Importance of interpersonal communication
Question:
Write a reflective personal journal documenting your progress in learning applying interpersonal communication skills.
Interpersonal communication is one of the most important aspects of an individual. This largely helps individuals in their personal as well as professional lives. This course on interpersonal communication has helped me understand various aspects of communication which were unknown before. Effectiveness in communication results in transparent flow of information, honest conveyance of emotions and better understanding between people. People can communicate with each other using various tools or channels of communications (Knapp, Vangelisti & Caughlin, 2014). These include face to face communication, verbal and non-verbal communication, instant messaging, emails, social media communications, one way communications or even grapevine communication.
Communication allows people to impart or exchange information by speaking, writing or signaling. This course helped me improve my communication skills with other people including my family and friends. I have learnt new things every week which has been largely helpful in improvising my communication skills. I have learnt the importance of transparency, clarity, assertiveness and honesty in communication. Communication is not a simple sending and receiving of information between people. It is rather an exchange of emotions and understanding. Various organizations have a team specializing in communications that enable, monitor and facilitate the business’s communication within the firm as well as outside (Shockley-Zalabak, 2014). On a personal front, communication effectiveness leads to transparent flow of information, greater understanding and resolution of conflicts. The following report comprises of weekly logs that I have maintained from the classes that were conducted. Each session offered to deliver something new and unique. There was learning which I tried to implement in my personal life. The details of which have also been shared in the logs.
The transactional mode of communication involves an exchange of messages between the sender and the receiver. Both the parties take turns to send or receive messages. And the roles of the two reverses with each transaction of the communication process (Mortensen, 2017). Once the receiver has received the first message, he becomes a sender and sends another message to his own sender, who is now the receiver. It is the most general method of inter personal communication between people in their everyday lives. The feedback is simultaneously received.
My personal understanding of this was the communication that I have every day with my friends or family is the transactional model. This is one of the traditional modes of communication. Such a communication can be verbal, written or signaled. There is no difference between the sender and the receiver as their role reverses after every message. This is an effective model because if the receiver somehow disagrees with or does not understand the message by the sender, the receiver can immediately send another message asking for clarification on the same. This makes the communication process transparent and effective.
Perception plays a very important role in communication. And so does the concept of self. Self-concept throws light on the value and the thoughts that one has about their own selves. Perception on the other hand, includes what you think of others you are communicating with (Broadbent, 2013). These two factors are very crucial to every communication process because they largely define the direction of the communication. In my personal life also I have noticed that my communication is healthier and more positive with the people I like and who are fond of me. On the other hand, if I do not like someone, I tend to hold their opinions in low regard.
Various tools and channels of communication
Therefore it is wiser to begin a communication process with no perceptions or pre conceived notions about the other person or yourself. These perceptions are often formed simply owing to the cultural background, skin color, and country of origin, appearance, designation or even the language used. For example, it is often noticed that in an organization, well-dressed, elder and well-spoken people are addressed as ‘Sir/Ma’am’. While a similar respect is not given to someone who is not as appropriately dressed. From now onwards, I have started ensuring that I do not form perceptions and allow these perceptions to act as barriers while interacting with people. This helps me in making my communications with people more kind and affectionate.
Developing rapport during a communication is crucial for any communication to go smoothly. This rapport helps in understanding the other person and ensuring the same from the other end. A positive rapport between two people ensure trust and hence transparency in the flow of information (Lindlof & Taylor, 2017). The reason why we are comfortable in communicating with our family and friends is because of the positive rapport that we share with them. This rapport is a sign of friendship, trust and affinity for the other person. There are ways to build a positive rapport with people we interact in our daily lives. In order to establish the same, it is important to ensure that you appear well. This means being culturally appropriate. It is also essential to remembers basics like remembering people’s name, not using abusive language and maintaining a good body language. Rapport can be built by finding common ground to talk, discussing shared experiences, not being judgmental and showing empathy.
I am an introvert and I often find it difficult to speak to other people. This is why this lecture was very important for me. Soon after I started putting efforts in communicating with people like my classmates or colleagues. I try to find a common ground like weather, latest news, and political update and discuss the same. This not only helps me communicate with them better but it also builds a friendly relationship.
Without a doubt, listening is an important part of the communication process. Most people have the habit of consistently talking and putting forward their points of view rather than listening to what the other person has to say. Listening is so important in the fast paced world that we live in (Brownell, 2015). Speaking helps us in sharing our knowledge while listening helps us in enhancing our knowledge. When we listen to the other person properly, we will be able to respond to the communication rather than reacting to it. I have personally seen so many conflicts that exist due to not listening.
