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Social barrier in communication examples. How to overcome psychological barriers in interpersonal communication


Communication has long ago become an integral part of our lives. At work, while studying, in transport, at home, on the Internet - you never know where else! It takes the lion's share our time. And everything would have been fine if not for the communication barriers. It is they, these annoying obstacles, that prevent us from receiving pleasure and benefit from it. These barriers arise in the most different situations and almost every person. Therefore, in order to achieve success in life, you need to have a good understanding of what communication barriers are and how to overcome them.

What are the difficulties in communication?

Probably, each of you has had the feeling that the interlocutor seemed to be defending himself, erecting an invisible wall between you. This wall is the very notorious barrier. Where do they come from? Communication barriers appear in our lives for various reasons - as a rule, they are a close interweaving of the characteristics of our characters and situations. And sometimes you can’t figure out who or what is to blame.

As mentioned above, almost every person has encountered problems in various communication situations, regardless of their gender, age, social status, values ​​and attitudes. This can only mean one thing - the reasons why communication barriers arise are different, and they are present in the life of every person.

These reasons may or may not be realized by communicating people. This largely determines how quickly these people will notice that they have problems, understand what kind of problems they are and finally be able to solve them. By the way, barriers to communication may even be created by one or more interlocutors - and even this is enough to cause failures in interaction with each other.

It must be said that some barriers may be more common than others in certain people and in certain situations. They may be characteristic of a certain gender, age, profession, nationality, culture, situation. Each of these patterns is worthy of separate consideration, but we will not do this within the scope of our article.

So, what are the main types of communication barriers?

Communication barriers. These are barriers to communication associated with the exchange of information between interlocutors during communication. What are they?

Semantic barrier. It gets in your way when you and your interlocutor mean completely different things by the same concepts. Such a barrier arises almost always and everywhere, because We understand many things very differently. For example, for one girl, a good husband is one who loves her, takes care of her, earns enough money, wants a child, loves spending time with her; and for the other - the one who rarely drinks and rarely hits her. Therefore, speaking on the same topic - “how all men are the same!” – they will actually talk about different things and may encounter misunderstandings of each other. In order to destroy this barrier, it is necessary to understand well the partner and his picture of the world - the meanings that he puts into various concepts. In case of possible inaccuracies, always explain in detail what you mean and try to use words and phrases that the interlocutor understands.

Logical barrier. Essentially, it is the inability to express one's thoughts. In the speech of such a person, cause-and-effect relationships are confused and concepts are substituted. Or it may be difficult for him to find words for those complex thoughts that run through his head. If you encounter such an interlocutor, then be patient: listen to him very carefully and ask questions - this will help you get necessary information. If you yourself are guilty of this peculiarity, then it is better to try to get rid of it. Listen to how good speakers or writers express their thoughts, read a textbook on logic, sign up for a public speaking course, or simply ask friends to give you feedback with recommendations - any of these options will help you become a more attractive interlocutor.

Phonetic barrier. This is a bad speaking technique - when it is not clear what the interlocutor is saying, and this interferes with the perception of information. If you are interested in communicating with this person, then there are several options. When formal or business communication you will have to adapt to his manner of speaking, occasionally asking again in unclear moments. In informal or friendly communication, you can gently convey to your interlocutor that it is difficult for you to understand him due to some features of his speech. Ask him, if possible, to adapt to you and adjust them.

Modality barrier. We all receive information from the world through five senses, but one of them has priority. This is your modality. For example, people with a visual modality best assimilate information they see, but information they hear is much worse. Knowing this, try to immediately determine the modality of your interlocutor and use it: show graphs and diagrams to the visual learner, play with your voice with the auditory learner, and touch the kinesthetic learner more often and show everything “on your fingers.” Use appropriate verbs in your speech - for example, “see”, “hear” or “feel”.

Personal barrier. Each of us has a character, and some of its traits may not suit someone. But for some, these traits are so sharp that their character can be a barrier to communication. This may be due to ignorance of one's own characteristics or a lack of self-control. For example, excessive slowness or, conversely, fussiness can irritate communication partners. In case you yourself encounter such a person, try to communicate your discomfort and ask him to be slower or faster. Well, try to adequately perceive your own shortcomings, because... For some, they too can become a barrier.

Barriers to interaction. These are barriers associated with interaction with a person during communication and arising from dissatisfaction with the behavior of a communication partner. As a rule, there are significant differences in the positions of the interlocutors.

Motivational barrier. It occurs when communication partners have different motives for entering into contact. For example, you want support from a friend, and she wants you to discuss her new dress. In this case, you may encounter misunderstandings and even quarrel. To prevent this from happening, it will be useful to indicate your own motives in time: “You know, now I really need you to support me, and then we’ll discuss the dress.”

Barrier of incompetence. Often found in working together. You may be angry at your partner's incompetence when he starts saying stupid things that are obvious to you. This causes feelings of anger, frustration and wasted time. You have two options - either gradually push him to a deeper understanding of the issue (for example, by unobtrusively explaining something), or curtail communication. The choice is yours, and it depends on your goals.

Ethical barrier. It occurs in a situation of incompatibility between the moral positions of communication partners. The main thing is not to try to re-educate or ridicule your interlocutor. It is much more correct to curtail communication or try to find some kind of compromise, especially if you have some important common goal.

Communication style barrier. Each of us has our own unique style. It depends on temperament, character, upbringing, profession and other factors. As a rule, it takes a long time to form, and then it becomes difficult to change. Communication style includes the main motive (why are you communicating - self-affirmation, support, etc....), attitude towards others (kindness, tolerance, cruelty...), attitude towards oneself and the nature of the influence on people (pressure, manipulation, persuasion and etc...). Most often, we simply have to accept another person’s communication style, since it is difficult to change, and communication is often necessary.

Barriers to understanding and perception. These are barriers associated with perceiving and knowing each other, as well as establishing mutual understanding on this basis.

Aesthetic barrier. It occurs when we don’t like the way our interlocutor looks. There are various reasons for its occurrence, for example, if he is untidy or sloppily dressed or something in his appearance irritates us. It can be difficult not to think about it, but it is necessary, because this contact can be very important for us.

Social barrier. Difficulties in communication can be caused by different social status partners. However, it is important to remember here that the appearance of such a barrier is primarily associated with attitudes in the minds of the interlocutors. If they place importance on each other's social status and find it to be a barrier, this can complicate communication. But for many situations, status is not important - for example, to discuss some of your favorite activities or support each other.

