CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

By  Lawrence Sunday Ogwang

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

Communication breakdown is failure in communication due to different barriers in communication. These barriers may be related to: source, message, medium and the receiver. There are very many possible causes of communication breakdown at different levels as hereby noted below:

a)     

 SOURCE/SENDER:

Perception of the sender:

 Perception is generally how each individual interprets the world around him or her. All generally want to receive messages which are significant to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. A same event may be taken differently by different individuals. So, if the sender does not consider the perception of the receiver, there can easily be a communication break down because of this difference in perception.

Language choice (Diction):

The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Some words may mean different things to different individuals. This brings in what is called semantic problem. Semantics is the systematic study of meaning. For example: consider a word “value”. Depending on how it is used, it can easily be misinterpreted by the receiver. So, the sender must take great care not to use words that may mean something else to the receiver.

Vague communication:

 Abstract and ambiguous communication is sometimes done purposefully and sometimes because people lack clarity of thought. For example, when someone says, “80% of the task is complete”, often it’s found that there is no systemic way for this calculation. This results in different people interpreting the same number differently leading to a dangerous trend. It is imperative for communication to be specific. If clarity is not attended to, sometimes communication breakdown is inevitable.

Offensive Communication:

It is quite obvious that offensive style of communication leads to communication breakdown. It is a rather sensitive point. If the encoder sends a message in such a way that the decoder become defensive or feels offensive, their relations get strained and communication suffers. Hence it is absolutely necessary for the sender to adopt a persuasive style of communication.

Lack of Planning:

Communication is not a casual affair. Unfortunately many people take it lightly. The result is that the message to be sent across may not be carefully planned hence, communication breakdown. There are innumerable examples of people who would give an ill-planned, long-winding lecture while a short presentation with tables or graphs would be sufficient. Such an event would turn into one of miscommunication or breakdown. In the same way, some people may not care to choose a suitable time and place that are so necessary for effective communication.

Frame of reference:

This is the way an individual mind is shaped by his or her culture, education, age, gender, background beliefs and others. This can lead to communication breakdown if the sender or the encoder does not consider his frame of reference and that of the receiver. The sender`s frame of reference may not be the same as that of the receiver hence affecting the way the communication is to be effected.

 Emotions:

Emotions play a very important role in our life. Both encoding and decoding of messages are influenced by our emotions. A message received when we are emotionally worked up will have a different meaning for us than when we are calm and composed. Anger is the worst emotion and enemy of communication. Communicating under a very strong emotion of anger, may lead to communication breakdown as our message may not be received with respect it deserves.

Status-consciousness:

The attitudes and opinions, place in society and status-consciousness arising from one’s position in the hierarchical structure of the organization, one’s relations with peers, seniors, juniors and family background—all these deeply affect one’s ability to communicate both as a sender and receiver. Status consciousness is widely known to be a serious communication barrier in organizations. It leads to psychological distancing which further leads to breakdown of communication or miscommunication.

Context:

Context is the situation within which one communicates. It is a stimulus that pushes one to communicate. It includes: social, culture, internal or external factors and so on. Every communication either written or spoken begins with a context. Context can also contribute to communication breakdown if not utilized well.

Sending Irrelevant Information:

Workplace communication needs to be targeted for it to be effective. When receivers get a bunch of information that doesn’t apply, they

simply tune off. This is a big problem when that information is necessary for receivers to effectively complete the task at hand. This may lead to communication breakdown.

b)     MESSAGE:

At the message level, communication can break down due to the following conditions:

Lengthy or disorganized message:

People prefer short and organized messages. Lengthy and disorganized messages usually put people off track and many people will lose interest in such messages. This can surely lead to communication breakdown and disinterestedness in the message sent.

Complex or ambiguous language:

Clarity of the message is very vital in any communication. But if the message is unclear and complex or even ambiguous in nature, the receiver is most likely to be confused. And once confused, then the message will never be taken as it ought to have been. Communication is not effected in this sense, hence breakdown in communication. So the sender of the message should ensure clarity and avoid ambiguous messages.

Inconsistent body language:

In non-verbal communication where sometimes the body language is used to convey a message, there is need for consistency in that body language for the message to be taken properly. If there is inconsistency, it is true that the message can be taken out of proportion and context, hence leading to communication breakdown.

