Communication is an act of exchanging ideas, data, emotions, and feelings from one person to another. Communication has a significant role in personal and professional life. Everybody tries to communicate, but all communication needs not to be successful. Sometimes there is a gap between what the speaker intended and what is listener understood. Sometimes there are some obstacles between sender and receiver. This means that sometimes communication can be failed because of a number of reasons. Barriers to communication can be classified into different groups. The socio-psychological barrier is one such group.
Socio-psychological barriers are one of the barriers to communication that arises as a result of mental discomfort and ill-health. The following are the different sociopsychological barriers to communication.
The Attention-span of the Listener
A serious and gloomy atmosphere
External Disturbances and the Wrong Medium
Personal Bias and Strong Feelings
Selectivity.
The Attention span of the Listener: Attention span is the amount of time a listener can concentrate on a task, class, or speech. The time spent on the communication process should not exceed the audience’s patience or attention span. if the speaker goes beyond the attention span, the listener cannot concentrate on the speech.
A serious and gloomy atmosphere; Serious and gloomy atmosphere also can be a barrier to communication. Whether in teaching or talking, a smile always complements the message.
Even a hard concept can be conveyed through humor and occasional jokes. Eye contact and a smile give the listeners a feeling of togetherness. Therefore we have to create a pleasant admos[here in the context of communication
External Disturbances and the Wrong Medium: Noise from the surroundings or mechanical failures can break communication. In the case of computerized presentations failure of power supply during their presentation can be an external barrier. Each mode or medium of communication (verbal and nonverbal) has its characteristic strengths and weaknesses. We have to use a mode of communication based on the context.
Personal Bias and Strong Feelings: People have strong feelings about specific issues or people that may affect the success of communication. Most people are biased based on their religion, caste, class, and gender. Therefore their emotion may interfere with the message that he wants to send and receive. This also leads to unsuccessful communication.
Selectivity: Selectivity can be another barrier to communication. The attitude of selectivity is very dangerous. Because the listener listens and understands only what he wants and ignores all other parts.
These are the important socio-psychological barriers to communication. Besides these barriers, there are more barriers like Cynicism, Negativity, and Perceived Benefits.