Importance of Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal Communication

Effective interpersonal communication helps us express ourselves and share our thoughts and opinions with the people around us. Learn how this effects different areas of our lives, especially in our workplaces. Ads by Google Happy Marriage Secrets   Want to Fireproof Your Marriage? To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

Interpersonal communication is the process that helps us express our feelings, ideas, and thoughts and share them with the people around us. Efficient interpersonal communication is a very good quality that helps people in every aspect of life be it personal or professional. It is the process where a person expresses his thoughts, converts the thoughts into a well designed message and sends the message across a communication channel (oral, visual, written, etc) and the receiver receives the message and responds to the message and sends his reply via the communication channel.

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Interpersonal communication can be a formal dialog between two people at a workplace, or even an informal tete-a-tete between two friends. Communication can occur with or without words and through a number of communication media.

1. Oral Communication (Speaking face-to-face or on the phone)
2. Written Communication (Writing emails, letters, instant messaging and texting)
3. Visual Communication (Body Language or sign language)

Factors that Determine the Efficiency of Communication

1. Clarity of Message: The way in which the sender presents a message plays an instrumental role in the success or failure of the communication process. A message should be formulated taking into account the receiver's frame of mind and simple message formulation that conveys the correct meaning.
2. Communication Channel: Choose the right communication channel according to the situation and the receiver. For example think whether in a particular situation having a face-to-face conversation would be a better option instead of speaking on the phone, or writing an email.
3. Rapport between Sender and Receiver: If the sender and the receiver share a common background and have faced similar experiences, it increases the mutual understanding level and hence enhances the outcome of the communication process. The development of rapport will depend on the educational background, social background, family upbringing and the kind of experiences the person has come across.

Styles of Interpersonal Communication

There are various styles of this form of communication and that we adopt into our lives depending on how we need it. Controlling Style

The controlling style is actually a style of interpersonal communication wherein the sender leaves little or no room for the receiver to provide feedback or reply. People who are generally senior in workplace hierarchy use it to communicate with their subordinates and although this style might prove to be an efficient form of communication during crisis situations, it can intimidate the receiver or the audience and can actually create a communication gap. Egalitarian Style The Egalitarian style is much more efficient than the controlling style since it facilitates healthy two-way communication wherein information is shared mutually.

This style of communication encourages the participants to express their ideas and hence creates a cooperative and healthy atmosphere. Structuring Style The structuring style is generally used to communicate specific goals and bring coordination to an organization. To avoid making this a one-way conversation it is always better to modify this style and keep it more open to responses from the audience. Dynamic Style This is style is a high-energy approach which involves use of motivating words and phrases to encourage the person to get inspired and achieve a certain goal.

However this style cannot function when the receiver does not have enough knowledge about the required action desired out of him/her. Relinquishing Style The relinquishing style is highly open for ideas to the extent that it can transfer the responsibility of the communication to the receiver. This style of communication works well when the sender and the receiver are equally interested in carrying the conversation ahead. Withdrawal Style It is ironic to call this process a style of interpersonal communication since the withdrawal style is basically the failure or lack of communication.

And for this purpose, working professionals need to have good relations between each other. Healthy professional relations can be maintained by effective workplace communication and teamwork. Interpersonal relationships gradually develop with good team participation and communication with other members. On the other hand, these relationships may deteriorate when a person leaves the group and stops being in touch. In order to create and maintain these relationships , you need to consider some simple, yet significant aspects. Importance of Interpersonal Relationships at Work

You can say that everything at the office depends on good relationships between employees and the management. Interpersonal relationships are absolutely essential, as they help workers to have a mutual understanding between themselves. The main benefit is that they work in a team. And it is a proven fact that if you need to reach a goal or a target in your process, you necessarily have to work together in a team. If there are healthy interpersonal relationships in the team members, they certainly tend to work collectively towards the prescribed goal. Teamwork also contributes a lot to a healthy work environment.

Employees feel good to work if there is a favorable environment at the workplace. If employees have a mutual understanding with each other, there are very less chances of any kind of workplace conflicts. It is also been observed that strong interpersonal relationships lead to motivation among employees. Using Interpersonal Skills at Workplace Communication is one of the most crucial interpersonal skills to be practiced at the workplace. Without effective interpersonal communication, there will not be a smooth and clear flow of ideas, resulting in confusion.

A true professional will always talk to other executives, with looking directly into the eyes. Always smile when you speak with others, in a face to face talk or even on the phone. The smile will make others comfortable and it will also be apparent in the tone while on the phone. While you speak, make sure your tone is humble and not authoritative, even if you are the boss. Consider helping your colleagues a privilege, with always being happy to help. A very effective way of maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships is to appreciate the efforts in front of everyone.

Honoring and considering suggestions and views of other members in the team is a very good method of teamwork. When communicating with other executives, it is fine if you add a bit of humor to the scene, just to release the stress and tension involved. Make sure you do not get involved in the blame game. Always ensure that you stick to what you said you will do. Fulfilling commitments is one major aspect that you will have to consider in creating good business relationships. It is a good idea to share what you recently accomplished and found out.

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