During the communication process, there are environmental barriers, which disrupt the medium and distort the message affecting its purpose. Some of these barriers include language barrier, selective perception, and information filtering which may result in communication failure (Nhat Hanh, 2013). This makes it important to implement effective strategies to minimize the disruptions and distortions of the message. Although it may be difficult to completely eliminate distortion, there are steps which can be implemented to minimize the disruptions and distortions of the message (Nhat Hanh, 2013). These include limiting the amount of information included in the message since an overload in the message may lead to confusion as well as distortion.
Keeping messages short and simple is one way of minimizing distortion and ensure that information retains its original intent (Nhat Hanh, 2013). Another step to implement involves monitoring the communication model, which involves assessing any glitches and hitches in the communication model, which may be attributed to the environment (Yeung, Brown, & Lee, 2014). This will help in improving any indicated aspects, which may negatively affect the communication process. This can be effectively achieved by collecting feedback from the receivers of the information, which will enable the sender to establish the understanding level and the status of the message in reaching the receivers (Yeung, Brown, & Lee, 2014).
Time is also another environmental barrier, which involves the period, which a message takes in reaching the receiver from the time the sender communicates the message. This may affect the length of the communication process, which may also allow other disruptions to affect the message (Yeung, Brown, & Lee, 2014). It is important for the sender to select the most effective model of communication based on the distance between the sender and the receiver to enable the message to reach the receiver on time (Nhat Hanh, 2013). Noise which is also a communication barrier can be addressed by ensuring that the environment is conducive to allow a flow of message to the receiver who is also able to clearly understand the message (Nhat Hanh, 2013).
References
- Thich Nhat Hanh. (2013). The art of communicating. London: Rider Books.
- Yeung, A. S., Brown, E. L., & Lee, C. (2014). Communication and Language: Surmounting the Barriers to
- Crosscultural Understanding. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
