Barriers to communication (rough copy) Readers are encouraged to send their opinions and suggestions in order to improve this article
Content- Introduction
- Communication principles
- Barriers to communication
- Why barriers are present
- Barriers related to communication channels
- Space/time distance barriers
- Barriers to communication as we name them
- noise
- distortion
- filtering
- Formalizing and ritualising
- Hiding/screening and generalizing
- Specializing
- One-way communication
- information sharing problems
- Information/communication access problems
- Fraud, spying and spamming
- Needs to communicate
- Communication and loneliness
1. Introduction
Communication comes from Latin communicare, which means to share or make common. For that this is rather a process than a state. This process is usually more or less reciprocal and involves at least two entities between which communication may take place.
They communicate sharing/exchanging information.
Communication takes usually place in already establish relationship or if not, it is in a position to create one temporarily or permanently. It is the essence of any relationship
and as a matter of fact Communication itself is all about relationship and relating.
Everything that exist remains in some kind of relations with anything else but of course we cannot say that the sun is telling the earth to stay firmly on its orbit so we understand communication as a process involving rather living things, especially people.
While communicating, people use symbols and actions, which are specific for any particular culture, nation or even social group. The symbols used are different, which is evident while comparing written and spoken words from different languages. Body language, which represents unspoken part of symbols and actions is different as well.
The phenomenon of language is what human race has invented and developed through centuries for the purpose of communication. This is a unique set of word-symbols and grammatical rules for all kind of possible situation where communication may take place. But still it is not all as use of a language means much more and includes intonation, stress, special grammatical arrangements, metaphors and body language.
Communication needs medium or media, the means through which information goes and use of our senses to create and receive information. There may be many different ways information travels through from the sender to the recipient. We are using 'communication channels' expression while talking about these things.
Communication is a matter of everyday interactions among the people. As some of these situations repeat frequently, there are specific rituals to be performed for each of them. This is specially true in formal communication which means "people performing symbols according to normative forms to achieve social ends." *)
Because of some rigid rules, rituals, and formal channels, which most of the societies tend to develop, communication become subject-like entity and may loses its main purpose i.e. serving people to experience one another and serving people to establish mutual relationship.
By performing to many rituals and by using rigid communication rules and channels people become objects in the process. As those, they are used and manipulated by the communication process, its networks and its machinery. This puts people in the role of the slave while they should play the role of the master.
Of course, rituals and specialised communication channels are somehow necessary because they simplify and accelerate communication, nevertheless they shouldn't create artificial barriers, by avoiding directedness and by creating structures, which delay, distort or make communication difficult, even impossible.
*)Communication as ... - by Gregory J. Shepherd and others
2. Communication principles
As it was told before, communication creates relations. These relations may give a birth to associations and new entities. They may be positive or negative. Most people and organization are looking for good mutual relations that are profitable for all partners.
The wealth and stability of these relations and entities depend of the communication in place. It should make them alive and healthy.
There are several principles of communication to follow in order to create good relations fast and effectively. Let's have a look at them.
- Principle of authenticity - information is true
- Principle of adequate language - choice of words and expressions
- Principal of mutual interest - all partners are interested in the result
- Principle of understanding - all partners want understand one another
- Principle of expected outcomes - some give what the others expect
- Principle of evidence - propositions and solutions are evident
- Principle of easy conclusions - conclusions can be easily withdrawn as logical consequences of the arguments
- Principle of progressiveness - information are given gradually
- Principle of extended influence - arguments are given step by step in several trials
- Principles of emotional stimulation - use of positive emotional stimuli
In the above example we have presumed that all partners can communicate freely and there are no major barriers to their communication. Unfortunately it is not always the case. Sometime people want to communicate desperately but the existence of several barriers does not allow them to do so. Let's have a look at those situations.
3. Barriers to communication
To approach the subjects we'll analyse a simple model of a communication process consisting of two communicating units (people) and a communication channel linking them. In a simplest example both interlocutors are close in the space so they can talk, see one another and they can undertake any actions.
- communication channel - 
First, let's clarify some terms.
By communication channel or channels we will understand a set of means and mediums used to pass information among the entities that attempt to communicate.
In our case two persons communicate verbally and visually. They are also using body language i.e. body movements, gestures and facial expressions instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language, or other forms of communication).
