Factors that hamper Effective communication…



Factors that hamper Effective communication….

Twelve Roadblocks to communication

Censorship;

Absence of a clear purpose;

Audience not clearly defined;

Faulty language selection;

Conflict of message and action;

Lack of semantic knowledge;

Faulty arrangement;

Choosing the wrong channel;

Unattractive packaging;

Bad timing;

Lack of useful Information

Incorrect premises or assumptions.

Censorship:

Natural censorship exists when distance, language barriers, or mental capacity isolate your from their information or they from your messages. This can be a physical distance, froth the second floor to the penthouse, or across the country to the home office; a language barrier that is merely a result of scientific or “lnsider” jargon: a mental capacity that may be just an Inability to read a financial statement or a technical report; or a combination of one or more of these obstacles. Each can be surmounted by education — yours or theirs.

(Artificial censorship occurs when someone stops or alters someone else’s message.’) Regarding one’s personal communications this could occur when one’s actions are controlled (you will not partake of alcoholic beverages with lunch and return to the office), or one’s looks are regulated (required dress is a dark blue suit, white shirt and subbued color/patterned tie), or one’s words are restrained (if you cannot say good things about this company you should not be working here). These three examples might seem to be exceptions but they are the rule in three American corporations.

If you cannot send the message you wish to send; if you cannot modify your message to conform to authority while still transmitting your thoughts; you have to reconcile yourself to the situation, or move to another school, neighborood, company, etc., which will1 afford you the total freedom you desire.

Surely, if you had suddenly developed a pechant for loud, showy, uninhibited clothes, after wearing conservative three-piece suits for many years, it might not be unexpected or unreasonable for your employer, a staid investment banking firm, to exert censorship of your message.

Absence of a clear purpose

Whether your message Is being sent In writing, or by your actions, or appearance, or your voice, you should have a clear purpose for sending it. Are you performing to get a positive response? Are you changing your performance to change a neutral or negative response into one that Is positive? Are you attempting to educate—explaining, clarifying, justifying your performance — to neutralize or make positive a negative response?

The purpose of your message might involve a facet of your job performance, a business / workplace relationship, a personal, relationship, or a combination of several of these purposes. Your purpose may be as simple as showing your genuine concern for another (better communicated than kept to yourself), as normal as letting others know you have a master’s degree (by hanging it on your office wall), or as complex as explaining to a group of friends that you can only get two complimentary tickets to a production that your school Is staging.

The Important thing to remember— If the purpose of your message is not clear in your mind, chances are it won’t be clear to them either.

Audience not clearly defined:

You had better know, even picture, your receiver or receivers correctly, because this obstacle can get laier and larger, almost insurmountable, in direct proportion to that knowledge. The less you know about your receiver’s personality, character, likes and dislikes, Interests, needs wants, concerns, the more trouble you can get Into. The bottom line — Define your audience (he / she or them), before you compose, package, or send your message.

Faulty language selection:

After clearly defining our audience we choose the wrong words or looks or actions to transmit our message, we have failed. Not the obvious — speaking English to a foreigner who doesn’t, wearing loud sports clothes to the office, or being the life of the party when there Is no party — but the subtle, almost Imperceptible misses, such as words, Images, and sounds that put different pictures in the receiver’s head than the one in the sender’s head.

Think carefully about your receiver’s ability to understand words, or actions, and what words and what actions. Would you deliver the same worded message about nuclear energy to a group of fourth graders as you would to high school seniors? Would you engage a rock group for a senior citizens’ dance? I remember reading about a kindergarten teacher’s method for reminding herself everyday about her charges. She had a small sign on her desk — Think Small.” These are simple examples. Most of yours are more complex and require more thought before you speak or write or act. Do it!

Conflict of message and action:

If your message says you are a kind, considerate, feeling, human being, but you kick the dog as you leave the building, and burn rubber getting out of the parking lot, then your message, it goes without saying, will not be credible or believed when received by the same audience.

