For listening to be effective, it is also necessary that barriers to listening are removed. Such barriers can be physical, physiological or psychological. In other words, the barriers may be people related or otherwise.
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1. Physical Barriers:
Physical barriers would include low audibility level, extraneous noises and sounds, malfunctioning of the microphone and other mechanical devices and frequent interruptions. Some examples where listening fails to be effective due to physical factors are as follows:
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1. The microphone or loudspeaker is defective
2. There are other voices and noises that dilute the sound levels of the speaker
3. The speaker speaks very close to the microphone or keeps too much distance
4. There are frequent interruptions
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5. Transmission failures
2. People-related Barriers:
People-related barriers can be both physiological and psychological. Physiological barriers arise when the listener suffers from ill health, fatigue, sleeplessness or hearing problems which come in the way of good listening. It may also arise due to the accent and pronunciation shortcomings of the speaker.
Psychological barriers cover the value system and the behavioural aspects. It may also be on account of hierarchical differences. They may relate to bias against the speaker or the message, lack of credence about the source of communication, underestimation of the speaker and the speaker’s ability and past experience. Some examples where listening fails to be effective on account of people-related factors are as follows:
1. The speaker speaks in a shrill voice that does not reach the receiver.
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2. The speaker speaks very rapidly or with an accent that is not clear.
3. The receiver of the message does not consider the speaker to be well informed.
4. The receiver lets the mind wander rather than stay focused on the message.
5. The listener perceives the speaker to be lacking in depth or not having adequate authority.
Effective listening calls for conscious efforts and mutual trust. The speakers should believe in the receiver’s earnestness and vice versa. Efforts should be made by the speaker, listener as well as others concerned with the process of communication to remove the barriers that come in the way of effective communication.