Providing that there is no problem with communication channels, efficiency of communication depends of the persons' abilities to understand one another and of their specific personal skills. These types of barriers then can be presented as follows:
- Linguistic barriers -
interlocutors don't speak the same language, which means that symbols (words) used to pass information and their arrangement may have no meaning or different meaning
- Cultural barriers -
interlocutors cultural origins are different which means that they may have:- different model/image of the world and its relations
- different values and their hierarchy
- different social norms, rules and rituals formal and informal that affect behaviour and regulate an entire system of interactions
- Social barriers -
interlocutors represent different social group which may differ their:- general behaviour as effect of different social norms, rules and customs, standards, believes and priorities,
- background and education
- use of language and level of its knowledge.
- Individual/personal barriers -
interlocutors have different personal qualities similar to ones already mentioned through the points 1 to 3, however they are not necessarily consequences of different linguistic, cultural or social origin of the individuals. They are the following:- physical and mental abilities
- preferences
- values and their hierarchy
- different model/image of the world
- general behaviour and emotional states
- background and education, unnecessary projection
- different use of language and the level of its knowledge
- different communication skills, which can be divided as follows:
- knowledge of:
- interlocutor.
- purpose.
- topic.
- abilities to:
- anticipate objections
- achieve credibility
- give full attention, give and get feedback
- follow through what was said
- communicate a little at a time
- use multiple communication techniques
- present information in several ways
- detect emotional states
- understand possible differences in perception
- - abilities to avoid:
- muddled messages
- stereotyping
- wrong sub-channel
- wrong language
- other attitudes:
- making eye-contact
- giving prompts, i.e. nodding, smiling, etc.
4. Why barriers are present
Most of those communication barriers despite of their origins may be, in fact, explained by difference in perception. Our mind organises and processes all received information accordingly to specific rules determined by our genetic matrix, our life experience and resulting personality. It creates a mental map that represents our perception of reality. In no case are the perceptions of different persons identical. The mental images of the same event, different persons may have, are different as the perception of each of them is unique accordingly to their personality.
While communicating we are choosing details that are important for us. This is called selective perception. Using it, we are trying to send our message as relevant as we can. However we shouldn't forget that our perception remains always personal. When receiving message we try to fit given information in our existing mental pattern. If something doesn't fit we tend to distort information rather than modify the pattern.
To control communication and correct eventual errors we are providing feedback, which is the most important tool to determine, by sender, whether or not the message has been received as intended. The methods and channels for feedback may be different. We may give feedback by repeating received information or asking additional questions in order to clarify the meaning, or by giving signs of the state of our understanding by nodding, smiling, producing specific sounds, etc.
5. Barriers related to communication channels
Unfortunately, in the real life we must face much more complicated situations than present in our simple communication model. As a matter of fact we've taken good properties of communication channel as granted which is not always the case. There are several elements that influence qualities of these channels, which may be caused by a distance in space and time in general, lack of medium, noise, interferences, distortions, structural barriers, filtering and so on. Our communication may become difficult or even impossible.
While some of these problems can be avoided other may persist due to more or less permanent structures and phenomena in place. Let's have a look at some of these barriers.
6. Space/time distance barriers
It is evident that physical distance requires special communication tools to make communication happen. The same is required within distance in time.
There are many tools created in order to deal with physical distance. They are subject of interest of telecommunication companies, postal and other delivery services.
Distance in time poses more difficulties as we can communicate only in real time and forward in time. That is evident that we cannot do it back in time. The fact that we can communicate forward in time and that we do not want unnecessary communication encourage us to create different structures, which process, filter and eliminate sent information. The question whether they are effective is a separate question. It seems that mostly not!
Postal service, Internet e-mail, telephone service are all targeted by the people who want to communicate with us in their interest, not necessary ours. This type of information is called spam. Ho much time we have to spend trying to separate what is important for us from what is unwanted? How to distinguish what to accept and what to reject without knowing the content? The situation is getting worst continuously. We are still very lucky that our mobiles do not deliver too much spam but it might be a matter of time they'll do.
There is a lot of structures typical for business that can create barriers to communication. More intermediates, more secretaries, and our communication channel becomes very long and narrow. That looks good if it comes to spam, but in reality it may create situation when original information has no chance to go through. History of civilization knows many examples of governors who have been given relevant information only and exclusively just before they have been abolished. Business is a sensitive matter and its stagnation, dissolution or progress depends of communication so special attention to this matter should be paid.
The problem with structures delivering and processing information, no matter necessary or not, is that they are usually happy with what they are dealing with, no matter what it is.