If the ability to listen effectively goes missing then it can often lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding of information (Hogan, Adlof & Alonzo, 2014). This can very simply be explained in our personal lives. Communications that are a part of our everyday lives are improved with appropriate listening skills. One must put consistent efforts in improving their listening skills. This lecture helped us understand the level of miscommunication that can be caused simply due to lack of listening skills.
Transactional model of communication
This was indeed one of the most important lectures for me. I am an introvert and hence I find it very difficult to communicate with people effectively. It is extremely difficult for me to say no and hence I am often taken for granted by the people I associate with. Being assertive simply means being able to stand up for my own (Tsai & Men, 2017). It is important to note that being assertive does not mean being aggressive. There is always a balance that needs to be maintained between being too aggressive and being too passive. Being assertive is extremely important as it ensures that the information is clearly communicated. Assertiveness and listening can be linked because in order to be assertive, it is crucial to have good listening skills which helps is gaining clarity of communication and hence makes it easier to be assertive. Being assertive is very important in the current competitive scenario. Assertiveness is a part of an individual’s personality and can be developed by practicing assertiveness.
In this class we also learnt the importance of agreeing to disagree. This is crucial to any discussions and no two human beings can think alike or have similar beliefs. Therefore sometimes it is important to agree to disagree rather than completely giving in to the other person. This shows that you can respect the other person’s opinions without disregarding your own (Sims, 2017). Assertiveness is proportional to the self-concept. Being assertive can help people get their work done and is a clear sign of a strong personality.
Verbal communication involves any kind of communication where the transfer of information or messages is done via speaking to one another. Face to face communications or telephonic communications are channels of verbal communication that are primarily used. It is imperative to have great verbal communication skills as it assists in developing clarity of message and hence avoids chances of miscommunication. Effective verbal communication can be achieved by being friendly and having immense clarity of thought (Cooren, 2016).
As an introvert, I often find it easier communicating to people via written communication channels. Therefore I always find verbal communication tedious. However, there are various aspects to an effective verbal communication that I have gauged over these lectures. I have started paying more attention to my body language as it plays a very important role in ensuring effectiveness of the verbal communication (Kerbrat-Orecchioni, 2016). At the same time, I try to gather enough information about the subject before beginning a verbal communication as this enhances my confidence which is an add-on to a positive verbal communication process. Verbal communications also encourages an immediate feedback system which lessens the chances of a miscommunication.
Non-verbal communication is as important part of one’s personal and professional life as verbal communication. This includes all forms of communications which do not require words. Non-verbal form of communication is conducted between people through wordless clues (Surkamp, 2014). This makes use of body language, distance, physical appearance, tone of language, touch, usage of time, ability to listen, frequency of glances and similar such patterns.
Perception and self-concept in communication
It is important to note that non-verbal communications is automatically as part of verbal communication. Even while conducting meetings or any other form of face to face meetings, the verbal form of communication maybe used to share information but a non-verbal form of communication helps in gauging the intention of the person (Burgoon, Guerrero & Floyd, 2016). A simple handshake can depict many details. This is why it important to maintain a positive and attentive body language while communicating with someone. This shows respect, willingness to listen and an active participation in the communication.
Even the written communications that take place over instant messengers or emails include non-verbal communication methods like the tone of message, use of emoticons and selection of words (Leathers & Eaves, 2015). This aspect is important to learn, identify and understand in order to create an effective communication process.
In my personally life as well, now I make it a point to improvise my body language and effectively use gestures or display emotions that I believe might improve the process of communication. This has largely developed my ability to grab attention of the person I am communicating with.
The increasing competition and globalization has led to expansions of businesses across the world. The organizations are no longer limited to the country of their origin. This expansion in turn requires global and diversified workforce that comes together to work from different parts of the world. Communications plays an important role in such organizations (Powell & Powell, 2015). The chances of miscommunications and misunderstandings are much higher due to diversified cultures, languages and working backgrounds. Such organizations needs to lay special emphasis in ensuring that communication among people is effective enough to resolve issues and accomplish organizational goals rather than creating conflicts.
It is important to learn, understand and respect the culture of a person whose communication style differs from you. In case of a miscommunication, it is better to apologize and document all the communication that takes place. For example the accent of people from one part of the world would be very different from people who belong to another country. Hence efforts must be made to understand the same and respond accordingly.
