Barriers to communication
1. Physical Barrier
The term physical barrier refers to the conditions that act as a roadblock
and prevents effective communication. These are easily visible and can
take any form, for instance, closed doors or walls. The physical barrier is
very high if the distance between the sender and receiver is also too much.
Physical barriers are described as structural obstructions in both
humanmade and natural environments that block effective communication
so that messages cannot be sent from the sender to the receiver.
Some of the physical barriers are noise, technological problems, and
organizational environment. The physical barrier is another word for
disturbance in communication, and the disturbance can also be caused by
thunder, disconnection of calls, or issues in reception.
It is challenging to overcome the physical barriers in communication. Take
the necessary time to identify the barriers so that it becomes easy to
resolve the issue. Adapt your communication techniques to suit the
situation; otherwise, it will pose serious problems.
Table of Contents
Types of physical barriers
The various types of physical barriers are as follows
1. Noise
The ordinary meaning of the word noise is chatter or racquet, and that is
what happens in this type of physical barrier. It interrupts the process of
communication because of disturbance in the environment. The interruption
acts as an obstacle and makes the meaning of the message unclear,
inaccurate, and ultimately less productive.
In some cases, the noise is too much, and the message is unable to reach
the receiver. There are various types of noise like technological noise,
written noise, and environmental noise, and all of them are considered
physical barriers in communication.
The technological noise occurs in the channel or medium, for instance, no
sound during a phone call. Bad typing or handwriting is considered written
noise, and environmental noise is the disturbance that happens because of
background or outside disturbance.
2. Distortion
The word distortion means misrepresentation, and that is what happens
when a message is sent.
It is a type of physical barrier because the actual meaning of the message
is lost in transition or during the handling process while encoding and
decoding the communication. In simple words, human perception can
easily distort the meaning of the message.
3. Information overflow
Sometimes, the communication fails as the information is more than the
amount that can be received by the sender at that specific time.
The receiver is unable to collect the full information and might miss or
misinterpret the message. As the message fails to get the desired result, it
acts as a physical barrier in communication.
Causes of physical barriers
The various causes are as follows
1. Environment
One of the causes of physical barriers are environmental factors. It includes
wind, rain, thunder that creates a random noise that cannot be stopped
anyhow. This continuous sound, which is already a part of nature, starts
disturbing the flow of the message. Some physical barriers exist because of
adverse weather conditions. Improper lighting and sudden thunder distort
proper communication.
Unstable temperature is another environmental factor that is capable of
disturbing the flow of the message. In case of too high or too low
temperature, it becomes difficult for people to concentrate fully on the
information they are sending.
The unstable temperature is the reason for creating an unfocused message
and results in a physical barrier to communication. It is a fact that the
concern about their well-being prevents the sender and receiver from
putting their full attention on the message.
2. Time
Shortage of time or sending a message in inappropriate time can be a
significant cause of physical barriers as the message is then not conveyed
effectively.
It is essential to keep the time of the message accurate; otherwise, the
sender and the receiver of the message will not be able to communicate at
the same time because of the time zone difference.
If an individual from India is trying to video-conference someone from the
United States, then he will have to keep in mind the time zone difference
for direct and effective communication.
3. Distance
One of the major causes of physical barriers is geographical distance. If the
sender and receiver of the message are sitting at a far distance, then they
will have to substitute personal communication with emails, messages,
video-conferencing, or phone calls.
Geographical distance causes numerous obstacles to communication as
greater distance means a greater need for more technical channels. Both
the sender and receiver will need additional machines as mediums for
encoding and decoding the message.
Technological advancements have made it possible to reduce the noise to
a higher degree in the channels and mediums.
4. Technical problems
An essential cause of physical barriers in communication are technical
problems. The channels and mediums of communication are influenced by
the distance that must be covered and the disturbances that might arise on
the way.
Technical and mechanical problems are common and can happen anytime.
This is why only that medium should be chosen, which will have the least
chatter and noise on that route.
2. Language Barrier
What are Language Barriers?
Language barriers are those features of language use that result in
miscomprehension or complete loss in communication. Language barriers deal with
aspects of language use that make it difficult to understand. This could be because of
a variety of factors like differences in educational background, level of literacy and
country or area of the language user.
Types of Language Barriers
a) Foreign Language
Communication between people of different countries becomes difficult if neither of
the speakers has a common language to communicate in. While knowledge of foreign
languages is common practice among people certain languages are still a hurdle for
people to learn and communicate. Many translation apps are available on the
internet but they are not effective while communicating culture-specific use of
languages like idioms, phrases, proverbs and allusions.
