Communication as thought by many people is not an easy task despite the fact that we have grown up with it. Effective interpersonal interaction has been made to be complex, hard, and disappointing because of different barriers that have been put in place. These include structural setbacks like bigger working areas physically isolated from others. Studies show that closeness to one another encourages sharing of ideas and knowing each other deeply. Therefore, if people get separated in terms of office location and status; it creates up communication gap thus interfering with effective interpersonal communication.
Another barrier includes perceptual barriers. Interpersonal interactions involve different people with different perceptions of how the world is. A person may appreciate a particular item while at the same another person may have his or her own opinion concerning the same item. Thus, this brings in disagreements which result in poor interpersonal interactions. The major barrier to effective interpersonal interactions is the emotional barrier.
These consist of largely fear, lack of trust, and too much suspicion. Because of too much caution given, individuals grow up with the fear of what others are likely to think of them, thus leading to poor development which later on affects individuals’ communications ability resulting in difficulties in creating useful relationships. Cultural barriers interfere with effective interpersonal interactions. When people join other cultures different from their original ways of life, they get stuck in learning the new behaviour patterns for them to be fully accepted within the group.
Language barriers also cause poor communication within interpersonal interactions. Our language description of our thoughts may be a barrier to another person who is not familiar with the way we express ourselves. Therefore, for proper interpersonal interaction within a group of people, it is better to use common language that is easily understood by everyone in that group to avoid being misunderstood.
Another barrier to effective communication is the gender barrier. Research shows that women talk a lot than men because the speech in men is located only on one side of their brain, whereas in women, they are on both sides. Other barriers include withdrawal which involves a lack of interpersonal contact, rituals, and pastime.