The dangers of communication barriers at workplaces

Communication barriers often lead to low productivity, reduced staff morale, and below-par customer service. Good communication skills are a must for employees to coordinate effectively with each other. However, there are several ways in which the process of communication can get disrupted, and if not rectified in time, they can have adverse effects on real-time collaboration among employees. Communication barriers also tend to worsen if you ignore them.

Good communication processes typically adhere to the 7 c’s of communication– clarity, correctness, conciseness, courtesy, concreteness, consideration, and completeness. But, to ensure that these principles are adhered to, one must be aware of the barriers to effective communication.

Common workplace communication barriers

  • Lack of confidence. Lack of faith in oneself results in employees shying away from openly stating their opinions. Employees who lack confidence are unsure of articulating their views and therefore pose a real danger to the smooth operational flow of any organization. Furthermore, an absence of honest opinion or information means decisions and judgments risk not being based on facts. 
  • Stereotyping of people. When you look at people through the prism of stereotypes and generalizations, you tend to arrive at conclusions despite evidence to the contrary. This is usually a common issue in organizations when people automatically assume someone is reliable or unreliable based on their educational backgrounds, cultural upbringing, or worse, their standing on the organizational ladder. Based on prejudice and discrimination, these communication barriers are often subtle but sharply decrease accurate perception. 
  • Lack of communication skills. When people lack basic communication skills, it severely impairs their ability to communicate effectively. For example, businesses can flounder due to a leader who suffers a lack of sharing skills. Likewise, using wrong tonality, seemingly aggressive words, and even being introverted and aloof can lead to a complete breakdown of proper communication. 
  • Inappropriate body language. Body language plays a critical role in direct face-to-face interaction and, increasingly, in online video calls. If body language does not relate to what is being said, it can give confusing signals to listeners. Body language or gestures, when misused, can be a huge barrier to effective communication. Frantic gesticulations and flaying of arms can also be a massive distraction from the actual message.
  • Bad listening skills. Effective listening is the anchor to all good communication. Therefore, a lack of listening skills will always pose a problem for effective communication. A common symptom of poor listening skills is people jumping to conclusions without comprehending what is being said or not letting others complete their explanations.
  • Differences in the language. This works both figuratively as well as in the literal sense. There lies a potential barrier in the subtle differences in how we say or express ourselves, though we may be addressing each other in the same language. Cultural upbringing, education, and levels of exposure can influence our choices of phrases and our body language. In turn, this may lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations with people who may not be familiar with our style of speaking or writing. On the other hand, in lingually diverse countries such as ours, or across multi-national organizations, there is every likelihood that the language itself is different between two people trying to communicate with each other.
  • And finally, a simple lack of honesty or integrity. Ambition and competitive pressures can tempt people not to be entirely honest about their messages and information, or worse, to mislead others. Individual insecurities can also play a role in people withholding critical pieces of information. Not being presented with the whole picture or the correct details is a huge barrier to effective communication. Sadly, there is no fool-proof way to completely eradicate corporate dishonesty except to be on your guard and be learned about such eventualities. 

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