Five Barriers to Effective Communication

• Topics Covered: five most common communication

barriers

• Using jargon

• Becoming polarized

• Screening out constructive feedback

• Bluffing

• Idea crushing

Verbal Barriers

Team members sometimes unconsciously sabotage their own effectiveness. This can happen for several reasons:

• they use a lot of technical jargon, which distances people

• they use ambiguous language so others won't know when

they're uncertain about something

• they block out criticism they don't want to hear from others

• they have a hard time compromising their points of view,

which can cause group polarization, and

• they shoot down team members' ideas without considering

whether those ideas might work

Using Jargon

Using jargon – People often try to impress others with their use of

technical jargon, which can include everything from acronyms to

technical terms. If it's something that new team members or other

stakeholders won't be familiar with, it's jargon. But this ploy usually

backfires because very few people understand what's being said. In

fact, it usually makes them feel isolated and keeps them from getting

vital information they need. Whenever possible, limit your use of

jargon. If you have to use it, be sure to explain your terms.

Becoming Polarized

Becoming polarized – Teams can become polarized – broken

into opposing groups – when one or more team members

can't or won't compromise. When the team is split over an

issue, communication between "camps" doesn't flow

smoothly. Progress is destroyed, and productivity and morale

are diminished. This often leads to increased levels of team

conflict. If your team encounters polarization, defuse it

through open discussion.

Screening

Screening – If anyone on your team seems to block out

constructive criticism from team members, even if they have a

valid point, this person is engaging in screening. Screening

keeps you from feeling hurt, but it also keeps you from

learning about things you should change to be a more

effective team member. To counteract this defensive behavior,

the team needs a culture of trust. And the person doing the

screening must learn to listen to his teammates.

Bluffing

Bluffing – People often make up responses when asked

questions they don't know the answers to. This is called

bluffing – pretending you know what you're talking about

when you don't. You may end up giving people incorrect

information, which could damage the project. Bluffing

destroys your credibility, and people will stop listening to

you even when you do know what you're talking about. To

avoid this pitfall, encourage team members to admit

ignorance rather than try to bluff their way through

conversations. Do this by modeling the desired behavior.

Crushing Ideas

Crushing ideas – A common communication barrier involves crushing

ideas – offering automatic and undue criticism of any new idea a team

member comes up with. Crushers like to come up with reasons why

something won't work instead of figuring out how to make it work.

You've probably heard these reasons before – "it'll never work," "it's

been done before," and "the boss won't approve it" are all examples of

crushing ideas. This can have a negative effect on team communication,

and you might not always be able to change idea crushers' attitudes. You

want team members who are committed to the team and who don't

constantly crush the ideas of other people. At the same time, you don't

want team members who are easily discouraged by negative comments

either.