Communication Barrier Breakdown Worksheet

A message can be perfectly clear and still not land. The person was defensive, the line was bad, the email ran to ten pages, or someone filled the gaps with an assumption. This worksheet names those barriers so you can plan round them.

You list the barriers you meet most often, write a strategy for each, and reflect on how getting past them would change your working relationships.

What's inside

• A cheat sheet of six common barriers: filtering, emotional barriers, physical barriers, cultural differences, assumptions and overloading
• For each: a description, a workplace example and a way to overcome it
• A deeper look at six emotional barriers: defensiveness, anger, fear, insecurity, sadness and stress
• Instructions for listing your own barriers and strategies, and a reflection step

Overloading is the one most of us are guilty of under pressure. The example is a ten-page document sent without a summary and a request for feedback by the end of the day.

A note on who it's for. The strategies are mostly written for a coach to use with clients ("encourage clients to..."), so coaches will get the most from it as it stands. If you are using it on your own, read "clients" as "me". It is a short tool, and it helps you spot a barrier; it won't rehearse the conversation for you.

PDF, instant download, and yours to use as often as you like. If it doesn't help, email me within seven days and I'll refund you.