By Marija Kojic

Effective communication is the basis of human interaction, both in the case of personal and professional interaction. There is no universal formula for establishing strong relationships, however, most people with highly developed communication skills can easily recognize positive aspects of human interaction and adapt to the current environment.  

Many factors affect the way people communicate, from feelings and thoughts to the environment and specific situations. Despite all the possible communication issues, it’s important to always have in mind the main goal of communication - and that is getting the message across. At work or in life, effective communication is about creating a comfortable setting for the exchange of information as well as overcoming certain obstacles that may arise on the way. 

Communication barriers defined

Although sometimes taken lightly, communication barriers can prevent people from conveying their message effectively to others. They can affect how people understand other people’s ideas and thoughts as well, ultimately leading to communication breakdown. This is why it’s crucial to recognize the barriers in specific situations and be able to reduce their impact on the quality of communication. 

For example, the world of freelancing can sometimes be demanding, especially since most freelancers work from their homes. This can indeed disrupt their communication with other colleagues and clients, making them work harder and sometimes even longer to achieve their goals. For them, overcoming obstacles in communication means increasing productivity, strengthening relationships, and ensuring better outcomes.   

Categories of communication barriers

Although some make distinctions between several categories of communication barriers, the following three stand out the most and are most likely to significantly affect effective communication and cause disruptions among communicators. They are physical, emotional, and language communication barriers. 

Physical barriers

Physical barriers refer to all the environmental and natural conditions that can disrupt effective communication. These can include time, space, and work environment, among other things. Physical barriers can particularly affect those who usually work from home, as they often have to deal with certain distractions at home as well. 

Emotional barriers

Emotional barriers to communication may arise when people hold back from expressing what they actually want. These most often stem from emotions such as anger, pride, fear, and sometimes even anxiety. 

Language barriers 

When talking about language barriers, we can make a distinction between verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as differences in the communicators’ mother tongues. A large portion of misunderstanding comes from using a certain choice of words, jargon, slang but also from a person’s literacy level and linguistic ability. 

Ways to bridge communication barriers

Being a complex phenomenon, communication often demands not only knowledge and experience, but also effort and compromise. At work and in life generally, it’s not easy to create a nurturing and comfortable setting for the exchange of information, ideas, and experiences.

With the rise of remote work, outsourcing, and freelancing, people are expected to collaborate and communicate with people of different backgrounds, nationalities, ages, and personalities. This is great for promoting diversity and multiculturality, however, it can also lead to communication collapse at some point. 

Despite all the challenges and issues, it’s possible to reduce the chances of communication disruption by implementing some techniques and methods aimed at bridging common communication obstacles. Here are some of them: 

Body language 

Body language can play an essential role in communication, particularly in one-on-one encounters and group gatherings. As the most prominent aspects of non-verbal communication, body language, and facial expressions can indeed reveal a lot to your communication partner and send them a powerful message. 

Observing the people that surround you and learning how to read body language can reduce the possibility of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Additionally, minding your own body language can also help overcome certain obstacles to communication and ensure that your message is well received and understood. 

Appropriate language use

Language use in combination with the tone of voice is something to pay special attention to. The complexity of the language can impact the way your message is understood as well as how you understand other people’s messages. If you oversimplify things, you risk leaving out important details and perhaps causing confusion. The same is true for complex language as well, especially if you use complicated words and long sentences. Finding a great balance can be problematic, however, essential to effective communication. 

Positivity and encouragement

Actively listening and, actually hearing, what others are saying reveals your interest and curiosity not only about the matter in question but also about the speaker. Having a positive attitude towards the ones you’re communicating with and using supportive words and comments will help them feel comfortable enough to express their opinions and thoughts freely and without holding back.  

If you’re a freelancer working from home, you could benefit from reassuring messages and emails while communicating with your clients as they could make everyone, including yourself, feel comfortable and appreciated.   

Communication technology 

The world of communication technology is expanding almost on a daily basis, so staying on track with the latest trends can help you avoid losing precious time and information over unread messages and unsent documents. In most cases, the purpose of communication apps and tools is to support effective communication, making sure that the exchange of information runs smoothly while reducing possible communication obstacles and issues. 

Mindfulness 

The way people communicate with each other can largely depend on their cultural background and nationality. It’s easy to succumb to certain stereotypes and biases, however, in a multicultural world, you should always try to be conscious of your communicator’s approach and behavior, especially if the culture they come from is based on different norms, beliefs, and values. 

With outsourcing, remote work, and freelancing, more and more people are exposed to multicultural working environments, so being attentive and adapting to certain cultural situations and people will lead to better interaction and collaboration. 

Seven C’s of communication 

The seven C’s define communication as clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous. If you’re someone who enjoys communicating with a lot of people during the day, either for professional or personal reasons, using the seven C’s of communication can significantly affect the quality of your interaction with others. 

