BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication plays a major
role in developing a relationship. It can also affect the relationship among
family members or management in any institute. More specifically, communication
influences the effectiveness of instruction, performance evaluation, and the
handling of discipline problems. Communication should be straightforward. What
can make it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the barriers. Some barriers
of communication are the following.
1)
Physiological
Barrier
Physiological barriers to
communication are related with the limitations of the human body and the human
mind (memory, attention, and perception). Physiological barriers may result
from individuals’ personal discomfort, caused by ill-health, poor eye sight, or
hearing difficulties.
·
Poor
Listening Skills
Listening to others is
considered a difficult task. A typical speaker says about 125 words per minute.
The typical listener can receive 400–600 words per minute. Thus, about
three-fourth of listening time is free time. The free time often sidetracks the
listener. The solution is to be an active rather than passive listener. A
listener's premature frown, shaking of the head, or bored look can easily
convince the other person/speaker that there is no reason to elaborate or try
again to communicate his/her excellent idea.
·
Information
Overload
Nurses are surrounded with
a pool of information. It is essential to control the flow of the information,
else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked.
As a result, communication may get distorted.
·
Inattention
At times, we just do not
listen but only hear. For example, your boss is immersed in his/her very
important paper work surrounded by so many files on the table and you are
explaining him/her about an urgent office problem. In this situation, due to
the inattention, the boss will not listen to you ; hence, he/she may not get
what you are saying and it may lead to disappointment.
·
Emotions
The emotional state of a
person at a particular point of time affects his/her communication with others
as it has an impact on the body language (nonverbal communication). If the
receiver feels that the sender is angry (emotional state), he/she can easily
infer that the information being obtained will be very terrible. Emotional
state causes some physiological changes in our body that may affect the
pronunciation, pressure of the speech, and tone of the voice of the sender as
well as the perception, thinking process, and information interpretation of the
receiver during verbal communication.
·
Poor
Retention
Human memory cannot
function beyond a limit. One cannot always retain all the facts/information
about what is being told to him/her especially if he/she is not interested or
not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.
2) Physical and Environmental Distractions
Physical distractions are
the physical things that get in the way of communication. Examples of such
things include the telephone, an uncomfortable meeting place, and noise. These
physical distractions are common in the hospital setting. If the telephone
rings, the usual human tendency will be to answer it even if the caller is
interrupting a very important or even delicate conversation. Distractions such
as background noise, poor lighting, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room, or
an environment that is too hot or cold can affect people's morale and
concentration, which in turn interfere with effective communication.
3) Psychological Barrier
Psychological factors such
as misperception, filtering, distrust, unhappy emotions, and people's state of
mind can jeopardize the process of communication. We all tend to feel happier
and more receptive to information when the sun shines. Similarly, if someone
has personal problems such as worries and stress about a chronic illness, it
may impinge his/her communication with others.
4) Social Barriers
Social barriers to
communication include the social psychological phenomenon of conformity, a
process in which the norms, values, and behaviors of an individual begin to
follow those of the wider group. Social factors such as age, gender,
socioeconomic status, and marital status may act as a barrier to communication
in certain situations.
5) Cultural Barriers
Culture shapes the way we
think and behave. It can be seen as both shaping and being shaped by our
established patterns of communication. Cultural barrier to communication often
arises when individuals in one social group have developed different norms,
values, or behaviors to individuals associated with another group. Cultural
difference leads to difference in interest, knowledge, value, and tradition.
Therefore, people of different cultures will experience these culture factors
as a barrier to communicate with each other.
6) Semantic Barrier
Language, jargon, slang, etc.,
are some of the semantic barriers. Different languages across different regions
represent a national barrier to communication, which is particularly important
for migrating nurses. Use of jargon and slang also act as barrier to
communication. For example, while delivering health education to a cardiac
patient, if a cardiac nurse uses jargons such as “coronary artery disease,”
“anticoagulants,” and “homocysteine and C-reactive proteins,” the patient will
listen attentively as he/she cannot understand these medical jargons.
Therefore, she is required to use simple words “heart ki nadi ki bimari,”
“khoon patla karne ki dawai,” and “certain chemicals in our body” so that the
patient can understand what the nurse is supposed to communicate with him/her.
7) Linguistic Barriers
Individual linguistic
ability may sometimes become a barrier to communication. The use of difficult
or inappropriate words in communication can prevent the people from
understanding the message. Poorly explained or misunderstood messages can also
result in confusion. The linguistic differences between the people can also
lead to communication breakdown. The same word may mean differently to
different individuals. For example, consider a word “face.”
§ He is
facing a problem
§ What is
the face value of this share bond?
§ Your face
is oval shape
“Face”
means differently in different sentences. Communication breakdown occurs if
there is wrong perception of the meaning of the message by the receiver.
8) Past Experience
If someone has awful
experiences in the past related to some particular situation, then he/she will
try to avoid communication in that situation. For example, a staff nurse who,
while providing detailed information regarding the patient care at the time of
routine clinical round to her boss, is always facing negative body language and
discouraging words from her boss will ultimately limit her communication to the
boss at that time.
9) Organizational Barriers
Unclear planning,
structure, information overload, timing, technology, and status difference are
the organizational factors that may act as barriers to communication.
§ Technological Failure
Message not delivered due
to technical failure (e.g., receiver was not in mobile network area and the
sender has not activated delivery report in message setting).
