COMMUNICATION - 13 Barriers to Effective Buisness Communication

#1 Not Listening

One of the most common barriers to communication is poor listening skills. So why does not listening happen? Well there are a few reasons. You may have no involvement or concern with the topic. You will then have no desire to take part in the conversation. There also may be distractions. For example working in an area that is loud and noisey.

Here are a couple more reasons for lack of listening. First there might be diffences in oppinions regarding the topic. And this last one in which I have seen many times. Passive listening instead of taking an active role. In this case your are involved in somethig else at the same time.

#2 Making Assumptions

How many times have you made a decision based on assuming something will happen. Only to find out that it didn't go as planned. We all know that we shouldn't make assumptions. But we still do it anyway. Assumptions a lot of times will be made to speed up a process or task.

Assumptions are made to cut corners and save time by ignoring the path of communication. The major problem with making assumptions is that 9 times out of 10 it doesn't workout. Also by making assumption you will likely miss out on important information.

#3 Body language

Non verbal signals has the potental to block effective communication in the workplace. Negative body language like waving your hands, raising your arms in discuss and even shaking your head will send negative messages. It is all about interpetation. The impacts of these traits can effect workplace relationships and your willingness to take part in communicating. The best action a leader can take is to understand your own body language.

#4 Ineffective Questions

Quite often people ask questions that lack details. The whole point of asking questons in the first place is to confirm what has been communicated or for clarification. Asking the right types of questions will provide effective communication in the workplace. Make sure you use open ended questions to get the proper answers you seek. This type of question includes details like who, what, where, when and how.

#5 Imformation Overload

Many times effective communication in the workplace is blocked by the overwhelming amount of information. How many times have you seen the same email covering the same information just from a different sender. What ends up happening is that many employees start to ignore those emails. The problem is that some of the emails will have promiment details that were not included in the original. The best way to avoid this is to provide new emails, just dont cc and forward emails

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#6 Emotional Distractions

Emotions play a big role in how we approach and accomplish things. Outside factors like a death or illness can keep your mind out of focus. Sometimes a listener may interpet a communicatior as angry. This in turn will make the listener react in a negative light.

The same happens if the communicatior message is interpeted to be positive. The listener will like the message and listen closely.

#7 Conflicting Messages

Communications can be sometimes conflicting and this will cause the communication process to breakdown. Inconsistent body language tells the story of one thing, but the message discussed is different. This will create confusion for the reciever of the message. The resulting confusion may lead to the message being ignored.

#8 Physical Barriers

This might be the most common type of barrier that blocks the communication process. Anything that can physically distract you is part of this barrier. Some examples like temperatures, phones, or even the building itself can be an distraction.

#9 Perception

There has always been one consistent with communication in the workplace. That one consistent is called perceptional barriers. The main problem with perception is that we all look at the world differently. One way to avoid perceptional barriers is to remember there are other views points and opinions. Also keep your mind open to new ideas and approaches from these view points. You never know when there's a good idea on the horizon.

Organisation Barrier

#10 Cultural

Dealing with different cultures can sometimes be difficult to navigate. Many times its a difference in approach or a process of doing things. All cultures have different beliefs and customs. They often can clash and build up walls that negatively effect the communication process.

#11 Language

Differences in languages that are spoken in the workplace can effect your ability to communicate. Words can be misunderstood and misconstrued that in turn can cause negative communication barriers.

#12 Workplace Stress

Dealing with stress in this day and age is a 24/7 activity. It shouldn't be a surprise of its strong affect on the communication in the workplace. The results of stress on employees can range from change in attitudes, lack of focus and even calling out. These issues can lead to missing deadlines, decreased productivity and weakened communication between employees. Understanding the ins and outs of stress management in the workplace can provide you ways to handle workplace stress.

#13 Interpersonal

There are six levels of how co workers can avoid interaction with others.

#1. Withdrawal When someone avoids or refuses to be near a particular or individual group

#2. Rituals These consist of people being set in ways by following routines. These routines will keep people from working with others.

#3. Pastimes Interact with others socially, but superficial activities.

#4. Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules and procedures of contact.

#5. Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about winning and losing.

#6. Closenss is the aim of interpersonal contact where there is a high level of honesty and acceptance of yourself and others.

Communication in the workplace will always be a work in progress. There will be a lot of adjustments in the process until it reaches effectiveness. Remove the barriers that block the process and you will improve employee motivation. With a two way avenue of information flowing, you will find solutions more easier. With an open path of communication, feedback from employees will help in determining solutions.

Effective communication skills in the workplace will improve your ability to be a strong leader. There are also added benefits to having strong communication skills. First its a skill that you can use in everyday life. Secondly Being a good communicator will help you strengthren and improve other management skills. Refer to the list below for some skills that can be improved as a result of have strong communication skills. Read more on any of the these skills by clicking on the apporiate skill.

Source: http://www.employee-motivation-skills.com/communication-in-the-workplace.html