Understanding Global Communication Challenges

This assignment delves into the complexities of global communication, particularly within virtual teams operating across cultures. It examines the factors that can contribute to breakdowns in communication between individuals from diverse backgrounds. The analysis will explore the influence of cultural differences, language barriers, and technological limitations on effective communication within global virtual teams.

Running head: NON VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Non-verbal barriers in business communication
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Executive Summary
The business communication is one of the most important processes that is important for long
term business success. There are several communication barriers that are faced by the
organizational leaders. The nonverbal communication problems are an increasing phenomenon
in the modern-day workplaces. The communication issues can be both observed in verbal as well
as nonverbal modes. There are several nonverbal communication problems such as neutral facial
expression, improper body language, no eye contact, rude voice and so on. This paper has
focused on the probable non-verbal communications and sought to propose some suitable
solutions for same.

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Cross cultural management..........................................................................................................2
Significance of modern business communication.......................................................................4
Problems and countermeasures in business communication.......................................................6
Non-verbal barriers in business communication.........................................................................8
Skills in business communication..............................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Introduction
The communication is an integral part of the business processes and they determine the
level of success or failure of an organization (DeVito 2015). The process of negotiating,
exchanging and mediating the differences through the processes of languages and non-verbal
gestures is known as communication (DeVito 2015). However, there are different forms of
communication barriers that prevent the sender or the receiver to understand the messages of
each other. The barriers prevent the individuals to properly send the messages and interpret the
same. The barriers may be related to internal or external based on the different circumstances
(DeVito 2015). The barriers can be both in verbal communication as well as non-verbal
communication. This paper would discuss the various nonverbal barriers that take place in the
business communication process.
The research topic is non verbal barriers in business communication. The non-verbal
elements are important substitutes for words that convey great meaning in business
communications. The assignment wishes to identify the various components that inhibit the non-
verbal communication process in business scenario. There are several business issues that are
faced by the companies, the root cause of them lies in the improper non-verbal communication.
There are several instances of misunderstandings and conflicts in the team due to inadequate or
improper non-verbal cues. This is the reason that the nonverbal communication systems should
be given emphasis. Any probable barriers that prevent the communication process (especially
non-verbal communication) would be explored. The thesis statement of the research would – To
explore the different non-verbal barriers in the communication process and develop suitable
solutions.

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Conceptual Framework
As opined by Surkamp (2014), the non-verbal communication is often the neglected
mode of communication in the organizations. It has been opined that the greater awareness as
well as knowledge of the non-verbal modes of communication would help in greater non-verbal
communication modes. When a person is interacting with another, then he is giving unlimited
signals in an unconscious manner. The gestures, postures and the eye contact are important
parameters that should be kept in mind when engaging in communication. The non-verbal
communication takes place even after the actual speaking has ceased (Broadbent 2013). This
kind of communication takes place in a silent manner when both the parties are not
communicating.
The communication has become the backbone of business and it is considered as an art
(Broadbent 2013). Good communication involves the process of transferring, analyzing and
comprehending the messages embedded in the message (Klitmøller and Lauring 2013).
However, good communication involves a lot of efforts that is often missing. The mere speaking
of words is not enough for making good communication and there is lot of non-verbal processes
involved in it.
As stated by Broadbent (2013), the nonverbal communication is an important attribute of
the modern business. They improve the clarity, trust and rapport between the team members in
an organization. There are different types of non-verbal communication that are increasingly
used in business communication-

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
 Facial expressions- The human face is considered as one of the most expressive tools
and they usually display variety of emotions (White and Gardner 2013). There can be
expressions of anger, sadness, fear, surprise and others.
 Gestures- The communication is affected by the way people walk, sit or keep their head
while talking. The body gestures and postures are important in understanding the way
communication is being done.
 Eye-contact- This is considered as one of the most important parameters in the non-
verbal communication in which there is significant exchange of information without the
use of words (White and Gardner 2013). One must know how to maintain proper eye-
contact while maintaining the flow of communication.
Non-verbal communication is considered as the process of transferring the important
messages without using any sounds or words (Broadbent 2013). This kind of communication is
mainly done with the help of body language, eye contact, gestures, and voice tone. However,
there are lots of barriers that take place in this kind of communication-
 Negative body language
There are instances when there is negative body language, which turns off the receiver
(White and Gardner 2013). The speaker may not be able to display a positive body language
and he may stoop, bend or sit in excessive relaxed manner. This can take the listener’s
attention away from the communication and they may miss the real meaning of the ideas
being conveyed by the speaker (White and Gardner 2013). The body language may not be
proper, which may distract the receivers and may miss the crux of the message.
 Not proper eye contact

