Barriers to Communication

Environmental:
Noise can negatively impact a discussion, such as having the TV on in the background, a crying baby, traffic noise on a cell phone, copy machines running, a loud air conditioner, someone mowing the lawn outside, etc. The space you are in can also prevent good communication, such as a cramped office with too many people, uncomfortable chairs or not enough chairs, etc.

Verbal:
One of the verbal barriers that I’ve encountered is accents. It’s difficult to understand people with really strong accents. Talking too fast or too quietly can also prevent good communication.

Interpersonal:
Everyone is different so it makes sense that we are also different in how we perceive things. It’s very easy for an innocent comment to touch someone else’s sore spot and create a conflict. Consider a staff person that asks a question and gets the reply, “I think we talked about this already.” A person who is confident in their ability to do their job would just respond, “Actually, I don’t think we did” or “We probably did but I can’t remember.” Someone who is feeling inadequate would take that as a criticism. I’m pretty open-minded so I’m not really aware of any interpersonal barriers that I have. I suppose closed-mindedness could be an interpersonal barrier for me. When I’m trying to have a conversation with someone who is completely closed-minded and refuses to see a situation any other way than what is stuck in their head, it irritates me and I will terminate the conversation.

I think I minimize barriers as much as possible by giving the people that I’m talking to my full attention. This helps me to catch any subtleties that might indicate how a person is taking the conversation. Before I say something that I think might be upsetting, I try to consider how I would feel if someone said that to me. If it’s something that needs to be said, I say it anyway; however, I always acknowledge the person’s feelings afterwards, or even before. I also try to throw in a little sugar with the lemons to make things a little easier to swallow. I might say something like, “I know you don’t want to hear this but I’m only saying this because I want you to be happy.” The “I want you to be happy” let’s the person know that I have their best interests at heart. To minimize barriers, it’s important that we be kind and be respectful to the people we communicate with.