Interpersonal Communication: Definition, Importance, And Must-Have Skills
“Communication is the key.”
You might have heard this line a lot of times. I personally also believe that effective communication can solve any conflicts or issues. But there are different types of communication models available.
For conveying different types of messages, a different communication approach needs to be addressed. Here, in this article, I will give you all the necessary information you need to know about a particular communication model, Interpersonal communication.
So, let’s start with the basic definition of it.
What Is Interpersonal Communication?
You might not have heard the term interpersonal communication that much, but you can not think of your day-to-day life without using it.
Basically, interpersonal communication is the process of people exchanging feelings, intent, information, and ideas through signals and messages. So, practically, this communication consists of any type of exchange between two or more individuals.
The communication process can definitely be face-to-face, but it also might exist over the phone or online. Here, the messages individuals get across to each other can be both nonverbal and verbal.
To be honest, we not only communicate through what we are saying but also with the tone of voice, body language, gestures, and facial expressions.
Examples
So, now let’s have a look at some major examples of interpersonal communication.
- Presentations: when you are presenting any information, you are basically using 4 types of interpersonal communication. You are required to use non-verbal cues, speak clearly, and listen to all your audience, along with referring to written texts.
- Phone Calls: During phone calls, you only hear voices. So, you have to depend on strong verbal communication skills.
- Performing In A Play: Here, an individual needs to use a mix of both non-verbal and verbal communication in order to effectively entice their audience along with getting their message across.
- Emails: Here, obviously, you need good written communication when you are writing emails, particularly work emails.
- Texts: As we all know, texting mostly relies on written communication. But, it is less formal as compared to letters and emails. That is why texts need a more personalized approach.
Usage
Now, I will guide you on the usage of interpersonal communication. In several contexts and situations, we use interpersonal communication both at home and work. Here is the major usage of this vital skill.
- To make friends, create contacts, and also maintain relationships.
- To influence the behaviors and attitudes of others.
- To gather and impart information.
- To solve problems and make decisions.
- To understand the needs of others and obviously express our personal needs.
- To offer and get needed emotional support.
- To set professional and social boundaries.
- To regulate the balance of power in a social or workplace circle.
- To anticipate and predict people’s behavior.
Elements Of Interpersonal Communication
As per the communication theory, there are 6 key components of interpersonal communication. If you want to know this in detail, I would suggest you read the book, Interplay the process of interpersonal communication.
Still, here I am providing you with a brief on the 6 elements of interpersonal communication.
1. The Communicators
The very term communicator usually refers to both the receiver and sender of a particular information. When it comes to interpersonal communication, there are a minimum of 2 communicators that are involved in the conversation.
2. The Message
The message is one of the most crucial parts of interpersonal communication. Messages can be conveyed in several ways. It can be through your body language, gestures, tone of voice, speech, and other indicators.
3. Noise
Here, noise simply refers to the particular gap between the message which is received and also wants is sent. Inattention, language barriers, jargon along with some other things are examples of noise.
Noise is a that problem, which a lot of companies and organizations face in the workplace. It is also the reason why several internal communicators are struggling to get the essential employee’s attention.
4. Feedback
Most of us know the definition of feedback, and it is the response of the receiver. We also can say that it is the message that is sent back to the sender in order to let the individual know whether the message has been received and also interpreted correctly.
5. Context
Context is something that decides whether a message is received and interpreted correctly or not. That is why interpersonal communication is mostly contextual. Context is all about the environmental factors which influence the outcomes of any particular communication.
Place, time, along with some other factors like gender, personal interest, the environment, family relationship, and culture, all comes under the context.
7. Channel
Now, this one refers to how the communication is going to occur or occurs. Any type of message is sent and received through a specific medium or channel. Apart from face-to-face communication, the internet and email are some of the most popular communication channels.
Identifying and also understanding the performance of all the communication channels is extremely crucial for employers. To be honest, most of the communication ecosystem in the workplace is becoming really complex.
The Need For Interpersonal Communication In The Workplace
When we are discussing interpersonal communication, we must put some light on the importance or need for it, particularly in the workplace. Usually, managers scale the importance of having great interpersonal skills to 4.37 out of 5.
It comes in the list of essentials, just below the ability to work in teams.
All though most businesses are now being conducted through online communication channels. Still, verbal skills are necessary to work effectively with your bosses and colleagues.
That is why interpersonal skills are always important for business success. So, now, I will talk about the importance or need for interpersonal skills.
