Page 35 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

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Understanding Communication | 23

mind and that of your receiver. To understand each other, you and your
receiver must share similar meanings for words, gestures, tone of voice, and
other symbols. Effective communicators do all they can to deal with barri-
ers such as differences in perception and language, poor listening, emotional
interference, cultural differences, and physical distractions. Let us look at
each of these barriers in detail.

Differences in Perception and Language
The world around us constantly bombards us with sights, sounds, and other
characteristic elements. Our minds organize this stream of sensations into a
mental map that represents our perception of reality. Even when two people
have experienced the same event, their mental images of that event will not
be identical. Because your perceptions are unique, the ideas you want to
express may differ from that of the other people. As a sender, you choose the
details that seem important to you, a process known as selective perception.
As a receiver, you try to fit new details into your existing pattern. If a detail
doesn’t quite fit, you are inclined to distort the information rather than rear-
range the pattern.
Language is an arbitrary code that depends on shared definitions.
However, there is a limit to how completely any two people can share the
same meaning for a given word.

Poor Listening

Although most of us think we know how to listen, in actuality many of us
are poor listeners. We all let our minds wander every now and then, as also
we are especially likely to drift off when we are forced to listen to informa-
tion that is difficult to understand or that has little direct bearing on our own
lives. If we are tired or concerned about other matters, we are even more
likely to lose interest.

Emotional Interference

It is difficult to shape a message when you are upset, hostile, or fearful. Your
ideas and feelings often get in the way of being objective. Likewise, if the other
person is emotional, he or she may ignore or distort your message. Although
it is practically impossible to avoid all communication when emotions are
involved, you should be alert about the greater potential for misunderstand-
ing that accompanies emotional messages.

Cultural Differences
Communicating with someone from another country is probably the most
extreme example of how different backgrounds and cultures may impede

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