We all know good communication is essential to strong relationships in our work and personal lives. Communication is the glue that holds relationships, families, and friendships together.
At work, it can be the difference between a project succeeding or failing—or even between a business floundering or thriving.
There’s also a financial incentive to communicate effectively. According to Dynamic Signal’s Annual State of Employee Communications and Engagement, 52% of companies reported lost revenue due to communication barriers.
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A single communication issue that some may ignore can spiral into bigger problems that affect team cohesion, work performance, and interpersonal relationships. These need to be addressed to increase effectiveness and create a platform where everyone feels valued and included.
Of all the leadership skills, communication, even more than conflict management, is the one that most influences team performance and encourages the risk-taking that is so necessary in today’s business environment. Organizations that focus on effective communication tend to have happy employees, engaged customers, and strong financial performance.
Improving communication is often equated with increasing the volume, but it is actually about improving the quality of interactions by identifying and, where possible, removing the barriers to effective communication. In the following sections of this blog post, we will look at typical communication barriers, their causes, and how they can be overcome.
What are communication barriers?
Communication barriers are obstacles that people face when attempting to communicate effectively. These are the factors that make interpersonal communication ineffective.
No one is born a great communicator. We must all learn this skill to succeed at work, grow our businesses, and maintain strong relationships with important stakeholders.
Fortunately, it isn’t too hard to learn how to communicate well. However, there are a few common traps that hinder group communication. I see them repeatedly and have fallen into a few of them myself!
So what causes these barriers at the start? Some of the most common causes are differences in communication style, cultural differences, or even the fast and dynamic pace of work. For example, a manager may be rather harsh in explaining his or her point of view, which may prevent an employee from articulating their thoughts. A team may also face challenges in devoting adequate time and energy to tasks due to time zone differences.
In addition, advances in information and communication technology are increasing the level of interdependence of teams. This has made it possible for team members in remote regions to work together over a wider area, which has created new problems, such as misinterpretation of emails or too many instant messages that no one has the patience to elaborate on verbally, emotionally, or otherwise. It is also possible that the large number of messages we use on average every day can simply ‘cut through’ communication.
This is important because it points to the reason why, even when attempts to communicate are made in good faith, they sometimes hit a dead end. Once we become aware of these barriers, we can begin to work creatively on them and develop effective channels of communication with each other.
Examples of communication barriers
Read on to learn about some of the most common communication barriers at work, how to diagnose them, and how to fix them.
Inconsistency
Consistency is “conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness.” A lack of consistency can hugely affect communication and leave people frustrated, alienated, and confused—not exactly what you want in your team!
Are you, or is someone you work with, giving mixed messages? Are you deliberately or inadvertently giving different messages to different people? If so, you might be suffering from the communication barrier known as inconsistency.
What to do about it
If you’re being inconsistent, ask yourself why you’re doing it. Are you accidentally giving mixed messages because you’re unsure of the right answer? If so, you need to ask some questions to get the correct information clear in your mind.
Fear of conflict is one of the most common explanations I’ve seen for inconsistent communication in the workplace. No one likes upsetting people, but if you’re giving inconsistent information because you’re afraid of upsetting or angering someone, that’s a problem.
To fix a problem caused by your inconsistency, bring the team together and talk to everyone. If this is impossible due to distance (or the pandemic), get everyone on a conference call. Tempting though it might be to send an email, this will likely result in more confusion rather than less. Resolving communication inconsistencies requires a face-to-face discussion.
Start like this: “I have been giving inconsistent or confusing messages around the X Project, and I wanted to clarify that.” Then, state in plain language what you need everyone to understand and answer any questions your team may have.
If the inconsistent communication comes from someone else, speak up and name it. This doesn’t have to be an adversarial conversation. Here’s a simple script: “I’m getting mixed messages here because I was told X, but Jane seems to think Y. Could you clarify for me, please?”
Poor listening skills
Most of us are better at talking than we are at listening. That’s just human nature. Active listening is an essential skill that too few people develop. But effectively listening to others is as crucial as getting your point across.
If you or someone you are speaking too frequently interrupts, repeats points or zone out during conversations, your communication problem can be best diagnosed as poor listening.
What to do about it
Chances are, you could improve your listening skills—most of us could! Make an effort to practice active listening. The graphic below highlights seven key active listening skills.
Essentially, you should give the person speaking your undivided, non-judgmental attention. Do not interrupt. Reflect on the words of the person you talk to and seek clarification if anything is unclear. Summarize what you heard to the speaker to ensure you understood them correctly. Only then should you begin to share your thoughts on what they’ve said and bring in your ideas.
If you feel that somebody else isn’t listening to you, it can be incredibly frustrating. If this is a problem for multiple people (and it might be!), you should consider some communication training for the whole team, with a focus on active listening.
If you have problems with one particular poor listener, name the problem non-confrontationally and ask for their input. You might be surprised.
For example, you might learn that they struggle with processing information given verbally and would rather have it in writing to digest at their own pace. You might also find that you consistently catch them at the wrong time and break their flow.