“Actions speak louder than words,” may be a bromidic saying or an old adage, but action is a strong means of communication, and does indeed carry more weight than words when there Is a conflict between them. If you don’t believe that, try to convince your boss you’re working hard when he can see you’re hardly working.

In any case, you cannot transmit different messages, in different mediums of communication, to the same receivers. IL Is inconsistent, unbelievable, and confusing. You wouldn’t do it on purpose. No one would do it on purpose. Don’t do it without thinking. Guard against it.

Lack of semantic language:

Carefully... carefully... select the right word so the meaning, connotation, or shading can not be misunderstood. Some argue that there are really no exact synonyms; that there can be no exact equivalence of meanings In the total range of contents in which a word may be used, i.e., we accompany our peers, follow our leader, escort someone who needs protection, and chaperone those who require supervision. When in doubt consult a dictionary, or better yet, a thesaurus.

If you can’t find a substitute for a questionable word that may possibly transmit the wrong picture, be misinterpreted or misperceived, use a substitute term or phrase. Spell it out If you have to, but do transmit your message as close as possible to the original — the one in your head. You want to communicate with the receivers of your message; you do not want to offend, confuse, disturb, or rile them.

Faulty arrangement:

When you do not arrange words, or sentences, or phrases in the proper sequence, you can create problems. Don’t bury your idea In a torrent of verbosity (unless that is the purpose of your message). Don’t place the emphasis In the wrong place. Don’t make your thoughts difficult to follow logically from one premise to another. Be careful of such juxtapositions as: “Are you fully aware of the boredom prevalent in our organization? I’ll be stopping by next week to talk to you.”

Choosing the wrong channel:

Each means of communication at your disposal has strengths and weaknesses. At any given time, In any given circumstance, one may be more appropriate than another. Only you can decide, in any given situation, which method will be more effective for the delivery of your message. Is a letter more appropriate or effective than a short note? If you would rather not have a written record of your thoughts or opinions, would a telephone call suffice? How about one-on-one conversation?

Unattractive packaging :

To write a better letter, essay, report,. or memo; to Improve your manners and social graces; to dress and groom yourself for success; and to speak more, effectively get yourself an expert. There are many available at your local public library.

Bad timing:

You know your receiver or receivers, what you want to transmit to him or her or them and why. You have prepared and packaged your message carefully. You’ve checked it and rechecked it and rewrote it, or rehearsed it, until it is perfect. You have chosen your channel or medium carefully and skillfully. But your message falls flat on its face. It could be bad timing.

When it comes to timing you do the best you can. After that you take your chances along with the rest of us.

Lack of useful Information:

We are bombarded with messages every day by mail, telephone. In person, television, radio, and newspapers so much so that we become selective, sometimes overly selective, we learn to tune out; in our heads, tv and radio commercials; scan newspaper stories and advertisements; speed read our mail (especially what many cat “junk mail; and we can listen on the telephone with half an ear— UNLESS something In the message grabs our attention almost immediately because It addresses our Interests, says it will help us attain our goals, or promises us a benefit If we just listen to and assimilate the message.

Just because you are excited and enthusiastic about your idea, you cannot assume that they will be, too. It is safer to assume that they will lack the same excitement or enthusiasm unless you can win the contest for their attention.

Experienced and skilled advertising copywriters address themselves to their consumers and communicate with them by providing useful Information. So should you.

Incorrect premises or assumptions:

You must try to keep your receiver from making assumptions. You must try to keep the viewer from forming a negative opinion when he or she first meets you... when he hears you speak. When he reads your writing you try to keep him from scanning the first paragraph or two, forming a negative Impression, and then reading the rest (If he reads it at all) with prejudice permeating his mind. This will be easier to do If you’ve done your homework so you can act from strength knowledge is strength — Instead of having to read solely by intuition.

Mind you, acting intuitively is fine. If you are blessed with comprehension without the effort of reasoning — and much of intuition is a result of our inner computer spitting out the experiences, mistakes, successes, goofs, failures, gems, and errors that we have programmed into It.

Just think of the potential of your image when you have to interact with that special person if you can combine your intuition with adequate research and good communication skills.

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