What is Interpersonal Communication?
Effective business communication may be defined as the vital communication skills that can facilitate interactions and social relationships within an organization. Within each organization, there are essentially two kinds of communication that must be taken into consideration, namely formal and informal communication. Both forms require exceptional communication skills on the part of an individual and are more than just speaking and listening. There are numerous aspects of communication, like gesture, body language, message clarification, interpretations, word choice, communication mediums and so on (Mishra, Boynton & Mishra, 2014). The following essay is a reflective account of what interpersonal communication is, how it can help me in the long run and the importance of team communication and intercultural communication in the workplace.
The process of communication can be said to have three major elements – the sender, the message and the recipient. The communicator conceives of an idea which he wishes to communicate to another individual, either verbally, in written or through gestures and body language. This is collectively known as communication process. In my place of work, I am required to interact with and work in close association with a number of people. As a result, when there are two or more people in a room, they tend to become conscious of the others’ presence. Consequently, there is bound to be some kind of communication between these individuals, subconsciously or consciously. This is known as nonverbal communication. As a professional, I would also have to master the art of academic and professional writing. Through essays and other forms of written communication, I should be able to articulate my viewpoint effectively so as to communicate my perspective and also garner favorable responses. I should also be able to express myself effectively through emails, resumes and cover letters, so that my audiences can understand my point of view. In my line of work, formal presentations are mandatory. Through writing and through visual representation, I should effectively be able to convey my message in my workplace. A practical knowledge of the concepts of presentation would help me develop effective and meaningful formal presentations. I should also be able to review existing literature related to a variety of topics and come up with my own opinions and research on the matter.
In my place of work, I will have to meet and interact with a number of people belonging to different cultures. Each culture has different demands and expectations as to how people should interact and communicate. A working knowledge of intercultural communication would ensure that I am able to respect the cultural and traditional values of each individual and facilitate smooth functioning relationships in the workplace. Both verbal and nonverbal communication can be explained as integral elements of organizational communication. According to me, smooth flow of communication within an organization would facilitate mutual understanding and knowledge sharing. Another important factor in organizational communication is team building and team communication. I would need to gain a better understanding of how teams are built, the various steps in team building and the flow of communication and knowledge within a team. In my current line of work, I believe interpersonal communication is of prime importance. Interpersonal communication refers to the exchange of knowledge or information between two or more individuals. Basically, the area of interpersonal communication focuses on how people use myriad non verbal and verbal cues in order to attain certain specific relational and personal goals and objectives.
Different aspects of Communication
According to Mandal (2014), nonverbal communication is the art of conveying messages to other people without using the spoken or the written word. In other words, when two people are in close proximity, they are constantly communicating, either through words or other wordless cues like gestures, body language, tone, style, appearance and so on. Meadors and Murray (2014) argue that unlike verbal communication, nonverbal communication is more effective when it comes to maintaining interpersonal relationships. This is because verbal communication only helps in the communication of external events. On the other hand, in the case of nonverbal communication, people usually communicate through hidden emotions that are revealed through facial expressions, interpersonal attitudes, greetings in the form of signals and so on. As Siegman and Feldstein (2014) argue, no form of communication would be possible without some amount of nonverbal communication. This is because body language, facial expressions or tone of voice are usually involuntary and come naturally to human beings. The addition of these expressions to verbal communication allows an individual to express himself more freely.
Martinez et al. (2016) claim that there innumerable categories of nonverbal communication, the most important being gestures, facial expressions, posture and body language and eye contact. Gestures are usually of three types, emblems, adaptors and illustrators. Adaptors are behaviors that include touch and may indicate anxiety, restlessness and other such emotions. Emblems are a result of mutual understanding and have a definite meaning for both the recipient and the sender. Illustrators, on the other hand, usually accompany verbal messages and would include hand gestures and are typically done subconsciously. The posture of a person, whether he or she is sitting or standing while communicating, the way he or she is positioned, the body movements during such situations – all have distinct meanings (Enfield, 2013). Also, human beings tend to communicate through eye contact. Certain behaviors of the eyes could be indicative of the emotional states and personality traits of the individual. A thorough understanding of all these body movements and gestures and their distinct meanings would enable a person to communicate better.
