How to Overcome Barriers to Communication

Source: wikiHow

Communication barriers can make any kind of relationship more difficult, whether it’s one you have at work, a friendship, or one with your spouse. Breaking down those barriers will help you have a happier, healthier relationship overall. Work on your listening skills and approach each discussion with honesty and an open mind.

Also, do your best to communicate as clearly as you can with the other person, and you will find you’re communicating more effectively.

1 Speak slowly and clearly without jargon and idioms. It’s easy to get caught up in technical language and jargon when you’re used to talking that way around your team. However, not everyone will be able to follow that language, so it’s important to state things as simply as you can. That way, you include everyone when you’re speaking.^[1]
- This rule doesn’t just apply to technical jargon. You should also avoid big words that aren’t common and idioms, particularly when you’re talking with non-native speakers. Idioms, in particular, can be difficult to cut out of your language, but they are equally difficult for non-native speakers to understand.
- For instance, saying, “It’s raining cats and dogs” isn’t going to make a lot of sense to a non-native speaker, as it uses an English idiom. Instead, you might say, “The rain is coming down really hard outside.”
2 Provide pictures to make communicating concepts easier. Whether you’re having trouble explaining a difficult concept or you’re speaking to a group of people with different native languages, pictures can be the solution.
Pictures and diagrams make it easier to get your point across, ensuring everyone is on the same page.^[2]
- For instance, if you’re trying to explain a new product, showing pictures or videos of how it works can be more effective than just talking about it.
3 Hire translators when speaking different languages is causing miscommunication. When you speak another language from people you’re working with, translators are often a necessity. Even if you speak a common language, nuances can be lost when you or the other people you’re working with don’t speak the common language very well. A translator or translation service can make your life easier and help avoid misunderstandings.^[3]
4 Offer classes to non-native speakers in your workplace. If you have people who don’t speak the local language very well, that can create communication barriers at work. On-site classes during the work week make it easier for people to work on their new language, and in turn, that will make workplace communication easier.^[4]
- Even an informal class taught by someone in the workplace can help if you don’t want to hire someone from the outside.
- This concept also works well the other way. If you have a sister office in India, for instance, offer classes in your office to learn Hindi to make it easier to communicate with your sister team members.^[5]
5 Say things more than once for emphasis to introduce a complicated concept. When you’re trying to get a concept across, repeating it more than once will help it stick in the listeners’ minds. Even if you have no language barriers, many people need to hear a difficult concept several times for it to make sense.^[6]
- Try not to repeat the same thing word-for-word. Rather, re-state it in a different way, just in case someone didn’t understand the way you explained it the first time.
- For instance, you might say, “Our new…