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Communication is a dynamic process of transmitting messages between individuals. Personal barriers to effective communication are common between people in organizations. A personal barrier is an impediment to growth as it distorts messages and creates conflict among individuals. An individual has to overcome a personal barrier to achieve desired outcomes, improve interpersonal skills and execute personal development plans.
Read on to know more about personal barriers.
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What Are Personal Barriers To Communication?
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Personal Barriers For Managers
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Personal Barriers That Affect Performance
What Are Personal Barriers To Communication?
Personal barriers to communication are factors which are personal that negatively impact effective communication. A personal barrier is a result of experiences or factors such as attitude, emotion and behavior.
Here are some examples of personal barriers that affect communication:
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Lack Of Knowledge
If an individual lacks knowledge and awareness about a subject, it affects the communication process.
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Lack Of Listening Skills
Personal barriers of communication are common in people who either lack the patience to be attentive or those who selectively listen.
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Lack Of Vocabulary
If an individual uses incorrect words, it can affect interpretation. Communication also suffers when language is too complicated for the receiver to comprehend.
Personal barriers of communication can exist at every level in an organization. It may take the form of team leaders finding it difficult to show faith in their team members. Junior employees may be affected by factors such as lack of acknowledgement.
Personal Barriers For Managers
Communication is one of the key soft skills of a manager. But not all may have mastered it. Their work demands might also prevent them from prioritizing communication if it isn’t an organizational priority. Here’s how managers can create a personal barrier that affects communication in an organization:
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Not Delegating
If a team leader doubts their team member’s ability to do their job properly, they won’t communicate clearly. This in turn will affect morale, productivity and career growth.
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Being Too Rigid
When seniors restrict their junior’s access up the chain of command, it can cause problems. They may do so even if the situation calls for quick measures to resolve a problem.
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Guarding Information Too Closely
Some managers don’t keep their teams updated. They may be too busy with other things. They may not think their team members need to know.
Unless organizations make open and timely communication a priority, it’ll often be the victim of individual problems.
Personal Barriers That Affect Performance
A personal barrier to communication can arise due to a lack of confidence, fear of criticism or lack of knowledge. Here are some causes of personal barriers commonly seen in organizations:
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Lack Of Incentives
Employees expect encouragement and incentives from the management. They lose the desire to put in hard work or communicate effectively if they’re not rewarded for their efforts.
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Lack Of Confidence
Junior employees lose confidence if they’re criticized repeatedly. Their productivity can suffer, they may stop meeting their targets and fail to communicate effectively with their managers to prevent criticism.
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Lack Of Desire To Communicate
If a manager micromanages and controls access to information tightly, team members may lose the drive to communicate. It makes individuals feel inadequate and undervalued.
Communication in an organization is effective only if both managers and team members can convey their messages without hesitation and restriction. To boost productivity, the management of an organization can work to minimize personal barriers and conflicts.
How To Overcome Personal Barriers Of Communication
A personal barrier affects communication across the board. It’s essential to understand the nature, behaviour and backgrounds of people to meet objectives and implement policies.
Here’s how to overcome personal barriers to effective communication:
- Gather more knowledge about a subject to gain confidence in the material
- Increase awareness to improve decision-making
- Pay attention, even to the little details, as they help in long-term success
- Improve vocabulary to make messages informative and concise
- Build trust with team members and allow them to come up with information and solutions
- Keep the team updated and clarify their queries
- Encourage employees and give appropriate incentives to boost their morale
Since communication is a two-way process, both seniors and juniors must focus on making messages clear and improving their listening skills. Effective communication in an organization means allowing both parties to convey their ideas and opinions with ease.
Harappa’s Confident Communication Program is application-oriented and helps our learners develop a flair for communication. Organizations must encourage their managers to improve their verbal presentation skills, active listening skills and overall ability to influence an audience. Our outcomes-based program teaches how to articulate ideas, establish context and improve communication. It’s time to use the correct tools to break down communication barriers that stand in the way of growth.
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as What Is An Emotional Barrier In Communication, Examples Of Attitudinal Barriers, Types Of Language Barriers and Importance Of LSRW Skills to communicate with impact.
