0264 · 2.3.2Communication barriers

Communication process and language barriers

0:00Sunrise Bakery makes celebration cakes. A customer arranges a morning collection, but the production team receives instructions for the afternoon. Everyone works hard, yet the cake is unfinished when the customer arrives. By the end of this video, you will understand how messages break down, the problems this causes, and how businesses can prevent them. Communication is the transfer of information from one person or group to another. The sender starts the message, while the receiver is the person or group it is intended for.

0:27A medium is the method used to communicate a message. For example, a manager might give instructions through a conversation, an email or a written notice. Feedback is the receiver’s response to a message. It helps the sender check whether the information arrived and was understood correctly. An employee explaining an instruction in their own words gives useful feedback. This creates an opportunity to correct a misunderstanding before it affects the work.

0:52A communication barrier is anything that stops a message being received and understood correctly. A breakdown can happen when information is prepared, transmitted or interpreted. Common barriers include language, the wrong medium, long or unclear messages, noise and distractions, and a long chain of command. Poor explanation or listening, lack of trust, technology failure, missing feedback, distance and time zones can also stop understanding. A business needs to locate the exact cause before choosing an effective remedy.

1:21Language becomes a barrier when the receiver cannot understand the words used. Jargon means specialised words used by a particular occupation or group. A technician using unfamiliar technical terms may leave a new employee uncertain about an instruction. Clear, simple language and explanations of necessary terms help the receiver understand what action to take. Employees with different first languages may interpret the same instruction differently. Translation can help when essential information needs to be understood accurately.

1:50A business should check that translated instructions preserve the intended meaning. Asking the receiver to explain the required action provides a further check before work begins.

Common communication barriers and remedies

2:00A message that is too long can hide its most important instruction among unnecessary details. Unclear wording creates another difficulty because the receiver must guess what the sender intended. An instruction to complete an order soon leaves the deadline uncertain. Keeping the message short and giving a precise completion time remove that uncertainty. The wrong medium can prevent useful information from reaching someone at the right moment. An urgent email may remain unread while an employee works away from a computer.

2:28A direct conversation could bring the instruction to their attention immediately. Detailed requirements may also need a written record so the employee can check them later. Noise and distractions interfere with attention or make words difficult to hear. Kestrel Parts manufactures vehicle components. Its machinery could drown out a supervisor’s safety instruction. Moving the conversation to a quiet location helps the employee hear each detail. Choosing a suitable time also reduces interruptions that could break their concentration.

2:58The chain of command is the route through which authority and instructions pass down an organisation. A long chain creates more opportunities for information to be delayed or changed. Each manager may shorten an instruction and accidentally remove an important detail. A shorter chain of command, where appropriate, reduces these opportunities, while a shared written message helps preserve the original wording. Communication also depends on the skills of the sender and receiver.

3:23A manager who explains a task in a confused order can leave employees unsure where to begin. Training can help managers organise instructions into clear steps. Receivers benefit from learning to listen carefully, avoid interruptions and ask for clarification when a detail is uncertain. Lack of trust can make employees reluctant to pass information to managers. Someone who fears unfair blame may hide a mistake or delay reporting a problem.

3:49Managers then make decisions using incomplete information. Listening respectfully and responding constructively encourages employees to raise concerns while there is still time to act. Technology failure can interrupt communication even when a message is perfectly clear. A failed internet connection might prevent an order update from reaching a supplier. Reliable equipment, regular maintenance and a backup contact method reduce disruption. The sender should also check that an important message has reached its intended receiver.

4:18Without feedback, a misunderstanding can remain hidden until the task is completed. A manager might assume that silence shows understanding, while the employee remains uncertain about the deadline. Asking the employee to repeat the required action makes that uncertainty visible. The manager can then clarify the instruction before resources are wasted. Distance and time zones can make quick clarification difficult. Cedar Hotel provides accommodation for tourists. It uses a booking service based in another time zone.

4:45A message sent after that service closes may wait until its next working day. Agreeing contact hours and stating each deadline with its time zone helps both businesses coordinate their activities.

Consequences and Sunrise Bakery example

4:56Labour productivity is the output per employee in a period of time. Communication barriers cause mistakes, delays, lower labour productivity, poor customer service, demotivated employees and poor decisions. An incorrect instruction can cause a mistake, which creates extra work and delays completion. Customers who receive the wrong product experience poor service and may choose another supplier. The business also uses materials and employee time to correct an error that could have been prevented.

5:24Repeating work uses employee time without increasing completed output, so labour productivity falls. Unclear expectations can also demotivate employees because they struggle to understand what successful performance requires. Managers receiving incomplete information may also make poor decisions. For example, a manager might promise delivery before an order is ready. Return to Sunrise Bakery and examine the cause of its missed collection. The customer requested a morning collection, but the manager told the kitchen to finish the cake soon.

5:54The team interpreted this as an afternoon deadline. Nobody checked that interpretation before production began, so the uncertainty remained hidden. Start by identifying exactly where meaning was lost. The instruction lacked a precise deadline, so the kitchen had to interpret the word soon. The absence of feedback allowed that interpretation to continue unchecked. These details explain why employees could work carefully and still complete the order at the wrong time.

6:19The manager should record the agreed collection time clearly on the order sheet. Next, the kitchen employee should repeat the deadline before starting the task. This response gives the manager a chance to correct any misunderstanding immediately. Together, precise wording and feedback help the team schedule production so the cake is ready when the customer arrives. An effective solution matches the cause of the breakdown. Clear, simple language removes jargon, while translation helps employees with a different first language.

6:47Choosing a suitable medium, asking for feedback and shortening the chain of command remove the matching barriers in the table. Training improves explaining and listening skills, and reliable equipment reduces technology failure.

Answering communication barrier questions

7:00Consider the receiver’s needs, the urgency and the working environment when deciding how to remove a barrier. In Paper One Short Answer and Data Response or Paper Two Case Study, use the business information to explain the consequences. An example question is, explain how one communication barrier could affect customer service at Sunrise Bakery. Explain means set out purposes or reasons, say why and how, supported with relevant evidence. Build a connected answer from the barrier to the customer’s experience.

7:30The manager’s instruction gave the kitchen an unclear completion deadline. Employees therefore prepared the cake for the afternoon instead of the customer’s morning collection. The customer had to wait because the order was unfinished on arrival. This reduced the quality of customer service because the business failed to meet the agreed collection time. Keep a barrier, its consequence and its solution clearly separated in your explanation. Unclear wording is the barrier, a missed deadline is the consequence, and a precise written instruction is the solution.

7:59When a question asks how to reduce a barrier, explain why your chosen action helps. Connect each answer to the particular difficulty shown in the business information. Remember the central definition: a communication barrier is anything that stops a message being received and understood correctly. Look for difficulties with wording, the medium, the environment, the people involved or the route information follows. Trace how that difficulty causes mistakes, delays or poorer decisions.

8:25Then choose a remedy that addresses the cause and check understanding through feedback.