What are the most common obstacles in effective communication?

• The use of jargon. Over-complicated, unfamiliar and/or technical terms.
• Emotional barriers and taboos. Some people may find it difficult to express their emotions and some topics may be completely 'off-limits' or taboo.
• Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the receiver. (See our page Barriers to Effective Listening for more information).
• Differences in perception and viewpoint.
• Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.
• Physical barriers to non-verbal communication. Not being able to see the non-verbal cues, gestures, posture and general body language can make communication less effective.
• Language differences and the difficulty in understanding unfamiliar accents.
• Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions or stereotyping.  People often hear what they expect to hear rather than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusions.
• Cultural differences.  The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed. For example, the concept of personal space varies between cultures and between different social settings. See our page on Intercultural Awareness for more information.

I am Agree With Mr. Vinod      .

The most common obstacles in effective communication are

 1- Using Over Complicated and unfamiliar terms

 2- Lack of attention, interest.

 3- Lack of distractions

 4- Lack of effective listening

 5- Differences in perception and viewpoint.

Assumptions sabotage effective communication and have the potential to lead everyone down unintended paths.  For instance, you may assume that because people are nodding while you speak, they understand and agree with what you are saying. Similarly, if you invite questions about your message and get none, it would be easy to assume there are none.   The truth is, few people will risk the potential embarrassment of being the only one who doesn’t agree with or understand your message or doesn’t know what to ask.   To assume they do would be a mistake.

Agree with Mr Vinod Jetley`s answer.

Common issues would social context, personal context and methodology of communication. Social context may include uses of idioms or words that may have no sense or duplicitic meanings either in context or phonetically. Personal context would be relevance of the person's affluence of the language and retention of what is communicated. Lastly, methodology is how the words would be communicated which would look at punctuality, communication barriers and how the communication will presented.

Lack of listening, impatience, and over confidence.

The most common obstacle in effective communication is lack of feedback

I believe mentioned below are most times the main reason for ineffective communication glitches..

1- Information Overload.  If you receive a message with too much information, you may tend to put up a barrier because the amount of information is coming so fast that you may have difficulty comfortably interpreting that information.  If you are selling an item with twenty-five terrific features, pick two or three important features to emphasize instead of overwhelming your receiver (ho-hum) with an information avalanche.

2- Emotional Interference.  An emotional individual may not be able to communicate well.  If someone is angry, hostile, resentful, joyful, or fearful, that person may be too preoccupied with emotions to receive the intended message.  If you don’t like someone, for example, you may have trouble “hearing” them.

3-Transmitting Barriers: Things that get in the way of message transmission are sometimes called “noise.”  Communication may be difficult because of noise and some of these problems:

4- Physical Distractions.  A bad cellular phone line or a noisy restaurant can destroy communication.  If an E-mail message or letter is not formatted properly, or if it contains grammatical and spelling errors, the receiver may not be able to concentrate on the message because the physical appearance of the letter or E-mail is sloppy and unprofessional.

5- Conflicting Messages.  Messages that cause a conflict in perception for the receiver may result in incomplete communication.  For example, if a person constantly uses jargon or slang  to communicate with someone from another country who has never heard such expressions, mixed messages are  sure to result.  Another example of conflicting messages might be if a supervisor requests a report immediately without giving the report writer enough time to gather the proper information.  Does the report writer emphasize speed in writing the report, or accuracy in gathering the data?

There are many barriers to communication and these may occur at any stage in the communication process. Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted and you therefore risk wasting both time and/or money by causing confusion and misunderstanding.  Effective communication involves overcoming these barriers and conveying a clear and concise message

The use of jargon. Over-complicated, unfamiliar and/or technical terms.

Emotional barriers and taboos. Some people may find it difficult to express their emotions and some topics may be completely 'off-limits' or taboo.

Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the receiver. (See our page Barriers to Effective Listening for more information).

Differences in perception and viewpoint.

Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.

Physical barriers to non-verbal communication. Not being able to see the non-verbal cues, gestures, posture and general body language can make communication less effective.

Language differences and the difficulty in understanding unfamiliar accents.

Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions or stereotyping.  People often hear what they expect to hear rather than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusions

Cultural differences.  The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed. For example, the concept of personal space varies between cultures and between different social settings.

See our page on Intercultural Awareness for more information.

Physical Barriers

An example of a physical barrier to communication is geographic distance between the sender and receiver(s).

Communication is generally easier over shorter distances as more communication channels are available and less technology is required. Although modern technology often serves to reduce the impact of physical barriers, the advantages and disadvantages of each communication channel should be understood so that an appropriate channel can be used to overcome the physical barriers.

Systematic Barriers

Systematic barriers to communication may exist in structures and organisations where there are inefficient or inappropriate information systems and communication channels, or where there is a lack of understanding of the roles and responsibilities for communication. In such organisations, individuals may be unclear of their role in the communication process and therefore not know what is expected of them.

There is only one.   Only the communicator knows what they want to communicate: therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that the communication has been effective.  If they accept that responsibility, then there cannot be a problem.