Minimizing Barriers to Communication in Workplaces

This article discusses the different barriers to communication in workplaces, including language, perceptual, and cultural barriers. It then provides strategies to overcome these barriers, such as active listening, avoiding jargon, and being open-minded. The article also presents a counter-argument and concludes by emphasizing the importance of effective communication in workplaces.

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Barriers to communication in workplaces can be minimised by appropriate
strategies.
Introduction
Appropriate communication strategies can be used to eliminate communication
barriers in workplaces. There are various barriers to communication in work places. They
include language barriers, perceptual barriers and cultural barriers. . People in workplaces
come from diverse backgrounds in terms of culture and language. This makes them perceive
things differently thus making communication ineffective. Strategies need to be developed to
eliminate communication barriers. These strategies include listening properly, avoiding the
use of jargons and having an open mind.
Barriers of Communication in workplaces
Communication barriers are known to hinder proper communication in workplaces.
The commonly identified barriers of communication in an organization include; perceptual
barriers they arise because of differences in opinion between people thus giving rise to the
need for effective communication (Lutgen-Sandvik, 2010.p,206) (Keyton, 2010.p, 300). We
also have emotional obstacles which are brought about by fear and mistrust thus leading to
poor communication with other people. Language barrier is another hindrance to effective
communication it is a situation where people communicate in different languages. Culture
also acts as a barrier to effective communication. Cultural barriers are experienced when
people come from diverse countries, religions or state. Life would be easier if there was
proper communication between people and each other and every misunderstanding was
resolved effectively. However, this has not been the case especially in organization

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workplaces where people from diverse background come together only to work. Without
effective communication skills, there will always be misunderstandings, tensions between
workers and misinterpretations (Pauley, 2010 p. 348). Even without considering the industry
these situations are very much common. To work well as a team or in a company
communication barriers need to be removed.
Strategies to minimising barriers of communication
Listening properly is a major strategy to overcome perceptual barriers in
communication. However, everyone wants to be heard, and this is what has negatively
influenced the ability to listen in many people. This is commonly observed in workplaces
where there is a lot of competition among people. Although people may be hearing what
another person is saying, they might not be listening. There is a huge difference between
listening and hearing. Thus people should learn to differentiate these two terms to
communicate effectively. To avoid these mistakes, a person should pay attention to the
speaker to understand what they mean with their statements (Tourish, 2010 p. 68). Through
this one can easily avoid misunderstanding by showing the other person that you are taking
note on what he might be saying thus promoting respect among the two of you. To win the
respect and trust of people, one has first to become an active listener (Larson, 2011 p, 300).
Active listening is a combination of utterances and body languages to show the one who is
speaking that you are concerned about the topic he may be talking about. The listener may
choose to summarize the whole issue in one statement or questions. Summarizing a topic
come about because of active listening. There are various levels of active listening which
come about depending on how one summarizes an argument from the speaker. The listener
can easily repeat what the speaker is talking about (Canary, 2011 p, 67). This is thought to be
the lowest level of active listening. A listener may also choose to paraphrase the topic using

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many of the same statements and words. This shows that the listener made some internal
reasoning on the subject matter and was engaged in the conversation by the speaker. A
listener may also choose to reflect on what the speaker says and the emotions he displayed
and summaries the subject matter in their own words and sentences. Listeners should also be
in a position to integrate other people’s ideas in their own ideas. By giving the speaker
suggestions on how to improve his own idea. This is a clear indication that the speaker was
engaged. Through this high-level listening, one earns the trust and respect of the speaker.
Thus active listening is necessary when dealing with perceptual barriers.
Avoiding the use of jargons is necessary when dealing with language barriers.
Jargons happen to be unnecessary words which are mainly used to impress and not to
influence other people. Nothing that makes people feels out of place as utilizing some insider
language. Although sometimes it does not seem to be a major problem, some abbreviations
and terms may not be known by someone who is new, and thus it is likely to make them feel
alienated (Eisenberg, 2010 p. 77). This is necessary for proper communication especially
when people are working as a group. It is, therefore, necessary to communicate in a language
where every person will understand. If one does not bother on whether other people
understand him in the team, it might affect the performance of some people in the team thus
affecting the overall performance in a team (Abrell, 2004 p.55). The best way to avoid this is
to remove jargon from a speech. If jargons must be used, they should be explained to other
people. However, technical terms cannot be referred to jargons. Some special terms can be
effectively used by a particular group of people, and that can be the most effective way to
communicate with the given audience. However, going beyond this important technical terms
and writing a jargon may make some people feel alienated and cause a lot of
misunderstanding even when readers are specialists in that area. Readers usually complain of

