problems and solutions to communication

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Poor Communication May Be Slowing Down Your Team

Gleb Tsipursky

Don’t leave room for misunderstandings.

Communication is not just a soft skill; it’s the linchpin of effective management. Yet, surveys reveal that employees are frustrated by unclear communication from their bosses. Some of these challenges certainly come from the more siloed communication environment created by remote and hybrid work. When managers are unclear in their communication, it can rob teams of their focus, diluting the overall quality of their output. It’s important for managers to realize that clear, consistent communication isn’t an option; it’s imperative. Here’s how to improve your communication.

Set expectations upfront: Align with your team on the optimal use of various communication platforms. Being aligned as a team on which tool to use and when can significantly reduce communication friction.
Consider creating a “clarity canvas.” When starting a new project together as a team, create a set of documents that succinctly outline project goals, individual responsibilities, process instructions, and key deadlines. This centralized hub affords seamless access to the same reservoir of information and can serve as a touchstone for everyone, averting confusion and minimizing back-and-forths.
Make everythign accessible. Keep meticulous records of decisions made, meeting minutes, and project statuses in a centralized digital location accessible to all. Set standards around where documents are stored and how information is saved. If your organization has access to multiple cloud storage platforms, set rules around what gets uploaded and where.
Establish office hours. This is time where you should be readily accessible via chat, phone, or video call to discuss any concerns or questions. Consider it a virtual open door, so that both in-office and remote employees have equal opportunity for face time. There’s no need for a specific agenda during this period, just focus on listening empathetically to your staff and addressing their needs.
Do regular debriefs. After important company announcements, it can be valuable to set up debrief meetings with your team. Doing so will help you evaluate how well your people understand and accept the announcements, and will give you the opportunity to clarify and address any questions.

As more and more employees are working remotely or in hybrid work environments, the need for effective communication has become even stronger.

Gleb Tsipursky was lauded as “Office Whisperer” and “Hybrid Expert” by The New York Times for helping leaders use hybrid work to improve retention and productivity while cutting costs. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. He wrote seven best-selling books, including Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams . His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox, and over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist at UNC-Chapel Hill and Ohio State.

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Lack of Communication: Signs, Examples, and What to Do

Categories Relationships

Lack of communication is when people fail to interact and express themselves in ways that foster healthy connections and relationships. This can take a toll on trust and intimacy in close relationships.

Poor or insufficient communication in relationships can create problems, including insecurity and conflict. Here’s what you should do if you struggle to get your point across or understand where someone else is coming from.

Whether you are interacting with your partner, a friend, or a coworker, communication is critical to the success of any relationship. Good communication means that each person feels seen, heard, and understood.

Communication isn’t just about what you say out loud. It can also include all of the subtle verbal and nonverbal ways you communicate. For example, consider how you might tell someone you are “fine” even though your body language says otherwise.

Lack of communication can stem from many sources, but it can ultimately undermine the trust and connection between two people. Fortunately, there are many strategies that can help you troubleshoot communication problems and find ways to bridge the gap.

Table of Contents

Signs of a Lack of Communication

A lack of communication in a relationship can be upsetting and confusing. You might want to understand how the other person is feeling, but poor communication leaves you feeling unsure or completely in the dark.

In order to get to the root of the problem, you need to be able to recognize the signs. Some key signs that communication is lacking in your relationship include:

Not listening to one another
Constantly interrupting
Avoiding certain topics
Yelling, shouting, or screaming
Shutting down and giving each other the silent treatment
Gaslighting to deny the other person’s reality
Expecting someone to be able to read your mind
Not clearly explaining expectations
Dismissing what people say
Engaging in passive-aggressive behavior
Stonewalling
Feeling isolated and misunderstood
Not sharing all the details or information with one another
Blaming language
One-sided communication

What Causes a Lack of Communication?

Lack of communication may stem from a person’s upbringing, past relationship experiences, personality differences, and poor communication skills.

If people grow up in a household with a lack of communication or dysfunctional communication, they are more likely to repeat those same patterns in their own relationships as adults.

Patterns in past relationships can also contribute to a lack of communication. Having a past uncommunicative or passive-aggressive partner might lead a person to expect future relationships to involve similar communication patterns.

Personality traits can also play a role. Introverts, for example, may be quieter and less talkative overall. This can sometimes lead to communication challenges, especially if their partner is more extroverted.

Examples of a Lack of Communication in Relationships

Some classic examples of a lack of communication in a relationship can include:

Avoiding talking about important topics or issues.
Assuming rather than asking for clarification or confirmation.
Stonewalling or withdrawing during conversations.
Making assumptions about the other person’s thoughts or feelings without checking in.
Ignoring or dismissing the other person’s perspective or concerns.
Not actively listening or paying attention during conversations.
Withholding information or feelings due to fear of conflict or rejection.
Using passive-aggressive behavior instead of addressing issues directly.
Keeping secrets or hiding important details about one’s life or emotions.
Allowing misunderstandings to persist without attempting to resolve them through open dialogue.

Unfortunately, lack of communication can contribute to conflict, arguing, and even divorce. In one study, researchers found that conflict and arguments were one of the primary factors leading to divorce. Another study found that 70% of couples cited “communication” as a key factor leading to divorce.

Can You Overcome a Lack of Communication?

If you are dealing with a lack of communication in a relationship, you might wonder if there are things you can do to fix the problem. Communication issues can absolutely be overcome, but both people have to be willing to put in the work.

Unfortunately, the same reasons people experience poor communication are sometimes the same reasons they refuse to change how they interact and communicate with others. If the other person doesn’t make an effort, communication problems may be difficult or impossible to overcome.

If this is the case, it is important to establish clear boundaries. Sometimes, you may need to limit your interactions with that person or consider ending the relationship.

Dealing With a Lack of Communication

If you are both committed to improving your interactions, there are a number of strategies you can use to effectively overcome a lack of communication. Some ways you can get started include:

Use Active Listening

Set aside your own feelings and instead concentrate on what the other person is trying to say. Give them your full attention and focus on listening to understand vs. listening to respond.

Use “I” Statement

Frame your comments around how you feel, what you need, or what you want. Focus on how you feel (“I feel worried when we don’t talk…”) instead of what the other person is doing (“You never call me…”).

Such language is less accusatory and less likely to provoke defensiveness, which can lead to conflict and a lack of communication.

Give Helpful Feedback

As you talk, reflect on what the other person is saying, ask questions, and provide constructive feedback. Saying something like, “Thanks so much for sharing that. It really helps me see where you’re coming from,” helps the other person feel more supported and understood.

Choose the Right Time

Make time to have conversations when both people are comfortable and relaxed. Don’t try to have important or difficult conversations when angry, pressured, or stressed . Choosing the right time helps ensure that you have the right mindset to have a meaningful, productive conversation.

Be Empathetic

Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Being empathetic and striving to really understand where the other person is coming from can give you insight into what they need and how you can’t respond more effectively.

Key Points to Remember

Lack of communication can lead to misunderstandings, resentment, and disconnection between partners.
Healthy relationships require open and honest communication to foster understanding and mutual support.
Avoiding difficult conversations can exacerbate issues and hinder the growth of the relationship.
Consistent efforts to improve communication skills and address concerns can strengthen trust and intimacy in relationships.

Scott, S. B., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., Allen, E. S., & Markman, H. J. (2013). Reasons for divorce and recollections of premarital intervention: Implications for improving relationship education . Couple & Family Psychology , 2 (2), 131–145. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032025

Williamson, H. C., Bradbury, T. N., Nguyen, T. P., & Karney, B. R. (2016). Are problems that contribute to divorce present at the start of marriage, or do they emerge over time? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 33 (8), 1120–1134. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407515617705

The Barriers to Effective Communication

Effective communication is crucial in any professional setting.

Whether you’re participating in a meeting, conversing with your colleagues, or attending a presentation, navigating through communication barriers can be challenging. These barriers often obstruct the smooth flow of information, leading to misunderstandings that waste valuable time and resources.

Therefore, it is vital to identify these barriers and find ways to minimize their impact.

In this article, we’ll explore common communication barriers across different industries and provide practical solutions to bridge these gaps. So, let’s dive in and see how you can enhance communication within your team!

Table of Contents

What is a communication barrier?

Before we dive deep into the 8 types of communication barriers, we’ll look at how communication barriers are defined in the professional world.

In essence, any problem or obstacle that gets in the way of the communication process qualifies as a communication barrier .

The truth is, rarely any communication situation is devoid of communication barriers, as they can occur at any stage of the interaction. For this reason, it’s essential that we become familiar with specific causes and learn how to overcome communication barriers in the workplace.

Although classifications vary, the most common communication barriers are:

Physical barriers,
Perceptual barriers,
Emotional barriers,
Cultural barriers,
Language barriers,
Gender barriers,
Interpersonal barriers , and
Organizational barriers .

Given that each of the above barriers has its own challenges, merely knowing the classification isn’t enough to optimize workplace communication.

As we’ve mentioned, we’re bound to run into obstacles in professional communication.

But, this doesn’t mean that barriers to communication doom all business interactions to failure. By learning more detail about communication barriers, you’ll get a clear overview of how they impact conversation and understand which preventative measures to take.

Physical barriers to effective team communication + solutions

Physical barriers to communication represent the various environmental and natural conditions that act as barriers between the senders and receivers of information .

These physical barriers include challenges related to:

Time and distance,
Personal space,
Workplace design,
Work environment, and
Background noise.

Physical barrier #1: Time and distance

The barriers related to time and distance typically affect remote teams whose members work from home.

Remote teammates do not work in the same office or even at the same time. Instead, they may operate on a different continent and time zone . This makes real-time communication difficult and in-person communication inconvenient or near impossible — unless one teammate is willing to accommodate the other, work at night, or fly across the globe regularly.

Example of a communication barrier based on time and distance

Let’s look at a remote software developer team consisting of 5 software developers who live across the globe.

The developers are already geographically apart — and the time difference means they are unlikely to work at the same time.

For example, the project manager may start working at 9 a.m. EST when their teammates have started wrapping up work at 3 p.m. CET.

Because of these time differences, the team can rarely work together at the same time — and they need to find other ways to collaborate .

Physical barrier #2: Personal space

In verbal, face-to-face communication , personal space plays a crucial role.

Namely, the distance that applies only to in-person communication may act as a facilitator to good communication or as a barrier to effective communication — depending on whether it’s adequately interpreted and arranged.

We can recognize 4 types of distance between in-person communicators:

Intimate space : The distance between the communicators is less than 18 inches (0.45 meters). It’s usually reserved for close relationships, such as between a parent and child or between partners.
Personal space : The distance between communicators is 2–3 feet (0.6–0.9 meters). It’s typically associated with friends and peer groups.
Official space : The distance between communicators is 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 meters), depending on the type of information transmitted. This type of space is associated with official situations, such as most communication situations at work .
Public space : The distance between communicators is over 10 feet (3 meters). Public space is associated with speakers and listeners in public situations, like speaking events.

Reducing these space requirements may lead to awkward or embarrassing situations.

But, this depends on a person’s culture .

Namely, people from the US and Northern Europe dislike having their personal space violated.

But, people from South American countries and the Middle East belong to so-called “contact cultures.” This means they’re more comfortable with people coming closer, even if they’re not close friends.

This makes space not only a physical barrier to effective communication but often a cultural one as well.

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Example of a communication barrier based on personal space

In the conference room of a marketing agency, employees Steve and Manuel are sitting in the front row listening to the company’s head of HR, Charlotte, deliver a speech about the company’s planned cultural development.

The conference room is relatively small, but there are a lot of employees — they needed to squeeze in 10 rows, so the front row is only 3 feet away from Charlotte.

Charlotte needs to keep her voice loud so that the people in the back row can hear her clearly.

Because of this, she appears too loud to Steve and Manuel, who are thus more focused on the discomfort they are feeling because of Charlotte’s voice volume than on the message she is trying to convey.

Physical barrier #3: Workplace design

Workplace design has a crucial influence on communication effectiveness in the workplace.

For example, the seating arrangements can facilitate effective communication — when team members who need to communicate and collaborate daily are seated at connected desks.

But, the seating arrangement can also become a barrier to communication, primarily when it isn’t addressed promptly.

Example of a communication barrier based on workplace design

What do difficulties with office layout look like in practice? We’ll look at a customer support team whose workstations are in the same area to learn more.

Although the team members work from the same room, their desks are separated by cubicles.

Whenever an emergency arises or teammates want to speak to each other, they need to go from cubicle to cubicle to pass on information. They face similar difficulties when they want to ask or answer a question.

This practice slows down their response time for customers and lowers their overall efficacy.

Physical barrier #4: Work environment

The chief element of a work environment that may hinder effective communication is comfort — or, more precisely, the potential lack of it .

Namely, if the company or home office is too hot or cold , people may not be able to fully focus on the information being communicated in business situations. The same applies if the desks and chairs are too low or high or the office lighting is too bright or dim.

Example of a communication barrier based on work environment

Have you ever shared an office with a coworker? If so, you may have found yourself in Matt or David’s shoes.

Matt and David are 2 sales specialists that work in a shared office.

The desks in their office are too low for their liking, while the comfortableness of their chairs leaves a lot to be desired.

Moreover, they often have disputes about the thermostat. Matt often finds that it is too hot, while David often finds that it is too cold.

Because of these work environment issues, the 2 sales specialists are occasionally unfocused while conversing with customers, each other, and colleagues.

Physical barrier #5: Background noise

Noise is a common barrier to communication in the workplace. Background noise can stem from several reasons, including:

Colleagues talking nearby (often experienced by people who work in an office),
Family members, roommates, or partners talking nearby (often experienced by people who work from home),
Copy machines, kitchen noise, and other inside noises, and
Outside noises from thunderstorms, traffic, or lawn equipment.

While some people can tune out and ignore the above distractions, most struggle to maintain their cognitive performance when exposed to loud intermittent noises.

Interestingly, introverts may have more problems focusing in noisy environments. A study from a research center in Glasgow examined the effect of background noise on both extroverts and introverts.

Although both groups performed poorly when background noise was present, the noise distractions significantly impacted the introverted participants. Since introverts are more sensitive to external stimuli, it’s unsurprising that loud environments prevent them from doing their best work.