Barrier of negative emotions. Agree, it is quite difficult to communicate with an upset or angry person. Many of us tend to take these emotions personally (at least partially). Here it is necessary to remember that often the reason bad mood the interlocutor lies in some other things - the situation in the family, problems at work or a personal crisis. However, if the negative emotions of the interlocutor significantly impede the conversation, it is better to postpone it for another time.

Installation barrier. Very often, communication is complicated if your partner initially does not have a very good opinion of you. In most cases, the best thing to do would be to discuss this issue and honestly ask your interlocutor about it, try to explain to him that he is mistaken. In situations where this is impossible, just try to take this fact into account and build your communication with your partner quite carefully. When some time passes and he realizes that his attitude is not supported by anything, it may disappear by itself.

The “double” barrier. It lies in the fact that we involuntarily think of our interlocutor as ourselves: we attribute to him our opinions and views and expect from him the same actions that we ourselves would do. But he is different! It is important not to forget about this and try to perceive and remember everything that distinguishes him from us.

Rudeness and ignorance. We all encounter people who are simply poorly mannered. Sometimes you just need to endure such treatment, especially when a person does not respond to comments. It is very important to remain polite in such a situation - sometimes this in itself stops rudeness. Remember that you have some kind of goal in communicating with such a person, and this is clearly not the desire to put him in his place.

Inability to listen. It manifests itself as a lack of interest in what you are saying, an urge to talk about yourself, or constant interruption. If in such a situation you need a bloody nose to be listened to, try to speak better. Use various ways attracting attention: intonation, facial expressions, gestures, basics of NLP.

Who is he, a person who regularly encounters communication barriers?

We told you about the main barriers that prevent people from having fruitful communication. However, have you noticed that some people constantly have some difficulties related to communication, while for others everything goes like clockwork?

Indeed, there are types of character that significantly complicate interaction with other people. As a rule, such a person behaves in a similar way in completely different situations. And then he himself complains that no one wants to communicate with him. In this case, the personality of this person acts as a barrier to communication.

What are the main features of this character? First of all, it is necessary to talk about such a feature as global mistrust. Such a person does not trust himself, nor people, nor the world in general. He is suspicious and opposed to others. As a rule, he achieves his goals at the expense of other people. At the same time, he is often torn apart by internal contradictions, which he is not very aware of. A person who is unsuccessful in communication is characterized by self-centeredness, authoritarianism and a tendency to manipulate.

He loves to be praised when he gets what he has long wanted. He has possessive traits. If his desires are not satisfied, he gets angry, but at the same time he almost never helps other people achieve their goals and does not sympathize with them. Such a person is emotionally unstable, and his mood often changes. Those around him describe him as irritable and hot-tempered, but internally cold. He often experiences negative emotions and has low level self-control.

This person does not understand others and their feelings well. He is insensitive to what happens to them and has low insight and observation. He is not given the opportunity to understand that something else may be important to the interlocutor or that he understands the meaning of this or that phrase differently. Often he is not able to predict and evaluate the future. He is characterized by timidity, isolation, self-doubt, alienation, passivity, and lack of initiative.

Usually such a person turns out to be intolerant, poorly educated and ignorant. At the same time, he thinks in very rigid categories and frameworks, and the surrounding reality should not go beyond them. He has a lot of stereotypes. He is envious and at the same time vain. Expects a lot from other people, prone to outbursts of jealousy.

He does not know how to justify his statements, choose for them adequate form, establish and break contact with others. Unsuccessful in communication, a person does not know how to give good feedback. He talks a lot and listens little, periodically makes unacceptably long pauses in his speech, likes to interrupt his interlocutors and then “slow down” (this is due to the fact that his vocabulary does not correspond to what he wants to say).

They often find it incomprehensible to him social norms– he does not know how to keep his distance, is prone to blackmail, lies, pressure and aggression. Most often in communication he uses the following strategies: defense and avoidance of communication, devaluation of the opinions of others and aggression, control over others or excessive formalism. Such a person can be described as immature, infantile, and sometimes immoral.

As a rule, this person is not very happy with his life and successes. Any failures cause anger and aggression in him, as a result of which he often tries to achieve his goals by some immoral means. He doesn't value himself or other people. He lacks the ability to truly love and form close relationships, so he usually does not have friends or loved ones.

Indeed, the psychological portrait we have drawn is terrible and reminiscent of the image of some kind of criminal or outcast. But in one sense or another, this is true. Constant difficulties in communication are a symptom that a person has something wrong within himself. But it is far from certain that he will have all the traits and features listed above. The psychological portrait written above is collective, and it includes a great many different people with a common problem. Therefore, in life you can only observe some individual features and characteristics.

Difficulties in communication and life situation

However, everything depends not only on the personality and character of a person. There are situations in which almost all of us become uncomfortable. This is reflected in all our behavior, including communication with other people. In this case, the barrier is the situation that caused discomfort and its characteristics.

Finding yourself in such circumstances, all participants in communication feel uncomfortable. Some people are aware of this to a greater extent, and others to a lesser extent. At the same time, they do not just feel it - by accident or on purpose they prevent each other from satisfying their desires and achieving the goals of communication. As a result of this, everyone is worried, angry, does not understand each other, and is generally tense. Most often this happens in situations of restriction, refusal, blame and insult (which, in general, is not surprising).

On the one hand, collective memory takes its toll. Humanity in general and the inhabitants of Russia in particular have repeatedly experienced suppression, repression, war, and famine. Therefore, insults, accusations, restrictions and refusals are very clearly imprinted in the minds of people, who subsequently use them more and more often to resolve conflicts, overcome obstacles, gain power and even seek happiness. This is becoming a typical way for an entire nation to react, globally speaking.

On the other hand, having such a negative memory becomes unnecessary when we have such a rich culture of aggression. Probably each of you will agree that in modern society a lot of attention is paid to aggression. All kinds of media are especially guilty of this - television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, advertising companies. The culture of aggression is also becoming increasingly popular due to certain features of our lives: overcrowding in schools, hospitals and prisons, high level unemployment, low qualifications of people working with the population, low wages and lack of career prospects, corruption, poor quality of government work and much more, which you know firsthand. You all face this and know that these situations are always fraught with barriers to communication.

How to understand that a barrier has appeared in communication?

Of course, being inside the situation, this is not difficult to do. In the process of difficult communication, you experience discomfort, distrust of your partner, you cannot open up, show emotions, you do not know what to say - in general, such communication cannot be called easy. However, if you need to assess the presence of psychological barriers, then knowledge of how people behave in situations of difficult communication will be very useful.

