favour is probably not a good idea.

Choosing the right moment, both in terms of
psychological rightness and good timing, is thus a
very important way of avoiding barriers of attitude
in the recipient.
Know with whom to communicate

Communication with the wrong person
can create all sorts of misunderstandings.

In business, communicating with the
wrong person will give the impression of
inefficiency, which would not be good for
future communications.
Choose the medium carefully

Always think carefully about the best
kind of communication medium for a
particular situation and recipient.

e.g. in business, written communication
is essential but in some cases it would be
too formal and restricting.
Match the expression to the recipient
The most important rule for
communicating.
 Distortion may occur at encoding when
sufficient care is not taken over the
vocabulary and background of the
recipient by the sender.
 Consideration must also be given of your
relationship with the recipient.
Conclusion

These rules will not guarantee
communication on every occasion.
perfect

There will be times when internal ‘distortion’ and
external ‘noise’ will still erect barriers.

However, striving to follow these rules on all
occasions makes communication far more effective
as you learn to consider the other person’s point of
view and assess the real purpose of what you are
trying to achieve.
Thank you……