Barriers to Communication and Causes of Communication Failure in Businesses

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Barriers to communication can occur if the recipient has failed to convey the meaning or / and the importance of the message.

Sender breakdown – too much information is being sent, so the recipient misses key points. Also, language can be difficult to understand, as it can be too complex.
Method breakdown – when information is very detailed or complicated, then written instructions are better than messages which can be misinterpreted.
Recipient breakdown – the recipient deliberately makes a choice to misinterpret the message because of their attitude to either the sender to the message at hand.

Other problems with communication could be:

Long chain of command.
Language - complex, and hard to understand.
Vague purpose – not detailed enough, more explanation required
Inappropriate medium (method used, e.g. written, electronically etc).
Red tape – message gets passed on to many different people before finally reaching the recipient making the process too long and the message changing. Also, actions can be delayed as a result of a late arrival of the message.
Status of two parties – can be intimidated by the other person’s status because of their gender, age etc.
Location – distance of recipient or where message has to reach.
Distraction – Communication channels breaking up.