8 Barriers to Workplace Communication

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8 Barriers to Workplace Communication
8 Barriers to Workplace Communication ROCHELLE
VAN RENSBURG SEP, 7 2021

• Table of Contents
• Below are 8 barriers to workplace communication
  along with some tips for overcoming these
  barriers.
• Breaking Down Communication Barriers in the
  Workplace 8 Essential Strategies for Effective
  Team Communication

1. 1. Differing communication styles and skill
2. 2. Dissatisfaction or disinterest at work
3. 3. Inconsistency in communication
4. 4. Attitude, tone of voice, and body language

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1. 5. Too much information at one time
2. 6. Poor listening skills
3. 7. Communication through the grapevine
4. 8. Cultural and language differences

• Communication is important, especially in the
  workplace. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how
  to communicate well. Barriers to communication
  within the workplace can create
  misunderstandings and tension.
• Below are 8 barriers to workplace communication
  along with some tips for overcoming these
  barriers.
• Differing communication styles and skill
• Dissatisfaction or disinterest at work
• Inconsistency in communication
• Attitude, tone of voice, and body language
• Too much information at one time
• Poor listening skills
• Communication through the grapevine
• Cultural and language differences
• Breaking Down Communication Barriers in the
  Workplace 8 Essential Strategies for Effective
  Team Communication
• Differing communication styles and skill
• Individuals have different styles of
  communication. While some people understand
  verbal communication well, others prefer to have
  their work communication in writing. This is not
  just a difference of preference, but a
  difference in ability to understand workplace
  communication.

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In addition to holding different styles of
communication, individuals function at different
levels of skill. When a person is unskilled at
communicating clearly, it can cause confusion. In
the worst cases, it can cause tension in the
workplace. How to overcome this barrier learn
how your employees and coworkers communicate
best. When possible, offer direction and
feedback through a variety of formats.
Additionally, find resources to train your
workplace on how to communicate most
effectively. 2. Dissatisfaction or disinterest
at work When employees are unsatisfied or
uninterested in their work, communication
suffers. For dissatisfied workers, communication
may become strained because of mismanagement by
their supervisors. Workers who dont feel like
their input is valued will cease to provide
input.
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• Disinterested workers often put minimal effort
  into every aspect of their job. Although
  communication is important for workplace
  function, a disinterested worker may drop the
  ball on continuing open communication.
• How to overcome this barrier in extreme cases,
  this barrier can only be changed when
  individuals leave the company. However, taking
  time to clear up any workplace conflict before it
  becomes a problem can prevent these workplace
  communication barriers from developing.
• Must Read Employee Engagement Activities And
  Programs That Work
• Inconsistency in communication
• Its essential that management takes the time to
  communicate consistently with their employees.
  This can be easy in a workplace where employees
  can all receive the same email. However, many
  workplaces rely on verbal communication to
  disseminate information.
• If thats the case for your workplace, its
  important that any important information is
  communicated consistently across departments and
  shifts. Otherwise, some employees will be
  informed while others are left in the dark.
• How to overcome this barrier setting up
  company-wide email is a great way to communicate
  large announcements or changes. If your
  workplace relies on verbally communicating these
  things, consider having a checklist to make sure
  all employees are informed.
• Related Article Best Ways of Communicating
  Safety Messages
• Attitude, tone of voice, and body language
• What you say is only the ??rst step in
  communication. How you say it and what body
  language you use are also important. Attitude,
  tone of voice, and body language can all
  communicate messages contrary to the words
  youre speaking.

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Must Read The Best Ways of Communicating Safety
Messages This becomes a major barrier when an
employee feels unheard or demeaned in workplace
communication. For example, an individual using
sarcasm and profanity to communicate can quickly
create a hostile workplace. How to overcome this
barrier make sure youre communicating in a way
thats consistent with your words and the
policies of your workplace. If you cross your
arms or furrow your brow when listening, work to
change your body language. If attitude and tone
of voice consistently create tension, be mindful
of how youre saying things when communicating
at work.
Also Read How to Talk to an employee about Poor
Performance 5. Too much information at one
time When employees get too much information at
once, they often struggle to understand exactly
what is expected. Although information overload
is common in the training stage, managers can
overload their workers with too much information
throughout the work process. This can be
especially difficult with verbal communication.
Because people often forget information
transmitted orally, its important to follow up
longer conversations with an email detailing key
points. How to overcome this barrier when
possible, communicate one or two main ideas in
each conversation or email. If communication
cannot be narrowed down, find ways to
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communicate in multiple formats. A follow-up
email to a verbal conversation can help
employees absorb important information. 6. Poor
listening skills Workplace communication isnt
just about talking. To have good communication
in the workplace, its important for managers and
employees to learn how to listen. If a manager
isnt listened to, they may feel frustrated by
the ineffectiveness of their communication.
Since workplace communication is necessary for
the success of their job, poor listening on the
part of employees can create tension. If an
employee isnt listened to, they may feel
frustrated and unhappy at work. When managers
fail to listen to their employees, they miss the
insight offered by employees at every level. How
to overcome this barrier train employees at
every level in active listening. When
individuals learn how to actively listen,
communication in the workplace improves.
7. Communication through the grapevine Few things
are worse than finding out information through
the grapevine. Although many individuals trust
this second-hand information, its important for
everyone in the workplace to get ahead of this
type of communication. For example, if an
employee is unhappy with how their manager
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handled a situation, they should talk to their
manager directly. If a manager finds out about
this dissatisfaction because the other employees
are discussing it, it can cause major tension at
work. Similarly, employees should not find out
important information through the grapevine.
While information will always travel through
these channels, its important that big
announcements and changes are communicated with
employees through official announcements or
email. How to overcome this barrier you cannot
stop the grapevine from talking, but you can
control when information gets out. Instead of
waiting for information to leak through the
grapevine, keep employees up-to-date through
official workplace communication
channels. Additionally, its important to train
employees to communicate through conflict
instead of using the grapevine to rally people to
their side. Prevent widespread conflict by
dealing with problems as they come up. You
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Resource 8. Cultural and language
differences Communicating across cultures and
languages can create a clear barrier to
workplace communication. While conversations
between parties of different languages have major
difficulties, communicating within the same
language can have similar troubles. For example,
the United States and England both speak English.
However, communication between these two
cultures is still full of differences. How
language is used differs, along with common
communication etiquette. If your workplace
communicates across cultural lines, take time to
understand some basic differences between your
cultures to prevent missteps in
communication. Cultural differences can also be
differences between groups in the same country.
Regional differences in language can
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contribute to some confusion in the workplace.
Differences in how each generation speaks can
also create confusion. This is colorfully
represented in the movie The Princess Diaries,
where the young girl says shut up! as an
exclamation of disbelief. Her grandmother is
shocked, believing her granddaughter has just
rudely told her to be quiet. How to overcome this
barrier when there is confusion between parties
of different cultures, take the time to
understand. Learning about cultural differences
in communication can be useful for preventing
conflict based on misunderstandings. Also Read
Does Online Training Work Conclusion There are
many barriers to workplace communication.
However, taking time to understand and overcome
these barriers is an essential part of learning
to work together Click here to learn more. Must
Read 15 Ways to Improve Your Employee Retention
and Engagement in 2022
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