Our non-verbal language acts as such an external indicator. Hostility, craving for power and dominance, insincerity and the desire to stand out are especially clearly manifested in it. As we already wrote above, our subject who is unsuccessful in communication can experience this whole gamut of feelings and desires. In what specific signs are all its negative traits manifested?

1. Firstly, this is eye contact. In the case of communication barriers, they are usually rare, low-intensity, and sometimes completely absent. Glances at the partner may be present (sometimes even prolonged), but they all occur at the moment of active communication - especially when the interlocutor expresses something unpleasant, but important. Moreover, if the interlocutor begins to look away, sensing something is wrong, our “subject” will immediately try to pretend to be a sweetheart and look into them - but this look will actually be cold and hard.

2. Secondly, this is a pose. Having felt difficulties in communication, people often take either unnatural, angular and tense postures, or, on the contrary, inadequately relaxed, sometimes even slack. Very often the body position is closed (crossed arms, legs, the body turns away from the interlocutor) or “elevated” (the desire to sit higher, look down at the interlocutor).

3. Thirdly, gestures. As a rule, they are sharp and intense, which is also unnatural. There is a clearly expressed desire to hide your hands (for example, in your pockets or behind your back), clench your hands into fists, “grab” or take up more space for yourself through posture and gestures. This may be interspersed with private touching of oneself and another.

4. Fourthly, facial expressions. The face often expresses tension. The facial expressions are strange - for example, the mouth can smile, but the eyes remain motionless. In general, the face is characterized by expressions that demonstrate distrust and hostility towards the interlocutor, as well as contempt and anger.

Of course, a person experiencing communication difficulties does not always behave this way. These are only the most typical and striking markers, and from them one can conclude not only that there are barriers to interaction, but also about the interlocutors themselves - about their attitude towards each other and about their goals and guidelines in communication.

How to overcome communication difficulties?

So, we moved on to the most interesting part - how to step over psychological barriers. Difficulties in communication are not an easy thing, but they can be overcome. "How?" - you ask. And we will tell you about some ways and techniques to overcome communication barriers.

Watch your appearance. This doesn't mean you always have to look like a movie star on the red carpet. On the contrary, in many situations it will be pretentious and unnatural. Your appearance should be attractive. This is facilitated by neatness, neatness and the ability to wear things that really suit you.

The manner of communication should be appropriate to the situation and people. Agree, it would be a bad move if at a disco you communicate with everyone with restraint and sternly, but at negotiations - cheerfully and without distance. Consider the characteristics of your interlocutor: his age, gender, upbringing, character and views. For example, you should not wear a short skirt to meet a Muslim.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of your communication partner and try to understand his point of view. As you probably already understand, we are all different from each other. The same things have completely different meanings for us, and we understand them just as differently. This is where most of the barriers come from. Most The right way The solution to such problems is to allow the other to be different and different from you, and also try to understand his position, even if you do not agree with it.

Train empathy and sensitivity. This, accordingly, is the ability to empathize with other people and feel what is happening to them down to the smallest changes in their condition. These two traits are the key to success in communication.

Don't expect from your partners what they can't give you. This way you only cause resentment in yourself and guilt in others for what was not given to you. Try to want real things from your partners that match their characteristics, and tell them about your expectations.

Don’t try to fully meet your partner’s expectations yourself. Firstly, it is boring, and secondly, it is very difficult, and it is impossible to exist like this for a long time. It’s better to be as natural as possible, but taking into account the interlocutor and social norms.

Watch your words. Your messages should be logically connected, contain information that is interesting to the interlocutor, and be based on something common - for example, a general understanding of the meaning of words or some kind of minimal common memory. Your speech should be understandable to the interlocutor both in the literal sense and in the sense of being consistent with his or her horizons.

Be open and honest about your thoughts, feelings and expectations. If you are asked for something, and you are already sure of your refusal, it is better to voice it immediately. This way, neither you nor the interlocutor will waste time and resources.

The “look from the outside” technique. Sometimes, in order to understand something (for example, to realize what exactly is interfering with your communication with your partner), you need to look at the situation from the outside, describe it in abstract words without introducing your emotions and personal characteristics.

Respect your partner. Even if he annoys you incredibly, try to be creative and find something that will make you respect him. It could be some little thing, for example, his manner of emphasizing individual words with intonation. Or something more serious - for example, a very rude person who spends half of his income on charity. You can find something good and worthy of respect in any person, and if you can’t do this, then you should think about it – do you really need this communication?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing in life that you can communicate without barriers only with pleasant people. As a rule, we all somehow find ourselves in situations where these difficulties arise. The task facing you at this moment is to feel the barrier, determine its type and apply the method that most effectively eliminates it. Be calm, confident, tolerant of the weaknesses of others and try not to get into conflict situations!

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on the topic of:

    How to understand that a barrier has appeared in communication?

Of course, being inside the situation, this is not difficult to do. In the process of difficult communication, we experience discomfort, distrust of our partner, we cannot open up, show emotions, we do not know what to say - in general, such communication cannot be called easy. However, if we need to assess the presence of psychological barriers, then knowledge of how people behave in situations of difficult communication will be very useful.

Our non-verbal language acts as such an external indicator. Hostility, craving for power and dominance, insincerity and the desire to stand out are especially clearly manifested in it. This manifests itself as follows:

    First is eye contact. It is usually rare, non-intense, and sometimes completely absent.

    Secondly, it's posture. Having felt difficulties in communication, people often take either unnatural, angular and tense postures, or, on the contrary, inadequately relaxed, sometimes even slack. Very often the body position is closed (crossed arms, legs, the body turns away from the interlocutor) or “elevated” (the desire to sit higher, look down at the interlocutor).

    Thirdly, gestures. As a rule, they are sharp and intense, which is also unnatural. There is a clearly expressed desire to hide your hands (for example, in your pockets or behind your back), clench your hands into fists, “grab” or take up more space for yourself through posture and gestures. This may be interspersed with private touching of oneself and another.

    Fourthly, facial expressions. The face often expresses tension. The facial expressions are strange - for example, the mouth can smile, but the eyes remain motionless. In general, the face is characterized by expressions that demonstrate distrust and hostility towards the interlocutor, as well as contempt and anger.

Of course, a person experiencing communication difficulties does not always behave this way. These are only the most typical and striking markers, and from them one can conclude not only that there are barriers to interaction, but also about the interlocutors themselves - about their attitude towards each other and about their goals and guidelines in communication.

    Ways to overcome communication barriers.