§ Time Pressures
Often, in organization the
targets have to be achieved within a specified time period, the failure of
which may have adverse consequences for the employee. In a haste to meet
deadlines, usually an employee tries to shorten the formal channels of
communication that can lead to confusion and misunderstanding among the various
levels of supervisors, hence leading distorted communication. Therefore,
sufficient time should be given for effective communication.
§ Complexity in Organizational Structure
Greater the hierarchy in an
organization (i.e., the more the number of managerial levels), more are the
chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level
can see the overall picture while the people at low level just have a knowledge
about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas of the
organization.
10)
Barriers Related with the Message
·
Unclear
Messages
Effective
communication starts with a clear message. Unclear messages in terms of
meaning, grammar, and words may act as a barrier to communication because the
receiver may not be able to intercept the actual meaning of the message.
·
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are beliefs or
generalizations about characteristics or qualities that are felt to be typical
of a particular group . Stereotyping is a barrier to communication because
people with stereotype thoughts either will not read the message completely or
will not read it at all because of their thinking that they already know
everything.
·
Inappropriate
Channel
Variation of channels helps
the receiver understand the nature and importance of a message. While making a
choice for a channel of communication, the sender needs to be sensitive to such
things as the complexity of the message; consequences of a misunderstanding;
knowledge, skills, and abilities of the receiver; and immediacy of action to be
taken from the message.
·
Lack of
Feedback
Feedback is the mirror of
communication. Feedback mirrors what the sender has sent. Without feedback,
communication cannot be considered complete. Both the sender and the receiver
can play an active role in using feedback to make communication truly two-way.
11)
Some
Other Blocks to Communication
Failure to listen: Communicator may or may not feel able to speak
freely to the listener, if the listener is not listening carefully or not
responding.
Conflicting verbal and nonverbal messages.
Failure to interpret with knowledge.
Changing the subject: A quick way to stop conversation is to
change the subject.
Inappropriate
comments and questions: Certain types of comments and questions should be
avoided in most situations because they tend to impede effective communication,
e.g., close-ended questions and using comments that give advice.
METHODS OF OVERCOMING
BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION OR FACILITATING COMMUNICATION
Overcoming the
communication barriers requires a vigilant observation and thoughts of
potential barriers in a particular instance of communication. State all the
anticipated barriers that may have impact on your day-to-day communication.
Strategies to overcome barriers will be different in different situations
depending upon the type of barriers present. Following are some of the
important general strategies that will be commonly useful in all the situations
to overcome the barriers of communication.
§ Crystal
clear message
§ Delivering
messages skillfully
§ Focusing
on the receiver
§ Using
multiple channels to communicate instead of relying on one channel
§ Ensuring
appropriate feedback
§ Be aware
of your own state of mind/emotions/attitude
Facilitators of
Communication
In addition to removal of
specific barriers to communication, the following general guidelines may be
helpful to facilitate communication :
§ Work at
improving communication skills. The communication model and discussion of
barriers to communication provide the necessary knowledge to improve
communication. This increased awareness of the potential for improving
communication is the first step to better communication.
§ Include
communication as a skill to be evaluated along with all the other nursing
skills for undergraduates.
§ Make
communication goal oriented. Relational goals come first and pave the way for
other goals. When the sender and receiver have a good relationship, they are
much more likely to accomplish their communication goals.
§ Experiment
with communication alternatives. What works with one person may not work well
with another. Use diverse communication channels, listening and feedback
techniques.
§ Accept
the reality of miscommunication. The best communicators fail to have perfect
communication. They accept miscommunication and work to minimize its negative
impacts.
§ Use of
simple and clear words should be emphasized. Use of ambiguous words and jargons
should be avoided.
§ Noise is
the main communication barrier in most of the health care settings, which must
be handled on priority basis. It is essential to identify and eliminate the
source of noise.
§Listen
attentively and carefully. There is a difference between “listening” and
“hearing.” Active listening means hearing with a proper understanding of the
message. By asking questions, the speaker can ensure whether his/her message is
understood or not by the receiver in the same manner as intended by him.
§ The
organizational structure should be simple to facilitate communication between
various hierarchy levels. The number of hierarchical levels should be optimum,
and there should be an ideal span of control within the organization. Simpler
the organizational structure, more effective will be the communication.
§ The
managers should know how to prioritize their work. They should not overload
themselves with the work, should spend quality time with their subordinates,
and should listen to their problems and feedbacks actively.
There
are 6 C's of effective communication, which are applicable to
both written and oral communication. They are as follows:
1. Complete—The
message must be complete in all respect and should convey all facts required by
the receiver. Incompleteness of the message may lead to misunderstanding or
incomplete understanding and confusion between the sender and the receiver. It
is the responsibility of the sender to make sure (before mailing the message)
that the information provided in the message is complete as per the purpose of
the communication.
2. Clear—Clarity
in communication makes understanding easier and enhances the meaning of a
message. A clear message uses exact, appropriate, and concrete words and avoids
ambiguous words.
3. Correctness—Correctness
in communication implies that there are no grammatical and spelling errors in
communication.
4. Concise—Conciseness
means eliminating wordiness and communicating what you want to convey in least
possible words without forgoing the other C's of communication. Conciseness is
a necessity for effective communication.
5. Consideration—Consideration
implies “stepping into the shoes of others.” Effective communication must take
the receiver/s into consideration (i.e., the audience's viewpoints, background,
mindset, education level, etc.). The sender should make an attempt to
understand the audience, their requirements, emotions, as well as problems.
Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions
are not hurt.
6. Courtesy—Courtesy
in message implies that the message should show the sender's expression as well
as respect to the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely
polite, judicious, reflective, and enthusiastic.
