One of the most common barriers to effective communication is cultural differences. Everyone comes from a different culture, family and sets of norms. These differences can hinder understanding. For example, in many cultures it is common for men to kiss other men on the cheek but in the United States this would be misunderstood. When cultural differences are present, there needs to be more verbal communication to understand where you are coming from.
Everyone has multiple filters through which they process information. David Suzuki and Faisal Moola suggest that "we learn to see the world through perceptual lenses formed by heredity, upbringing, personal experiences, religion, socio-economic differences, and so on." These differences in perception may make it difficult to communicate. If a person with a Judeo-Christian background speaks with a Hindu about grace, they will see the topic in different ways due to the existence of their perceptual filters.
Language poses another barrier to effective communication. Even if two people speak the same language, the form of the language may cause a barrier of understanding. For example, if a person from New York City speaks with a person from a small Southern town, there may be a lot of misunderstanding. Although they both speak English, the dialects and slang may differ, hindering effective communication. The use of jargon is another example of a language barrier.
Everyone has a certain amount of time when their mind is the most alert. For children this can be a few seconds to a minute. For many adults it can vary between one to five minutes. After a person's attention span has reached its limit, the mind will slowly move to autopilot. This is typically seen in marriages where the wife says to her husband, "are you listening to me?" Of course he is listening, but he may not be internalizing what is being said or is cruising through the conversation. Being aware of the attention span of others will assist in overcoming a communication barrier.
Physical barriers to communication can include people being in different locations, having outdated computer programs or having a poor organizational system. This can be seen in many businesses that have difficulty with interdepartmental communication. Having departments in different locations may create an organizational barrier to effective communication.