What are the barriers to communication?

Common Barriers to Effective Communication:

• The use of jargon: Over-complicated, unfamiliar and/or technical terms.
• Emotional barriers and taboos: Some people may find it difficult to express their emotions and some topics may be completely 'off-limits' or taboo. Taboo or difficult topics may include, but are not limited to, politics, religion, disabilities (mental and physical), sexuality and ***, racism and any opinion that may be seen as unpopular.
• Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the receiver.
• Differences in perception and viewpoint.
• Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.
• Physical barriers to non-verbal communication: Not being able to see the non-verbal cues, gestures, posture and general body language can make communication less effective. Phone calls, text messages and other communication methods that rely on technology are often less effective than face-to-face communication.
• Language differences and the difficulty in understanding unfamiliar accents.
• Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions or stereotyping: People often hear what they expect to hear rather than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusions. Our page The Ladder of Inference explains this in more detail.
• Cultural differences: The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed. For example, the concept of personal space varies between cultures and between different social settings. See our page on Intercultural Awareness for more information.