Having analyzed the literature studied on the identified problem, andknowingclassification of barriers to communication, their characteristics can determine ways to overcome them.

Thus, to overcome barriers in communication it is necessary:

    Watch your appearance. This doesn't mean you always have to look like a movie star on the red carpet. On the contrary, in many situations it will be pretentious and unnatural. Appearance should evoke sympathy. This is facilitated by neatness, neatness and the ability to wear things that really suit.

    Take into account the characteristics of the interlocutor: his age, gender, upbringing, character and views. Choose a communication style that suits the situation and people.

    Try to put yourself in the shoes of your communication partner and try to understand his point of view. The most correct way to solve problems of communication barriers is to allow the other person to be different and different from you, and also try to understand his position, even if you do not agree with it.

    Train empathy and sensitivity. This, accordingly, is the ability to empathize with other people and feel what is happening to them down to the smallest changes in their condition. These two traits are the key to success in communication.

    Expect from your partners what they can give you, real things that correspond to their characteristics. Tell them about your expectations.

    Do not try to fully meet your partner’s expectations. It is better to be as natural as possible, but taking into account the interlocutor and social norms.

    Watch your words. Messages should be logically connected, contain information that is interesting to the interlocutor, and be based on something common - for example, a general understanding of the meaning of words or some kind of minimal common memory. Speech must be understandable to the interlocutor both in the literal sense and in the sense of compliance with his horizons.

    Be open and honest about your thoughts, feelings and expectations. If you are asked for something, and you are already sure of your refusal, it is better to voice it immediately. This way, neither you nor the interlocutor will waste time and resources.

    Apply the “look from the outside” technique. Sometimes, in order to understand something (for example, to realize what exactly is interfering with your communication with your partner), you need to look at the situation from the outside, describe it in abstract words without introducing your emotions and personal characteristics.

    Respect your communication partner. Even if he annoys you incredibly, you need to show your imagination and find something that will make you respect him. It could be some little thing, for example, his manner of emphasizing individual words with intonation. Or something more serious - for example, a very rude person who spends half of his income on charity. You can find something good and worthy of respect in any person, and if you can’t do this, then you should think about it – do you really need this communication?

Conclusion.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing in life that you can communicate without barriers only with pleasant people. As a rule, we all somehow find ourselves in situations where these difficulties arise. The task facing us at this moment is to feel the barrier, determine its type and apply the method that most effectively eliminates it. In fact, communication barriers are only an obstacle until we think about how to overcome them. More practice, attention to your interlocutor, sincere interest in what they tell you, and half the problem will be solved!

Bibliography

    Antsupov A. Ya., Shipilov A. I. Conflictology.- M.: UNITY. 1999.

    Bodalev, A.A. Formation of the concept of another person as a person / A.A. Bodalev. – L., 1970.

    Vasilyuk, F.E. Psychology of experience. Analysis of overcoming critical situations / F.E. Vasilyuk. – M., 1984.

    Fundamentals of conflictology. / Ed. Kudryavtseva V.N. - M.: Yurist, 1997.

    Parygin, B.D. Anatomy of communication: Textbook. allowance / B.D. Parygin.
    – St. Petersburg: Publishing house of Mikhailov V.A., 1999.

    Workshop on socio-psychological training / Ed. B.D. Parygina. – Ed. 2nd, rev. and additional – St. Petersburg, 1997.

    Tannen, D. You don't understand me! / D. Tannen. – M., 1996.

    Whiteside, R. What people are talking about / R. Whiteside. – St. Petersburg, 1999

    Reader on social psychology. / Ed. Kutasova T.V. - M.: Moscow State University. 1994.

    Tsibulskaya M.V. et al. Conflictology. - M.: MGIESI, 1998.

The main types of communication barriers include interaction barriers, barriers of perception and understanding, as well as communication barriers.

For example, a motivational barrier can arise between interlocutors if one is interested in the subject of conversation, and the other is interested in another topic. Therefore, it is important from the very beginning to understand what worries your interlocutor, and not just you. The famous psychologist, Dale Carnegie, said that if you go fishing, you should grab worms, not candy. In other words, try to understand your friend’s problem, and don’t just talk about your own.

Much in a conversation also depends on psychological barriers to communication. For example, a girl never had a father (her parents divorced), so when communicating with the opposite sex she will experience embarrassment, which, in turn, can be mistaken for a reluctance to make contact.

Psychological barriers to communication are too individual to be identified at first glance. It is important that a person himself tries to understand what is preventing him from becoming a free, open person. Overcoming barriers in communication is possible at any age, since the main thing is to finally find out what is the obstacle between you and your interlocutor. But the reasons for the emergence of communication barriers can be both psychological trauma and upbringing received in the family; in addition, even the character of a person, his attitude towards people in general can become decisive.

· Semantic barrier. It gets in your way when you and your interlocutor mean completely different things by the same concepts. Such a barrier arises almost always and everywhere, because We understand many things very differently. For example, for one girl, a good husband is one who loves her, takes care of her, earns enough money, wants a child, loves spending time with her; and for the other - the one who rarely drinks and rarely hits her. Therefore, speaking on the same topic - “how all men are the same!” – they will actually talk about different things and may encounter misunderstandings of each other. In order to destroy this barrier, it is necessary to understand well the partner and his picture of the world - the meanings that he puts into various concepts. In case of possible inaccuracies, always explain in detail what you mean and try to use words and phrases that the interlocutor understands.

· Logical barrier. Essentially, it is the inability to express one's thoughts. In the speech of such a person, cause-and-effect relationships are confused and concepts are substituted. Or it may be difficult for him to find words for those complex thoughts that run through his head. If you encounter such an interlocutor, then be patient: listen to him very carefully and ask questions - this will help you get the necessary information. If you yourself are guilty of this peculiarity, then it is better to try to get rid of it. Listen to how good speakers or writers express their thoughts, read a textbook on logic, sign up for public speaking courses, or simply ask friends to give you feedback with recommendations - any of these options will help you become a more attractive interlocutor.

· Phonetic barrier. This is a bad speaking technique - when it is not clear what the interlocutor is saying, and this interferes with the perception of information. If you are interested in communicating with this person, then there are several options. During formal or business communication, you will have to adapt to his manner of speaking, occasionally asking again in unclear moments. In informal or friendly communication, you can gently convey to your interlocutor that it is difficult for you to understand him due to some features of his speech. Ask him, if possible, to adapt to you and adjust them.