So, the extent to which noises prevent us from focusing on our tasks may be down to our personality type.

Example of a communication barrier based on background noise

To glean just how distracting background noise can be in the workplace, we’ll look at Adam, Leila, and Craig, who are all members of the content team.

Since their workstations are close together, even the slightest noise can be a major disturbance — especially when Adam cranks up the volume.

While creating content, Adam likes to listen to popular music. He uses headphones, but the music is loud enough for Craig and Leila to hear everything.

Leila and Craig often need to talk about the content she writes. But, the fact they can hear Adam’s music often distracts them from the points they are trying to make.

Perceptual barriers to effective team communication + solutions

Perceptual barriers to communication represent the mental blocks people may have that influence their perceptions about specific people, topics, or events .

These perceptions form intra-personal barriers that affect how people send, receive, or interpret messages in conversations.

Perceptual barriers to effective communication include perceptual filters but also nonverbal language .

Perceptual barrier #1: Perceptual filters

Perceptual filters to effective communication include our:

Thoughts,
Cognitive biases ,
Assumptions,
Preferences,
Values, and
Attitudes.

Unfortunately, these “filters” may lead to misunderstandings, stereotyping, and assumptions in communication. Such “filters” often make us closed-minded to opinions that are different from our own or ideas that go beyond what we consider “ usual ,” “ expected ,” or “ normal .”

Example of a communication barrier based on perceptual filters

We all construct our model of the world based on past experiences, which means that our filters usually lead to a few blind spots.

Consequently, these blind spots can negatively affect the people around us, as is the case with Erica, who has just joined a team of medical surgeons.

She just finished her specialization and is the daughter of the head of the hospital. Because of this, Erica’s colleagues assume she is inexperienced and, even worse, admitted to the team simply because her father appoints the staff.

Erica is also a staunch supporter of new surgical research — research her colleagues are still wary of.

Because of their assumptions and differences in values, the rest of the surgical team tends to ignore Erica during breaks.

As a result, Erica is often left in the dark about important happenings in the hospital.

Perceptual barrier #2: Nonverbal language

Nonverbal facial expressions, triggers, and cues represent the body language people emit while communicating.

This body language may be connected with the intended meaning of the messages the communicator is trying to convey. But, it may also be intentionally or unintentionally misleading.

In line with that, other people may perceive the nonverbal language of their fellow communicators correctly, or they might misinterpret it.

Example of a nonverbal language challenge

How can nonverbal language give rise to problems in the workplace? Let’s take Noah and Larissa, the only customer support specialists in an online fashion shop, as an example.

Recently, a customer has returned a valuable shipment, asking for a full refund. The reason cited is that a customer support specialist led her on about the color of the dresses ordered.

Julia, the head of customer support, calls up Noah and Larissa to discuss the matter and find the person responsible.

During the separate interviews, both Noah and Larissa deny it was them — but both display deceptive behavior, including:

Averting their eyes when answering questions,
Showing signs of alarm and panic,
Fake smiling, and
Fidgeting and looking stressed.

In truth, Noah is the one to blame.

Larissa is just nervous because she’s being interrogated on such an important matter.

The problem is that Julia cannot immediately spot the liar because her perception of Noah’s and Larrisa’s nonverbal language tells her they are both lying.

Emotional barriers to effective team communication + solutions

Emotional barriers to communication represent the emotions that may hold you back from communicating what you want to your teammates . These emotions might also stop you from listening to others attentively and accepting their point of view.

These key emotional barriers include:

Emotional barrier #1: Anger

Anger is an emotional barrier to communication that affects how your brain processes information.

Because of anger, you are less likely to be logical in discussions.

Moreover, you are less likely to contribute productively to solving problems — and more likely to oppose other people’s ideas.

The people you are projecting your anger to will usually become defensive, scared, or hurt.

As a result, people may hesitate to contact you in case of an emergency — even if you objectively are the best person to solve the problem.

Example of a communication barrier based on anger

Emotional barriers to communication can be detrimental to team collaboration . When those in leadership positions don’t know how to manage their anger , teamwork suffers the brunt of this emotion, as evidenced by Ginny’s situation below.

Ginny is a project manager at a software development company.

The project she is currently working on is late, and she has organized an emergency meeting to discuss what can be done to speed up and re-organize work.

During the discussion, Ginny becomes frustrated with her team’s perceived lack of urgency and starts calling on individual teammates to explain their work processes.

A couple of teammates become defensive, and Ginny angrily rejects their explanations. She even dismisses the fact-based reasons that show Ginny herself disregarded the original deadline estimates and defined an overly ambitious project deadline on her own.

After the meeting, the team goes back to work.

They may work with more focus in the future, but they now feel wary of Ginny and are reluctant to ask for help in the future — even if they think that they need to.

Emotional barrier #2: Pride

Pride is an emotional barrier that inhibits healthy communication in several ways.

For one, pride as an emotion implies you take pride in what you say and do. When this feeling gets the better of you, you might talk more than you listen — and active listening is an essential skill of effective communicators.

As a result, teammates become wary of inviting you to brainstorming sessions — because your idea always needs to be the best one, or else you become difficult to work with.

Example of a communication barrier based on pride

Are you unsure how pride could impede successful teamwork and collaboration ? To get more insight, we’ll turn to Oliver, a social media marketer at a marketing agency.

At every brainstorming session, he is the loudest when presenting his ideas. He is quick to dismiss the opinions of others with methodical flair.

His accomplishments are celebrated the longest, and he never makes mistakes (at least, not mistakes he owns up to).

Consequently, his teammates have come to dread daily meetings. They tend to let Oliver talk and often feel unmotivated to outtalk him. This dreary cycle continues, even if they have something important to say or ask.

Emotional barrier #3: Anxiety

Anxiety is another emotional barrier to effective communication that can diminish the efficacy of your communication skills.

This emotion prevents you from becoming an effective communicator by eating away at your concentration. Instead of paying attention to others, you become increasingly preoccupied with what you want to say.

Moreover, anxiety may push you to avoid certain social situations and save yourself from embarrassment or difficult conversations , even in a professional setting.

Example of a communication barrier based on anxiety

Let’s delve deeper into how anxiety can generate persistent fear and worry and stop us from putting our best foot forward in the workplace.

That’s exactly what it does to Daniel, an HR specialist in charge of recruiting, screening, interviewing, and onboarding workers .

At the end of each month, he attends a meeting with the head of the HR department, the CEO, and the leaders of other departments. During this meeting, they discuss his progress with the job positions they’ve requested.

Daniel’s talent with most tasks is noteworthy. But, his meeting anxiety creeps up each time he needs to attend the said monthly meeting.

Due to his situational anxiety, he often forgets to highlight his accomplishments and struggles to articulate answers to the audience’s questions. Although his achievements are commendable, his less-than-confident presentations make people question his capacity to handle his HR duties and grow in the future.

Cultural barriers to effective team communication + solutions

According to Joynt & Warner (1996), culture is “ the pattern of taken-for-granted assumptions about how a given collection of people should think, act, and feel as they go about their daily affairs .”

In line with this definition, cultural barriers to communication represent the different culture-related behavior patterns that may arise as obstacles to well-balanced communication among teammates .

These culture-related behavior patterns may revolve around:

Language,
Nonverbal language, and
Cultural norms, beliefs, and values.

They may also manifest as:

Stereotypes or
Status-based self-importance.

Cultural barrier #1: Language

Language barriers to communication can be detrimental, especially for teams across the globe. After all, it’s not uncommon to find people with different native languages in remote-first organizations .

For all their benefits, work-from-anywhere initiatives bring a unique set of drawbacks because if you don’t understand your teammates and they don’t understand you, communication breaks down .

Example of a communication barrier based on language

We’ve already discussed how physical barriers like time and distance prevent teams from collaborating smoothly. Now, what happens when you add a language barrier to the mix?

In a software development team, the manager notices persistent communication issues. Namely, two team members are French-Canadian and much better at speaking their minds in French than English.

However, the remaining two teammates are from the UK, and English is their mother tongue. Worried about the direction the team is heading, the manager holds an emergency meeting, where the group realizes that they have one language in common: French.

The manager took advanced French courses in university, and the coworkers from the UK got their degrees in Paris.

Because of this, the team decides to use French for all official correspondence.

Cultural barrier #2: Nonverbal language

We already discussed nonverbal language when addressing the perceptual barriers to effective communication.

However, nonverbal language can also be connected with the speaker’s culture. The same gestures or facial expressions can have different meanings in different cultures.

In such cases, we regard nonverbal language as a crucial culture-based communication barrier.

Example of a nonverbal language challenge (as a cultural barrier)

Let’s look at a software development team with members from different cultural backgrounds.

During a video meeting, the group encounters a nonverbal language challenge. The team lead, Olivia, from Wales, accidentally mutes her microphone while Nicholas, a QA specialist from Greece, presents a new feature.

When Nicholas asks for Olivia’s approval, she nods her head once and gives a thumbs-up gesture. However, this unintentionally unnerves the team members from Greece, Turkey, and Bangladesh.

Olivia is unaware that a single nod signifies “ No ” in Greece and Turkey, and in Bangladesh, a thumbs-up is considered offensive.

It takes some time for Olivia to explain her intended meaning and bridge the communication gap caused by cultural differences.

The best way to avoid miscommunication and misunderstandings caused by these cultural differences is to learn about the nonverbal communication patterns of your teammates.

Ask if they’re comfortable sharing about their culture and beliefs so that you gain further context. And, if your company offers such programs, pay attention to cross-cultural training.

Cultural barrier #3: Cultural norms, beliefs, and values

Each culture holds its own cultural norms, beliefs, and values. These are shared standards within a given culture, as well as human behaviors that support them. Consequently, these behaviors are met with social approval or disapproval.

Holidays, religions, customs, signs of respect, and even rules for proper business conduct may differ from culture to culture.

As a result, people from different cultures may struggle to communicate effectively because they might perceive the behavior of their fellow communicators as unusual, uncomfortable, or simply disrespectful.

Of course, this is rarely the intention of the communicators, who have merely made an honest mistake.

Example of a communication barrier based on cultural norms, beliefs, and values

Cultural differences can bring us together with our teammates. But, without sufficient clarification, they can make professional situations uncomfortable and act as communication barriers.

Unfortunately, that’s how it turned out for Irene, an intern from Norway working in a firm in San Francisco.

She requested a day off on “Independence Day” and Catherine, her coordinator, approved it.

However, they failed to clarify which Independence Day — Irene celebrates Norway’s on May 17th, not the US’s on July 4th. Consequently, the mishap led to Irene missing work and a scheduling problem.

Cultural barrier #4: Stereotypes

According to social psychology, a stereotype represents a “ fixed, over-generalized belief about a particular group or class of people .”

In other words, we have a particular idea about how a specific group or class of people think or behave — and we assume that every member of that group or class thinks or acts similarly.

Such an approach to people who belong to different cultures builds prejudices and stops us from viewing members from other cultures as unique individuals.

Stereotypes come in different forms, but the most common ones that are disruptive to effective communication are:

Microaggressions ,
Biases , and
Discrimination .

One particular source of stereotypes and prejudices is ethnocentrism.

According to the classic definition by Melville J. Herskovits, ethnocentrism represents “a feeling of superiority regarding one’s own culture or way of life.”

For ethnicism to arise, there must be an “in-group” and an “out-group.”

Social theorist Theodore W. Adorno and his colleagues have created a broader definition that defines ethnocentrism as a combination of “ a positive attitude toward one’s own ethnic/cultural group (the in-group) with a negative attitude toward the other ethnic/cultural group (the out-group) .”

For people with this type of outlook, it’s always “ us ” against “ them ,” which minimizes the effectiveness of many communication situations.

Example of a communication barrier based on stereotypes

A common type of stereotyping is based on generational prejudices.

In the modern workplace, exercising empathy ensures that such prejudices don’t get in the way of teamwork. However, when we don’t work on overcoming unconscious biases , they can lead to escalating microaggressions and the development of team silos .

Like Finn and Milo in the following example, we may hesitate to give older colleagues a chance to prove us wrong.

Finn and Milo are two new graduates who’ve just got jobs as production assistants at a bank. The majority of their colleagues are much older than them.

Finn and Milo believe the older generation is “ out of touch, inflexible, and closed-minded to new ideas, ” labeling their colleagues “Boomers.”

When their colleagues oppose their innovative solutions in meetings or dislike the use of new apps, it only reinforces Finn and Milo’s preconceived notions. Consequently, they take little notice when their older teammates support their ideas.

Cultural barrier #5: Status

The perceived importance of someone’s status can also pose a culturally-based communication barrier.

Namely, workers accustomed to workplaces where seniority and status take precedence may find it challenging to adapt to workplaces that favor a more fluid work environment with less strict rules.

But, the opposite may also be true. For example, a worker used to a workplace where teammates are encouraged to treat each other as equals might have trouble navigating a workplace with a prominent hierarchy and rules.

Example of a communication barrier based on status

While rules can optimize a company’s internal organization, rigid regulations can send a message to employees that besides status, little else matters.

In the below example, Arya, who has landed a new job as a product manager, has ample experience working in such companies. Consequently, she has difficulty adjusting to a more relaxed environment in her new role.

Arya used to work in a company where hierarchy was strictly followed, and people had to be formal and wait to be spoken to by senior staff. She had many formal meetings with her subordinates.

However, her new company has a different culture where individual contributions matter more than titles, and people communicate and collaborate freely regardless of their position. Arya finds it hard to adjust to this new culture, as she is used to being treated as someone of higher rank.

She struggles to chat with junior staff and maintain a friendly relationship with them.

Language barriers to effective team communication + solutions

Language barriers represent characteristics of linguistic use that inhibit comprehension and thus prevent successful communication . Although we associate miscommunication issues with communicators who have a different native language, they may arise even if the communicators have the same mother tongue.

Language barriers to effective communication usually result from:

Regional accents and dialects,
Pidgin languages,
Jargon,
Slang,
Word choice, and
Literacy and linguistic ability.

Language barrier #1: Regional accents and dialects

Team members may have the same mother tongue but also speak in different regional accents and dialects. This can cause comprehension issues, as teammates could use different pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Example of a communication barrier based on regional accents and dialects

In teams where all members have English as their mother tongue, most people wouldn’t expect to find many instances of miscommunication and miscomprehension.

