Managing communication: nature, process, types and barriers
Communication is the transfer and understanding of meaning. It flows through a sender-receiver process with feedback, and barriers such as filtering and overload must be managed.
Nature of communication
Robbins and Coulter define communication as the transfer and understanding of meaning. Meaning must be understood, not just sent. Interpersonal communication takes place between two or more people; organizational communication covers all the patterns, networks and systems inside an organization. Communication serves four functions: control (rules and reporting lines), motivation (goals and feedback), emotional expression (sharing feelings) and information (data for decisions).
The interpersonal communication process
- back to Sender
Robbins lists seven elements: sender, encoding, message, channel, decoding, receiver and feedback. Noise is anything that disturbs the message.
Types of organizational communication
| Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Formal | Follows the official chain of command or is required by the job | A circular from head office |
| Informal | Not defined by the hierarchy | Chatting in the canteen |
| Downward | From managers to employees | Instructions, policies, performance feedback |
| Upward | From employees to managers | Reports, suggestions, complaints |
| Lateral | Among employees at the same level | Production and marketing heads coordinating |
| Diagonal | Across both work areas and levels | A sales executive emailing the finance manager directly |
| Grapevine | The informal network that carries news and rumours | Talk of a bonus spreading before the announcement |
Methods of interpersonal communication
- Face-to-face talks and meetings: rich, with immediate feedback.
- Telephone and video calls: quick; video adds visual cues.
- Written: letters, memos, reports and notices: permanent and can be checked.
- Electronic: email, instant messaging, intranet and social media: fast and wide-reaching.
- Nonverbal: body language (gestures, facial expressions) and verbal intonation (tone and emphasis).
- Choose the method by the feedback needed, complexity, confidentiality, cost, formality and speed.
Barriers and how to overcome them
| Barrier | Meaning | How to overcome |
|---|---|---|
| Filtering | The sender shapes information to look good to the receiver | Open culture, fewer levels, more than one source |
| Selective perception | The receiver sees and hears what suits them | Use feedback: ask the receiver to restate the message |
| Information overload | More information than a person can process | Prioritize, summarize, send fewer messages |
| Emotions | Strong feelings distort meaning | Constrain emotions; wait until calm |
| Defensiveness | Feeling threatened and reacting with anger or sarcasm | Supportive tone; focus on the issue, not the person |
| Language | Jargon and words that mean different things to different people | Simplify language; know the audience |
| National culture | Different styles and norms of communication | Learn cultural norms; listen actively; watch nonverbal cues |
Sri Lankan workplaces often use three languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English. A head-office circular in English may be misread on an estate or factory floor, a classic language barrier. Good practice is to issue notices in all three languages and have supervisors explain them face to face and check understanding through feedback.
Short answer: “What is the grapevine?” The informal communication network in an organization; it spreads news and rumours quickly and is often partly accurate.
Structured question: “Explain the barriers to effective interpersonal communication.” Filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotions, defensiveness, language and national culture, with one example each.
Essay: “Explain the communication process. Discuss the barriers to effective communication and ways of overcoming them.” Define communication, draw the seven-element process with noise and feedback, explain the barriers, then the remedies: feedback, simple language, active listening, controlled emotions, nonverbal cues.
Process: 'Sri Exporters Make Ceylon Dilmah Really Famous' = Sender, Encoding, Message, Channel, Decoding, Receiver, Feedback. Robbins' five remedies: 'Five Simple Listening Exercises Now' = Feedback, Simplify language, Listen actively, Emotions constrained, Nonverbal cues.