WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION BARRIERS TRAINING PROGRAMME

Workplace Communication Barriers Training Programme

Workplace Communication Barriers Training Programme

Introduction

The challenge of communication begins when a baby inhales its first breath and exhales a cry. Mothers anticipate the babies every need by watching body language and listening for various cries. Parents enjoy mouthing simple words; waiting for that first cooing sound that means “Ma Ma or Da Da” is on the language horizon. At first the words are simple but before long those toddlers are increasing their vocabulary on a daily basis. Communication is a constant work in progress throughout our lives both professionally and personally. Communication is expressing our thoughts, emotions, knowledge, and expertise so that others can understand; developing listening skills in order to understand communication from other sources. Technology has developed many tools to assist with communication but it is our responsibility to execute effective communication and build strong relationships in the family, workplace, community, nation, and the world(Brown, 1992).

Discussion

In today's high tech communication environment, it is hard to believe that effective communication is still a major challenge facing organizations. Our modes of communication have come a long way from the pen and paper, smoke signals, telegraph, and pony express. Today, we enjoy the convenience of technological devices such as cell phones, computers, and faxes, which allow us to be globally connected within seconds. Yet, from the president to the pauper we have difficulty effectively communicating information.

Why is effective communication such a challenge with all our advancements in technology? We need to define communication before answering that question. We make the mistake that much talking equals much communication and that is a wrong assumption. There are contributing factors that influence effective communication. First, we are all different and perceive communication through personal filters that are affected by diversity, knowledge, experiences, and biases. Next, both the sender and receiver must take responsibility for understanding communication. Finally, we need to take time to develop and perfect communication skills.

Our team decided to analyze the problem of effective communication in the workplace since we all face that challenge in our respective organizations. This problem is evidenced by confused, disgruntled, unmotivated, and sometimes angry employees. The meetings, emails, teleconferencing, and newsletters do not effectively inform employees.

There are many pitfalls that lead to ineffective communication. First, management is quick to tell employees what procedures must be changed, but fail to share why the decision was made, leaving employees feeling confused, devalued, and angry. Another pitfall happens in the way information is communicated. Sometime the presenter does not have strong communication skills and therefore the verbiage is wrong or comes across as condescending. Body language often speaks louder than words and can portray an unintended message. Poor communication between departments can also cause a confusion and hardship. Then there is the employee getting different instructions from several supervisors. This will directly affect employees' motivation and performance. Finally, those listening to the communication can be distracted by thoughts, noise factors, perceptions, and biases; missing important facts shared in the ...