However, if the members come from both the US and the UK, regional differences in language use can pose a problem.

For example, when a product team with US and UK employees organizes an on-site meeting, the organizer states they’ll hold the session on “the first floor of the building.” For the organizer and the rest of the US employees, the “first floor” is the floor at street level.

But, for teammates from the UK, the “first floor” is the floor above street level.

A simple question would clear away any second thoughts, yet many attendees feel uncomfortable and too embarrassed to ask for further clarification. Consequently, the organization encounters workflow issues, and employees waste valuable time searching for the meeting on the wrong floors.

Language barrier #2: Pidgin languages

According to the International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences , pidgin languages, along with creoles, are language varieties formed from two or more languages. These new varieties have a simpler grammatical structure and smaller vocabulary than regular languages.

Additionally, they grow out of necessity when two or more groups of people speak different languages but need to communicate on a regular basis.

Pidgin languages may represent a barrier to effective communication when the standard meaning of pidgin expressions is unclear to all communicators.

For example, a common universal form of pidgin is acronyms. But, visual representations like emojis can also serve as a pictorial pidgin language.

Using acronyms and emojis in pidgin may give rise to a communication roadblock if some group members share a different meaning for the same emojis and acronyms.

Example of a communication barrier based on pidgin languages

Pidgins are legitimate language varieties, and clearing up a communication mishap is typically done quickly. Still, using specific phrases can cause a temporary communication break, as seen in the below example with Tok Pisin .

Fay is an art director heading a program that organizes educational, extracurricular activities for high school and college students. Although she’s spent most of her career in the US, she was born in Papua New Guinea, so some pidgin wording occasionally finds its way into her daily communication.

When informing one of her coworkers they should visit the local college for an upcoming art event, she tells them they should visit the “big school.” She’s not wrong since many Tok Pisin speakers call universities “big schools.”

Yet, Fay’s coworker is unaware of this and is unsure whether Fay meant they should visit a high school or college.

Language barrier #3: Jargon

Jargon represents words and phrases used by a particular group of people (e.g., people in a specific industry or field of work).

Jargon is often difficult to understand for those outside of the group because it is laden with:

Technical terms,
Acronyms , and
Abbreviations.

Furthermore, the overuse of jargon can lead to:

Misinterpretation,
Lack of understanding,
Lack of collaboration, and
Feelings of exclusion.

Example of a communication barrier based on jargon

For employees working with professionals from different industries, jargon can become one of the top reasons for unclear communication.

For instance, a doctor who contacts a financial advisor about settling a patient’s medical bill may slip into their usual way of expression.

The doctor uses medical terms such as “ sub-therapeutic ,” “ agonal, ” and “ iatrogenic .”

On the flip side, the financial adviser uses financial terms such as “ active-participant status, ” “ advance ,” and “ life annuity .” Neither can fully understand the other and what was supposed to be a 30-minute meeting drags on for over an hour.

There’s a place and time for using jargon in the workplace. To learn more about the topic, check out this blog post:

The dos and don’ts for using industry jargon in internal communication

Language barrier #4: Slang

Slang is a type of informal language, and such expressions are traditionally tied to a specific region, community, or social group.

Slang consists of unconventional phrases, idioms, and vocabulary, usually absent from standardized dictionaries. These expressions can bring people together and foster a sense of belonging.

Yet, in cases where not all parties are familiar with slang expressions, it can lead to communication rifts.

Example of a communication barrier based on slang

Slang varies from language to language, and when two coworkers have a different mother tongue, they may be unable to grasp the meaning of each other’s regional slang.

To see how that plays out in practice, we’ll look at Jeffrey, who is talking to Jannine, a sales representative from France.

During their conversation, Jeffrey, the CEO of an American pharmaceutical company, praises Jannine for her impressive sales record.

To express his delight, he exclaims, “ Get outta here! ”.

Unfortunately, English is not Jeanne’s first language, and she took the expression literally. Thinking that Jeffrey was angry and didn’t believe her sales figures, she hastily left his office.

Language barrier #5: Word choice

Problems with word choice may arise if you use:

Homophones , which are words that share the same pronunciation as other words but have different meanings. Problems with homophones may occur in verbal communication. A common homophone set includes the words there, their, and they’re .
Homographs , which are words that share the same spelling as other words but have different pronunciations and meanings. Problems with homographs may arise in written communication. A common set of homographs consists of the past tense of the verb see ( saw ) and the noun saw (a tool used for cutting wood).

Example of a communication barrier based on word choice

If you’re not careful, your word choice can sometimes give coworkers the wrong impression. In those cases, you may end up as the person in the below example.

At lunch, a colleague mentions they want to “ right the wrong expressions ” in a report by Lexie. However, other colleagues interpret it as wanting to “ write ” the wrong expressions, which would be spiteful.

Language barrier #6: Literacy and linguistic ability

Issues with literacy and linguistic ability represent the problems that might arise due to grammar and vocabulary differences.

These issues may be especially prominent if the person is trying to communicate in a language that is not their mother tongue.

But, they may also be the result of typos.

Example of a communication barrier based on literacy and linguistic ability

In teams whose members come from different linguistic backgrounds, things like date grammar can lead to misinterpretation.

In such a scenario, Alan, who works in HR at a local school, asks Gabriella, a new Italian teacher, to send him some documents by 06/07/2021.

However, Gabriella doesn’t know that in the United States, this date means June 7th, not July 6th, as it does in Italy.

As a result, she misunderstands the message and has a false deadline in mind.

An example of a communication barrier based on date grammar in Pumble, a team communication app

Gender barriers to effective team communication + solutions

In recent years, workplace equity initiatives have helped many employees access new opportunities, regardless of gender or background. However, these policies serve to minimize conflict and motivate employees, not resolve miscommunication troubles altogether.

Thus, we still see communication issues stemming from gender differences, which may be a result of societal values or cultural norms.

Whatever the case, one of the most common gender barriers to communication is stereotyping. Preconceived notions can significantly impact how we view people, compelling us to link particular behavior and traits to gender differences.

These stereotypes can infringe on a person’s authenticity, preventing them from expressing themselves freely in the workplace.

Example of a communication barrier based on gender biases and stereotyping

Not only can gender biases contribute to a hostile work environment , but they can also create rifts between members of a team. If the tension persists, it might even have a long-lasting impact on employee mental health .

But, how exactly do gender differences make team members disconnected ? To learn more, we’ll turn to Charles, Peter, and Ainsley.

Charles, an ambulance driver, talks with Peter, an emergency medical technician, about their colleagues at the hospital. However, they exclude their female colleague, Ainsley, because they think she gossips too much.

This treatment makes Ainsley feel she can’t trust Charles and Peter since they don’t include her in their conversations.

Interpersonal barriers to effective communication + solutions

Interpersonal barriers to effective communication stop people from reaching their full potential by restricting communication skills.

They may manifest as an inability to listen to others attentively or maintain the attention of the people you want to communicate with.

The reason for these communication problems mainly stems from a:

Lack of participation and
Lack of open-mindedness.

Interpersonal barrier #1: A lack of desire to participate in communication

A crucial interpersonal barrier to effective communication is a lack of a desire to participate in communication situations at the workplace.

Often, others will feel frustrated while trying to communicate with people who don’t want to interact with them.

Example of a communication barrier based on a lack of desire to participate

A lot of the time, it’s not that your coworker is avoiding interacting with you. It could be just that they’re not used to the communication model the company uses. However, this perceived lack of desire to engage in conversation can have dire consequences on team morale .

Let’s take John, an enterprise sales specialist at a company that builds software solutions, as an example.

An essential part of his duties is to conduct calls with prospective clients. But, he often needs the assistance of the software development team to answer technical questions.

However, rarely anyone from the software development team is enthusiastic about participating in these client calls.

In fact, John often has problems finding people to join him in these calls, which wastes a lot of time on futile persuasion and evasive answers.

An example of a communication barrier based on a lack of desire to participate in Pumble, a team communication app

Interpersonal barrier #2: A lack of desire to explore new concepts

Another interpersonal barrier to effective communication is a lack of a desire to explore new ideas and opinions.

Closed-minded coworkers can make brainstorming sessions difficult and uncreative. Moreover, they frustrate teammates looking to dive deeper into new concepts.

Example of a communication barrier based on a lack of desire to explore new concepts

No matter how much you excel at your job, being stuck in your ways doesn’t make you a good team player. And, that’s precisely the case with Michael, a senior product designer at a product design studio.

He is experienced and renowned for his work ethic but dreaded at brainstorming meetings.

He shoots down every idea and opinion different from what he knows, even if it has great potential.

As a result, the team doesn’t look forward to meeting with him. They know he will always try to confine them to his old ways of thinking.

Organizational barriers to effective communication + solutions

Sometimes, despite the employees’ willingness to become better communicators, they run into roadblocks in the form of organizational barriers.

These issues severely limit the flow of information within an organization, preventing people from getting urgent information on time.

The primary causes of organizational barriers include:

Strict structure and rigid hierarchy,
Lack of transparency, and
Lack of communication channels.

Organizational barrier #1: Strict organizational structure and rigid hierarchies

In companies where leadership is inaccessible, meaningful interactions may become few and far between. Consequently, managers are urgently looking for the information their teams desperately need to complete their work.

This may work as a short-term solution, but eventually, it creates a mistrust of leadership and a culture where employees are reluctant to speak up.

The absence of open dialogue means the employee input gets lost because workers believe leadership isn’t interested in hearing them out. Besides, in such environments, employees often feel ill-equipped to deal with the possible repercussions.

Example of a communication barrier based on strict organizational structure and frigid hierarchies

How do rigid hierarchies prevent the effective exchange of ideas within an organization? To better answer this question, we’ll join a quarterly meeting at a software development firm.

Josh is a software developer whose team has regular monthly and weekly meetings. The members talk with each other about their progress and ask their manager about future steps and further guidance.

However, only the top executives and a few managers lead the conversation at the quarterly meetings. The few times John and his team have tried to suggest product improvements, they’ve been promptly shut down.

Due to these unpleasant experiences, John does not want to speak up at the upcoming meeting, although his idea about product improvements is objectively great.

Organizational barrier #2: Lack of transparency

In the modern workplace, a culture of transparency is one of the key ingredients for running a successful business.

Improving upward communication or resolving problems with lateral communication is impossible without transparency. Organizations that put a lot of value on transparency encourage employees to exchange information across different levels, which in turn makes them more:

Trustworthy and
Collaborative.

Yet, the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer survey shows that most workers lack faith in their employers. Furthermore, the survey highlighted that 1 in 3 respondents stated they don’t trust their employer.

The absence of transparent communication can have long-term consequences on business operations, including:

Lower engagement and motivation levels,
Employees who are reluctant to self-advocate at work, and
Higher turnover rates.

Example of a communication barrier based on a lack of transparency

Without transparency, employees have limited access to vital resources and expected outcomes, making it challenging to develop a feasible work strategy.

For example, Jacob, a team lead of a software development team in a tech company, is left in the dark after a few new stakeholders have joined the organization. He’s heard whispers that the company may head in a different direction, but each time he asks leadership for clarification, he’s told he’ll be informed in due time.

However, a few months have already passed, and Jacob’s team is frustrated with the runaround they’ve received. This puts him in an uncomfortable position because his hands are tied, and he feels bad for being unable to alleviate his team’s concerns.

Had the company taken steps to overcome barriers to communication, leadership would be more in tune with how the employees feel.

Organizational barrier #3: Lack of communication channels

Employee effort goes to waste if communication channels are insufficient or lacking.

For example, knowledge sharing is quicker and easier for teams that rely on video conferencing . However, when the organization adamantly insists on using an unsuitable communication channel, much of the information can get lost in the shuffle.

As a result, we see:

Missed opportunities,
Lack of timely feedback,
Mistakes and miscommunication, and
Dissatisfied customers.

For a deep dive into communication channels, check out this thorough guide:

Channels of communication

Example of a communication barrier based on a lack of communication channels

Without clear and well-established communication pathways, no team can thrive for long, and coworkers feel isolated and disconnected.

But, how does this come about?

In the case of Thomas, an app developer working in a big tech company, his team has been struggling for weeks to solve a bug that’s been a problem for months. After much trial and error, he finally found the solution.

Yet, his happiness is short-lived. As his team has no central platform for communication and collaboration, informing his manager and coworkers about the breakthrough is a game of telephone, and no one seems to understand his urgency.

Finally, the manager tells Thomas to wait until the monthly team meeting to tell everyone about his progress. Thomas is deflated since this means other employees will have to work around the bug until he presents his solution.

It takes collaboration to overcome communication barriers: Do it with Pumble!

No team can be successful without good communication, but sometimes several barriers may prevent us from reaching our goals.

To ensure you’re doing everything you can to overcome them, have your team use Pumble!

Pumble is a team communication and collaboration app that will allow you to:

Overcome physical barriers, as it allows for both real-time and asynchronous communication,
Overcome perceptual barriers as it allows for both verbal and non-verbal communication , thanks to features like voice calls and video conferencing ,
Overcome organizational barriers, as it’s an ideal one-stop solution for team communication and collaboration .

Help your team overcome communication barriers — try Pumble today !

References :

Baylor, E. (2012). Ethnocentrism . Oxford Bibliographies. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766567/obo-9780199766567-0045.xml
Ceserani J. (2003). Big ideas: putting the zest into creativity and innovation at work. Kogan Page.
Daily Health Post. (2019). This is What Happens to Your Body When You Get Angry. https://dailyhealthpost.com/anger-negatively-affects-brain-and-heart/
Erickson, A. (2017). What ‘personal space’ looks like around the world. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/24/how-close-is-too-close-depends-on-where-you-live/
Joynt, P. and Warner, M. (1996). Managing Across Cultures: Issues and Perspectives, International Thomson Business Press, London.
McLeod, S. (2017). Stereotypes . Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html
Shofner, K. (n.d.) The Evolution of Pidgin Languages . United Language Group. https://www.unitedlanguagegroup.com/blog/evolution-pidgin-languages
Salzberg S. (2011). Real happiness: the power of meditation: a 28-day program . Workman Pub.
Siegel, J. (n.d.). Language Varieties: Tok Pisin . Language Varieties. https://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/tokpisin.html
Steinhilber, B. (2017). How to Tell if Someone is Lying to You, According to Researchers. NBS News. https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-tell-if-someone-lying-according-behavioral-experts-ncna786326
The Edelman Trust Institute (n.d.). The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer . Edelman. https://www.edelman.com/trust/2023/trust-barometer
(n.d.). Soft skills: What are they and how to develop them. Futurelearn. https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/soft-skills-what-they-are-and-how-to-develop-them

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10 Common Communication Mistakes

Avoiding communication blunders and misunderstandings.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

It can be embarrassing to make mistakes with communication. For example, if you send an email without checking it, and later realize that it contained an error, you can end up looking sloppy and unprofessional.