Feedback 

Last, but not least - giving and receiving feedback is an integral part of successful communication. To be able to communicate effectively with others, you should be aware of the benefits of feedback and even ask for it in important situations. Ultimately, the purpose of feedback is to make sure the message was well received and understood and that there was no misunderstanding between the parties involved. 

For example, the benefits of feedback can be outstanding for content producers, such as freelance writers, content writers, and copywriters. Most writers and content producers will provide constructive feedback, ultimately ensuring that you deliver great and engaging content to your audience. 

Wrap up 

Establishing good relationships with others can sometimes be dependent on many factors. Of course, it’s not only your responsibility to always be alert and observant to avoid communication breakdown but all participants should make their contribution. 

The more time you spend communicating with people, the easier it will be to pick up your interlocutor’s vibe and adapt to the current setting. Learning how to cope with various communication setbacks that you can experience almost daily can be achieved by implementing effective methods and techniques and help you avoid serious obstacles to communication.  

Author bio:

Marija Kojic is a researcher and writer specialized in team communication and collaboration.

She enjoys helping people discover meaningful and effective ways to communicate and collaborate smarter.

Being a complex phenomenon, communication often demands not only knowledge and experience, but also effort and compromise. At work and in life generally, it’s not easy to create a nurturing and comfortable setting for the exchange of information, ideas, and experiences.

With the rise of remote work, outsourcing, and freelancing, people are expected to collaborate and communicate with people of different backgrounds, nationalities, ages, and personalities. This is great for promoting diversity and multiculturality, however, it can also lead to communication collapse at some point. 

Despite all the challenges and issues, it’s possible to reduce the chances of communication disruption by implementing some techniques and methods aimed at bridging common communication obstacles. Here are some of them: 

Body language 

Body language can play an essential role in communication, particularly in one-on-one encounters and group gatherings. As the most prominent aspects of non-verbal communication, body language, and facial expressions can indeed reveal a lot to your communication partner and send them a powerful message. 

Observing the people that surround you and learning how to read body language can reduce the possibility of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Additionally, minding your own body language can also help overcome certain obstacles to communication and ensure that your message is well received and understood. 

Appropriate language use

Language use in combination with the tone of voice is something to pay special attention to. The complexity of the language can impact the way your message is understood as well as how you understand other people’s messages. If you oversimplify things, you risk leaving out important details and perhaps causing confusion. The same is true for complex language as well, especially if you use complicated words and long sentences. Finding a great balance can be problematic, however, essential to effective communication. 

Positivity and encouragement

Actively listening and, actually hearing, what others are saying reveals your interest and curiosity not only about the matter in question but also about the speaker. Having a positive attitude towards the ones you’re communicating with and using supportive words and comments will help them feel comfortable enough to express their opinions and thoughts freely and without holding back.  

If you’re a freelancer working from home, you could benefit from reassuring messages and emails while communicating with your clients as they could make everyone, including yourself, feel comfortable and appreciated.   

Communication technology 

The world of communication technology is expanding almost on a daily basis, so staying on track with the latest trends can help you avoid losing precious time and information over unread messages and unsent documents. In most cases, the purpose of communication apps and tools is to support effective communication, making sure that the exchange of information runs smoothly while reducing possible communication obstacles and issues. 

Mindfulness 

The way people communicate with each other can largely depend on their cultural background and nationality. It’s easy to succumb to certain stereotypes and biases, however, in a multicultural world, you should always try to be conscious of your communicator’s approach and behavior, especially if the culture they come from is based on different norms, beliefs, and values. 

With outsourcing, remote work, and freelancing, more and more people are exposed to multicultural working environments, so being attentive and adapting to certain cultural situations and people will lead to better interaction and collaboration. 

Seven C’s of communication 

The seven C’s define communication as clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous. If you’re someone who enjoys communicating with a lot of people during the day, either for professional or personal reasons, using the seven C’s of communication can significantly affect the quality of your interaction with others. 

Feedback 

Last, but not least - giving and receiving feedback is an integral part of successful communication. To be able to communicate effectively with others, you should be aware of the benefits of feedback and even ask for it in important situations. Ultimately, the purpose of feedback is to make sure the message was well received and understood and that there was no misunderstanding between the parties involved. 

For example, the benefits of feedback can be outstanding for content producers, such as freelance writers, content writers, and copywriters. Most writers and content producers will provide constructive feedback, ultimately ensuring that you deliver great and engaging content to your audience. 

Wrap up 

Establishing good relationships with others can sometimes be dependent on many factors. Of course, it’s not only your responsibility to always be alert and observant to avoid communication breakdown but all participants should make their contribution. 

The more time you spend communicating with people, the easier it will be to pick up your interlocutor’s vibe and adapt to the current setting. Learning how to cope with various communication setbacks that you can experience almost daily can be achieved by implementing effective methods and techniques and help you avoid serious obstacles to communication.  

Author bio:

Marija Kojic is a researcher and writer specialized in team communication and collaboration.

She enjoys helping people discover meaningful and effective ways to communicate and collaborate smarter.