If someone has disabilities, you wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to them because if they are blind you wouldn’t have eye contact and if they are deaf you wouldn’t know how to explain something to them. You should allow sufficient time for the person to make you understand the message they are trying to send to you, repeating the message would also help them, because if they have a misunderstanding, and you repeated the message, it would clear the misunderstanding and would be easier to understand. You should also confirm the message from the person, because you may have not got the right message and you may make a wrong decision. A way to overcome this barrier is if a person is blind, you should speak clearly or if the person is deaf, you should let them lip read what ever you say or use sign language to communicate with them. You can also use alternative forms of communication which includes: signs, symbols, pictures and writing, this could help them to get the message you are trying to get to them and they may be able to send you a message back. Human aids would also help because if you get a signer, it would be easier for either of you’s to understand the messages you’s are sending to one another. Active listening would also help the disabled person because if you don’t listen to a blind person properly, they may get annoyed with you, so you may not be able to get the right message to/from the person. If someone is deaf, they can make the use of technological aids such as using hearing aids. Objects of reference would also help deaf people understanding what you are trying to show them or what you are telling them.
Distress is another barrier to communication, e.g. if someone is upset and you tried talking to them, they may be rude to you or may not answer back in a nice way. Body language is one of the main things that a distressed person may use, they may want to tell you what they are upset about, so that would be an easier way for you to understand the situation they are in. A way to overcome this barrier to communication is to give them sympathy and try touch or contact, this may comfort them in a way of support.
Emotional issues also are barriers to communication, e.g. if someone is emotional, they could make the use of bad body language or may be angry or upset, you could also find out they are emotionally upset by their facial expressions, they could also be rude to you or may ignore you and want you not to bother them. A way to overcome this barrier to communication is to try calming them down, give them all the support you can give them. You could get an advocate to sort their problem out, they would get supported by the advocate and he/she would defend them.
Differing humour may be a barrier to communication, e.g. if I told someone a joke and I laughed about it, they may not laugh at it too and think you are not funny, you may get offended by the way they react. A way to overcome this barrier to communication is to try telling something that everyone would laugh at and would find funny, sometimes you may need to control your sense of humour.
Feelings of Isolation can also be a barrier to communication because if you are in a group of friends but you and your friends only have one-to-one conversations the other person may feel left out and would want to join in with them, they may not want the person to know what they are talking about. A way to overcome this barrier is to try getting everyone in the group involved in the conversations, try not to make someone feel as if they are unwanted and not being trusted by the members of the group.
Speaking slang may be another barrier to communication because if a person was from London and you where from Middlesbrough, and you spoke in informal language, they may not feel comfortable talking to you and may not be able to understand what you are talking about. Slang words are words or phrases that are used to make words or phrases shorter and easier to say. Slang is mainly made by the young generation in a local community. A way to overcome this barrier to communication is to speak in formal language and clearly, so they could understand what you are talking about.
Inappropriate behaviour is a barrier to communication, e.g. If you are picking your nose or playing with your hair, people might think your getting bored or are not bothered about what the person is talking about. A way to overcome this barrier to communication is to stop fidgeting with things and sorting your posture out.