Searching for novel ways of overcoming communication barriers is dictated by new realities and forms of communication that appear in the educational system of the present day in Russia. In this paper, the authors reveal the basic barriers of communication in new educational environments and make an attempt to prove that rhetoric can serve as an effective tool of breaking these barriers. Materials and instruments aiming at the solution of the studied problem are investigated with regard of the communication situation, roles of participants of communication and ways of communication which communicants undertake. The leading research method implemented in this study is an experiment conducted by the authors with the aim in view to prove that knowledge of rhetoric enables both university faculty and students to overcome communication barriers arising in new educational environments. The research allowed the authors to empirically identify the role of teaching rhetoric in class and verify it to be effective while overcoming the barriers of communication. The results of the study can serve as a general guideline for faculty and student body of the university