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
This is one of the most common modes of communication barriers that take place in the
business organizations (Adler, Rodman and DuPré 2016). The sender may not maintain
proper eye to eye contact with the team and this may distract the team (Adler, Rodman and
DuPré 2016). This would make the employees confused and also the credibility of the
supervisor would be questioned. When the supervisor is giving a speech, and fails to
maintain proper eye contact with the audience, then there would be no impact on them(White
and Gardner 2013). It is important equal eye contact with all the members of the audience so
that they are interested in the actual content of the speech.
 Inappropriate gestures
When there is proper communication between multiple members of the organization, then
there is bound to be some improper gestures between them (Burgoon, Guerrero and Floyd
2016). The speaker may roll or flash eyes that may appear improper. He may also keep his
arms crossed or keep his legs crossed which are considered as major turn-offs for the
listeners. This may also hamper the listening process and the audience may only partially
listen to the speaker (Burgoon, Guerrero and Floyd 2016). A poor personal care is major
cause of distraction in which the audience would be unable to concentrate on the main
message. There are instances when the speaker slouches that has a negative effect on the
audiences, which makes the communication process not so sound (Burgoon, Guerrero and
Floyd 2016).
 Neutral facial expression
In case of non-verbal communication, it is important that the audience is greeted with
appropriate facial expression of the speaker (Argyle 2013). If the speaker is unable to give

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
the suitable facial expression, then the audience would not be interested in listening to the
words of the speaker.
 Rude tone of voice
Everyone loves to hear polite and soothing voice and if there is any deviation from the
same, then they would lose interest in the speaker’s words(Burgoon, Guerrero and Floyd
2016). The harsh tone of voice is detrimental in proper communication and the audience
would stop listening to the content of the speech.
Fig: Conceptual framework in non-verbal communication
Source: Created by author

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Research Design
The research design for this kind of research is aimed at understanding the actual barriers
that are faced in non-verbal communication. The research method should yield the maximum
data which would help in validating the research topic. The research design is considered as the
blueprint of the research, which would help in the analysis of the conceptual facts.
Research Approach
The research approach followed is the inductive research approach in which there is no
formulation of hypothesis and the research objectives needs to be fulfilled by the process. The
main purpose of data collection for this research is to explore the various nonverbal barrier in
communication and identify any patterns in it (Burgoon, Guerrero and Floyd 2016). This
research would be done with the help of observation and particular patterns of non-verbal
barriers would be identified. This research would be based on the theoretical synthesis of the
available data on non-verbal barriers in communication.
Research Strategy
The research strategy would be mixed research approach in which there is a
combination of qualitative research as well as quantitative research. The qualitative research is
inductive, which emphasizes on the fact that data analysis needs to be done based on the type of
data of collected data (Burgoon, Guerrero and Floyd 2016). A methodological approach would
be followed which allows for greater flexibility in the case of qualitative research. The
quantitative method would be based on the data collection from actual participants.
Data Collection

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
There would be two types of data that would be collected for this research. The
qualitative data would be collected with the help of study of online documents, international
journals, newsletters, magazines and others. The quantitative data analysis would be done with
the help of primary questionnaires which would be collected from 5 multinational companies. A
group of 40 employees would be selected from this 5 companies. A total of 200 employees
would be selected. They would be asked their views on various non-verbal communication
barriers they have faced in their professional life.
Data Analysis
The data analysis is concerned with the transforming of the collected data into valuable
information so that meaningful information can be derived from them. The main mode of data
analysis was Microsoft Excel. The various qualitative sources of data are being analyzed and
presented for deducing conclusions.
Findings
The findings of the research show that there are several non-verbal communications
barriers that are faced by individuals. They often face physical barriers and they are often unable
to apprehend the non-verbal postures as well as gestures. A large percentage of the respondents
feel that they are not able to maintain proper eye contact and hence they are unable to
communicate fully. A fairly large number of participants feel that they are concentrating more on
the slouched position of their lecturer or supervisor and are unable to interpret their key
messages.

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Conclusion
The business communication is one of the most important processes that is important for
long term business success. There are several communication barriers that are faced by the
organizational leaders. The rigidness to the organizational charts or the existence of physical
barriers have always created issues for the management. The communication problems are an
increasing phenomenon in the modern-day workplaces. The communication issues can be both
observed in verbal as well as nonverbal modes. There are several nonverbal communication
problems such as neutral facial expression, improper body language, no eye contact, rude voice
and so on. There are several skills that needs to be imbibed for being an excellent communicator.
This paper has focused on the probable non-verbal communications and sought to propose some
suitable solutions for same.

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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
References
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NON-VERBAL BARRIERS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
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References