They make intensive effort to justify their existence and have immense tendency to grow. They often overtake as many communication channels as they can, creating structures, nobody can avoid or ignore. In fact they are usually authors of new formal communication rules and rituals created in their interest. As a result, communication channels are less and less direct and instant communication becomes impossible. Let's name and analyse some problems they create.
7. Barriers to communication as we name them
- Noise
Noise is whatever disturbs communication. In this sense any unwanted communication is also considered as a noise. Noise disturbs us and makes important information lost, inaccessible, jammed.
- Distortion
As information travels from through intermediates, it can be transformed, shorted or changed more or less intentionally. The final version may differ from the originally sent. This phenomenon is called distortion.
- Filtering
Filtering is screening out before a message is passed on to someone else.
The purpose of filtering is usually to block irrelevant information, clear information from redundancy i.e. make it shorter easier to remember and understand. That makes information more resistible for noise and distortion and easy to handle. There are many different filters in business, secretaries, assistants, receptionists, answering machines, etc. Unfortunately those gatekeepers may eliminate important message as irrelevant, delay messages as not very important, 'translate' ideas and may respond before passing anything on to the addressee.
To overcome incorrect filtering barriers, we are trying to establish more than one communication channel and eliminate as many intermediaries as possible.
We try also to avoid distortions by making our messages shorter and condensed to the bare essentials (prior filtering). We may also use formalizing and ritualising.
- Formalizing and ritualising
In order to avoid bad translation, misinterpretation and other misfortune, formal communication is often based on special forms and procedures. This helps yes/not decisions make easy. It requires only simple check in the right place in the form. Forms are very useful and they save time and money. Nevertheless, sometimes they are not able to cover all imaginary situations and more traditional way of communication must be used. Additionally they separate parties, what in some cases might be a major mistake.
- Hiding/screening and generalizing
Hiding is making a part of whole information undelivered so it is a special kind of filtering/screening. Generalising is making information deprived of important details, making it universal i.e. good or interested for everybody.
If made intentionally, these forms of distorting communication are the most disturbing and dangerous. The intentions might be different. In a simple case it may be done in order to get attention of as many as possible and to induce farther actions that advertiser desires.
Sometimes, people with specific or desperate needs are targeted. To get any more details they have to register or perform other actions. Unfortunately this method is also use in selling/advertising jobs. The advertisers do not care; the time is not their money!
Very often such methods are used to swindle personal data.
Resulted desinformation process involves social cost and should not be tolerated. Direct meaningful communication can stop it.
- Specializing
21-th century has started what is called information era, which means more and more people working with information. Unfortunately it doesn't mean that communication is getting easier and more direct. Specialized firms overtake particular information fields to build their own empires; job agencies, training companies, research companies, marketing companies, consulting companies and so on. What we expect from them is not necessarily what we get. We want fast, reliable, possibly direct, communication, instead of that we get often, time consuming, complicated, unclear process delivering vague, or unclear information which might be just a fake as well.
- One-way communication
Time/space distance and general character can make communication looked as of one-way type. One-way communication may be intended or not. If intended, it means that we get a message but nobody expects our answer or we send a message without expecting any response directly. If not intended, such situation may be created because of the presence of barriers. As communication is about relations and relating, normal true one-way communication usually happens only forward in time when recipient of information are not able to respond because the sender does not exist any more. Of course usual barriers may also be present but no feedback can be used to make any corrections.
- Information sharing problems
The most of progress made in the history of civilisation has been done by sharing knowledge and experience, which means sharing information. It is not necessary to explain the role of communication in this case.
Most people agree that information, which may contribute to the improvement of well-being of the man, should be shared widely and freely. Unfortunately others perceive it as one more kind of goods for sale. The problem is, that the profit goes usually to the proprietors of communication barriers instead of gratifying original creators who may not even know about it.
We usually agree to pay for information when some value is added. This is why we have no objection to pay for books but we don't want to pay only because the access has been barred and information channel has been blocked discordantly to the intentions of the creators of information.
Sharing information is very important as it permits progress while resources are limited, it has similar properties to money. Its fast circulation make the things happen. But exchange information for money should be avoided as in this case its miraculous properties are lost.
- Information/communication access problems
Nobody denies that access to information is important and the consequences of lack of it can be dangerous and disastrous especially in real time situations.
Access to information is also important when time/distance factor is involved. Information intended to be free should remain free. Information possessing all attributes qualifying it as important for public should become and remain free as well.
