Barriers of Communication 
Communication is the process of exchanging the messages, ideas, information, etc. from one person to another person through some channel.
Communication is effective only if the receiver understand the message in the same sense as it is sent by the sender. If any kind of obstacles disturbs any step of the communication process, the message will not transmit to the receiver in the same way as sender want to send. Such kinds of obstacles are called barriers of communication.
Barriers to communication can distort the quality of the information and purpose of the message being conveyed by the sender which may result in ineffectiveness of the flow of communication or an outcome that is unacceptable.
Meaning of Communication Barriers
Communication barriers are the factors which affect the effective exchange of ideas from the sender to the Receiver and disturb the flow of communication.
Types of Communication Barriers
The sender of the message sends the message with an expectation that receiver will receive the message
in the same manner as it is sent. But sometimes the receiver receives the message in a different manner.
This modification, filtration and misrepresentation of communication may cause misinterpretation.
Therefore, it is necessity to locate the barriers and take corrective action to remove these.
1. Semantic Barrier
When the sender converts ideas and thoughts in the form that will be understood by receiver through the use of words, signs, figures etc, there is a possibility that the same words and symbols have different meanings and different people interpret them differently. These words, signs, and figures used in the communication are interpreted by the receiver as per his knowledge and understanding which creates Doubtful situations. There is always a possibility of misinterpretation of the intention of the sender of the message or understanding its wrong meaning. This happens because the information is not sent in simple and clear language.
1a. Badly Expressed Message:
There is always a possibility of wrong interpretation of messages due to wrong choice of words, the omission of needed words, frequent repetitions of words and wrong construction of the sentence. If the sender uses wrong word or arranges the words in a sentence in the wrong sequence, then meaning of the whole message will change completely. This can be called linguistic problem which is the most important barrier in communication.
Generally language related communicational barriers arise due to –
1.Lack of common language including words, symbols and signs.
2.Poor vocabulary
3.Poor grammar
4. Improper use of punctuation.
1b. Symbols or, Words with Different Meanings:
a word can have same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings such as Price, Prize, Principle, Principal, Write, right, etc. In many cases a word can have the same spelling but can have different meanings in different sentences such as right, value, etc. There is always a chance that the receiver may perceive the meaning of the word not intended by the sender. If the receiver interpret the meaning as not intended, the communication will become meaningless.
1c. Faulty Translation:
Many times the information has to be translated from one language to another for easy understanding of the receivers. Modification in message as per translations by one person to another. faulty translation can prove a barrier in effective communication.
1d. Un-Clarified Assumptions:
when a sender sends message he may assume that the receiver knows the back ground information relevant to the message and it is enough to inform the receiver about the main subject matter. In reality the receiver may not be knowing the background information and so will not be able to interpret the message as intended. Consequently the implementation of the message will not be as desired by the sender of the message.
For example – “You may proceed with further action as decided in the last meeting of the committee.”
1e. Technical Jargon:
Mostly, it has been observed that employees working in an organization are affiliated with some specialized groups such as biologists, industrial engineers, production development executives, quality controllers, information technology professionals, managers etc. Such specialized groups use their technical jargon which if used in communication with the people not belonging to that group may not be understood by them. EX- OMG, W’’L,
1f. Body Language and Gesture Decoding:
When some information is transmitted through body language and gestures,there is always a possibility of misinterpretation of the information by the receiver. If the gesture of the sender does not match with the verbal message, then the receiver may get confused and misinterpret the message.
Read more : Physiological Barrier
2. Psychological Barriers
Related to psychological conditions of both sender and receiver as well. A person’s attitude, perception, beliefs and value systems plays an important role in encoding and decoding of messages . This applies to messages within the organization or messages encoded for or decoded by external stakeholders like suppliers, financiers, customers etc.
Also if any of the party whether it is sender or receiver is emotionally or psychologically imbalanced, it can considerably affect the smooth process of communication. The various emotions in an individual like anger, scorn, obsession, grief etc. can also hamper the smooth flow of communication and distort the encoding or decoding of the messages.
2a. Premature Evaluation:
During communication in the organization, sometimes the receiver interprets the meaning of message before listening to the complete message. Such kind of interpretation can lead to faulty understanding and can create hindrance in the process of effective communication. On the other hand, sometimes personal opinion of receiver about sender creates obstacles in the communication process. Receiver concludes things without any logical thinking. So, this creates a barrier of effective communication.
2b. Lack of Attention:
Sometimes the receiver is busy with some other task or his mind is pre occupied with some other thought due to which he does not listen to the message with complete attention. Consequently the message is not received as intended by the sender. Hence, this may be a psychological barrier in effective communication. Some extreme emotions of human beings such as anger, hatred or elation also distract the attention of the receivers creating a barrier in effective flow of communication. Ex- suggestion by others not taken seriously.
2c. Loss by Transmission and Poor Retention:
The quality of the messages decreased when it passes through many people. The actual form of the message is changed with each transmission from one person to another person. This is due to the filtration and loss of information. It happens, especially in case of oral communication due to carelessness of human beings and lack of their ability to retain the complete information for a long time.
EX- Telephonic, communicate orally, convey of incorrect specification
2d. Distrust:
The communication process will be successful only when both the sender and receiver have trust in each other. If there is no mutual trust, the communication process will not be effective because the receiver will not decode and interpret the message as it was intended by the receiver. If they don’t have mutual understanding, then they will not understand each other’s point of view which could be a barrier in communication process.
3. Personal Barriers
There are also various kinds of barriers which are directly concerned with the receiver and sender of communication. Such kind of barriers are called personal barriers which will affect the effective flow of communication. The explanation of these barriers is as follows:
3a. Fear of Challenge to the Authority:
Often in organizations the senior people discourage upward communication due to the insecurity that ifthe subordinates are given a chance to speak their minds or allowed to give suggestions then the weaknesses of senior managers will be revealed in the eyes of their colleagues or superiors.Sometimes employees at higher levels also suppress upward communication for the fear that their authority might be challenged and they will lose control over their subordinates. Such kind of insecurities can become an obstacle in the communication process.
3b. Lack of Confidence in Subordinates:
Higher level employees may lack faith in the capability of their subordinates so may not pay attention to their suggestions or information provided by them. Hence, they deliberately avoid the opinions, and suggestions of their subordinates. As a result, morale of employees is decreased, which may become the barrier in effective flow of communication.
3c. Unwillingness to Communicate:
Sometimes subordinates avoid communicating with higher level employees as they may fear that the information which they share especially the negative one may not be liked by their superiors as it might reflect on their managerial skills.