But other communication mistakes can have more serious consequences. They can tarnish your reputation, upset clients or even lead to lost revenue.

In this article, we'll look at 10 common communication mistakes, and we'll discuss what you can do to avoid them.

Mistake 1: Not Editing Your Work

Spelling, tone and grammatical mistakes can make you look careless. That's why it's essential to check all of your communications before you send them.

Don't rely on spell-checkers: they won't pick up words that are used incorrectly. Instead, proofread your work, and use a dictionary to look up any words that you're unsure about.

You may find it helpful to make a list of words and phrases that you find it hard to get right (such as "your/you're," "its/it's," or "affect/effect"). Store this close to hand.

It can be difficult to see errors in your own work, so consider asking a colleague to look over key documents before you distribute them. Alternatively, read your work aloud – this makes it easier to catch typos and tone errors. Then, give yourself time to reflect on your document, and to make any final changes.

If you want to become a better communicator, take our How Good Are Your Communication Skills? quiz to find out where you shine, and where you need to improve.

Mistake 2: Delivering Bad News by Email

Would you announce layoffs to your team by email or IM? If you did, you could upset everyone!

Written communication channels don't allow you to soften difficult messages with nonverbal cues (such as body language ), and they don't allow you to deal immediately with intense emotions.

If you need to deliver bad news, do this in person, and think carefully about how you can do it sensitively, so that you can convey your message but minimize long-term upset at the same time.

When you deliver a difficult message in person, it's easier to pick up on signs that people have misunderstood key parts of your message, or that they've taken the information particularly badly. You can then take steps to clarify your message, or help people deal with the difficult news.

Mistake 3: Avoiding Difficult Conversations

At some point, you will need to give negative feedback. It's tempting to try to avoid these conversations, but this can cause further problems – for instance, you may find that a small problem you "let go" soon grows into big one.

Preparation is the key to handling difficult conversations. Learn to give clear, actionable feedback, and use tools such as the Situation – Behavior – Impact technique to encourage your people to reflect on their behavior.

You may also want to role-play your conversation first, so that you feel confident in both your words and your body language.

Mistake 4: Not Being Assertive

Assertiveness is about stating what you need, while considering the wants and needs of others.

You may not always get your way when you're assertive, but you stand a better chance of doing so, or of reaching a compromise, because you've been clear about your needs. Use our Bite-Sized Training session on Assertiveness Skills to identify your needs, and to practice assertive communication.

Assertiveness also means saying "no" when you need to. Our article " 'Yes' to the Person, 'No' to the Task" explains how to turn down requests gently but assertively, while maintaining good relationships.

Assertiveness is not the same as aggression. When you're aggressive, you push to get your own way without thinking about other people's rights, wants, and needs.

Mistake 5: Reacting, Not Responding

Have you ever shouted at a colleague in frustration, or sent a terse reply to an email, without thinking your point through? If so, you're likely to have reacted emotionally, instead of responding calmly.

This kind of emotional reaction can damage your reputation. You may upset people with your strong emotions, and give the impression that you lack self-control and emotional intelligence .

Read our article on managing your emotions at work for tips on how to keep your reactions under control.

Mistake 6: Not Preparing Thoroughly

Poorly-prepared presentations, reports, or emails frustrate your audience and can, over time, damage your reputation. This is why it's essential to prepare and plan your communications carefully.

First, set aside time to plan your communication thoroughly. Consider using tools like the Rhetorical Triangle and Monroe's Motivating Sequence to create a credible, intelligent, and compelling message that appeals to your audience's emotions, as well as to their intellects.

Leave time to proofread, to find images, and to check that documents are compatible with your audience's software. Then, if you are delivering a speech or a presentation, rehearse thoroughly, so that you are fluent and inspiring.

Mistake 7: Using a "One-Size-Fits-All" Approach to Communication

If you use a "one-size-fits-all" approach to communication, you may overlook people's different personalities, needs and expectations. In fact, your communications need to address those differences as much as possible.

If you're preparing a presentation, make sure that you appreciate that people have different learning styles , and that you cater for these. This means that everyone – from those who learn best by reading to those who prefer a more hands-on approach – can benefit from your session.

Mistake 8: Not Keeping an Open Mind When Meeting New People

Today's workplace is a melting pot of ethnicities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, abilities, and viewpoints. These differences create a rich tapestry of experiences and opinions that can greatly enhance our lives.

However, it can be tempting to stereotype new colleagues or clients, or to make assumptions about them based on just a few pieces of information. This is especially true if you haven't had much time to get to know them well.

Assumptions inhibit open communication, because you don't consider the other person's own unique background, personality and experience. Over time, this can jeopardize your relationship with them.

So, set time aside to listen when you meet someone new. Give them space to talk about their viewpoints and take time to absorb these.

Then, learn how to manage cultural differences , so that you take each person's needs and expectations into consideration. If you often work with people from overseas, explore the idea of cultural intelligence , so that you can start to adapt your behavior when you come across people from different cultures.

If you're new to working or managing internationally, read our managing around the world articles in the Team Management section to learn about working in different countries.

Mistake 9: Assuming That Your Message Has Been Understood

Always take time to check that people have understood your message.

For example, when you send out an email, you could encourage people to respond with questions or to reply, if they haven't understood part of your message.

Or, if you've given a presentation, build in time for people to discuss your main points or leave time for questions at the end.

To check that you've been understood correctly, use open questions that start with "how," "why" or "what." These encourage reflection, and will help your audience members to explain what they, personally, have taken from your communication.

Mistake 10: Accidentally Violating Others' Privacy

Have you ever forwarded a sensitive email to the wrong person, or sent an incorrect attachment? These kinds of errors can cause serious commercial problems, violate people's privacy, and lead to embarrassment and confusion.

To avoid these problems, write sensitive messages before you select the recipient, and then double-check their email address. If your email program automatically fills in email addresses, you could switch this feature off, so that you can consciously choose the right recipient.

You may find it helpful to draft these emails in a word processing document or blank email, and then to paste the text into a new message. This way you won't accidentally include any information from previous messages.

And, if you're sending a sensitive or confidential attachment, check that no "tracked changes" or comments can be found, and make sure that you're sending the right version.

Everyone makes communication mistakes from time to time. However, you'll protect your reputation if you avoid the most common errors. These include not editing your work, accidentally violating people's privacy when forwarding emails, and not being assertive.

The key to good communication is to think about your audience's needs. Prepare each email, document, and presentation carefully, and give yourself time to check it.

Above all, remember that communication is a two-way process. Be ready for questions, and listen to what your audience has to say.

Over time, you'll find that avoiding these common communication mistakes will greatly enhance the quality of your messages, your reputation, your working relationships, and your job satisfaction.

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How to master communication in problem solving

May 11, 2023 The path from problem to solution is not linear. In fast-moving, complex times, decision-makers can’t effectively act alone when it comes to solving complicated workplace problems; diverse perspectives and rigorous debate are crucial to determining the best steps to take. What’s missing in many companies is the use of “contributory dissent,” or the capabilities required to engage in healthy if divergent discussions about critical business problems, write Ben Fletcher , Chris Hartley , Rupert Hoskin , and Dana Maor in a recent article . Contributory dissent allows individuals and groups to air their differences in a way that moves the discussion toward a positive outcome and doesn’t undermine leadership or group cohesion. Check out these insights to learn how to establish cultures and structures where individuals and teams feel free to bring innovative—and often better—alternative solutions to the table, and dive into the best ways to master communication in problem solving.

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13 ways to fix poor communication in the workplace

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December 22, 2020

Article highlights

Why Is Organizational Communication So Difficult?
How to Fix Poor Organizational Communication in Your Workplace

It can feel overwhelming to not only stay on top of corporate compliance issues but also effectively communicate relevant information to employees. And when there’s poor communication in the workplace, that only compounds the difficulty.

Imagine this: you’ve recently updated an important policy and you need to get the word out to all of your employees. Depending on the situation and size of your organization, you might hold an in-person staff meeting, send an email, hold a phone conference, or conduct a video meeting.

Regardless of how you communicate, the goal is to ensure that all employees understand the policy change and how it impacts their jobs.

But effective communication in the workplace can be tricky, including both casual, one-on-one conversations and formal, corporate communications. While they are both intertwined, the way to think about each of them is unique and issues that arise from poor communication are different for each.

Of course, if the people conveying information on behalf of the organization have poor communication skills, the efforts are doomed to fail (this might make a good training session for employees needing to boost their interpersonal skills.)

But what about the more formal, organizational communication efforts? How to resolve communication issues at work?

Before you can look at solving communication problems at work, it helps to first look at the problems that get in the way of effective communication.

Why is organizational communication so difficult?

If you’ve ever had a misunderstanding with a friend or family member because of a communication misfire , you’ve seen first-hand how situations can quickly unravel.

One person conveys one message but the other person receives a completely different message.

A variety of issues come into play on all sides (sender, receiver, and message), including tone of voice, faulty listening, missing information, assumptions of previous knowledge, and unclear explanations. And that’s just person-to-person communication.

Factor in a one-to-many communication effort and you can just imagine the fallout that might occur from a poorly executed effort.

Team communication (like a top-down attempt to convey a policy change to all employees) is anything but simple.

How to fix poor organizational communication in your workplace

With a broad understanding of the issues at play, you can learn how to improve communication at work by following the guidelines below.

1. Establish baseline communication standards

Create a set of standards by which your company communicates both internally and externally. This will build a solid foundation on which future communication efforts can be built.

Depending on your organization’s needs, you might create brand guidelines, conduct communication training, or something else.

Consider, for example, when you order a meal at Chick-Fil-A. Every time, employees end their customer interaction with the phrase “my pleasure.” That’s no coincidence – it’s a communication standard set by the company for how it wants the business to be perceived.

This doesn’t just apply to customer-facing communication. How do you want employees, team members, direct reports, or your board of directors to perceive you, your work, and your communication effort?

2. Create a safe space for communication

Employees need to feel comfortable voicing their opinions, offering ideas, reporting issues, asking questions, and sharing criticism.

Whether you look at this from a top-down perspective (both to and from direct reports and leadership) or horizontal (colleagues and team members), your organization needs to create a safe communication environment on all levels and in all directions.

For direct reports, they need to feel comfortable bringing issues to you, knowing they’re in a safe space when communicating within the set standards mentioned above.

For your leadership, you need to feel comfortable approaching them with issues. If not, gently force the issue to uncover the reasons why it isn’t a safe space for broaching problems with them.

While horizontal communication focuses more on personal communication skills, it’s important to recognize issues that could arise from poor communication at this level. Plus, it underscores the need to support each other in fostering a safe space to share questions and concerns.

3. Must be consistent and constant

When it comes to communication in the workplace, employees should be able to rely on consistent efforts. By setting standards as mentioned above, communication should sound consistent.

But it goes beyond that. Effective communication in the workplace should come through consistent channels and vehicles and people.

Don’t keep people guessing, and don’t overwhelm them with too many channels. Employees should be able to expect when changes or big announcements are coming and know the go-to source for getting updates. Thus, they should realize that if they miss one team meeting or email, they’ll be left behind.

This requires constant communication, not a one-and-done effort. If the only time employees hear from leadership is when a major problem or change crops up, they will begin to fear communication from those leaders.

That’s the exact opposite of what you’re striving for – a safe environment. Instead, they should be accustomed to hearing what’s going on and getting some warning (when appropriate) that change is afoot.

4. Set clear norms and expectations

While this resembles the advice to set standards, it’s more about the “how” of workplace communication in terms of the channel, the frequency, and the expectations.

Does it happen through email, in face-to-face meetings, via employee surveys, or some other mode of communication? What is the expectation for checking email after hours or on weekends? What is the norm for answering phone calls or text outside of the office?

For teams that work together over long periods of time, these norms develop naturally.

However, the business landscape changes at rapid speed, and what once worked a few years ago might no longer be effective.

Plus, although new technology makes communication easier, it often doesn’t convey body language, tone of voice, and other nuances of face-to-face discussions.

Therefore, it’s good to regularly address the “how” of effective communication at work.

5. Proactively seek feedback

Alarmingly, research from Gallup shows that more than 50% of American employees aren’t engaged at work. That could result in high turnover, decreased productivity, and dissatisfied staff.

Rather than wait for employees to approach higher-ups with issues, the company should be taking the initiative to seek their input.

Good workplace communication needs to be a two-way street if you want engaged employees who feel valued and motivated.

An obvious first step could be to conduct employee engagement surveys to get feedback. By regularly surveying employees, leadership can collect feedback and drill down into the data needed to monitor issues, improve workplace culture, and boost employee engagement.

However, surveys aren’t the only way to seek employee input.

Other feedback-gathering methods range from informal, one-on-one discussions to adding a Q&A component to weekly staff meetings.

The key is to integrate two-way communication efforts throughout the business to regularly collect authentic employee input.

6. Leverage technology the right way

Everyone agrees that email saves time, reduces paper costs, and is an environmentally friendly business practice.

But it’s not always an effective way to communicate. Just because you send an email doesn’t mean all recipients comprehend the contents or are able to adjust their day-to-day jobs in the way you want.

This especially holds true for official communication that requires action. Furthermore, assuming that employees will read and comply with important emails can put your business at risk.

7. Master your meetings

Meetings are the mainstay for most companies, especially businesses wondering how to improve communication in the workplace.

They can be both a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand, they can be a productive way to get multiple people aligned and working toward the same goals. However, if run poorly or have too many extraneous people involved, meetings can have the opposite impact.

If you’re seeing communication issues in their workplace, meetings can be a quick win and easy adjustment.

