Question

State any four personal barriers to communication.

Hint:

Personal barriers come from the people. Think of fear of challenge to authority, lack of confidence in subordinates, unwillingness to communicate, and lack of incentive.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understand the question:
Personal barriers are blocks in communication that come from the personal feelings and traits of the superior or the subordinate.
Any four are needed. I will give four, with a short explanation of each.

Step 2: Fear of challenge to authority:
A superior may fear that a message will weaken his authority. He then hides or delays it.
So the message does not reach the right people.

Step 3: Lack of confidence of superiors in their subordinates:
If superiors do not trust the ability of subordinates, they do not seek their advice or opinion.
This stops the upward flow of ideas and communication.

Step 4: Unwillingness to communicate:
Subordinates may not wish to pass on a message if they feel it will hurt their own interests, such as a report on their mistakes.
So they hold back the information.

Step 5: Lack of proper incentive:
If there is no reward for communicating, subordinates lose interest. They see no gain in giving ideas or suggestions.
As a result, they stay silent.

Final Answer:
Four personal barriers are fear of challenge to authority, lack of confidence of superiors in subordinates, unwillingness to communicate, and lack of proper incentive.