Training Tips Blog

Why Communication Can Be So Difficult At Times…

·        Evaluation of the other person. It is, at times, difficult to separate what we hear from out feelings about the speaker.

·        Educational, economic, and cultural backgrounds. The person hearing the message selects out or filters out all that is important from his/her own point of view.

·        Bias, stereotypes, prejudices. We have preconceived bias, stereotypes, and prejudices about certain types of people which can cloud or filter what we hear from people.  Attitudes, values, and beliefs can be colored by the group(s) with which we identify.

·        Words mean different things to different people.  Meaning cannot be conveyed, only words.

·        Different perceptions. People interpret the same situation in different ways, depending on their previous experiences. 

·        We hear what we “want” or “expect” to hear.  Instead of hearing what people tell us, we hear what our minds tell us has been said.  We tend to have preconceived ideas of what people mean, and we tend to reject new ideas, particularly if they conflict with what we believe.

·        Making assumptions.  Confusion of fact and inference – Going beyond the facts and forming opinions which are in reality either conclusions or value judgments.

·        Feelings and emotions – The communication of emotions may be even more forceful than the message itself.

·        Communication without words –  Non-verbal communication is so powerful in the way human beings communication. We convey meanings by our tone of voice, inflection of voice, gestures, hand movements, and other physical bodily movements that accompany our words.