Noise obstruction:

Noise refers to distortion in any communication process. Noise can take different forms like; physical noise that is created by physical factors, misspelling, bad pronunciations. In this case, physical noise is our focus. When there is noise, the message is distorted and when the message is distorted, there is apparently communication collapse. Noise blockade therefore, is one dynamic that occasions a breakdown at message level.

c)      MEDIUM

Loss by Transmission:

Communication often suffers or gets diluted when messages pass on from person to person in a series of transmissions. They get diluted on the way. In most cases, when message is transmitted this way, communication breakdown occurs because by the time the message reaches the intended receiver, the meaning is lost. Special care has to be taken that the intended message reaches the person concerned.

Poor handwriting:

When the communicator chooses to write down his message, there is likelihood that communication can easily breakdown especially when the handwriting of the sender is poor. In the same vein, care must be taken when writing down the intended communication.

Inappropriate choice of the medium:

A wrong medium or an inappropriate medium chosen for communicating a message will act as a barrier to communication. Complementing one medium of communication with another appropriately can help overcome communication barrier caused by the medium chosen. An oral reminder in person or over the telephone followed up with a written letter can easily produce the desired response or expected reaction. In the same way, a communication to journalism class at UMU cannot be taken to NTV. This can easily cause a breakdown in communication.

Poor communication gadgets:

Many factors have to be considered when choosing a system for communication. It is generally agreed that poor communication gadgets (address system) can hinder communication. Care must be taken in the choice of communication system in order to enhance but not breakdown communication.

d)     RECEIVER

Semantic Problems:

Semantics is the systematic study of meaning. That is why the problems arising from expression or transmission of meaning in communication are called semantic problems. Oral or written communication is based on words. It is always necessary for the meaning in the mind of the sender to be the same as in the mind of receiver. Communications breakdown if the meaning in the sender`s mind does not correspond to the meaning in the receiver`s mind.

Emotions:

Emotions play a very important role in our life. Both encoding and decoding of messages are influenced by our emotions. A message received when we are emotionally worked up will have a different meaning for us than when we are calm and composed. Anger is the worst emotion and enemy of communication. A message received under strong emotion can easily lead to communication breakdown.

Noise:

Noise is the first and foremost barrier to communication. It means “interference that occurs in a signal and prevents you from hearing sounds properly.” In a factory, for example, the continuous noise made by machines makes oral communication difficult. In the same way some technical problem in a public address system or a static in a telephone or television cable will distort the sound signal and affect communication. Adverse weather conditions or some fault in the ultramodern telecommunication systems may also spoil the effect. Hence, communication breakdown.

Physical disability:

When oral communication is used and the receiver has a physical disability or challenge especially in hearing, the communication is not taken or understood. Hence, the intended message does not reach the receiver because of his disability. This therefore, causes communication breakdown at the receiver`s level. Every communicator must take into consideration the status of the receiver. This will help in knowing what type of communication is appropriate for the receiver.

Information Overload:

Information overload occurs when the information processing demands on an individual’s time to perform interactions and internal calculations exceed the supply or capacity of time available for such processing. This unchecked inflow of information very often becomes another barrier to communication leading to a breakdown. It may stifle the senior executive or bore and frustrate him. When people are bogged down with too much information they are likely to make errors.

Poor Listening:

Poor listening may lead to serious communication problems. Too many people are interested in talking, and mostly talking about themselves. They are so much involved with themselves that they do not have patience to listen. The result is that they are not interested in the speaker whose words go waste. Everybody knows about the importance of listening, but very few actually practice patient, active and empathic listening. That is why so many communication problems crop up. Poor listening accounts for incomplete information and also poor retention. One may simply not get the desired result if this keeps on happening.

Selective Perception:

Most of the receivers of any information have selective perception. It means that the receivers selectively see and hear depending upon their needs, background, motivations, experience and other personal characteristics. While decoding the messages, most of the receivers protect their own interests and expectations into the process of communication leading to a particular kind of feedback that may become a communication problem.

In conclusion, communication is very important in any human relation. There is need to always guard against this communication breakdown. We must therefore be very careful to make sure that our communication is effective and efficient by avoiding creating a barrier for others or communicating within a barrier.