What are the errors in communication? How are errors in communication made even when speaking to someone face to face? Errors in communication are sometimes called noise or bias. Examples of communication errors include conveying too little information to a receiver or even things like technology issues that can create communication errors. The lesson commentary defines technology issues that contribute to errors in communication as the character limit allowed on a text message, or a wrong cell signal during a phone conversation (PSU WC, L4, 2020).
Effective communication is a must-have skill for any leader, but equally as important in our everyday relationships with our significant others, children, family, friends, and acquaintances. So why do we have such a hard time communicating in a way that will be understood in the way we would like to be perceived? Let’s take, for instance, our relationships with our partners. I’ve been in my relationship for over fifteen years, and to think that communication gets easier has been one of the greatest misconceptions of my adult life. I think we are met with the reality that we all change and, more specifically, change over our lifetimes to meet others’ expectations of us. Perhaps, this is the beginning of our issues with the errors in communication we face with our everyday relationships at home, in the office, or just in general.
As significant others, we are expected to be in a monogamous, understanding, respectful, loving, and supportive role. As parents, we are expected to be responsible, dependable, financially stable, a provider, caretaker, fun maker with endless amounts of energy. As a family member, we are expected to jump in whenever needed by our family members, to participate in every birthday, anniversary, reunion, or maybe that’s my family of which is ridiculously large. As for being a friend, the expectation is to make time for our friends between school plays, soccer games, work deadlines or events, and family. But people grow, change, and so do their expectations of each other.
As a leader, one is expected to understand and know the differences within and between teams or groups to lead and influence them towards a single goal effectively. In an article by Overall & McNulty (2017), there are many reasons why communication errors occur in relationships with our partners, coworkers, followers, family, and even children. The authors of this article discuss communication errors or issues between partners; however, I feel strongly that these issues can be applied to any and all the relationships listed above. So, let’s discuss the issues that may lead to these communication errors. Things like expectations or better yet those expectations that were unmet, preferences or preferences that changed overtime, lack of intimacy or time spent together, financial problems, parenting, family responsibilities, and even things like bad habits. Like all relationships, personal or professional, the answer is effective communication. So again, why is it so tricky to communicate effectively in any of these relationships or about any of the issues listed? It’s our inability to identify what constitutes effective communication (p. 1). This, unfortunately, leads to errors in transmission, where the sender may not be familiar with the best way to communicate.
Let’s throw in cultural differences and imagine how much more challenging communication becomes in this context, especially when we tend to experience communication errors in our language. This is where we discuss ethnocentrism as a potential communication error in that the less we know about other cultures and how those cultures communicate, the more likely we are to misunderstand communications in a global context (PSU WC, L4, 2020). Moran, Remington Abramson & Moran (2014), state that we are the most comfortable communicating with those who are the most similar to us. The more differences there are between us, the more the comfort level of communication decreases, and therefore communication errors increase.
In conclusion, communication errors result from differences within and between groups. Those differences happen to be about culture, gender, age, education, beliefs, and religion. If we learn to open our minds to understand these differences, perhaps we will be well on our way to being more effective communicators.
References
Moran, R., Remington Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Niler, A., Asencio, R., & DeChurch, L. (2019). Solidarity in STEM: How Gender Composition Affects Women’s Experience in Work Teams. Sex Roles, 82(3-4), 142-154. doi: 10.1007/s11199-019-01046-8
Overall, N., & McNulty, J. (2017). What type of communication during conflict is beneficial for intimate relationships? Current Opinion In Psychology, 13, 1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.03.002
Pennsylvania State University. (2020). Lesson 4: Leadership in Global Context. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977839
Sarah Sheridan says
As leaders our unconscious bias can impact our hiring decisions to assigning tasks to performance evaluations but there are things as leaders we can do to minimize the impacts of our bias (Tarallo, 2018). One SHRM article suggests that instead of being more aware of our bias it is more effective to build “procedures designed to weed out bias into operational systems” (Tarallo, 2018). A way to put processes in place in our personal lives it to eliminate going with our gut feeling which the article states is a direct reflection of out personal bias (Tarallo, 2018). The article also provides some interesting steps to minimize our bias as: (1) “managers should not deny their own bias”, (2) “managers should label the bias, so they understand what type of bias it is”, (3) “mitigation effort” by making “the effort to find similarities, or connections, with all other people in the hiring pool, or in the security department, or whatever the relevant group”, and (4) “reframing key questions” (Tarallo, 2018).
As a HR Professional I found the information in the article to be very resourceful. It pinches a nerve when a manager makes their hiring decision on candidates being a “good fit”. What does good fit mean? By being more objective and basing hiring decision on a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities leaders are to full open positions with people who a complimentary to the team and it helps keep the company out of “hot water” because you would never want it to be alleged that you are being discriminatory. Even though we may do it unconsciously it does not make it a legal practice. These steps can also be applied to our personal lives to help enhance the relationships with have with family, friends, and other within our communities.
Thank you for the thought provoking post!
Reference:
Tarallo, M. (2018, December). How Managers Can Overcome Their Personal Biases. Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/pages/self-aware-managers.aspx
aja5998 says
After reading your posts it makes me wonder how awful I can be at communicating. Communication is something I stress at work with my team when things do not go according to plan. Though I like to send emails to everyone on certain key topics of the day/week and I do my best to make sure I reply back to ensure I understood correctly but some things are left up to perception. When communicating, especially in the line of work I am in, we need to communicate on the fly. I work in food and beverage and because of how fast-pace it can sometimes be we rely on the trust we have on one another to get the job done. My team expects me to have all the answers when sometimes I have no idea. What I think puts them at ease is that they can count on me to find the answer and work together on the problem.
In regards to relationships you list what some of the expectations are for each “hat” we wear as we go about our day. From being a friend to a spouse to a family member there is a lot that goes on when wearing these “hats” and the style of communication we use. Personally, in some relationships, like at work, my communication is stronger than it is with family. This may be in due to the drama that I am trying to avoid. In an article posted by Rick Peterson who is an extension Specialist and Assistant Professor at Virginia State he tells us, marriage and family therapists often report that poor communication is a common complaint of families who are having difficulties…It can lead to numerous family problems, including excessive family conflict, ineffective problem solving, lack of intimacy, and weak emotional bonding” (Peterson, 2009). This statement falls right in line with your comment of the expectation others have of us. One thing we tend to forget as well is the fact we tend to rely on non-verbal cues and the predictability of others to formulate a response. This is not always the case since, like you mentioned, we are constantly changing.
Peterson, R. (2009, May 1). Families First-Keys to Successful Family Functioning: Communication. Retrieved February 14, 2020, from https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-092/350-092.html
kbb5452 says
Katherine,
Your post is thoughtful and full of important knowledge. For the reasons you have outlined, I did my post on the opposing force of utilizing active listening and elimination of bias, in order to avoid improper communication. The lesson and your post assist my own knowledge and help me to apply these skills to the workplace. I work as a teacher and many things become lost in translation, especially among coworkers. In a career that requires communication to be consistent and effective, it isn’t easy to expect perfection. However, by minimizing the effects of bias, I believe that’s most of the battle!