· Modality barrier. We all receive information from the world through five senses, but one of them has priority. This is your modality. For example, people with a visual modality best assimilate information they see, but information they hear is much worse. Knowing this, try to immediately determine the modality of your interlocutor and use it: show graphs and diagrams to the visual learner, play with your voice with the auditory learner, and touch the kinesthetic learner more often and show everything “on your fingers.” Use appropriate verbs in your speech - for example, “see”, “hear” or “feel”.

· Personal barrier. Each of us has a character, and some of its traits may not suit someone. But for some, these traits are so sharp that their character can be a barrier to communication. This may be due to ignorance of one's own characteristics or a lack of self-control. For example, excessive slowness or, conversely, fussiness can irritate communication partners. In case you yourself encounter such a person, try to communicate your discomfort and ask him to be slower or faster. Well, try to adequately perceive your own shortcomings, because... For some, they too can become a barrier.

Barriers to interaction. These are barriers associated with interaction with a person during communication and arising from dissatisfaction with the behavior of a communication partner. As a rule, there are significant differences in the positions of the interlocutors.

· Motivational barrier. It occurs when communication partners have different motives for entering into contact. For example, you want support from a friend, and she wants you to discuss her new dress. In this case, you may encounter misunderstandings and even quarrel. To prevent this from happening, it will be useful to indicate your own motives in time: “You know, now I really need you to support me, and then we’ll discuss the dress.”

· Barrier of incompetence. Often found in teamwork. You may be angry at your partner's incompetence when he starts saying stupid things that are obvious to you. This causes feelings of anger, frustration and wasted time. You have two options - either gradually push him to a deeper understanding of the issue (for example, by unobtrusively explaining something), or curtail communication. The choice is yours, and it depends on your goals.

· Ethical barrier. It occurs in a situation of incompatibility between the moral positions of communication partners. The main thing is not to try to re-educate or ridicule your interlocutor. It is much more correct to curtail communication or try to find some kind of compromise, especially if you have some important common goal.

· Communication style barrier. Each of us has our own unique style. It depends on temperament, character, upbringing, profession and other factors. As a rule, it takes a long time to form, and then it becomes difficult to change. Communication style includes the main motive (why are you communicating - self-affirmation, support, etc....), attitude towards others (kindness, tolerance, cruelty...), attitude towards oneself and the nature of the influence on people (pressure, manipulation, persuasion and etc...). Most often, we simply have to accept another person’s communication style, since it is difficult to change, and communication is often necessary.

Barriers to understanding and perception. These are barriers associated with perceiving and knowing each other, as well as establishing mutual understanding on this basis.

· Aesthetic barrier. It occurs when we don’t like the way our interlocutor looks. There are various reasons for its occurrence, for example, if he is untidy or sloppily dressed or something in his appearance irritates us. It can be difficult not to think about it, but it is necessary, because this contact can be very important for us.

· Social barrier. The reason for difficulties in communication may be the different social status of partners. However, it is important to remember here that the appearance of such a barrier is primarily associated with attitudes in the minds of the interlocutors. If they place importance on each other's social status and find it to be a barrier, this can complicate communication. But for many situations, status is not important - for example, to discuss some of your favorite activities or support each other.

· Barrier of negative emotions. Agree, it is quite difficult to communicate with an upset or angry person. Many of us tend to take these emotions personally (at least partially). Here it is necessary to remember that often the reason for the bad mood of the interlocutor lies in some other things - the situation in the family, problems at work or a personal crisis. However, if the negative emotions of the interlocutor significantly impede the conversation, it is better to postpone it for another time.

· Installation barrier. Very often, communication is complicated if your partner initially does not have a very good opinion of you. In most cases, the best thing to do would be to discuss this issue and honestly ask your interlocutor about it, try to explain to him that he is mistaken. In situations where this is impossible, just try to take this fact into account and build your communication with your partner quite carefully. When some time passes and he realizes that his attitude is not supported by anything, it may disappear by itself.

· The “double” barrier. It lies in the fact that we involuntarily think of our interlocutor as ourselves: we attribute to him our opinions and views and expect from him the same actions that we ourselves would do. But he is different! It is important not to forget about this and try to perceive and remember everything that distinguishes him from us.

· Rudeness and ignorance. We all encounter people who are simply poorly mannered. Sometimes you just need to endure such treatment, especially when a person does not respond to comments. It is very important to remain polite in such a situation - sometimes this in itself stops rudeness. Remember that you have some kind of goal in communicating with such a person, and this is clearly not the desire to put him in his place.

· Inability to listen. It manifests itself as a lack of interest in what you are saying, an urge to talk about yourself, or constant interruption. If in such a situation you need a bloody nose to be listened to, try to speak better. Use different ways to attract attention: intonation, facial expressions, gestures, NLP basics.


Related information.


Communication has long ago become an integral part of our lives. At work, while studying, in transport, at home, on the Internet - you never know where else! It takes up the lion's share of our time. And everything would have been fine if not for the communication barriers. It is they, these annoying obstacles, that prevent us from receiving pleasure and benefit from it. These barriers arise in a wide variety of situations and in almost every person. Therefore, in order to achieve success in life, you need to have a good understanding of what communication barriers are and how to overcome them.

What are the difficulties in communication?

Probably, each of you has had the feeling that the interlocutor seemed to be defending himself, erecting an invisible wall between you. This wall is the very notorious barrier. Where do they come from? Communication barriers appear in our lives for various reasons - as a rule, they are a close interweaving of the characteristics of our characters and situations. And sometimes you can’t figure out who or what is to blame.

As mentioned above, almost every person has encountered problems in various communication situations, regardless of their gender, age, social status, values ​​and attitudes. This can only mean one thing - the reasons why communication barriers arise are different, and they are present in the life of every person.

These reasons may or may not be realized by communicating people. This largely determines how quickly these people will notice that they have problems, understand what kind of problems they are and finally be able to solve them. By the way, barriers to communication may even be created by one or more interlocutors - and even this is enough to cause failures in interaction with each other.

It must be said that some barriers may be more common than others in certain people and in certain situations. They may be characteristic of a certain gender, age, profession, nationality, culture, situation. Each of these patterns is worthy of separate consideration, but we will not do this within the scope of our article.

So, what are the main types of communication barriers?

Communication barriers. These are barriers to communication associated with the exchange of information between interlocutors during communication. What are they?

