Barriers of Communication
obstacles that do not let us communicate effectively, they hamper our ability to exchange information. There are many types of barriers of communication.
- Physical Barriers -Â Just like the name suggests, these barriers are physical in nature. They can be as simple as a wall separating two people to barriers due to distance
- Psychological Barriers - Barriers that arise due to our cognition, or mental states. They include our emotions, moods, opinions, attitude, attention, etc. For eg- When someone is angry, they might interpret others’ behaviour in a negative tone.
- Semantic Barriers - These are barriers that arise due to use of language. Words being misunderstood or misconstrued, figures of speech interpreted wrongly, and homophones/homonyms, can all be causes of this barrier.
- Environmental Barriers
- Linguistic Barriers - Barriers that arise due to difference in languages, or due to the lack of ability of being able to understand a different language. This can lead to everything from no communication to miscommunication (mistranslation).
- Cultural Differences - All cultures are different. What is considered to be “proper” in a culture might be considered “improper” in a different one. Also, culture dictates a large part of our life. Therefore, differences in culture can act as barriers.