First, we have to understand what communication means in order to understand what errors can result from communication. Communication is about the exchange of information between individuals. That information is then used to make decisions that will affect the present and the future of the people involved in communicating those ideas (PSU, 2019). Communication occurs with the process of an idea being formed which is then translated into a message sent from one person to another in which that person interprets their own idea of the original message. As we all know, errors can come from communication (or lack of communication) between one another.
Faulty technology, noise, and biases are some of the few communication errors that can occur when trying to get a message across. For example, my current boss had recently sent out an email and clicked on the “reply all” button instead of “reply” and typed this long message about how he didn’t receive a year end evaluation and wanted to know why it wasn’t completed. Needless to say, the person who originally started the email fired back saying “Make sure you are more careful with who you are including in your email responses.” Then continued on to answer his question. My boss was in shock that he had done that but realized he made a major communication error through the use of technology.
Noise can make communication complicated and sometimes the recipient of the message does not encode the message properly. For instance, my boss had been talking for a while to our office about taking certain courses online by a specific deadline. I was the farthest away in the group and customers had been entering the building and asking me questions so it was hard for me to hear everything that my boss was discussing. I had missed the deadline for those courses because I was unable to hear the correct date my boss stated. I had misinterpreted what he said and I encoded the message as being the 11th, not the 7th of the month that the courses were due.
The deeper communication errors that can contribute to misunderstandings can be related to a language barriers or ego centrism. Most people feel more comfortable communicating with those who are the most similar to us (Moran, Harris & Moran, 2011, p .37). This is especially true for a previous employer I worked for. My boss was Korean and knew many people through his church that would come in to our work for orthodontic treatment. Most of the patients spoke Korean and did not know how to speak English or even broken English. This was extremely difficult for all the employees because we all could only speak English and had a language barrier that was hard to overcome at times. A few employees at this office became frustrated and egocentric to say the least. Ego centrism is an inability to take on other individuals’ perspectives (PSU, 2019). Some of the employees would act differently around the Korean patients than the patients of the same race. One could observe those employees being short and saying few words to the Korean patients when the patients were trying to understand what was going to be done with their treatment. The Korean patients would ask questions and try to describe what they wanted to achieve with their orthodontic treatment and some of the employees would act carelessly and not even attempt to try to understand what the patients were truly saying. This was extremely egocentric because the employees were completely disregarding the Korean patient’s point of view.
Communication can be successfully reached if individuals are willing to understand what barriers and errors can occur and do their best to eliminate those. In my own examples choosing a seat closer to the front of the room, I might have been able to eliminate the noise of the customers talking. Sometimes there are simple solutions to communication errors and sometimes the errors will take time to resolve. Working at the orthodontic office I could have had my boss translate for the patients instead of had coworkers try to translate which made communicating a more complex process. Listening is at the heart of all successful communications ((Moran, Harris & Moran, 2011, p .39). Communicating successfully starts with listening both verbally and non verbally.
References
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011). Managing Cultural Differences (9thth ed., pp. 1-25). N.p.: Routledge.
Pennsylvania State University. (2019). Global Communication: L04 Defining Communication. Retrieved at: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1964331/modules/items/25821687
Pennsylvania State University. (2019). Global Communication: L04 Errors in Communication. Retrieved at: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1964331/modules/items/25821686
heg5110 says
Communication errors do limit messages depending on how they are intended to be interpreted and are actually interpreted by the receiver. Texting is a good example because anyone who has texted most likely has had to explain how the text is or was suppose to be taken. This is why I believe they have incorporated “emoji’s” in texts so people can use those to express the texts in a particular meaning. Using a small text box that is included in the message could be one way to solve the issue on a professional level since I wouldn’t think most organizations would want to use emoji’s in emails, or through communication on a business level.
Joseph Kaiser says
I think that communication errors a lot of times limits good, productive dialogue that is needed to get the point across. One example I can think of is that of texting someone and that person misunderstanding the message because they interpreted it differently than it was suppose to be taken since an individual might not know the receiver’s culture, values, norms, and so on (Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S., 2014). Most times this error creates even more of a communication barrier. One way to possibly fix this issue is to maybe have a small text box that is included in the message that states the mood of the person sending the message?
References
Moran, R., Abramson, N. & Moran, S. Managing Cultural Differences. Ninth Edition. Routledge Publishing. New York, New York. 2014.