There are many commonly known problems of the contemporary world requiring fast effective solutions. In order to find these solutions international cooperation of many smart individuals is required. In order to make it possible, special communication tools are needed. The Internet, primarily intended for military purpose, then used to create free communication for scientific community, and finally used as universal communication tool for everybody, has all necessary qualities to make a platform for such communication. Many expect that despite of several problems, it will.
This common positive thinking is dashed by attempts to commercialise whatever still remains free. Specialized websites created to facilitate access to information are doing this but for to much money. The access to "free" information became one of saleable goods.
There are many people, willing to share information but the access is being jammed by commercial noise. People use Internet forums to overcome the problem but it does not resolve all problems.
If we want to communicate effectively the access to information is needed. Should we have it? Or should we give up?
- Fraud, spying and spamming
Activities related to fraud, spying and spamming are the most dangerous and socially harmful. They create barriers to communication and related enormously large social lost of time, energy and money. They are present everywhere but the Intenet has become currently their main target.
This problem is also related to previously mentioned specialisation. Internet, this fantastic communication platform became a tool for making easy money. Some consider it as "Hide Park for doing." It is impossible to distinguish honest websites from fraudulent. Even though some provide their service as required, they cannot resist the temptations to get more out of it.
The problem concerns some agencies, which are much more concentrated on guttering personal data of their clients than on the services they are expected to provide. People are told to give their personal data for contact and security reasons but after receiving bunches of spam every day, they realise the real motive of this requirement.
Nobody wants to be called by name by people we have no interest to communicate with. Unfortunately, Internet mailing centres and websites specialised in spamming people, infecting personal computers with spywares and addwares are still tolerated. They are growing and there is no formal place to complain about. Not many software companies cannot resist the opportunity to get some information from activities of our computers and their powerful lobbing opposes the legislative regulations. Information about us is a gold, which everybody wants. Nobody takes care of our communication needs any more.
8. Needs to communicate
Free communication is one of the main attributes of freedom. This is why, people feeling lost in over structured reality full of communication barriers need new free ways to communicate.
The phenomenon of the Internet has taken place because of the presence of these gigantic needs which have never been fulfilled before. Unable to communicate around them people are now trying to communicate outward their usual life-space.
Many of them, discredited or discriminated, despite of their insulation in often small societies, sometimes enchained by cultural or religious rules, are trying to get a feeling of freedom through the new way of communication. Thanks to the Internet, this is possible for many.
The same phenomenon of continuously growing communication needs emerged currently as plethora of cell phones in every pocket.
- Sociological needs to communicate (to be eleborated)
- Psychological needs to communicate
It is unquestionable that language is a part of being human. Communication, which means language in action, is a one of major functions of the human mind. Human needs for communication are therefore basic needs i.e. those that are essential for our existence and very survival.
Communication is inscribed in Human Nature. For individual it fulfils needs for self-expression and recognition. It creates a place in family and society. It gives importance of every individual’s life and existence.
Inability to communicate creates a feeling of powerlessness about the world around and a sense of isolation and loneliness. Unable to be listened to one becomes useless and unimportant.
Communication is a fundamental social necessity. The gift of language is the gift of freedom, where freedom means being part of life. The inability to communicate creates a feeling of inferiority and may regress into farther loss of freedom.
Communication allows access to resources, self-expression and ideas exchange.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression and opinion; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Genuine freedom may be experienced only if we can encounter others and communicate without barriers.
- Personal loneliness
- professional loneliness
The most severe punishment known to the human race is isolation. People may be isolated or feel issolataed for many reasons. Nevertheles, there are two main classess that causes of isolutians may belong to. First, people themselves or seconde, their current situations are much different from normaly existing or accepted as correct and normal.
People may be different because of their age, lack of compagnion, disabilities, culture, background, race, ability of expression, etc. Their different situations are social position, welth, unemployment, etc. Unemployment and missemployment are typical and well known causes of such situations. Combined with elements from the first class i.e. difference in people themselves may create disaster for individuals and groups.
Lonelines is relative, it may be real or self-perceived mentaly. The last one is usualy related to the feeling of social or economic deprivation. It hurts people of different age, young and old. All of them perceive themselves at the periphery of life,useless and unwanted. Of course their chance to return to normal might be different depending of their age and social networks providing necessary help.