Simple but effective strategies here include keeping meetings short, sending an agenda ahead of time, staying on topic, inviting only those people whose presence is truly needed and outlining clear action steps you want participants to take after the meeting.

8. Get control of mobile communication

Mobile technology isn’t going anywhere, but it presents unique communication opportunities and challenges.

It’s crucial to get control of how your organization communicates and how it expects others to communicate while mobile .

Again, this is part expectation-setting and part adapting to the changing landscape in a proactive, positive way.

9. Communication with remote employees

Remote employees are no longer an anomaly – they’re commonplace in businesses of every size.

If you have remote employees, you’ve got some means to bridge the location gap, including chat apps, video conferencing, and cloud tools. However, it’s easy for communication with remote employees to fall through the cracks, even if it’s not intentional.

According to research on “the deskless workforce” by Zogby Analytics , 38% of remote workers cited a lack of information and 39% cited the timeliness of information as the most common obstacles to their efficiency.

That’s why it’s incumbent upon the onsite team to include remote workers in informal conversations and ad-hoc discussions.

This can prove difficult at times, but it’s key to making them a part of the team. It might even take extra effort by the manager and leadership to keep remote employees abreast of what’s happening with both the team and the company.

10. Collaboration in the cloud

Cloud-based tools can be a godsend in getting work done and offer new ways to communicate within the organization.

However, they are fraught with landmines as digital communication doesn’t provide an opportunity to convey context or nuance or tone. What you think is a harmless comment or suggestion may not always be received that way.

This is especially true for leaders who might feel they are making helpful suggestions, but instead, employees take these “suggestions” as direct orders.

11. Make internal documents easily accessible

Employees are busy enough without having to spend a lot of time looking for internal documents. This is especially true for having to ask around for basic information like holiday schedules or vacation policies.

Besides wasting time and draining productivity, it frustrates employees to not even know where to find important documents and key information they need to do their jobs. Help employees easily access policies , procedures, guidelines, and other crucial information, making everything readily available and easy to find.

Not only will this improve communication in the workplace, but it will also empower employees to stay informed.

12. Break down communication silos

Silos exist in many organizations, even small businesses. When employees only focus on their own roles, departments, or objectives, they’re not collaborating with others.

Sometimes this means missed communication, where one department doesn’t know what the other is doing or worse, inadvertently undermines what another department is trying to accomplish. Other times, this means they lose out on the fresh perspective that comes with collaborative efforts – crucial for understanding the “big picture.”

But to improve communication in the workplace, you must be committed to breaking down silos when they are discovered. Include employees in the decision-making processes.

Let those who need to know be a part of the conversation. And be as transparent as you can be.

13. Accountability

By taking the above steps (and doing them well), it gives you the freedom to hold employees accountable to the expectations you set. It also allows you to track who is and isn’t doing what’s being asked.

If you get this out of order and attempt to hold people accountable without fixing the other communication issues, it won’t work and employees will resist the changes being made.

Policy management tools like PowerDMS help you streamline how you manage your crucial documents. PowerDMS condenses cabinets full of paper into a central, secure, searchable online system – easy for employees to find, access, and use. Plus, it automatically disseminates, collects signatures on, and tracks your organization’s important policies and procedures so you know who has received and acknowledged each communication. Get key information on policy management and how it can help your organization here .

Admittedly, it can feel daunting to solve communication issues in the workplace. But understanding the internal roadblocks and following the guidelines above should empower you to improve communication at work.

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Common Team Communication Problems [5 Signs and Solutions]

Studies show poor communication between team members can cost businesses dearly. By some estimates, ineffective communication can cost as much as $1.2 trillion each year. This translates to $12,506 per team member. Simply put—communication is critical to your team and the overall organization’s success.

Team communication can be costly if it is not performed well, so let’s dive into the five most common signs that team communication problems exist and show you how to solve them constructively.

The Importance of Team Communication

Effective team communication builds a nurturing and engaging work environment. A team that communicates well will also understand both what needs to be done and how it should be done. Moreover, team members will feel more motivated to achieve the team’s goals and business objectives.

According to research:

86% of team members believe workplace failures are due to ineffective communication.
Team members who are a part of effective communication plans are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peer groups.

By investing in improving team communication, leaders will ensure both the team’s success as well as the individual contributors’ success.

The Top 5 Signs Your Team Faces Communication Problems

What happens when communication is not present or is strained? How can you help your team members face and overcome these communication challenges as their leader?

Here are the top five signs that your team has communication problems and ways to solve them.

1. Competing Priorities

Competing priorities are often due to differences in speed, quality, and cost in one’s work. While it’s nothing out of the ordinary for each person to manage different tasks and priorities, communication can decline when self-interest versus group-interest becomes disproportionate. Competing priorities lead to poor communication and impact the overall team outcomes.

Develop team members on how to initiate open and proactive dialogue on matters such as the following:

Setting boundaries with an honest yet caring attitude
Using effective questions to acquire the right information and accomplish what needs to be done
Finding solutions (e.g., new deadlines, processes) that better accommodate all parties

Learn how to foster more productive business relationships with CMOE’s Conflict and Collaboration workshop.

2. Personality Conflicts

With teams of various sizes and demographics, it is important to remember that each individual has a unique personality and frame of reference. Some of these personalities may not mesh or work well together. When personalities collide, team members are less eager to communicate, share information, and collaborate with each other. This can produce unresolved issues that fester over time and lead to more poor communication.

Consider administering a personality profile with the purpose of helping individuals better understand their own personal style and temperament as well as their team members. This practice provides greater understanding in how you can best work and interact with those who have a different style.

Two effective personality profiles are:

MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator)

A tool such as DISC combined with facilitated discussion or training creates a foundation for improved communication and maximizing individuals’ strengths across a team.

Whether your team members have conflicting ideas or different workstyles, understanding and applying conflict resolution skills can help alleviate some of their issues.

Here are the five stages of conflict resolution to consider:

Define the conflict
Watch for underlying issues
Identify needs
Brainstorm possible solutions and goals
Agree on a solution and implement it

Be sure to also develop your team’s conflict resolution skills. Studies show 85% of workforce members who receive training say it has encouraged them to take a proactive collaborative approach to conflict rather than reactive approach. Conflict resolution encourages individuals to work together to solve their disagreements and further improve communication practices in the team.

3. Under Sharing Information

When team members fail to disclose or share the necessary information that sets one another up for success, team members are less likely to trust each other. This lack of trust can lead to decreased morale among the team.

Under sharing can occur for various reasons:

Personal reasons: A person may keep information under wraps as a power play (self-interest), to get ahead on a particular project, or earn a promotion among many other self-serving reasons.
Stay silent to avoid conflict with other members
Avoid raising ethical or legal concerns
Possess a “Us” vs. “Them” mindset because they don’t truly feel like a member of the team
Alleviate a negative situation by attempting to put a positive spin on something rather than being candid or honest

Make time for communication by initiating frequent team discussions. These discussions should involve:

Establishing communication goals and a team purpose that addresses these goals
Discussing any issues (business, interpersonal or task-related) that need to be addressed and resolved
Spearheading communication barriers that occur when collaborating virtually

By prioritizing these discussions, leaders will show team members that they are safe and able to be honest within the team. Leaders will also build trust and promote a culture of sharing information rather than withholding information.

4. Communication Overload

Communication overload can take different forms. Here are some examples of what it can entail:

Overloading team members with numerous facts, figures, and anecdotes that don’t offer apparent value. Often, when leaders need to pass on information urgently, they dump a lot of information (often unstructured) within a short timeframe.

This can lead team members to:

Feel overwhelmed
Be more likely to forget the core information that was given (which defeats the purpose of communication)
Have difficulty in understanding what work assignments or tasks should be prioritized

Skimming email messages which may lead to missed information. This results in rework or follow up communication and reduced productivity.

Including more people than necessary in email correspondences to show everyone that you are diligent at following up. This habit can lead to full email boxes and other important emails getting forgotten or overlooked.

There are a few ways to address communication overload:

If you’re in a time crunch, prioritize your tasks and information. Highlight the top three takeaways you want to communicate with your team and the specific action items for each.

Consider communicating in-person when possible as opposed to email, chat, or other written forms. Written communication and information may be misinterpreted.

Trust your colleagues to follow through on their commitments, and try to only follow-up on action items or status updates as it is appropriate. Evaluate who needs to be included on email communication changes so you don’t unnecessarily flood the inbox of others. When in doubt, err on the side of over communicating rather than under communicating.

5. Abusive Working Situations

Abusive leadership and uncivil behavior in the workplace have become more prevalent in recent years. Abusive, toxic, or uncivil interactions can stifle critical communication and can be manifested by the following:

Team members purposely withholding pertinent information from their co-works, peers, or leaders
Team members not feeling like their ideas are valued or acknowledged
Team members fearing the repercussions if something is does not meet the abusive party’s expectations

Hold regular 1:1 check-in meetings with your team members. Create a safe environment for them to offer up concerns, provide feedback, and report toxic behavior or issues. This can help both parties proactively address any problematic behavior or address unspoken issues.

You can do this by asking:

Specific questions that relate to workplace and relationships
For direct feedback on your communication style and where you can improve
How you can better support your team members
What the organization can do to support its workforce.
Questions that directly address illegal, abusive, or unwelcoming behavior

Stay Equipped with CMOE’s Communication Skills Workshop

If you’d like to learn more on how you can eliminate communication barriers , take a look at CMOE’s Communication Skills workshop . Help yourself and your team members to develop the confidence and competence to communicate both proactively and easily.

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4 Communication Solutions for Common Problems

When you combine two or more employees together to complete a project, you run the risk of having some form of misunderstanding. It happens at virtually every organization, at every level of employment. However, if you are aware of how to handle these issues as they arise, you can overcome them quickly and move on to more positive collaboration.

To improve your effectiveness in combatting these communication problems, consider these 4 communication solutions for common work-related problems.

Solution #1: Diagnose Your Specific Issue

Typically, work-related communication problems fall into 3 areas:

Silence: If this is the problem, your initial conversations may have been rushed, or status updates on projects or timelines aren’t being received frequently enough. You may find yourself asking questions about a project just to diagnose what needs to be completed.
Noisy: Over-communicating can also cause significant problems for a business. This results in excessive amounts of meetings to discuss things that have already been discussed numerous times and there seems to be no execution on the actual project itself. You may find yourself dealing with conversations regarding irrelevant information or minor issues that don’t require such extensive discussions.
Confusion: It may be that you have the right amount of communication, but there’s a disconnect with the mutual understanding. You may have thought you knew what was expected of you, but when you present your work, they inform you it wasn’t what they had in mind for the project. Or, maybe you answered a question but people are still confused as to what they need to do.

Change Your Approach

Now that you know what your specific issue is (Silence, Noisy, or Confusion) you can change your approach in an attempt to fix it. Try different communication methods like writing things out, talking through the project instead of messaging, use drawings or images to express ideas or provide examples. Step out of the normal ways you deliver information to better articulate your message in a new and more informative way.

Listen Actively

No matter what your communication issue, active listening skills should be continuously encouraged. Poor listening skills are one of the most common problems among business communication today, but with a few minor changes, it can be improved.

Pause after someone speaks and process what was said before responding.
Clarify with the speaker if you are confused about something that was just said.
If you were unable to hear something, don’t be afraid to ask to have it repeated for you.

Set Expectations

Everyone communicates a little differently than the next person, but in order to have a successful and informed team, you must set expectations of how communication should occur within your organization. Maybe you will need to request additional project status meetings or reports for milestones, or maybe you need to implement some new tools to ensure communication flow improves. Whatever changes need to occur to fix your communication problems, they should be documented and presented to the organization so everyone is aware of what is expected and how it will help the business.

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10 Good Communication Skills In The Workplace (Guide 2024)

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Introduction

Effective communication skills are essential in the modern workplace, regardless of your job level or industry. The ability to communicate information clearly, concisely and with impact can make the difference between success and failure.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore 10 key communication skills that can help you excel in your career. We’ll also discuss why communication skills are so important, the different types of communication, and how to highlight your communication abilities on your CV and in job interviews.

Why Communication Skills Are Important in the Workplace

Communication is one of the most sought-after skills by employers today. Strong communication abilities allow you to:

Convey information, instructions and ideas effectively
Build positive relationships with colleagues, managers and clients
Collaborate productively on projects and solve problems efficiently
Negotiate, persuade and influence others
Provide excellent customer service
Advance your career through effective self-promotion

When communication breaks down in the workplace, it can lead to misunderstandings, reduced productivity, low morale and even conflict. That’s why honing your communication skills is so crucial, no matter what your role or industry.

The 4 Types of Communication Skills

Effective communication is multi-faceted, involving a range of verbal, nonverbal, written and visual skills. The four main types of communication skills are:

Mastering each of these four communication skill types is essential for thriving in the modern workplace.

10 Good Communication Skills Examples for 2024

Here are 10 key communication skills that can help you excel in your career:

Developing these 10 communication skills takes time and practice, but the payoff can be significant for your career success. Regularly assess your communication strengths and weaknesses, and seek out opportunities to improve.

Which Jobs Require Strong Communication Skills?

Communication skills are crucial in virtually every job and industry. Some roles where excellent communication abilities are particularly important include:

Customer service and sales positions
Management and leadership roles
Consultancy and advisory roles
Public relations and marketing roles
Teaching, training and coaching roles
Creative roles like writing, journalism and public speaking

Even for highly technical or specialized jobs, the ability to communicate complex information in a clear and engaging way is invaluable. Strong communication skills can help you excel in your current role and open doors to new career opportunities.

Emphasizing Communication Skills on Your CV and in Interviews

When applying for jobs, it’s important to highlight your communication skills throughout your CV and in job interviews. Here are some tips:

On Your CV:

Include communication-focused achievements and responsibilities in your work history
Showcase written communication skills through well-structured, error-free writing
List relevant communication-related skills and training (e.g. public speaking, negotiation, active listening)
Provide examples of how you’ve used communication skills to benefit your employer

In Interviews:

Prepare examples of times you’ve demonstrated strong communication abilities
Use confident, clear and friendly body language and tone of voice
Listen carefully to questions and respond concisely and directly
Ask thoughtful questions that show your engagement and communication skills
Emphasize your ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders

By emphasizing your communication prowess, you can demonstrate to employers that you have the essential skills to succeed in the role and contribute to the organization.

