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Bypass a Barrier to Effective Communication
Don’t let your words be a barrier to effective communication. Avoid employee confusion by selecting words carefully at work.
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Step 2. Sender Encodes Message
Now that you know your intention (for more information about the six steps of the
Communication Process Diagram,
scroll to the bottom of this page), select words that communicate your idea. This step is called encoding.
Remember as kids when you got a de-coder ring in a box of Cracker Jacks? It was so cool because every kid had the same ring. But, our parents didn't. So, we could communicate with any kid anywhere, and our parents had no idea what we were writing or saying.
Unfortunately, as adults, we all got different de-coder rings. Here's yet another business communication problem.
The average word in the English language has five different meanings. When you say or write a word with the intention of using meaning # 2, your receiver could think you are using meaning # 5. No rules were broken, but a barrier to effective communication surfaces.
Simple Words Can be a Barrier to Effective Communication
A man in one of my trainings called his wife from the Los Angeles airport because they had tickets to a basketball game in Albuquerque that night. He said, "Meet me at the gate." She replied, "Okay."
You know what happened. He was at the airport gate, and she was at the venue gate. How long did he wait for her? "A long time!"
We each speak a distinct language based on everything that makes us unique:
- age,
- gender,
- ethnicity,
- interests,
- education,
- occupation,
- every place we ever lived, and
- every experience we ever had in our life.
Words Mean Different Things to Different People
A close high school friend of mine died in a waterfall accident when we were 17. For most people, waterfalls connote calm and beauty. For me, waterfalls are scary and sad.
I'm not suggesting that you check the emotional valence of every word you use with each one of your employees. Doing THAT would be a barrier to effective communication. For example:
Phil, how do you feel about paper? File folders? Ever had any traumatic experiences with whiteout?
Simply become aware of the words you use and who you use them with. Do you think a former Army Brat hears words and reads body language differently than someone who grew up on a commune? Sure he does.
Tips to Bypass a Barrier to Effective Communication
To avoid a business communication problem:
1. Notice when your words get the desired results, and notice when they don’t. Look for patterns. If an approach isn’t working, change it.
2. Reduce jargon when communicating with new employees or people from other departments who use a totally different jargon.
3. Select words carefully when communicating with an employee who:
- Is new,
- You are delegating a new task to, or
- You don't get along with.
Give Yourself a Score on Step 2
Keeping all of your direct reports in mind, how often do you take their background into mind when selecting words for a message? You can use grades like A, B, C, D or F. Or you can use percentages like 30%, 65% or 87% of the time.
If you didn't score very high on this step, you can make up for it in Step 6 when you ask for feedback from the receiver.
To read in detail about each step in the
Communication Process Diagram,
click on a step below:
1. Sender Recognizes Intention,
2. Sender Encodes Message, (Return to top of this page)
3. Sender Selects Channel,
4. Receiver Decodes Message,
5. Receiver Interprets Intention, and
6. Sender Requests and Receiver Gives Feedback.
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Experience is something you don't get
until right after you need it.
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