Fighting lonelines is very important. Citizenship cannot be founded on social uselessness. Integration cannot be possible. People function correctly only in correct social networks around them, no matter whether it is family, circle of friends, cooworkers, society.
People have to develop a sense of belonging, which is not possible if nothing belongs to them and they do not belong to anything. It is a social responsibility to allow them to feel as part of common society.
Personal lonelines creates barriers to communication in a vicious cercle which is hard to be broken as wicked communication increase lonelines which as a result creates more barriers and communication gets worst.
People traped by lonelines become spectators in the life, they cannot contribute to the development of the society they live in. They have no food for their mind and their positive emotions. Nobody wants their commitment, nobody needs thei contribution.
Young people handle these situations better which does not mean that the ways they do it sometimes are socialy accepted and welcome. Older people manege worst, they may suffer personal tragedy or even finish by premature death. It is comonly known that the life expectancy drops significantly after people retirement followed by lack of farther social activities.
While we witness family degradation nowdays, these other social activities become more and more important.
The distribution of work over life cicle has changed radically. Education process takes longer so youngsters enter labor market later. Additionaly they have difficulty to find proper jobs. Activities after the age of 55 are significantly dropped.
Progressing globalisation cause father damage to the employment market. Countries are deprived off the possibilities to diverse their economic activities. This hurts especially professionals. Due to open markets a lot of themlook to be no more needed.
Technological progress combined with constreints and in distribusion of knowledge and unadapted educational systems are adding more and more problems to the existing situation. Despite the increased possibility of working abroad, new problems arise as professional associations block opportunities throught legislatature. Only simple and precarious employment remains ehivh pose a considerable risk of impoverishment and social exclusion.
It seems that few global development centers can do the job which was previously done in every country before globalisation started. Of course there is no doubt that this is illusionarry, and people wont permit to transform themselves in simple genteel customers of one centralised system.
This aproach was present in communist systems and I hope nobody wants it anymore. I also hope that people will want to keep their rights for creativity and intelectual adventure, at least some of them, therfore our social system wchich is still very far from providing necessary conditions should remove the gap between sociology and technology.
As Earth population grows, ecological problems increase, decisions cannot be left for close entities but require global tranformation of the way intelectual contribusion of many individuals can be made.
As working liftime was truncated from both end other mean have to be provided. People are excluded from the labour market not because they are not necessary any more but becausee the current socio-economical system has failed, which means that we are wasting human resources, human energy and possibility to do much better.
We should not compete for recognition as human beings but nowdays the battle for theritory has evolved into competition for share in global mind. To be part of it we all have to communicate. It is the very reason why I am writing this myself and not just thinking about.
The impossibility of practising an occupation, premature retirement in collective judgment triggers negative social perception. Retirement is the time for those who cannot work anymore but must not be socio-economical banishement from life.
Accepting that a huge part of word population will reach age of 50 and more in 2015 due to so called baby-boomers effect means that we agree to condame this part of population for exclution from life which leads to accelerated aging process and human degradation.
Many people who lost their job or job opportunities are declared as belonging to the old economy.This is only partially true. As a mater of fact this new economy is just unable to acquire as much profession as it is realy needed.
Monopolisation of IT related activities and decreasing acces to scientific information for individuals make good examples. Fact that highly educated people take simple jobs and shortly trained ignorants fill responsible positions means that the system is sick and has to be replaced.
Professional lonelines for usually active people hurts as much as personal one. Unability to share and discuss ideas, the fact of not having collegues around to talk about create a feeling of powerlessness.
This phenomenon is well known just after graduation and can persist if professional ambitions of individual are not fulfiled but they are rather dashed by unrelated job taken in place of the proper one.
McDonald’s network cannot resolve the problems of young engineers seeking a place to contribut their learned skills.
The presence of these problems proves that communication process in this part of our civilisation system does not function correctly and more research has to be done to identify existing barriers. It seems that many parasite intermediate structures have evolved taking opportunities from the technological and organisational changes. These structures are building bariers to communication and reflect distorted image of the real problems. All these in the name of the New Economy, ignoring the fact that even in the New Economy old truths are still valid.
Finding a place in this world seems to be more difficult for many individuals but if we want our civilisation progress new form of efficient communication must be found and this is not a technological problem. Currently existing, mostly artificial, barriers have to be removed. We have to return to the concept of creating civilisation welth as sum of the welth of individuals. This include physical and mental parts otherwise we will be drifting to systems that have allready failed.
to be continued...
W.W.
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