This was one of the most important lectures. In this course, we learnt that all behavior portrayed by an individual are forms of communication. Everyone makes use of their behavior to communicate their feelings (Siegman, 2014). An infant cries when she is wet or hungry. Adults may yawn when they are bored. Therefore, there is reason behind the behavior showcased by an individual. Someone may cry when they are angry while some other people may choose to remain absolutely quiet and avoid contact. Over a period of time, we learn to understand the behavior of our close ones and respond according to these learnings. This makes it crucial for us to pay attention to the behavior of others. This is specifically useful while understanding the behavior of children.
I have personally realized that I am unable to express my feelings through my behavior and hence I often feel that people do not understand me clearly. But I realized that it is because I am unable to display these feelings in my behavior. As a part of my personality I tend to please people around me and hence even if I am angry with them, I do not let it show in my behavior even if it affects me. Through the course of these lessons, I have started putting efforts in making my communication with others more clear and transparent. This has already started helping in my professional as well as personal life.
Developing rapport for effective communication
Like everything else, there are barriers to communication as well. These barriers may lie within us, with the person we communicate with or within the environment (Conrad, 2014). Our perceptions and attitudes about the person can hamper our understanding of what the person is saying. Similarly, a lack of listening ability in the other person may make it difficult for them to understand our point of views. At the same point of time, during a face to face or telephonic communication, if there is a lot of noise in the background, the communication process maybe hampered.
During digital communication as well, technical glitches in the system hamper the effectiveness of the communication between two parties. The effect of such barriers can be reduced if not entirely removed. Cultural differences among people may also act as a communication barrier. Physical disability in people can impact their communication with others. Efforts must be put in to reduce the impact of these barriers or remove them entirely.
Conclusion
The lectures that were a part of these interpersonal communication have been very helpful in my personal and professional life. I have learnt about different factors that improvise or hamper our communication with others. Communication plays a vital role in one’s life and this is why I am really appreciative of this course for having taught be various crucial details about a communication process.
From the learnings from the course, I have worked upon improving my communication skills. I have always been an introvert and I have mentioned the problems that I have faced in my communication with others. Due to these sessions I have started putting efforts in being more assertive, enhancing my confidence and ensuring clarity in my communication with other people. Even during my written communications, I pay close attention to my tone of voice and use of emoticons in order to clearly communicate my intentions to the other party.
No doubt that communication is a crucial part of our lives but there are various barriers to communications. These barriers that exist within the communicators or in the communication environment largely affect the impact of the communication (Maguire & Pitceathly, 2002). Therefore it is imperative that we must put in efforts in our daily lives to make sure that the effort of these barriers is reduced if not entirely eradicated.
References
Broadbent, D. E. (2013). Perception and communication. Elsevier.
Brownell, J. (2015). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Routledge.
Burgoon, J. K., Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2016). Nonverbal communication. Routledge.
Conrad, D. (2014). Workplace communication problems: Inquiries by employees and applicable solutions. Journal of business studies quarterly, 5(4), and 105.
Cooren, F. (2016). 20 Verbal communication in organizational settings. Verbal Communication, 3, 395.
Hogan, T. P., Adlof, S. M., & Alonzo, C. N. (2014). On the importance of listening comprehension. International journal of speech-language pathology, 16(3), 199-207.
Kerbrat-Orecchioni, C. (2016). 9 Conversation and interaction. Verbal Communication, 3, 165.
Knapp, M. L., Vangelisti, A. L., & Caughlin, J. P. (2014). Interpersonal communication & human relationships. Pearson Higher Ed.
Leathers, D. G., & Eaves, M. (2015). Successful nonverbal communication: Principles and applications. Routledge.
Lindlof, T. R., & Taylor, B. C. (2017). Qualitative communication research methods. Sage publications.
Maguire, P., & Pitceathly, C. (2002). Key communication skills and how to acquire them. Bmj, 325(7366), 697-700.
Mortensen, C. D. (Ed.). (2017). Communication theory. Routledge.
Powell, R. G., & Powell, D. L. (2015). Classroom communication and diversity: Enhancing instructional practice. Routledge.
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2014). Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson.
Siegman, A. W. (2014). Nonverbal behavior and communication. Psychology Press.
Sims, C. M. (2017). Do the big-five personality traits predict empathic listening and assertive communication? International Journal of Listening, 31(3), 163-188.
Surkamp, C. (2014). Non-Verbal Communication.
Tsai, W. H. S., & Men, L. R. (2017). Social CEOs: The effects of CEOs’ communication styles and parasocial interaction on social networking sites. New media & society, 19(11), 1848-1867
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