For example, the citizens of the USA do not just speak English as half of the
population is Hispanics who speak their native language of Spanish. It, therefore,
becomes necessary to be bilingual or a polyglot to be able to communicate effectively.
b) Dialects, Pidgin
Dialects are regional variants of a language and very rarely have a written script.
People in different parts of a state or country develop and use a regional variety of
the official language as a result of the influence of other languages or gradual changes
in pronunciation of a particular language. Dialects are distinct from one another even
though they have the same language as the base. English spoken in the UK has 37
dialects! The use of dialects in workplaces or areas away from where it is practised
may result in miscommunication.
Pidgin is a version of the language that arises when users of two different languages
create an in-between language that eases communication. Words and grammatical
forms of either language are adopted into use and a pidgin is formed. This is usually
a second language and is used only when speakers who know the pidgin version
needed to communicate.
For example – people from the country of Papa New Guinea have adopted a pidgin
from English where they make sentences like “yu no ken kaminsait” (you no can
come inside) instead of “do not disturb” and they use “big school” instead of
university.
c) Accents
Accents are peculiar ways of pronouncing words of a language. English is spoken in
many other accents other than the standard Received Pronunciation. Accents occur
when speakers belonging to different regions or countries speak a language not their
own. Their mother tongue will influence how they pronounce words in the foreign
language. This causes difficulty in understanding what is being said.
For example – although English is a universally spoken language, the accents
adopted by each country easily reveal which part of the world they come from. So, we
can recognize accents like British, American, African, Indian, Australian, Irish, far
Eastern, etc.
d) Jargon and Slang
Jargon is language or words that are specific to a particular profession. Excessive use
of jargon in communication may make comprehension difficult. For example – a
doctor’s prescription, the results of a medical test, financial and legal documents
need interpretation of experts for the layman.
Slang refers to those words or expressions that are peculiar to a group of persons
who are familiar with it. It is an informal language that persons of a close-knit group
coin to indicate shared experience or emotion. It may be considered offensive by
people who are not familiar with it.
For example, use a lot of slang words that are not the most familiar with Millennials
or the baby boomers. For example, words such as ‘dope’ or ‘lit’ (used to emphasize
something which is personally liked) are some of the slang words which are
commonly used by Gen Z teens today, which the millennials or the baby boomers are
relatively unaware of.
e) Word Choice – ambiguity, verbosity
The choice of words made by a speaker is a result of his/ her knowledge and mastery
of the language. However, one must be careful while framing sentences or using
particular being aware of the multiple meanings of the words (connotative,
denotative) and their uses in idioms and phrases. Idioms and phrases are
expressions typical to a language. It requires practice and continuous reading to
become familiar with the meaning they convey and to understand how they are to be
used in conversations and writing.
For example – when someone says “Stop pulling my leg all the time”, it makes an
ambiguous sentence as the listener isn’t sure if the speaker means their leg or if it’s
the idiom being used.
Verbosity or wordiness can also make the message obscure. The use of unfamiliar
words or more words creates fatigue in the mind of the reader making for a break in
communication.
For example – a simple sentence like “she likes to enjoy sunsets” can be made
verbose by framing a sentence like “She has the preference for relishing eventide.”
f) Literacy and Vocabulary
Effective communication also depends on the literacy level of the users of the
language. The far eastern countries such as Japan, Korea etc prefer their native
languages over English and pursue their formal education in Mandarin or Hangeul.
Hence they get limited access or exposure to the language of English. This results in
limited vocabulary and very little reading of the literature of the English language.
Communicating in English at a cosmopolitan workplace makes speakers conscious of
their limitations in the use of language and how it becomes a barrier to
communication.
g) Grammar and Spelling
Grammatical errors while speaking or writing distort the message and therefore act
as a barrier to communication.
For example –
1. Agreement between subject and verb
The recommendations suggested is carried out. (the subject
‘recommendations’ and the verb ‘is’ do not agree as one is plural and the
other is singular) the correct form of the sentence would be – The
recommendations suggested are carried out.
2. Mismatch between pronoun and noun
Mr. Jeff has been assigned the task. It is expected that she complete it
within the time limit allocated.
3. Use of between and among
The amount is to be divided equally among all of you. The two brothers
may decide between them how much they choose to share with the rest.
(Among implies a number more than two while between indicates only
two)
Spelling errors too affect communication.
For example – sentences involving the use of their, there and they’re
1. The employees received their share of the profits. (possessive pronoun)
2. There are sixty women working here. (demonstrative adjective)
3. The management ensures that they’re informed of all issues concerning
the company (contracted form of ‘they are’)