We previously discussed the principles of effective communication but one thing that needs to be considered is how you can be limited in your communication. This article discusses potential barriers to effective communication and how these can be overcome. We also look at example scenarios suggested what you might do in each situation. The four barriers that we will look at are lack of concentration, background noise, distractions and unenthusiastic audience.

Lack of concentration: When two or more parties are communicating either verbally or in writing one of the potential barriers to communicating effectively would be a lack of concentration from either or both parties. Say for example someone needed a quick response on email and asks a number of key questions in their email. The person responding may scan read the email and then not answer all points due to a lack of concentration on their behalf. This leads to a break down in communication and may be seen as having a lack of interest in maintaining good communications. Another example could be when someone from your company is sent to a conference to feedback on a new product or service that your company is interested in. If they lack concentration when and do not make notes or lose interest in the presentation then they will not be able to feedback the level of information as required by your company. This means that someone else may need to reach out to the other company to obtain more information. A telephone conversation were someone is not concentrating on what is being said may lead to them forgetting instructions that they need to perform a task. If someone else is depending on them completing this task then their lack of concentration means that the communication channel needs to be reopened and time has been wasted.

Background noise: When communicating in person or on the phone one of the biggest potential barriers to effective communication is background noise. Finding a quiet space to communicate with so many people on the move when working is difficult. The fact that we work across multiple time zones does not help. Many companies are trying to save on office space and have arranged seating plans to accommodate the maximum number of workers possible in small spaces. With so much construction going on in cities there can also be background noise when you are able to arrange a private meeting room to communicate. Call centre workers try to overcome the background noise of other operators talking by using headsets that drown out the noise. Due to the number of people who are mobile during the working day it is also very difficult to avoid background noise with using public transport and environmental noise. The best way to overcome this barrier is to plan in advance to try and arrange a quiet space and if this is not possible then maybe arrange an alternative communication channel such as email.

Distraction as a potential barrier to effective communication: Nearly every office or home worker these days has multiple communication devices such as pc, laptop, tablet, work phone and/or personal phone. On each of these devices we may have multiple accounts running and also have access to personal accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. All of these applications come with notifications and popups and this can be distracting when trying to work exclusively on one task or when communicating with others. Email is also another distraction, whilst most of us use it on a daily if that hourly basis it can distract you when you are working on something else. To avoid these distractions, it is best to have specified times in the day when you check personal and social media accounts (before work starts maybe). Unless it is absolutely essential that you reply to every email immediately then it’s bes to close down your email and check it sporadically when you need a break. Work colleagues can also be seen as a distraction to effective communication as they can put you off by talking to you or demanding your attention when you need to focus your time on communication with others. Distractions will happen but learning how to limit them so that you can invest your full time in making verbal and written communication as efficient as possible is something that you need to do to maximise productivity during the working day. This is something that you can develop techniques over time and learn to avoid distraction to be effective in all areas of communication.

Unenthusiastic audience: When communicating with others either on a one to one basis, in a workplace meeting, on the telephone, a presentation or even through written communication one barrier that you may face is an unenthusiastic audience. People who are not interested in what you are saying, doing or what you have sent them are hard to communication with. To overcome this barrier you need to improve your interpersonal communication skills to engage them. You need to make communication a two-way process and involve them in your conversation. When using written communication say in sales or marketing it is also important to engage your audience and make sure that you give them a reason to exchange communication with you. This is not always easy but by understanding who you are communicating with and want their wants and needs are you can build stronger relationships and break down communication barriers by showing them that you understand them. If you find that you are presenting the same information over and over again and cannot engage any of your potential audience then you know it is time to try an alternative communication method.

Having looked at the potential barriers to effective communication above can you think of any more that you would add and what is the one thing that you believe is the main barrier to effective communication for both verbal and written communication? Think about this and try to figure out how you can communicate more effectively by cutting out the potential barriers by creating good working habits. Knowing how to use technology and managing your time effectively is an important part of this.