1. Problem Solving
Interpersonal communication lets people discuss problems along with weighing the advantages and disadvantages of alternatives before concluding with a final solution. And that is why interpersonal communication skills are essential.
For example, brainstorming exercises are such situations when interpersonal communication comes into play because it is really crucial to ensure that everyone feels respected and also free to share their views, ideas, and voice.
2. Trust
As per the American Psychological Association, around 25% of employees in the United States do not actually trust their employers. And only half of US employees believe that their bosses are open with them.
This lack of transparency and trust are some of the most common reasons behind poor workplace communication. For improving both trust and overall workplace communications, interpersonal communication skills are crucial.
For that, every employee, particularly business leaders, should always work on communication with their employees.
3. Alignment With Business Goals
Bad quality of communication between employees and employers can always damage the business in several ways. When leaders and managers are unable to communicate or convey the task clearly, and as a result, the workers easily become frustrated and disconnected from the business goals.
Apart from that, a number of employees also say that their managers do not offer them clear directions and goals for their jobs. So, you see, it is really crucial for managers to be able to convey the message with proper offline and online communication.
And in order to do so, the right interpersonal communication tools are required in order to align employees with the actual business strategy on a continuous basis.
4. Change Management
Quality interpersonal communication is really crucial during change management efforts within organizations. Always remember that effective employee communication assists employees in understanding the change better.
As a result, they can align with it and also can work collaboratively towards implementing the specific change successfully.
5. Employee Recognition
Excellent interpersonal communication always drives more employee recognition. Suppose employees of an organization have good interpersonal relationships with each other and also with their managers.
Now, they will be more likely to recognize everyone’s good work along with giving constructive feedback. It will ultimately result in a better organizational approach and business process.
6. Company Culture
When interpersonal relations are executed really well, it will improve the organizational culture. So, it is really important. When employees of any organization possess good interpersonal communication skills, the culture of the organization will become more positive and synergic.
Here, you should always know that bad interpersonal relationships make conflicts, confusion, and negativity more inevitable. As a result, it will ultimately ruin the work environment, adversely affects the company’s bottom line, and reduces employee productivity.
7. Workplace Miscommunication
All those managers, who always maintain open workplace communication, positive attitude, and maintain professionalism, are more likely to be considered approachable by their employees.
Honestly, when employees feel like they can speak or talk openly with decision-makers, gossip, rumors, and workplace miscommunications are much less likely to take place.
8. Effective Leadership And Management
The capability of building and maintaining interpersonal relationships always establishes trust along with communicating clearly. These are among the most crucial skills for an effective leader.
In case the manager has poor interpersonal communication skills, they can always expect to confuse and irritate employees. To be practical, managers need to work on their interpersonal skills much more aggressively than any average employee.
9. Personal Relationships
When you are thinking about creating and also maintaining any type of meaningful personal relationships in your workplace, interpersonal communication skills are undoubtedly important.
That is why individuals with good interpersonal communication skills are always capable of building healthy relationships with their colleagues and working a lot better as a team.
10. Employee Success
Managers are not only responsible for doing their sole job but also responsible for helping employees do their jobs successfully. And in order to do that, managers must possess good interpersonal communication skills.
Leaders are always required to be capable of passing on the right skills to their employees, which will always enable them to perform their tasks along with achieving business goals. They also should be the ones who will teach their employees interpersonal communication skills.
11. Career Development
With every passing day, more and more employers are looking for workers with good communication skills. That means, for several employees, continuous improvements in interpersonal communication skills will bring career progression.
In fact, survey reports state that more employers consider employees with more demonstrated sufficient communication and obvious interpersonal skills. Apart from that, this increasing prevalence of communication technologies means communicators and employees have to adapt to the new employee trends at present times.
12. Conflict Management
Practically, in the workplace, conflicts are completely normal, and you always can not expect your employees to resolve them in a timely and calm manner. When conflicts in workplaces arise, interpersonal communication becomes important in order to resolve them.
Without effective interpersonal communication, conflict management can not happen. In fact, every type of conflict management strategy which utilizes communication in order to soften the situations in any stressful environment is a lot more successful.
13. Remote Work
Due to the global Coronavirus crisis, most of us were introduced to the remote working culture. And till now, a lot of us have been working remotely. As a result, interpersonal communication among managers, colleagues, leaders, and peers has been disrupted.
At present, it is more crucial than ever before. So, to keep their culture transparent and open, employers are required to continue to prosper in engaging in workplace conversations, even when employees are not physically present.
14. Crisis Management
Along with remote work, several employers will most;y consider the year 2020 as the crisis management year. Do you know what’s one of the major characteristics of companies which manage crises more successfully?