  • Semantic barrier. It gets in your way when you and your interlocutor mean completely different things by the same concepts. Such a barrier arises almost always and everywhere, because We understand many things very differently. For example, for one girl, a good husband is one who loves her, takes care of her, earns enough money, wants a child, loves spending time with her; and for the other - the one who rarely drinks and rarely hits her. Therefore, speaking on the same topic - “how all men are the same!” – they will actually talk about different things and may encounter misunderstandings of each other. In order to destroy this barrier, it is necessary to understand well the partner and his picture of the world - the meanings that he puts into various concepts. In case of possible inaccuracies, always explain in detail what you mean and try to use words and phrases that the interlocutor understands.
  • Logical barrier. Essentially, it is the inability to express one's thoughts. In the speech of such a person, cause-and-effect relationships are confused and concepts are substituted. Or it may be difficult for him to find words for those complex thoughts that run through his head. If you encounter such an interlocutor, then be patient: listen to him very carefully and ask questions - this will help you get the necessary information. If you yourself are guilty of this peculiarity, then it is better to try to get rid of it. Listen to how good speakers or writers express their thoughts, read a textbook on logic, sign up for public speaking courses, or simply ask friends to give you feedback with recommendations - any of these options will help you become a more attractive interlocutor.
  • Phonetic barrier. This is a bad speaking technique - when it is not clear what the interlocutor is saying, and this interferes with the perception of information. If you are interested in communicating with this person, then there are several options. During formal or business communication, you will have to adapt to his manner of speaking, occasionally asking again in unclear moments. In informal or friendly communication, you can gently convey to your interlocutor that it is difficult for you to understand him due to some features of his speech. Ask him, if possible, to adapt to you and adjust them.
  • Modality barrier. We all receive information from the world through five senses, but one of them has priority. This is your modality. For example, people with a visual modality best assimilate information they see, but information they hear is much worse. Knowing this, try to immediately determine the modality of your interlocutor and use it: show graphs and diagrams to the visual learner, play with your voice with the auditory learner, and touch the kinesthetic learner more often and show everything “on your fingers.” Use appropriate verbs in your speech - for example, “see”, “hear” or “feel”.
  • Personal barrier. Each of us has a character, and some of its traits may not suit someone. But for some, these traits are so sharp that their character can be a barrier to communication. This may be due to ignorance of one's own characteristics or a lack of self-control. For example, excessive slowness or, conversely, fussiness can irritate communication partners. In case you yourself encounter such a person, try to communicate your discomfort and ask him to be slower or faster. Well, try to adequately perceive your own shortcomings, because... For some, they too can become a barrier.

Barriers to interaction. These are barriers associated with interaction with a person during communication and arising from dissatisfaction with the behavior of a communication partner. As a rule, there are significant differences in the positions of the interlocutors.

  • Motivational barrier. It occurs when communication partners have different motives for entering into contact. For example, you want support from a friend, and she wants you to discuss her new dress. In this case, you may encounter misunderstandings and even quarrel. To prevent this from happening, it will be useful to indicate your own motives in time: “You know, now I really need you to support me, and then we’ll discuss the dress.”
  • Barrier of incompetence. Often found in teamwork. You may be angry at your partner's incompetence when he starts saying stupid things that are obvious to you. This causes feelings of anger, frustration and wasted time. You have two options - either gradually push him to a deeper understanding of the issue (for example, by unobtrusively explaining something), or curtail communication. The choice is yours, and it depends on your goals.
  • Ethical barrier. It occurs in a situation of incompatibility between the moral positions of communication partners. The main thing is not to try to re-educate or ridicule your interlocutor. It is much more correct to curtail communication or try to find some kind of compromise, especially if you have some important common goal.
  • Communication style barrier. Each of us has our own unique style. It depends on temperament, character, upbringing, profession and other factors. As a rule, it takes a long time to form, and then it becomes difficult to change. Communication style includes the main motive (why are you communicating - self-affirmation, support, etc....), attitude towards others (kindness, tolerance, cruelty...), attitude towards oneself and the nature of the influence on people (pressure, manipulation, persuasion and etc...). Most often, we simply have to accept another person’s communication style, since it is difficult to change, and communication is often necessary.

Barriers to understanding and perception. These are barriers associated with perceiving and knowing each other, as well as establishing mutual understanding on this basis.

  • Aesthetic barrier. It occurs when we don’t like the way our interlocutor looks. There are various reasons for its occurrence, for example, if he is untidy or sloppily dressed or something in his appearance irritates us. It can be difficult not to think about it, but it is necessary, because this contact can be very important for us.
  • Social barrier. The reason for difficulties in communication may be the different social status of partners. However, it is important to remember here that the appearance of such a barrier is primarily associated with attitudes in the minds of the interlocutors. If they place importance on each other's social status and find it to be a barrier, this can complicate communication. But for many situations, status is not important - for example, to discuss some of your favorite activities or support each other.
  • Barrier of negative emotions. Agree, it is quite difficult to communicate with an upset or angry person. Many of us tend to take these emotions personally (at least partially). Here it is necessary to remember that often the reason for the bad mood of the interlocutor lies in some other things - the situation in the family, problems at work or a personal crisis. However, if the negative emotions of the interlocutor significantly impede the conversation, it is better to postpone it for another time.
  • Installation barrier. Very often, communication is complicated if your partner initially does not have a very good opinion of you. In most cases, the best thing to do would be to discuss this issue and honestly ask your interlocutor about it, try to explain to him that he is mistaken. In situations where this is impossible, just try to take this fact into account and build your communication with your partner quite carefully. When some time passes and he realizes that his attitude is not supported by anything, it may disappear by itself.
  • The “double” barrier. It lies in the fact that we involuntarily think of our interlocutor as ourselves: we attribute to him our opinions and views and expect from him the same actions that we ourselves would do. But he is different! It is important not to forget about this and try to perceive and remember everything that distinguishes him from us.
  • Rudeness and ignorance. We all encounter people who are simply poorly mannered. Sometimes you just need to endure such treatment, especially when a person does not respond to comments. It is very important to remain polite in such a situation - sometimes this in itself stops rudeness. Remember that you have some kind of goal in communicating with such a person, and this is clearly not the desire to put him in his place.
  • Inability to listen. It manifests itself as a lack of interest in what you are saying, an urge to talk about yourself, or constant interruption. If in such a situation you need a bloody nose to be listened to, try to speak better. Use different ways to attract attention: intonation, facial expressions, gestures, NLP basics.

Who is he, a person who regularly encounters communication barriers?

We told you about the main barriers that prevent people from having fruitful communication. However, have you noticed that some people constantly have some difficulties related to communication, while for others everything goes like clockwork? Indeed, there are types of character that significantly complicate interaction with other people. As a rule, such a person behaves in a similar way in completely different situations. And then he himself complains that no one wants to communicate with him. In this case, the personality of this person acts as a barrier to communication.