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jargon because they might not be getting the meaning of the jargons. Writers fail to know that
the terms they may be using sound meaningless to the audience. Jargons should be
substituted from any speech or writing to avoid language barrier.
Being open minded is necessary to eliminate cultural barriers and emotional obstacles.
Individuals view situations differently, and they also interpret statements differently. When
people from diverse backgrounds work in a competitive and stressful environment,
communication becomes complicated. This is why being open minded is important because
one will begin to understand that people perceive issues differently and it is natural and
understandable. The best way to communicate effectively is by understanding the background
of the other person. If it is not easy to do understand their background, accept that it is normal
to have differences in opinions (Abrell, 2004, p. 44). Forcing a person to accept your view
does not work that is why having an open mind is tough sometimes. Many people have been
raised using some set of values and beliefs .People also surround themselves with friends
who share their believes and values. Thus it is difficult when different ideas are presented to
people because they usually challenge their own, though people might be open-minded; they
may find themselves in situations where they are struggling with the act of it (Antos, 2011,
p.53). People, who have strong views regarding some issues, find it very hard to accept some
other views on the same issues. Having strong beliefs is a wonderful thing, and that is why
people need to stay true to what they believe in. However strong believes should not mean a
closed mind. Open minded people learn new things easily. Communication is more effective
when people from different backgrounds become open minded.
A counter argument
Despite the strategies put in place to deal with barriers in communication,
communication breakdown will always exist. This is because to communicate effectively or

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to be understood, entails a whole set of skills which need to be learned and practiced. Many
people do not understand the art of communication and its importance. It is very common to
find two people who do not understand each other and sometimes they might not be aware of
it (Abrell, 2004, p.45). People tend to have some misconceptions about the way they
communicate. These misconceptions are the once that create barriers in their communication
and make them not to have a genuine conversation and productive exchange of words.one
major misconception people hold is that if they say something the other person will
understand it. People need to always check whether other people understood the meaning of
their messages as intended ( Lutgen-Sandvik, 2010,p.110). Some People also tend to think
that more communication is better. However, these should not be the case if one feels
misunderstood having him talk too much louder is wrong. Thus the best way to communicate
effectively is not by use of strategies but by understanding other people and also being aware
of your communication skills
Conclusion
In conclusion, effective communication in workplaces can be enhanced by using
communication strategies to erase barriers. Ensuring effective communication also entails
making sure that the message conveyed is well understood by the people who receive it.
However, people in workplaces can improve their communication skills by understanding the
different barriers to effective communication. People in workplaces should at all time avoid
using some complicated words when they have some simpler words to use.

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List of references
Abrell, R. (2004). Preventing communication breakdowns. Reston, VA: National Association
of Secondary School Principals.
Antos, G. (2011). Handbook of interpersonal communication. The Hague, The Netherlands:
Mouton De Gruyter.
Brownell, J. (2009). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Boston, MA: Pearson. Brun,
J. P. (2010).
Canary, H. (2011). Communication and organizational knowledge: Contemporary issues for
theory and practice. Cambridge University Press
Eisenberg, E. M. (2010). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and
constraint. New York, NY: Saint Martin's.
Keyton, J. (2010). Case studies for organizational communication: Understanding
communication processes. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Keyton, J. (2011). Communication and organizational culture: A key to understanding work
experience. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kneen, J. (2011). Essential skills: Essential speaking and listening skills. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
Larson, R. K. (2011). The evolution of human language: Biolinguistic perspectives. New
York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

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Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2010). Destructive organizational communication: Processes,
consequences, and constructive ways of organizing. New York, NY: Routledge.
Pauley, J. A. (2010). Communication: The key to effective leadership. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ
Quality Press.
Tourish, D. (2010). Auditing organizational communication: A handbook of research,
theory, and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.