It is indeed the capability of driving interpersonal communication within the workplace. When the employees of an organization are connected along with having the ability to collaborate with each other effectively, for the organization, communication will become much easier.
This will impact the conflicts both on personal and company-wide levels.
Must Have Interpersonal Communication Skills
A research paper was published in the Business Communication Quarterly journal. And that explains hard skills are the technical expertise needed for a job, and when it comes to soft skills, interpersonal qualities like people skills are required.
Across the world, employers are becoming more aware of the importance of soft skills. Although these are comparatively harder to identify and measure, however, these are just as crucial for career growth, team and personal morale as well as business success.
That particular research mostly considered 10 key soft skills as crucial to business executives. Here they are.
1. Communication
- Listening,
- Presenting
- Written,
- Speaking capability,
- oral.
2. Flexibility
- Teachable,
- Adjusts,
- Accepts new things,
- Lifelong learner,
- Willing to change,
- Adaptability.
3. Courtesy
- Respectful,
- Says thank you, and please,
- Gracious,
- Business etiquette,
- Etiquette,
- Manners.
4. Interpersonal Skill
- Positive,
- Empathetic,
- Friendly,
- Sense of humor,
- Personable,
- Nice.
5. Integrity
- Has personal values,
- High morals,
- Ethical,
- Honest.
6. Responsibility
- Common sense,
- Self-disciplines,
- Resourceful,
- Gets the job done,
- Reliable,
- Accountable.
7. Professionalism
- Poised,
- businesslike.
8. Attitude
- Confident,
- Happy,
- Encouraging,
- Enthusiastic,
- optimistic.
9. Work Ethic
- On time,
- Self-motivated,
- Initiative,
- Loyal,
- Hard working.
10. Teamwork
- Collaborative,
- Helpful,
- Supportive,
- Agreeable,
- Get along with others.
Barriers To Interpersonal Communication
Just like any other barrier, the barrier to interpersonal communication is also something which hampers the way a message is being received. As a result, misunderstanding, disinterest, and even offenses can take place.
In order to assist you in understanding why sometimes, many of us experience issues while communicating with others, here, I have prepared a list of potential barriers to this particular communication model.
Here, I would like to mention that the specific barrier that will arise will mostly depend on the situation along with the involved individuals. However, all these are potential problems you should always be aware of.
1. Filled With Technical Jargon
In case you are speaking to an expert on the specific topic you are talking about, it is always recommended to avoid unnecessary jargon. And this thumb rule is applicable to both written and verbal communication.
When you use more unnecessary technical language, it will make your message confusing to the other party. It might also seem incomprehensive to the individual. As a result, the point you want to make will get lost in translation.
So, I will always recommend you keep the message concise and clear. For that, you need to pay a lot more attention to whom you are speaking to.
2. Inconsistent Cues
There are sometimes when we are saying something with our words. However, with our body language, we are conveying something completely different. This is termed as an inconsistent cue because we are sending 2 opposing signals at the same time.
Let’s take an example. In case you smile when you are actually angry, the message you are attempting to convey will most likely be misunderstood by the receiver.
3. Poor Relationships
Suppose there is a lack of trust among people, specifically in a work environment. Now, in this case, communication issues often happen. As preconceived notions of a relationship always hold the capability of affecting some specific messages being delivered effectively, these issues arise.
This might be because the receiver is not paying proper attention, or they do not respect or believe whatever the speaker is saying. As a result, the entire situation can be exacerbated by some things, such as generational differences or culture, especially when individuals are sticking to stereotypes.
4. Picking The Wrong Medium
Some particular mediums are more appropriate in comparison to others for some specific conversations. Like, for emotional conversations having a face-to-face conversation is always the best, as here, both non-verbal and verbal cues are put across your message.
On the other hand, when you are conveying routine information, emails are always great. Also, for quick questions and casual conversations, instant messages are pretty good.
5. External Factors
During interpersonal communication, several uncontrollable external factors often play a major role. In some cases, this might be noise that is affecting both hearing and focus. It also can be a really poor internal connection that is impending a conversion.
The worst part is that all these external factors will never go away. However, it is crucial to keep in mind to be patient along with being considerate to the other individual or party with whom you are communicating when these types of difficulties arise.
Final Talks
I believe after going through this article, you get to know a lot of interpersonal communication. And in case you still have any doubts or queries, feel free to write in the comment section.
I will try to come up with a solution as soon as possible. Till then, communicate properly.
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