What are the main features of this character? First of all, it is necessary to talk about such a feature as global mistrust. Such a person does not trust himself, nor people, nor the world in general. He is suspicious and opposed to others. As a rule, he achieves his goals at the expense of other people. At the same time, he is often torn apart by internal contradictions, which he is not very aware of. A person who is unsuccessful in communication is characterized by self-centeredness, authoritarianism and a tendency to manipulate.

He loves to be praised when he gets what he has long wanted. He has possessive traits. If his desires are not satisfied, he gets angry, but at the same time he almost never helps other people achieve their goals and does not sympathize with them. Such a person is emotionally unstable, and his mood often changes. Those around him describe him as irritable and hot-tempered, but internally cold. He often experiences negative emotions and has low levels of self-control.

This person does not understand others and their feelings well. He is insensitive to what happens to them and has low insight and observation. He is not given the opportunity to understand that something else may be important to the interlocutor or that he understands the meaning of this or that phrase differently. Often he is not able to predict and evaluate the future. He is characterized by timidity, isolation, self-doubt, alienation, passivity, and lack of initiative. Usually such a person turns out to be intolerant, poorly educated and ignorant. At the same time, he thinks in very rigid categories and frameworks, and the surrounding reality should not go beyond them. He has a lot of stereotypes. He is envious and at the same time vain. Expects a lot from other people, prone to outbursts of jealousy.

He does not know how to give reasons for his statements, choose an adequate form for them, or establish and stop contact with others. Unsuccessful in communication, a person does not know how to give good feedback. He talks a lot and listens little, periodically makes unacceptably long pauses in his speech, likes to interrupt his interlocutors and then “slow down” (this is due to the fact that his vocabulary does not correspond to what he wants to say). Social norms are often incomprehensible to him - he does not know how to keep his distance, and is prone to blackmail, lies, pressure and aggression. Most often in communication he uses the following strategies: defense and avoidance of communication, devaluation of the opinions of others and aggression, control over others or excessive formalism. Such a person can be described as immature, infantile, and sometimes immoral.

As a rule, this person is not very happy with his life and successes. Any failures cause anger and aggression in him, as a result of which he often tries to achieve his goals by some immoral means. He doesn't value himself or other people. He lacks the ability to truly love and form close relationships, so he usually does not have friends or loved ones.

Indeed, the psychological portrait we have drawn is terrible and reminiscent of the image of some kind of criminal or outcast. But in one sense or another, this is true. Constant difficulties in communication are a symptom that a person has something wrong within himself. But it is far from certain that he will have all the traits and features listed above. The psychological portrait written above is collective, and it includes a great many different people with a common problem. Therefore, in life you can only observe some individual features and characteristics.

Difficulties in communication and life situation

However, everything depends not only on the personality and character of a person. There are situations in which almost all of us become uncomfortable. This is reflected in all our behavior, including communication with other people. In this case, the barrier is the situation that caused discomfort and its characteristics.

Finding yourself in such circumstances, all participants in communication feel uncomfortable. Some people are aware of this to a greater extent, and others to a lesser extent. At the same time, they do not just feel it - by accident or on purpose they prevent each other from satisfying their desires and achieving the goals of communication. As a result of this, everyone is worried, angry, does not understand each other, and is generally tense. Most often this happens in situations of restriction, refusal, blame and insult (which, in general, is not surprising).

On the one hand, collective memory takes its toll. Humanity in general and the inhabitants of Russia in particular have repeatedly experienced suppression, repression, war, and famine. Therefore, insults, accusations, restrictions and refusals are very clearly imprinted in the minds of people, who subsequently use them more and more often to resolve conflicts, overcome obstacles, gain power and even seek happiness. This is becoming a typical way for an entire nation to react, globally speaking.

On the other hand, having such a negative memory becomes unnecessary when we have such a rich culture of aggression. Probably, each of you will agree that in modern society a lot of attention is paid to aggression. All kinds of media are especially guilty of this - television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, advertising companies. The culture of aggression is also becoming increasingly popular due to some features of our life: overcrowding in schools, hospitals and prisons, high unemployment, low qualifications of people working with the population, low salaries and lack of career prospects, corruption, poor quality of government and much more, about which you know firsthand. You all face this and know that these situations are always fraught with barriers to communication.

How to understand that a barrier has appeared in communication?

Of course, being inside the situation, this is not difficult to do. In the process of difficult communication, you experience discomfort, distrust of your partner, you cannot open up, show emotions, you do not know what to say - in general, such communication cannot be called easy. However, if you need to assess the presence of psychological barriers, then knowledge of how people behave in situations of difficult communication will be very useful.

Our non-verbal language acts as such an external indicator. Hostility, craving for power and dominance, insincerity and the desire to stand out are especially clearly manifested in it. As we already wrote above, our subject who is unsuccessful in communication can experience this whole gamut of feelings and desires. In what specific signs are all its negative traits manifested?

  1. First is eye contact. In the case of communication barriers, they are usually rare, low-intensity, and sometimes completely absent. Glances at the partner may be present (sometimes even prolonged), but they all occur at the moment of active communication - especially when the interlocutor expresses something unpleasant, but important. Moreover, if the interlocutor begins to look away, sensing something is wrong, our “subject” will immediately try to pretend to be a sweetheart and look into them - but this look will actually be cold and hard.
  2. Secondly, it's posture. Having felt difficulties in communication, people often take either unnatural, angular and tense postures, or, on the contrary, inadequately relaxed, sometimes even slack. Very often the body position is closed (crossed arms, legs, the body turns away from the interlocutor) or “elevated” (the desire to sit higher, look down at the interlocutor).
  3. Thirdly, gestures. As a rule, they are sharp and intense, which is also unnatural. There is a clearly expressed desire to hide your hands (for example, in your pockets or behind your back), clench your hands into fists, “grab” or take up more space for yourself through posture and gestures. This may be interspersed with private touching of oneself and another.
  4. Fourthly, facial expressions. The face often expresses tension. The facial expressions are strange - for example, the mouth can smile, but the eyes remain motionless. In general, the face is characterized by expressions that demonstrate distrust and hostility towards the interlocutor, as well as contempt and anger.

Of course, a person experiencing communication difficulties does not always behave this way. These are only the most typical and striking markers, and from them one can conclude not only that there are barriers to interaction, but also about the interlocutors themselves - about their attitude towards each other and about their goals and guidelines in communication.

http://youtu.be/fcT_0gI-dn8

How to overcome communication difficulties?

