Tourism and Hospitality

Barriers to communication

Communication problems

When you ask a question do you always get the answer you were looking for? - not always! In the 'real' world things can go wrong. Have you ever sent a message that was not understood or not delivered? Can you identify the reasons it was lost, delayed, misunderstood or rejected?

Some of the most common communication breakdowns occur because of the following situations:

Using the wrong words - For example, 'It won't cost you much at all' can be ambiguous. ('Not much' can mean different things to different people.)

Communication chain too long - The more people a message is passed to, the more changes can occur to it. Each time the message is transmitted to another person each person adds his or her own interpretation, often resulting in the last person receiving a message with a different meaning from that originally meant.

Priority clashes - A worker may receive several instructions in a short space of time. It may not be clear which action has priority.

Message overload - This can occur when too many messages are given at once or too quickly. The receiver does not have sufficient time to decode the message before receiving the next one.

Using industry jargon - Each industry has its own jargon. A new staff member, regardless of their skills and ability, will experience difficulty and confusion when confronted with jargon with which they are unfamiliar.

Culturally based language - Guests and staff from different backgrounds may experience communication problems when specific terms are used that are unknown to them.

Causes of ineffective listening and communication

There are many factors that prevent us from listening effectively. These are often referred to as barriers to listening and may cause communication problems.

Ineffective communication

Ineffective listening and communication may be a result of the following barriers:

• environmental factors such as lighting, temperature and the surrounding noise level.
• the tone, level, speed and type of language a person uses.
• The length of time it takes to deliver the message.
• The use of unfamiliar colloquialisms or jargon
• the listener's emotions - they may not listen to you if they are upset or distressed.
• how the listener perceives the sender, whether they like the person, and whether they think the person knows what they are talking about.
• a physical condition that affects concentration and/or limits the amount of information the listener can take in or comprehend.
• The listener perception of the interest level or relevance of the information.

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