Different work styles, learning styles, and communication needs can appear rude from the outside. Practice empathy and approach your colleague as a collaborator, not an adversary.
Finally, if someone is not listening to the point of disrespect, don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself professionally. If someone interrupts you, it’s fine to say, “Please let me finish.”
Your words say one thing; your body language says something else
Have you ever heard someone say something while their body language seems to communicate the opposite? It’s surprisingly common.
Communications experts believe that body language is responsible for around 55% of the impact we make when speaking to someone:
In other words, what you don’t say verbally is at least as important as what you do say. Your words might convey a positive or neutral message, but if your body language conveys frustration, anger, or annoyance, that’s what the other person will take away.
What to do about it
Say what you mean! I don’t mean you should let every thought come out of your mouth unfiltered. But be as honest as possible while remaining professional and polite.
Pay close attention to your body language – many of us adopt closed-off postures such as crossing our arms out of habit. When you’re talking to someone, follow these simple body language tips:
- Angle your body towards the person you’re speaking to
- Make eye contact
- Smile when appropriate. Avoid negative facial expressions such as furrowing your brow
- Don’t fold your arms
- Stand or sit up straight
- Don’t play with your hair, jewelry, or clothes. This makes you look nervous.
It can be unclear if you speak to someone whose body language doesn’t match their words. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re deliberately misleading you or their words are untrue. Contradictory body language can just as quickly mean someone is having a bad day – it might have nothing to do with you or the conversation.
But it’s OK to ask! If someone’s body language and words don’t match, digging deeper is sensible. Say something like this: “You’re telling me that X, but your expression is saying Y. Do you have some concerns? I’d like to hear them and address them if so.” Keep your tone supportive and your body language receptive.
Excessive jargon
I work in the ecommerce space, which is notorious for jargon. But those outside my industry might not know their API (Application Programming Interface) from their CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization), and why should they?
Many companies and industries have jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations, which new employees and external stakeholders may struggle with. Excessive jargon reduces communication quality and sacrifices clarity in favor of buzzwords.
What to do about it
Try to eliminate jargon from your vocabulary as much as possible. It might be OK to use some when you are sure everyone in the room understands the terms similarly, but it’s better to avoid it. Avoiding jargon when talking to new employees and people outside your company is essential. Using lots of words they don’t understand makes people feel alienated and causes them to switch off.
Try to build a jargon-free culture at your company. Encourage everyone to use plain English and avoid creating endless acronyms and abbreviations. This might involve leading by example by cutting down on your own jargon usage. Precise language and direct communication make life easier for everyone.
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Oh, and try to avoid the above universally-hated expressions.
Unconscious bias
We all make snap judgments about people based on actual or perceived characteristics such as gender, race, culture, or background. Most of us would never do it intentionally, but cultural messaging about people who belong to particular groups is very powerful. The assumptions we make about others without intending to are known as unconscious bias.
Unconscious bias is proven to impact modern workplaces at every level: hiring, retention, performance management, and promotions. It can be very difficult to diagnose unconscious bias in yourself. The Harvard Implicit Bias tests can be an eye-opening way to expose prejudices you might not have been aware you were carrying.
What to do about it
We could all be doing more to overcome our unconscious bias. Many companies now include Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training in onboarding. You can include a module on unconscious bias within this. You can also organize training for the whole team to tackle this issue. It can be challenging to talk about, but recognizing it exists is the best way to mitigate its impact.
Remember: don’t beat yourself up if you’re harboring unconscious biases. Most of us are! By being aware of them, you’re better positioned to interrogate them and work to eliminate them.
Overcoming communication barriers for better teamwork
We all understand the importance of communication in our workplaces, but few people know how to improve their communication skills or overcome communication barriers.
It’s incredible how often the same workplace communication blocks crop up. If you recognize your team in any of the common problems I’ve outlined here, don’t despair! With time and effort, you can all become better communicators. And better communication leads to more vital teamwork, greater team cohesion, and, ultimately, a more successful company.
First of all, promote an open and trusting atmosphere among your group members. Welcome all views, opinions, and even concerns, and allow them to be expressed without fear of being judged. It is always easier to work as a group, i.e. to engage in the satisfying activity of constructive collaboration, when people know that their views and opinions will be heard and taken into account.
One type of investment, such as vertical or horizontal inclusion, will include regular training or workshops on communication skills among staff. This may include exercises to encourage active listening and conflict management, or role-plays that demonstrate the dynamics of a business environment. Practice is essential, not only to practice the techniques but more importantly to develop the group.
Communication should be emphasized in every meeting. Conversations should be properly anchored by guiding principles, so that all members are allowed to contribute their ideas and all contributions are considered with decorum. Most importantly, each member of the team must be allowed to participate without reservation.
Remember that adding communication to improve teamwork does not have an immediate effect. It is also a cultivation process that requires extreme patience and dedication from each and every member of the team. But everything is possible when the channels of communication are open, and cooperation and success know no boundaries.
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