Effective communication skills are vital for career success in the modern workplace. By mastering the 10 communication skills outlined in this guide – including emotional intelligence, clarity, friendliness, confidence, empathy and more – you can set yourself up for professional advancement.

Remember that communication is a multi-faceted skill that can always be improved through regular practice and self-reflection. Consider taking a career test or psychometric test to better understand your communication strengths and development areas.

With commitment and the right strategies, you can become an exceptional communicator and unlock new opportunities for growth and success in your career.

Communication Problems and Solutions Problem Solution Essay

Introduction and background, communication problems in organization, communication solutions, references list.

Organizational integration, which is achieved through coordinated communication, is very important for organizations that do business in a competitive environment. In a competitive environment, effective communication of an organization both internally and externally is considered as a core requirement which assists the organization to compete against rivalry (Jackson, 2006).

By identifying the importance of organizational communication, this paper will analyze problems that occur in the process of organizational communication. The paper will locate these problems to identify solutions for them. The aim here is to present a discussion on ways for effective organizational communication by suggesting solutions for the problems identified.

Miscommunication and Distracted Information

The basic problem that occurs in the organizational communication is miscommunication. Miscommunication refers to a situation where the right information is not delivered to the right people (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008). Likewise, critical information (market information) is not communicated to stakeholders or employees, which results in misleading information being communicated, and wrong decisions are made by the management.

This detracted information causes problems and develops a communication gap between various sections of an organization. It needs to be eliminated or else it can become a major hurdle in the communication process (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008).

The Communication Distance

It is often seen in organizations that departments or working units within organizations are centrally controlled (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008). Their decisions are centralized, and they are imposed on them for adherence. Due to low integration as in the case of a centralized system, there is a communication gap found between departments / working units (Jackson, 2006).

This unwanted communication gap is a major problem because it keeps the organization divided into small units, which remain distant and become unsupportive of corporate and strategic objectives (Jackson, 2006).

Low Level Feedbacks

Managers are in-charge of subordinates and are responsible for their subordinates’ actions, decisions and performances. In this way, if there is a communication gap in the feedback process resulting from a low level of coordination between managers and subordinates, it can create a significant organization communication problem (Jackson, 2006).

Without regular feedback, the managers-employees bond is weakened, which can have a negative impact on the overall organizational communication process. This is a major problem and has to be avoided to strengthen the organizational communication practice and structure (Corman & Poole, 2000).

A Weak Training System

In organizations, employee communication is a part of the training process. Without having a training system, an organization cannot achieve effective and efficient communication between employees (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008). T

he organization must have a strong communication system – a system that can engage employees and guide them to adapt to the organizational communication patterns. If the training system is weaker then the organization communication is also weak. This is because without effective training, an organization cannot sustain its effective communication activity (Corman & Poole, 2000).

Deploying Communication Plan

The foremost solution to communication problems is a well-defined communication plan (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008). The plan begins with a problem statement, which identifies all major communication problems. Leaders in an organization can formulate a plan by identifying problems of miscommunication, communication gap and low coordination, which are mostly common and prominent in all contemporary organizations (Corman & Poole, 2000).

The core objective of the plan is to address all problems in a purposive and directional manner. The initial outcome of a well deployed communication plan is that it strengthens the organization’s communication structure, which later addresses all challenges identified in the organizational structure (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008).

Strengthening the Organization Communication Structure

The basic communication structure in the organization should be strong as this can address all major communication problems (i.e. low coordination and communication distance). This may include ways for interactions between departments, employees, and managers (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008).

If the structure is strong, then the communication inevitably gets strong within the organization. This is a generalizing solution for all organizations, which are dealing with disintegration in their systems. This may also involve establishing a training system, which can guide new appointees to the organization’s communication practices (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008).

Refining the Communication Practices

Communication practices like decision patterns between employees and managers need to be improved and refined (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008). When employees are more comfortable for sharing ideas and thoughts with managers they are part of the refined system of communication. Employees’ confidence in managers and managers’ trust in employees are important, and these provide a solution for all communication problems (Jackson, 2006).

Inducing coordination and integration

Coordination and integration are two elements that form a unified system of communication. Effective communication is only possible when there is coordination and integration in the system (Jackson, 2006). A culture of team coordination should be promoted in the organization, which can overcome communication problems.

This is the responsibility of leaders in the organization who must make efforts for forming a culture of team coordination. When a culture of team integration is in place, each individual will be able to perform interactive communication. It is a solution for communication distance and low level feedbacks, which are usually identified in the organizational communication system (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008).

Corman, S. R., & Poole, M. S. (2000). Perspectives on Organizational Communication: Finding Common Ground. New York: Guilford Press.

Jackson, J. (2006). The Organization and Its Communication Problems. Journal of Communication, 9 (4), 158-167.

Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2008). Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 20). Communication Problems and Solutions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/communication-problems-and-solutions/

"Communication Problems and Solutions." IvyPanda , 20 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/communication-problems-and-solutions/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Communication Problems and Solutions'. 20 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Communication Problems and Solutions." December 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/communication-problems-and-solutions/.

1. IvyPanda . "Communication Problems and Solutions." December 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/communication-problems-and-solutions/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Communication Problems and Solutions." December 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/communication-problems-and-solutions/.

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Compunetix 2024: pioneering communication solutions across global events.

In 2024, Compunetix will demonstrate its leadership in communication technologies at numerous influential events worldwide. From industry-specific conferences to global trade fairs, Compunetix is set to showcase its innovative solutions, including ConnectNow+, engage with professionals, and explore new growth avenues across different sectors.

Event Highlights

Avaya Engage , Denver, CO (May 13-15): Avaya is leading the customer experience revolution. Join peers, partners, and guest speakers at Avaya ENGAGE 2024 to see how organizations engage their customers and employees in ways that deliver the greatest value. As a premier event for Avaya users and partners, Compunetix will participate in sessions and network with professionals, discussing the latest in collaboration tools and strategies. Stop by BOOTH #725 to meet Dan Watkins and Jamie Verble!

Tradewinds Europe and Asia , Istanbul, Turkey (May 13-15): This concurrent event with Avaya Engage will bring together companies targeting growth in Europe and Asia, where Compunetix will highlight its conferencing and collaboration products. Trade Winds is a multifaceted program designed to help companies achieve growth and exposure in specific markets or regions around the world. All companies participate in the Trade Winds Forum which includes a business conference, meetings with U.S. commercial diplomats from the region, networking opportunities, two receptions, and a sponsor exhibition. Dino Mallas, International Sales Manager, will be on site at Tradewinds.

APTA Rail Conference , Cleveland, OH (June 2-5): For all rail modes – urban, commuter, high-speed, and intercity – this technical conference features sessions on technology, operations, maintenance, safety & security, planning, finance, capital projects, workforce development, and more. Joining leaders in public transportation, Compunetix will discuss industry challenges and trends, showcasing how their solutions enhance communication and efficiency in rail systems. Stop by BOOTH #514 and network with Jamie Verble and Marilyn Mauro.

ACI Annual Conference and Exhibition , Grand Rapids, MI (June 24-26): This pivotal gathering for airport professionals will feature Compunetix presenting their bespoke communication technologies designed to meet the unique demands of airport operations.

TAAO & ICTA Annual Conference , Round Rock, TX (August 25-28): Over 550 property tax professionals will convene to engage with educational sessions and networking events, with Compunetix displaying innovative solutions in the exhibit hall.

MEDICA , Düsseldorf, Germany (November 11-14): At this globally recognized healthcare trade fair, Compunetix will participate in forums and showcase their latest medical communication technologies. With over 5,300 exhibitors from almost 70 countries and 83,000 visitors MEDICA in Düsseldorf is one of the largest medical B2B trade fairs in the world

AFCEA West Conference , San Diego, CA (December 13-15): Focusing on military and defense, Compunetix will emphasize their mission-critical communication solutions at this key industry event. Learn and network while exploring and experiencing the latest platforms, leading-edge technologies and state-of-the-art networking capabilities that support the Sea Services’ operations.

The participation of Compunetix in these key events emphasizes their commitment to staying at the forefront of industry trends and technological advancements. By engaging with global professionals and showcasing cutting-edge solutions, Compunetix continues to shape the future of communication across various industries.

Android Police

The 12 most common x problems and how to solve them.

Thanks, Elon

X (formerly known as Twitter) is often known as the fastest news source in the world. The social media platform has grown in popularity, with more active users after its acquisition by Elon Musk. X has been briskly churning out new features . However, certain perks are available for Premium subscribers .

Whether you use X on an iPhone or a top budget Android phone , it's common to run into issues like notifications not working, the app not opening, X not refreshing your feed, and more. Let's go through the common problems and fix them to return to an ideal X experience.

Elon Musk bought Twitter on October 27, 2022. On July 24, 2023, he announced that the social media platform had been rebranded and renamed to X. Along with this rebranding, tweets are now called posts.

X doesn't refresh the home feed

X failing to refresh the home feed defeats the purpose of using the service. Here's how to fix it and load the latest posts without issues.

Check X's status online

During high-profile sports games (like the NFL Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup final, and US Open final) or a major event, users may flood X with hundreds of posts in a second. The company servers may face outages due to abnormal usage and requests.

Visit Downdetector and search for X. When others face the same problem, you'll see high outage spikes and comments confirming the issue. Wait for X to resolve its server-side issues.

Check your mobile data permissions (iPhone and iPad users)

When you turn off mobile data permission to X on an iPhone, the app doesn't refresh the home feed on a cellular connection.

Open Settings on your iPhone.
Scroll to X .

Toggle Airplane mode on and off on your phone or tablet

X may not refresh the feed due to a network glitch on your phone. Turn on Airplane mode on your Android phone or iPhone and turn it off after a few seconds to troubleshoot these network problems.

Android users can access Airplane mode from the Quick Settings menu, while iPhone users will open the Control Center from the upper-right corner.

If you still face network issues, reset the network settings on your Android or iOS device .

Log out of your X account and sign back in

Did you recently change your X password? If so, sign in to your account with your new login credentials to update your feed.

Open X and tap your account picture in the upper-left corner.
Expand Settings & Support and open Settings and privacy .
Tap Account information .
Sign in with your latest account details.

Stop using third-party X clients

With a policy change in 2023 related to its API, X pulled the plug on third-party clients . So, the X clients on your phone will give you problems and won't refresh the feed. You must use the official X app on Android, iOS, or the web to check the home feed.

How to see sensitive content on X or Twitter

X notifications don't work.

You may miss trending topics, messages, and posts from your favorite personalities when X notifications stop working.

Check your X notification settings

A change in your phone or tablet's settings is a common culprit for missing notifications. Take a moment to check your system-wide notification settings for X on iPhone and Android.

You can also check notification settings from the X app. Follow the steps below to make changes.

Open X on your phone.
Tap your profile picture in the upper-left corner and open Settings and privacy .
Open Preferences .

Lock the X app in the background (Android users)

Some Android manufacturers like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi implement aggressive battery management and suspend inactive apps and services in the background. This may affect real-time X notifications on your phone. Open the multitasking menu, tap the X icon, and select Lock this app to exclude the app from this behavior.

X doesn't upload pictures, videos, or GIFs

X supports photo and GIF uploads up to 5MB on your mobile device . Desktop users can upload GIFs up to 15MB. The maximum file size for videos on X is 512MB (140 seconds in length) for regular users. X Premium subscribers can upload videos shorter than 2GB at 1080p with a maximum file size of 8GB, and for that, you'll pay $8 a month or $84 a year.

Connect to a robust Wi-Fi connection while uploading high-resolution photos and videos in a post. If you have cellular network issues, check the first trick at the top to send memes on your X feed.

The X app doesn't open or intermittently crashes

For the most part, X's mobile apps are reliable. If X crashes when you open the app or intermittently shuts down while you're using the app, try the following fixes.

Clear your X app cache (Android users)

Like most Android apps, X collects cache in the background to load your home feed quickly and remember your search results. The app may crash your phone when it collects a corrupt cache.

Open the X app info menu (check the steps above).
Select Storage & cache .

Update the X app on the Google Play Store or App Store

X regularly releases features and bug fixes with updates. An outdated X app version on your phone may lead to a crashing issue. Go to the Google Play Store or App Store and install the pending X update on your phone.

I can't access group chats

If the X group admin removes you from the group, you can't check or participate in future conversations. Ping the group admin on X or via a communication app and ask to be added back to the X group.

I can't message someone on X

Some X users may protect their accounts by turning off the DM (Direct Messages) add-on. Most celebrities with thousands of followers turn off DM to avoid spam in their inboxes. You won't see an option to send a direct message to such accounts.

I can't edit my posts

The ability to edit posts is only available to X Premium subscribers. The popular feature gives you a one-hour window to make a limited number of changes to your shared posts. The Edit post feature supports original posts and quotes.

I can't post more than 280 characters

You may have seen many X users posting long posts with more than 280 characters. The option isn't available for regular users. You must pay for an X Premium subscription to unlock the add-on for your account. The X Premium subscribers can submit a post of up to 25,000 characters.

I can't see posts from a specific account

X lets users protect their posts from prying eyes. When you visit such accounts, you see a lock icon beside the profile picture. Send a Follow request to view their posts.

Another reason you may not see posts from a specific account is that the user blocked you. To confirm that you've been blocked, click the user's account.

The final, less likely reason you can't view specific posts is that X may be required to block specific posts and accounts in various countries or when compelled to do so by a law enforcement agency.

I can't check trends from my area

If X doesn't have your location data, it may show incorrect trends in the Search menu. Change your region to get relevant trending topics.

Select the search icon at the bottom.
Turn off the Show content in this location toggle.

My X timeline is not chronological

Sometimes, X opens the For You tab on mobile and the web. The app displays posts based on the algorithm, your followers, and your interests. Switch to the Following menu to check the chronological feed.

Launch X on your phone.

I can't access my X account

Like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, X has a set of rules to prevent harassment, spam, and offensive content. If you violate these rules, the company has the right to suspend your account. Check the X rules to avoid this situation. When your account is suspended or terminated, X sends an email regarding its decision and the steps you can take to gain access to your account.

How to untag yourself from spam Twitter posts

Enjoy a seamless x experience.