However, as Denham and Onwuegbuzie (2013) argue, nonverbal communication is largely dependent on how the recipient of the message interprets the information that is sent by the sender. Since nonverbal communication does not include words, it can be difficult for the recipient of the message to actually understand what the other side might be meaning to say, unless there is an exceptional level of mutual understanding between both the parties. For example, the recipient might misinterpret the body language of the sender and arrive at a different conclusion than intended. In other words, nonverbal communication, when not accompanied by verbal communication, if often vague. As Berger et al. (2018) claim, verbal communication usually has a definite structure in the form of sentences, grammar, syntax and so on. However, nonverbal communication is lacking in such aspects. Moreover, nonverbal communication varies from person to person, and from culture to culture. What one person means by a certain body language or hand movement, might mean something entirely different to another person. These issues lend themselves to misinterpretation and miscommunication. Instead, as Phutela (2015) argues, nonverbal communication can be used as a supplement to verbal communication. In other words, verbal communication can be accompanied by nonverbal communication to make it all the more effective and meaningful.
Nonverbal Communication and its types
In the upcoming years, I wish to be established in the corporate sector, in a company of my choice. However, I believe that there are two aspects of business communication that I need to gain better understanding of. They are team communication and team building and intercultural communication. It must be realized that a team is not developed just by grouping people together; every team or group is built following a series of steps. In the first step (forming), the group has been developed and the team members begin to get acquainted with each other. In the next step, they begin to share ideas and concepts which they think will help the group. In the third stage, the group begins to form interpersonal relationships and a mutual understanding is established between the group members (Young, 2013). Once a flow of knowledge has been established within the group, the team members would be able to work independently towards the common good. In the final stage, there is a termination or adjourning and disengagement of the team members (Seck & Helton, 2014). Understanding the dynamics of the team development process would help me develop more fruitful social relationships in the workplace. I would have to work as a part of several teams in my line of work. Inability to coordinate and cooperate with my team members would affect my productivity and performance. Moreover, any organization is culturally diverse (Sharifian, 2013). I expect to meet and interact with a number of people belonging to myriad cultures and traditions. Based on their culture and upbringing, people have different opinions on how one should communicate and interact in professional and personal spheres (Carbaugh, 2013). Knowledge of intercultural communication would help me respect cultural diversity, gain more exposure and understand the mindsets of people belonging to different cultures. This would strengthen the kind of relationships I develop in the workplace.
To conclude, it can be said that the process of communication is one of the most crucial aspects of any organization. Various aspects of communication, like interpersonal communication, intercultural and team communication, organizational communication, verbal and nonverbal communication and professional communication would help one understand and develop their own communication skills. Development of these skills would help one effectively convey information and their own perspectives in a more effective and meaningful way, while at the same time avoiding errors due to misinterpretation and miscommunication.
References:
Berger, J., Webster, M., Ridgeway, C., & Rosenholtz, S. J. (2018). Status cues, expectations, and behavior. In Status, Power, and Legitimacy (pp. 155-174). Routledge.
Carbaugh, D. (Ed.). (2013). Cultural communication and intercultural contact. Routledge.
Denham, M. A., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2013). Beyond words: Using nonverbal communication data in research to enhance thick description and interpretation. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12(1), 670-696.
Enfield, N. J. (2013). Doing fieldwork on the body, language, and communication. In Handbook Body–Language–Communication. Volume 1 (pp. 974-981). Mouton de Gruyter.
Mandal, F. B. (2014). Nonverbal communication in humans. Journal of human behavior in the social environment, 24(4), 417-421.
Martinez, L., Falvello, V. B., Aviezer, H., & Todorov, A. (2016). Contributions of facial expressions and body language to the rapid perception of dynamic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 30(5), 939-952.
Meadors, J. D., & Murray, C. B. (2014). Measuring nonverbal bias through body language responses to stereotypes. Journal of nonverbal behavior, 38(2), 209-229.
Mishra, K., Boynton, L., & Mishra, A. (2014). Driving employee engagement: The expanded role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), 183-202.
Phutela, D. (2015). The importance of non-verbal communication. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 9(4), 43.
Seck, M. M., & Helton, L. (2014). Faculty development of a joint MSW program utilizing Tuckman’s model of stages of group development. Social Work with Groups, 37(2), 158-168.
Sharifian, F. (2013). Cultural linguistics and intercultural communication. In Language and intercultural communication in the New Era (pp. 74-94). Routledge.
Siegman, A. W., & Feldstein, S. (2014). Nonverbal behavior and communication. Psychology Press.
Young, T. L. (2013). Using motivational interviewing within the early stages of group development. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 38(2), 169-181.
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