So, we moved on to the most interesting part - how to step over psychological barriers. Difficulties in communication are not an easy thing, but they can be overcome. "How?" - you ask. And we will tell you about some ways and techniques to overcome communication barriers.

Watch your appearance. This doesn't mean you always have to look like a movie star on the red carpet. On the contrary, in many situations it will be pretentious and unnatural. Your appearance should be attractive. This is facilitated by neatness, neatness and the ability to wear things that really suit you.

The manner of communication should be appropriate to the situation and people. Agree, it would be a bad move if at a disco you communicate with everyone with restraint and sternly, but at negotiations - cheerfully and without distance. Consider the characteristics of your interlocutor: his age, gender, upbringing, character and views. For example, you should not wear a short skirt to meet a Muslim.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of your communication partner and try to understand his point of view. As you probably already understand, we are all different from each other. The same things have completely different meanings for us, and we understand them just as differently. This is where most of the barriers come from. The most correct way to solve such problems is to allow the other to be different and different from you, and also try to understand his position, even if you do not agree with it.

Train empathy and sensitivity. This, accordingly, is the ability to empathize with other people and feel what is happening to them down to the smallest changes in their condition. These two traits are the key to success in communication.

Don't expect from your partners what they can't give you. This way you only cause resentment in yourself and guilt in others for what was not given to you. Try to want real things from your partners that match their characteristics, and tell them about your expectations.

Don’t try to fully meet your partner’s expectations yourself. Firstly, it is boring, and secondly, it is very difficult, and it is impossible to exist like this for a long time. It’s better to be as natural as possible, but taking into account the interlocutor and social norms.

Watch your words. Your messages should be logically connected, contain information that is interesting to the interlocutor, and be based on something common - for example, a general understanding of the meaning of words or some kind of minimal common memory. Your speech should be understandable to the interlocutor both in the literal sense and in the sense of being consistent with his or her horizons.

Be open and honest about your thoughts, feelings and expectations. If you are asked for something, and you are already sure of your refusal, it is better to voice it immediately. This way, neither you nor the interlocutor will waste time and resources.
The “look from the outside” technique. Sometimes, in order to understand something (for example, to realize what exactly is interfering with your communication with your partner), you need to look at the situation from the outside, describe it in abstract words without introducing your emotions and personal characteristics.

Respect your partner. Even if he annoys you incredibly, try to be creative and find something that will make you respect him. It could be some little thing, for example, his manner of emphasizing individual words with intonation. Or something more serious - for example, a very rude person who spends half of his income on charity. You can find something good and worthy of respect in any person, and if you can’t do this, then you should think about it – do you really need this communication?

The same phrase can be said and perceived in different ways. A question uttered in a raised voice will be defined by the interlocutor as angry. If you say the same phrase in a half-whisper, people will see it as flirting. Therefore, sometimes the decisive role in communication is played not by the words themselves, but by accompanying factors.

1. Perceptual barrier

Perceptual barrier - barrier of perception. The mood in which we are spoken to directly affects the effectiveness of communication.

Problem

The indifferent tone and disinterest conveyed by you form a skeptical attitude in the interlocutor about the success of the conversation and discourage him from having a conversation with you. The same goes for people who explain their point of view without respect or with hard-to-conceal or not-at-all hostility.

Solution

Start the conversation on a positive note and try to maintain it throughout the conversation. Use appropriate gestures, smile, and remember to make eye contact with your interlocutor.

2. Behavioral barrier

The opinion of others about us directly affects the level of assimilation of our words and the likelihood of effective dialogue. Based on his attitude towards you, the interlocutor may abstract himself from the topic of the conversation or partially ignore the information.

Problem

A pompous tone is the cause of hostility on the part of the interlocutor. If all information is passed through the lens of condescension, it harms communication and spoils the impression of the speaker. Low self-esteem can also cause a barrier.

Solution

Treat your interlocutor as your equal. Be sure to praise the person for a job well done, even if you think you could have done it better yourself. Don't forget about eye contact and a smile.

3. Language barrier

A language barrier arises not only between speakers of different languages, but also between people with different levels of competence in any field.

Problem

If the interlocutor uses unfamiliar words in his speech, you are unlikely to be able to understand him. Using jargon when talking to interns will not ensure understanding on their part and will instill in them uncertainty about their own suitability. If you explain the solution to a problem to a child the same way you would tell an adult, this will also lead to a sad result: the child will not be able to solve a similar problem again, his ability to think and get to the truth gradually will suffer.

Solution

Simplify your speech to the level of the interlocutor, without showing the condescension characteristic of people with high self-esteem.

4. Emotional barrier

An emotional barrier arises from insecurity, anger, sadness, or even excessive joy. Problems at home can impact work communications, and vice versa.

Problem

When experiencing emotional stress, we ourselves do not notice that we are missing some information and how our ability to analyze and reason suffers. When we are out of sorts, we become irritable towards the words of the interlocutor, and excessive joy during a work dialogue can lead to the approval of a frankly bad idea.

Solution

Rise above yours and don't let them influence your interactions with other people. When in a state of emotional stress, try to conduct a neutral conversation with your interlocutor.

5. Cultural barrier

When communication occurs between representatives of different cultures, the likelihood of a cultural barrier occurring is high. But cultural differences are manifested not only in communication with foreigners or representatives of other faiths.

Problem

Incorrect communication with a person of a different nationality or religion may offend his beliefs. Stories about Friday night parties can ruin the mood of a person for whom alcohol is contraindicated. Trying to explain to an older person the meaning of a popular YouTube video may be met with misunderstanding.

Solution

Try to study the interlocutor in advance and conduct the conversation as tactfully as possible. If there is a high risk of blurting out something wrong, try to explain to your interlocutor face to face that you are not too familiar with his culture.

6. Gender barrier

The reason for misunderstanding may be differences in communication and thinking. Women tend to think intuitively, while men tend to think logically. Thus, women like to talk about people and emotions, while men focus on something physical and measurable. These stereotypes, of course, do not apply to everyone.

Problem

What is acceptable with a man may be unethical with a woman. A male boss may be skeptical of women's professional skills, allowing stereotypes to interfere with communication. This way, he risks not only offending his interlocutors, but also misassessing the work situation.

This effect also works in the opposite direction: the attitude towards the words of a charming woman may be unfairly inflated.

Solution

Do not divide your interlocutors by gender. Treat all genders as equals.