Barriers to Effective Multicultural Communication

There is three main barriers that block the communication of people who belong to different cultures. People who are exposed to situation of confronting others from different background include those who deal with international business, people who are not living in their home Country, people who cummunicate globally through the internet, among others. Those three main barriers are:
1.STEREOTYPING- The most significant barrier to effective cross-cultural communication is the tendency of human beings to stereotype, or more specifically, to categorize and make assumptions about others based on identified characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, nationality or socioeconomic status. Whether we realize it or not (and we often do not), we all stereotype and make assumptions about others at one time or another. Most of us do so on a regular basis.
2.LACK OF UNDERSTANDING - Another major barrier to effective multicultural interaction is the lack of understanding that is frequently present between people from different backgrounds. Because people may have differences in values, beliefs, methods of reasoning, communication styles, work styles, and personality types, communication difficulties will often occur. In order to communicate effectively, each party must have a clear and accurate understanding of the thoughts, feelings, ideas, values, styles, desires and goals of the other person. But because of the differences between communication partners, this understanding is not always gained. This is compounded by the fact that many of us are not very effective at getting to understand the ways in which others may differ.
3.JUDGMENTAL ATTITUDES - Many of us have it when it comes to interacting with people who are different. Most of us would like to believe we are open minded and accepting. But in reality, a great many of us find discomfort with those who are different in terms of values, beliefs and behaviors. We may then evaluate those values, beliefs and behaviors in a negative light. This is the essence of ethnocentrism, where we evaluate good and bad, right and wrong relative to how closely the values, behaviors and ideas of others mirror our own. Put simply, to effectively interact with people who are different from us, we must suspend judgment about their ways, and try to get to understand them from their perspective. But for most of us, this is much easier said than done.