As a responsible social network, X lets you protect your account with two-factor authentication. Check our post to add an extra layer of security to your X (Twitter) account . If you are fed up with the new management at X, delete your account , uninstall the app, and move to one of the alternatives, such as LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, or Mastodon.

Mets solution to opponent baserunning problem? Pick off MLB’s top base stealer — twice

Updated: May. 12, 2024, 11:39 p.m. |
Published: May. 12, 2024, 9:59 p.m.

Mets pitchers picked off Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. twice on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) AP

Manny Gómez | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

NEW YORK — Mets catchers have not been able to contain the opponents running game this season. So on Sunday against the Braves, New York found another way.

Since the start of last season, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. has been the best base stealer in baseball, leading MLB with 87 stolen bases. So what did the Mets do whenever he reached first base in the final game of the series at Citi Field?

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Solar Storm Intensifies, Filling Skies With Northern Lights

Officials warned of potential blackouts or interference with navigation and communication systems this weekend, as well as auroras as far south as Southern California or Texas.

By Katrina Miller and Judson Jones

Katrina Miller reports on space and astronomy and Judson Jones is a meteorologist.

A dramatic blast from the sun set off the highest-level geomagnetic storm in Earth’s atmosphere on Friday that is expected to make the northern lights visible as far south as Florida and Southern California and could interfere with power grids, communications and navigations system.

It is the strongest such storm to reach Earth since Halloween of 2003. That one was strong enough to create power outages in Sweden and damage transformers in South Africa.

The effects could continue through the weekend as a steady stream of emissions from the sun continues to bombard the planet’s magnetic field.

The solar activity is so powerful that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors space weather, issued an unusual storm watch for the first time in 19 years, which was then upgraded to a warning. The agency began observing outbursts on the sun’s surface on Wednesday, with at least five heading in the direction of Earth.

“What we’re expecting over the next couple of days should be more significant than what we’ve seen certainly so far,” Mike Bettwy, the operations chief at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, said at a news conference on Friday morning.

For people in many places, the most visible part of the storm will be the northern lights, known also as auroras. But authorities and companies will also be on the lookout for the event’s effects on infrastructure, like global positioning systems, radio communications and even electrical power.

While the northern lights are most often seen in higher latitudes closer to the North Pole, people in many more parts of the world are already getting a show this weekend that could last through the early part of next week.

Windmills against skies glowing pink, purple and green.

As Friday turned to Saturday in Europe, people across the continent described skies hued in a mottling of colors.

Alfredo Carpineti , an astrophysicist, journalist and author in North London, saw them with his husband from the rooftop of their apartment building.

“It is incredible to be able to see the aurora directly from one’s own backyard,” he said. “I was hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of green on the horizon, but it was all across the sky in both green and purple.”

Here’s what you need to know about this weekend’s solar event.

How will the storm affect people on Earth?

A geomagnetic storm watch or warning indicates that space weather may affect critical infrastructure on or orbiting near Earth. It may introduce additional current into systems, which could damage pipelines, railroad tracks and power lines.

According to Joe Llama, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory, communications that rely on high frequency radio waves, such as ham radio and commercial aviation , are most likely to suffer. That means it is unlikely that your cellphone or car radio, which depend on much higher frequency radio waves, will conk out.

Still, it is possible for blackouts to occur. As with any power outage, you can prepare by keeping your devices charged and having access to backup batteries, generators and radio.

The most notable solar storm recorded in history occurred in 1859. Known as the Carrington Event, it lasted for nearly a week, creating aurora that stretched down to Hawaii and Central America and impacting hundreds of thousands of miles of telegraph lines.

But that was technology of the 19th century, used before scientists fully understood how solar activity disrupted Earth’s atmosphere and communication systems.

“That was an extreme level event,” said Shawn Dahl, a forecaster at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. “We are not anticipating that.”

Unlike tornado watches and warnings, the target audience for NOAA’s announcements is not the public.

“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a space scientist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The goal of the announcements is to give agencies and companies that operate this infrastructure time to put protection measures in place to mitigate any effects.

“If everything is working like it should, the grid will be stable and they’ll be able to go about their daily lives,” Mr. Steenburgh said.

Will I be able to see the northern lights?

It is possible that the northern lights may grace the skies this week over places that don’t usually see them. The best visibility is outside the bright lights of cities.

Clouds or stormy weather could pose a problem in some places. But if the skies are clear, even well south of where the aurora is forecast to take place, snap a picture or record a video with your cellphone. The sensor on the camera is more sensitive to the wavelengths produced by the aurora and may produce an image you can’t see with the naked eye.

Another opportunity could be viewing sunspots during the daytime, if your skies are clear. As always, do not look directly at the sun without protection. But if you still have your eclipse glasses lying around from the April 8 event, you may try to use them to try to spot the cluster of sunspots causing the activity.

How strong is the current geomagnetic storm?

Giant explosions on the surface of the sun, known as coronal mass ejections, send streams of energetic particles into space. But the sun is large, and such outbursts may not cross our planet as it travels around the star. But when these particles create a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field, it is known as a geomagnetic storm.

NOAA classifies these storms on a “G” scale of 1 to 5, with G1 being minor and G5 being extreme. The most extreme storms can cause widespread blackouts and damage to infrastructure on Earth. Satellites may also have trouble orienting themselves or sending or receiving information during these events.

The current storm is classified as G5, or “extreme.” It is caused by a cluster of sunspots — dark, cool regions on the solar surface — that is about 16 times the diameter of Earth. The cluster is flaring and ejecting material every six to 12 hours.

“We anticipate that we’re going to get one shock after another through the weekend,” said Brent Gordon, chief of the space weather services branch at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Why is this happening now?

The sun’s activity ebbs and flows on an 11-year cycle, and right now, it is approaching a solar maximum. Three other severe geomagnetic storms have been observed so far in the current activity cycle, which began in December 2019, but none were predicted to cause effects strong enough on Earth to warrant a watch or warning announcement.

The cluster of sunspots generating the current storm is the largest seen in this solar cycle, NOAA officials said. They added that the activity in this cycle has outperformed initial predictions .

More flares and expulsions from this cluster are expected, but because of the sun’s rotation the cluster will be oriented in a position less likely to affect Earth. In the coming weeks, the sunspots may appear again on the left side of the sun, but it is difficult for scientists to predict whether this will cause another bout of activity.

“Usually, these don’t come around packing as much of a punch as they did originally,” Mr. Dahl said. “But time will tell on that.”

Jonathan O’Callaghan contributed reporting from London.

An earlier version of this article misstated the radio frequencies used by cellphones and car radios. They are higher frequencies, not low.

How we handle corrections

Katrina Miller is a science reporting fellow for The Times. She recently earned her Ph.D. in particle physics from the University of Chicago. More about Katrina Miller

Judson Jones is a meteorologist and reporter for The Times who forecasts and covers extreme weather. More about Judson Jones

What’s Up in Space and Astronomy

Keep track of things going on in our solar system and all around the universe..

Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other 2024 event that’s out of this world with our space and astronomy calendar .

A dramatic blast from the sun set off the highest-level geomagnetic storm in Earth’s atmosphere, making the northern lights visible around the world .

With the help of Google Cloud, scientists who hunt killer asteroids churned through hundreds of thousands of images of the night sky to reveal 27,500 overlooked space rocks in the solar system .

A celestial image, an Impressionistic swirl of color in the center of the Milky Way, represents a first step toward understanding the role of magnetic fields in the cycle of stellar death and rebirth.

Scientists may have discovered a major flaw in their understanding of dark energy, a mysterious cosmic force . That could be good news for the fate of the universe.

Is Pluto a planet? And what is a planet, anyway? Test your knowledge here .

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Original research article, a wearable fetal movement detection system for pregnant women.

1 School of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Manufacturing, Hechi University, Hechi, China
2 School of Automation and Electrical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China

A wearable device-based fetal movement detection system for pregnant women is proposed to resolve the problems of low accuracy of fetal movement detection by fetal heart monitor, difficulties of fetal movement monitoring by pregnant women in person, and inability to monitor for long periods of time by ultrasonic Doppler imaging device. The overall software design flow of the system is proposed after determining the overall structure of the system based on symmetric sensor. The application circuit of the three-axis acceleration sensor MC3672 and its supporting sensor data collection program are designed, and the application circuit of the main control chip NRF52840 with Cortex-M4 core is analyzed. The function of data collection and algorithm recognition result transfer to a smartphone is realized through the fetal movement recognition and algorithm design and Bluetooth communication design. Finally, the system test scheme is introduced, which involves performing functional tests on four healthy pregnant volunteers and analyzing the results. The experimental results show that the average recognition rate and correct rate of this system to recognize fetal movement is 89.74% when using the real fetal movement actively perceived by pregnant women as the standard, achieving a domestic and wearable design of fetal movement monitoring device for pregnant women that can be used to analyze and predict the fetal health condition.

1. Introduction

With the increase in the average age of women at conception and the full implementation of China’s three-child policy ( 1 ), the number of pregnant women is increasing, particularly among older pregnant women and high-risk mothers. Simultaneously, people’s perceptions of marriage and childbirth have improved, and the concept of eugenics has been emphasized, and an increasing number of pregnant families are concerned about real-time fetal health monitoring, and every family wishes for a healthy baby. In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, fetal movement is an important vital sign of the health of the fetus developing in the mother’s body ( 2 – 4 ), and studies have shown that the number of fetal movements in the uterus of pregnant women can last for days or even weeks before decreasing and disappearing ( 5 – 7 ), so fetal movement detection can detect fetal abnormalities.

At the moment, domestic and foreign researchers have gradually increased their research and exploration in the field of fetal movement signal recognition, particularly in theoretical and algorithmic research, and the related research results are rich. For example, Ge Gaofa introduced adaptive filters of wavelet transform into fetal movement signal processing ( 8 ). The literature ( 4 , 9 ) used time-domain analysis to identify fetal movement and divided it hierarchically. The literature ( 10 ) used dynamic time regularization, spectral clustering, and non-negative matrix decomposition techniques to create an algorithm that can detect fetal movements automatically. The majority of domestic and foreign fetal movement detection research and applications are aimed at theoretical design, algorithm, and simulation, and there are few cases of practical, feasible, and wearable fetal movement detection solutions, for example, Ju Yinhui et al. ( 11 ) used pressure sensors to acquire fetal movement signals. However, only a single dimensional fetal movement signal could be obtained, and the entire fetal movement signal could not be obtained, posing many limitations for sampling the mother. Wen Hongyu acquired fetal movement signals using an ultrasonic Doppler sampling technique ( 12 ), which can only be used in specific scenarios and cannot be used for an extended period of time.

Furthermore, the market’s common home Doppler type fetal heart monitor and home stethoscope type fetal heart monitor are primarily for fetal heart monitoring, and the accompanying fetal movement detection function is poor and inaccurate. Meanwhile, because traditional fetal movement detection methods such as counting fetal movement by the pregnant woman herself and ultrasonic Doppler imaging devices cannot monitor fetal movement for an extended period of time, research into wearable device-based fetal movement detection systems for pregnant women and their associated equipment is critical.

2. A wearable fetal movement detection system

2.1. the overall design of wearable fetal movement detection system.

Figure 1A depicts the structure and prototype of the wearable pregnant woman fetal movement detection system, which includes two acceleration sensors, a Cortex-M4 main control chip, battery management, a Bluetooth antenna, a smartphone, and other functional modules. The embedded hardware part of the system employs the Nordic Semiconductor NRF52840 as the control core, which is a microprocessor chip with an integrated Bluetooth module that is responsible for analyzing and processing the data collected by the acceleration sensors.

Figure 1 . Block diagram of the wearable fetal movement detection system: (A) The structure and prototype object diagram. (B) Overall software design flow chart.

The front-end data collection device uses a low-power, low-noise three-axis acceleration sensor MC3672, through low-power loss of Bluetooth wireless communication, and Android smartphone’s real-time information interaction, to achieve the storage and visualization of fetal movement detection data. The front-end data collection device stores and visualizes fetal movement detection data using a low-power, low-noise three-axis acceleration sensor MC3672, Bluetooth wireless communication with low-power loss, and real-time information interaction with an Android smartphone. A 3.7 V rechargeable lithium battery is used for the step-down power supply in the system.

This fetal movement detection system’s software is based on the Cortex-M4 embedded core controller and employs the Keil uVision5 development tool as well as the real-time operating system FreeRTOS ( 13 ). FreeRTOS has a smaller memory footprint, lower computational complexity, and the ability to make task calls to multiple sub-threaded tasks at the same time. Figure 1B depicts the overall software design flow of the system. When the processor is turned on, it first initializes the FreeRTOS, acceleration sensor, and power management modules, and then the system scheduler schedules high tasks based on task priority, with the tasks with the highest priority receiving CPU resources first.

The system software function tasks are divided into three parts based on the system function: sensor data collection, fetal movement recognition algorithm processing, and Bluetooth data communication. The acceleration sensor data collection task is given the highest priority, followed by the Bluetooth data communication task, and the fetal movement recognition algorithm processing task is given the lowest priority. When the amount of collected data reaches the threshold value, the system scheduling switches the sensor data collection task and the algorithm recognition task to perform the algorithm recognition processing on the sensor collected data, and the Bluetooth data communication task is in charge of transmitting the sensor collected data and the algorithm recognition result to the smartphone terminal.

2.2. Acceleration sensor data collection unit

Figure 2A illustrates the acceleration sensor data collection schematic, and the MC3672, an acceleration sensor in the WLCSP-8 package from MEMSIC Semiconductor, is used to collect the fetal movement signal ( 14 ). This sensor is the smallest three-axis accelerometer with 32 sampling buffers, ultra-low power consumption, high sensitivity, low noise, and integrated digital output, with volumes of 1.29 mm × 1.09 mm × 0.74 mm. As shown in Figure 2B , an MC3672 accelerometer application circuit diagram. The MC3672 sensor’s clock line SCK SCL 1 and data transmission line DIN SDA1 are connected to the NRF52840 master chip’s SCL (P1.00) and SDA (P0.22) pins. The IIC communication protocol is used for data transmission with the master chip, which sends the collected acceleration values on the X, Y, and Z axes to the master control for processing at a rate of up to 1 MHz.

