By Shawaz Lodhi
FACTORS AFFECTING COMMUNICATION
Effective Communication is giving, receiving or exchanging of information, opinions or ideas so that the message is completely understood by everybody involved. It is extremely important to communicate effectively in order to convey your message in the right sense to the subject. So seems pretty easy doesn’t it? Well why are we so poor at conveying our message to the other?
Following are some of the important factors affecting communication between subjects.
1- LANGUAGE:
One of the biggest things affecting communication is a language barrier. There may be a difference in the way the language is spoken, and not the language as a whole itself. The difference in dialect, improper use of the language or over usage of jargons and abbreviations may also result in poor communication especially for a person not familiar with the stuff.
2- PSYCHOLOGY:
It is one of the most common factors which reduce effective communication. It is aided by difference of mindset or a difference in the frame of mind at that particular moment which is a result of emotions getting involved without reason, causing a person to believe something totally out of reference. Stress and anger may trigger something spoken in a lighter mood to be taken aggressively by the person. Low self-esteem may also cause a person to be less social and less assertive to communication. A different concept about a particular thing may also affect the communication between subjects.
3- PHYSICAL BARRIERS:
There may be a physical deficiency to a person which may reduce his hearing skills and may affect communication. Our brain receives information from multiple sources in order for the world to make sense. The lack of use or improper use of gestures may be a factor that effect proper communication. If what we see is not in accordance with what we hear, it may cause more confusion rather than aiding communication. Apart from that, distance may also be a physical barrier between two subjects in communication. Although modern technology has reduced physical distances but this is just a feel. There are positive and negative aspects of each communication channel which may also arise because of misusage from our hands. The human factor comes into play for this.
4- ATTITUDE:
The attitude of a person determines how affectively he is willing to communicate or how much other people would like to communicate with the person. In learning something new, this factor is extremely important as a person full of attitude may think of himself as bigger than he actually is and underestimate the skills of the other person. Sometimes, hurriedness to speak makes us listen less. Listening carefully is one of the most important thing for communication to occur effectively.
5- LENGTH:
It is the nature of humans to pay attention to minimum details to make sense out of something. A natural laziness factor which causes a person to miss some important details. This makes it extremely important to make your speech lacking monotony and right to the point, avoiding unnecessary details. Short and snappy is the way to go because simpler is always better.
6- FEEDBACK:
It’s very important to give your feedback and thoughts on the other persons view. Staying polite and positive is the key to communicate effectively for this. If you’re a little short tempered, show some sanction, for being rude may not cause the other person to reflect and correct but only induce hate. Avoid woes and give your feedback with calmness and ease.
So keep these factors in mind in order to communicate effectively and maximize the time and energy you have and make it useful. Try to understand reserve being self-opinionated and judgmental. Think, listen and ask and communicate effectively.
About Author:
Author is student of of Mechanical engineering from college of E&ME, NUST. He was selected for RWP U-19 cricket team in 2014. He had also played leading role in a 45 min drama that aired on PTV in 2007. His is multi-talented young boy and his areas of interest include: Sports, Cricket, Space and time, Songs, Movies, Reviews, Writing Poems, Short Articles and Brainy Quotes. Give your feedback in comments.