The Communication Process: The Receiver

Factors That Influence the Communication Process: The Receiver

Perceptions

This is probably the strongest factor influencing the way in which the message is interpreted by the receiver. Many factors impact how the receiver perceive/interpret the message that was conveyed by the sender.

Perception is the process of selecting and organising information gained through the senses in such a way that it makes sense. It is a way of giving meaning to the world around us. A person bombarded with information must select what is appropriate to him/her by filtering out unnecessary information. Because perception is selective no two people will experience or remember a certain situation the same.

Frame of Reference

This is shaped by the person’s educational background, language proficiency, cultural background, intelligence, status, ego, emotions, beliefs, attitudes and values. A person’s frame of reference is not static and can change through life due to experiences over a lifetime. No two people have identical frames of reference. Perceptions are closely related to people’s frame of reference.

The processing that takes place occurs with lightning speed and is usually subconsciously. In communication with people in an organisation it is of the utmost importance to keep the other person/s frame of reference in mind and adapt communication accordingly. A breakdown in communication can occur if a person’s frame of reference is not kept in mind.

Frame of Reference and Perception

The following frame of reference and perception factors can cause communication breakdowns.

Experience

Perception is taught and shaped through experience. No two people have the same experiences throughout their life. People will therefore perceive the same experience in different ways. If a person had a near-drowning experience as a child, he will view water in a different light than everybody else. Water rafting as a team building exercise will not be a good idea with this person.

Selection

A person selects or attends to what he/she likes or is familiar with. If a topic interests the person or is relevant to his work, he/she will attend to what is being said and accept and file the information into his reference system. He/she will, in other words, remember what was said or discussed.

Needs

A person is influenced by his physical and psychological needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1953) are still relevant today.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

If a person’s basic needs are not fulfilled, how can you expect the person to reach his full potential? If a person is hungry, he will think about food instead of the task at hand or if he feels he cannot trust the organisation he will not be open in his communication with his superiors.

A good communicator strives to meet the needs of the receiver so that unfulfilled needs do not become barriers.

Education and Environment

Education and the environment in which a person grows up in shape the person’s perception. People from different backgrounds and education may perceive a situation totally different e.g. a doctor and a person driving a tow truck will perceive the scene of an accident totally different.

Language

To be able to understand a verbal message, the person receiving the message must be conversant in that language. Even if a person understands the code of the language people still perceive language differently. If a manager uses high flown language that is not in the vocabulary of the receiver of the message there can be no mutual understanding.

For example: “I don’t want you to sit on it” can be interpreted in different ways by the receiver. The manager meant: “I want the report immediately.” The worker, just about to sit down, interprets the message as: “Do not sit on that couch.”

Physical Circumstances

Different aspects about the physical environment and the physical health of the receiver could impact on the communication process and how the message is perceived.

Noise Barriers

Any distortion or disruption in the communication process can be referred to as noise. Noise can be physical or psychological.

• Physical noise can be any background noises e.g. a noisy fan, people talking or interrupting, telephones ringing, a very cold room, etc.
• Psychological noise is the noise going on in the mind of the person receiving the message. The person may be distracted because of emotional problems or negative feelings towards the sender of the message. Information overload is also a factor in modern society. The demands of keeping up with e-mails, phone calls, faxes, meetings, and professional reading material, create an onslaught of data that are nearly impossible to process and assimilate. Spelling mistakes, bad pronunciation, ambiguous sentence construction, and poor layout of written material, can all interfere with the clearness of the message and can be regarded as noise barriers.

Management and workers should always be aware of the possibility that misinterpretations and misunderstandings may occur because of noise barriers.

Intercultural Barriers

People from the same culture share values, beliefs, certain rules and language. People are daily subjected to other cultures because the world is shrinking due to instant global communication. People need to be informed about the different cultures that they are dealing with. South Africa itself have a diverse population, consisting of different cultures and ethnic groups. Each group has its own uniqueness and cultural characteristics although we share some common characteristics such as geography and laws.

According to Cleary (2003, p29), some of the areas that communicators in South Africa should be sensitive about are:

Personal Contact

Some communities prefer closer personal contact than others. Standing too close to people may offend them.

Touching

Touching may be the norm in some cultures while others may regard it as too intimate.

Eye Contact

Rules about eye contact also differ in cultures. Children may be regarded as impolite if they look a parent in the eye and in another culture avoiding eye contact may be an acknowledgement of guilt.

Time

In Western cultures time is especially important. Being on time, starting on time, and meeting deadlines are valued attributes. Some cultures are less precise about time.

Individual Orientation

In some cultures, more value is placed on individual achievement and in others value lies in participation in the community.

Conciseness

In some cultures, conciseness is very important. Others prefer a slower and dignified mode of interaction.

Directness

Some cultures perceive directness as impolite and value a subtler approach.

Future Orientation

For some groups the prospect of a better tomorrow is a strong motivating force. They value youth as holding the key to the future. Other cultures see life as part of an endless, cyclical process form birth to death. They are oriented towards the past and the here and now, rather than the future. They have great respect for age and for ancestral spirits.

Barriers to intercultural communication may arise if people view their own culture as superior to that of others and regard the other culture as wrong.

Verbal and nonverbal codes that differ in cultures may also lead to communication barriers.

Cultural stereotyping is also one of the pitfalls of intercultural communication e.g. all white people are racist; black people are always late; all Americans are loud talkers, etc.

In South Africa, intercultural contact mostly takes place in organisations.

Organisations, therefore, have a very important role to play in influencing behaviour and developing positive relationships.

Communication Barriers Between Men and Women

Research provides important insight into the differences between men and women in terms of their conversational styles. According to Tannen (Robbins 2001, p296) men are more likely to use speech to emphasise status while women are more likely to use it to create connection. Women speak and hear a language of connection and intimacy; men speak end hear a language of status, power and independence. Men are more direct in their communication e.g. “these figures are wrong” opposed to “perhaps you have to check these figures”. Other differences include pitch of voice, use of body language, use of verbal language, narrative style, etc.

Both sexes must be aware of the differences in communication styles between men and women to avoid differences becoming communication barriers.

Click here to view a video on Barriers to Effective Communication.