Figure 2 . Acceleration sensor data collection unit: (A) Collection schematic. (B) Application circuit diagram.

The sensor’s data communication mode uses one host and two slave modes, which means that the master controller and two acceleration sensors communicate with each other via the IIC protocol. When the sensor data collection task is carried out after the FreeRTOS system task scheduling, the host controller first initializes and handshakes with the accelerometer and sets the sensor detection sensitivity 4,096 times/g (1 g = 9.8 m/s 2 ) and detection range 2 g. Following that, the host controller begins reading the accelerometer data cyclically via the software timer task, with a sampling frequency of 100 Hz. The acceleration sensor has three axes, each of which corresponds to a register group, and each register group has two registers, one of which stores the high 8 bits of data and the other the low 8 bits of data, and the registers are sequential to each other’s address.

This fetal movement detection system reads the three axes data from the accelerometer registers, uses the 256 high and low 8-bit data of the three axes as an analysis window, merges the 256 high and low 8-bit data for high and low 8-bit processing, saves the conversion to get three groups of 256 16-bit data, and sends it to the algorithm processing and fetal movement recognition tasks. Because the Z -axis of the accelerometer placed horizontally will be affected by one gravitational acceleration, the influence of the DC component should be eliminated after system initialization or the user’s mobile phone sends the calibration operation, employing multiple measurements to take the mean value.

2.3. Application design of master control chip

The NRF52840 with a floating point unit, up to 64 MHz main frequency, multi-wireless protocol support, and Cortex-M4 core is used as the core controller in the fetal movement detection system ( 15 ), and the master control chip application circuit is shown in Figure 3A . A power-on reset circuit, crystal oscillation circuit, Bluetooth antenna matching circuit, power supply interface, and SWD download debug interface are among the peripherals of the main controller application circuit. A1 is the onboard Bluetooth antenna, crystal X1, and capacitors C5 and C9 comprise the master chip’s 32MHZ master clock circuit. Furthermore, because the NRF52840 main control chip includes a low-power Bluetooth 5.2 module, it is necessary to add bypass capacitors at the chip power supply and other pins, such as C6, C7, C8, C12, C14, C15, and so on, to eliminate the impact of high-frequency noise on other circuits and improve the smooth characteristics of chip operation.

Figure 3 . Application design of master control chip: (A) Main control chip application circuit diagram. (B) Bluetooth data communication flow chart.

This system’s Bluetooth data communication is based on the FreeRTOS system with an integrated Bluetooth protocol stack, and its tasks include uploading data collected by acceleration sensors, outputting effective fetal motion recognition results, and setting parameters for wearable embedded devices, as illustrated in Figure 3B . After being packaged and processed by the system, the Bluetooth data to be sent is transmitted by the data-sending function to the Bluetooth module’s data-transmitting area on the controller chip. After digital-to-analog conversion, the processor in the transmitting area turns on the RF module, the device makes an external broadcast, and the data packets are sent to the data interaction channel to be received by the monitoring software on the smartphone side. The fetal movement recognition result and the original data acquired by the front-end acceleration sensor are uploaded to the smartphone APP side for data storage and visualization via Bluetooth data communication. Furthermore, because the system only has one master clock and the Bluetooth protocol stack operation requires a low-speed protocol stack clock, this study achieves the device Bluetooth module clock requirements through the master chip configuration, from the high-speed clock synthesis of a low-speed clock.

3. Fetal movement recognition and algorithm design unit

When the amount of data collected by the three-axis acceleration sensors reaches the 256 data per axis threshold, the sensor data collection task and the algorithm recognition task switch tasks under system scheduling to perform algorithm recognition processing on the sensors’ sampled data. The processing task of the fetal movement recognition algorithm is primarily to process the six-axis 256 16-bit data collected and processed by the two three-axis acceleration sensors, as shown in Figure 4 .

Figure 4 . Fetal movement recognition flow chart.

Input acceleration sensor data collection, signal pre-processing, amplitude threshold pre-recognition, algorithm recognition of fetal movement and fusion classification by Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) algorithm, saving results and output, and so on are all steps in fetal movement recognition. To begin, the signal pre-processing stage employs the Kalman filtering algorithm to remove some of the interference noise introduced by large maternal movements. The pre-processed data is then processed by the amplitude threshold pre-recognition stage, which filters out artifact signals that are similar to the fetal movement signal. The OMP algorithm is then used to identify and categorize the data. Finally, the result of the fetal movement recognition processing is saved and output to the Bluetooth data communication task while the data upload task is scheduled.

3.1. Kalman filtering pre-processing unit

The Kalman filter algorithm with low computational effort and high efficiency is used in the pre-processing of a fetal movement signal to solve the problem of the spectrum of fetal movement signal and random interference noise overlapping. The Kalman filter algorithm is based on the estimated value of the previous period and the observed value of the current period to make the best estimate of the current system state. The algorithm implementation primarily consists of prediction and update, as shown in Figure 5A .

Figure 5 . Fetal movement signal map after Kalman filter pre-processing: (A) Kalman filter pre-processing flow chart. (B) Single peak time domain and time-frequency domain. (C) Double peak time domain and time-frequency domain.

Where the original fetal signal x is the input preprocessed signal and the output filtered signal is S The initialized parameters include S 1 = x 0 , the initial sampling moment t = 1, the state error covariance moment Q, the observation error covariance moment R, and the initial state estimation covariance P 0 . The Kalman gain K t at a certain t sampling moment is determined by P t − 1 and R at the t-1 moment, and its expression is Equation (1) and Equation (2) .

From Equation (2) , S t can be calculated from S t − 1 , K t and x t , and in addition, P t can be updated from P t − 1 , K t and Q through Equation (3) .

Figures 5B , C depicts the Kalman algorithm filtering test results after predicting and correcting the algorithm parameters. The signal burr is reduced after the Kalman algorithm filtering process, and the signal is imaged more smoothly on the time-frequency image, improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the useful fetal movement signal and facilitating the restoration of the low-amplitude fetal movement signal from the noisy background and further signal processing. Furthermore, the maternal body and the sensor may produce artifacts in the acquired raw signal that are very similar to the real fetal movement signal, which the filter cannot completely remove.

3.2. Amplitude threshold pre-identification unit

Signal pre-processing can remove interference noise caused by some large maternal movements, but it cannot remove artifactual signals generated by the mother that are very similar to the true fetal movement signal. The amplitude range of the real fetal movement signal is generally between 0.015 g and 0.06 g ( 16 – 18 ), while the amplitude distribution of maternal heartbeat and respiration is less than 0.015 g, and the amplitude of the signal generated by large maternal laughing, coughing, and body movement is greater than 0.1 g. As a result, the true fetal movement signal and the artifact signal can be distinguished by comparing the magnitude of the signal amplitude value.

Amplitude threshold pre-identification allows the signal which after pre-processing through the output, the signal greater than 0.1 g is directly judged as artifact noise, and the classified signal is non-fetal movement, by setting a limiter, when the upper and lower limits of the range of fetal movement at 0.015 g 0.06 g. If the signal amplitude distribution of one of the sensor’s axes is less than 0.015 g and the signal is between 0.06 g and 0.1 g, wait for the processing results of the remaining two axes of the accelerometer before proceeding to the next step of fetal movement identification.

3.3. Fetal movement recognition and classification unit

A complete feature dictionary is constructed by standard fetal movement signal training and dictionary learning, and the OMP algorithm is used to traverse the feature atoms in the dictionary and match the feature atoms with the pre-identified signal samples, calculate the reconstruction error of fetal movement signal samples on fetal movement and non-fetal movement feature based on sparse coefficients, and judge whether fetal movement occurs according to whether the error is reasonable or not. The specific steps of the fetal movement recognition algorithm are shown in Table 1 .

Table 1 . Fetal movement recognition algorithm.

4. Testing and analysis

4.1. test solutions.

The wearable fetal movement detection device test was carried out on four healthy primiparous pregnant volunteers, and the individual and fetal profiles of pregnant volunteers are shown in Table 2 . All of whom were experiencing frequent and active fetal movement during their gestational cycle, and the average measurement recording time for each pregnant volunteer was 60 min. Because it is known from the literature ( 19 – 21 ) that the error rate of the fetal movement detection system in the sitting and standing positions of pregnant women is higher than in the lying position, this test was performed in the lying position. During the experiment, the experimental assistant assisted the pregnant volunteers in wearing the equipment and recorded the time when the pregnant women perceived fetal movement.

Table 2 . The individual and fetal profiles of pregnant volunteers.

The sensor was fixed on the area of the pregnant woman’s abdomen where the fetal movement was most strongly perceived using a fetal monitoring belt during the fetal movement data sampling ( 22 – 24 ), and the sensor would collect the change of acceleration value as the fetus moved, and then transmit the collected sensor acceleration value to the main controller through the IIC communication interface. Before beginning the test, the pregnant woman recalls and locates the area in her abdomen with the strongest perception of fetal movement, and the host device is placed directly above the area and secured with the belt so that the sensors on both sides of the device can collect the important raw signals, as shown in Figure 6 .

Figure 6 . System equipment and test scenario diagram.

The real fetal movements actively perceived by pregnant women are used as the standard in this test protocol, and the recognition rate (True detection rate, TDR) and the correct rate (Precision, PPV) are used as performance indicators for evaluating this fetal movement detection device ( 18 , 25 , 26 ). The TDR represents the ratio of correctly recognized samples to total number of samples and is expressed as Equation (4) .

Where EN is the number of valid fetal movements identified by the fetal movement collection system and TN is the number of real fetal movements actively perceived by pregnant women. Equation (5) is the formula for the correct rate PPV, which indicates the ratio of the number of correctly identified positive samples to the number of samples marked as positive in the identification result, where FN denotes the number of false identifications.

4.2. Results analysis

Figure 7 depicts a comparison of test data from this fetal movement detection system host device on four pregnant volunteers, as per the test protocol. The first volunteer A perceived 12 real fetal movements, the system recognized 11 fetal movements and 1 false recognition, and the recognition rate and correct rate of the system were both 91.67%. Volunteer B perceived 11 real fetal movements, the system recognized 9 fetal movements and 1 false recognition, with a recognition rate of 81.82% and a correct rate of 90%. Volunteer C perceived 7 real fetal movements, and the system recognized 7 fetal movements and 1 false recognition, with a recognition rate of 100% and a correct rate of 87.5%. The fourth volunteer D perceived 9 real fetal movements, the system recognized 8 fetal movements and 1 false recognition, and the recognition rate and correct rate were both 88.89%.

Figure 7 . Comparison of experimental data of fetal movement detection system.

After summarizing and averaging the results of the above volunteers’ samples, it was found that the average recognition rate and correct rate of the fetal movement detection system in recognizing fetal movement signals were 89.74%. Furthermore, the presence of false recognition by the system may be caused by pregnant women’s random limb movement during the measurement process, which generates artifact signals with high similarity to the time-frequency characteristics of fetal movement signals. The active perception of pregnant women self-counting fetal movements has no effect on pregnant women or fetuses ( 27 , 28 ), but the method is susceptible to many factors such as the surrounding environment and personal emotions ( 29 – 31 ), and the short-term detection data is highly reliable. At the same time, some weak fetal movement signals may not be fully captured by the acceleration sensor mounted on the pregnant woman’s abdomen, resulting in a low real detection recognition rate.

5. Conclusion

The fetal movement detection device is becoming more affordable, practical, and wearable as micro-embedded technology advances. This paper proposes a fetal movement detection system for pregnant women that consists of two acceleration sensors, a Cortex-M4 main control chip, battery management, a Bluetooth antenna, and a smartphone, as well as other functional modules. The wearable fetal movement detection system’s structure, the accelerometer application circuit, and the Cortex-M4 main control chip application circuit are all described in detail. The overall system software design unit, sensor data collection program design unit, fetal movement recognition and algorithm design unit, and Bluetooth data communication unit are all investigated in the system software and algorithm design scheme. Finally, the system testing scheme is presented, and the test results are examined. Four healthy pregnant volunteers in active fetal movement gestational cycle were used as test subjects based on real fetal movement actively perceived by pregnant women within 60 min. The average recognition rate and correct rate of fetal movement signal detection of this system were 89.74% based on system testing and comparison analysis, indicating that the system detection accuracy is high and can be used in the field of fetal health monitoring.

The wearable fetal movement detection system is designed to collect fetal movement signals in real-time and display and store the results in real-time in the monitoring APP on the cell phone, allowing for long-term harmless fetal movement detection, ensuring the healthy growth of the fetus, and relieving the strain on medical resources. Fetal movement monitoring and recognition is a highly technical task that involves interdisciplinary study areas and calls for the use of both clinical medical expertise and artificial intelligence tools. We have completed proof-of-principle experiments and obtained some study findings at this point. Only four pregnant volunteers have been validated thus far, therefore the sample data obtained and examined are on the low side and will need to be improved upon in the future. Fetal movement is a direct form of expression used to detect the health of the fetus in the mother’s womb, but it is easily affected by the mother’s behavior and external factors, and the accuracy of fetal movement recognition can be improved further in the future through algorithm improvement and optimization. For instance, standard biomedical fetal movement databases are created, several sensors are employed to create detection arrays, full and highly generalizable recognition models are investigated, etc.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

YX, MQ, and TS contributed to conception and design of the study. MQ and YX organized the methodology and validation. YL and YX organized data curation and performed analysis. MQ and YX wrote the first draft of the manuscript. YL and TS wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

This research was funded by the Research Project for Young and Middle-aged Teachers in Guangxi Universities under Grant No: 2021KY0617, Special Research Project of Hechi University under Grant No: 2022YLXK003. This research was financially supported by First-class Discipline Construction Project of Hechi University, Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of AI and Information Processing (Hechi University), Education Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: fetal movement detection, wearable devices, Cortex-M4, accelerometer, Bluetooth

Citation: Qin M, Xu Y, Liang Y and Sun T (2023) A wearable fetal movement detection system for pregnant women. Front. Med . 10:1160373. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1160373

Received: 01 March 2023; Accepted: 10 July 2023; Published: 24 July 2023.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2023 Qin, Xu, Liang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Yong Xu, [email protected]

This article is part of the Research Topic

Insights in Artificial Intelligence in Radiology: 2023

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A wearable fetal movement detection system for pregnant women
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