interpersonal communication skills

interpersonal communication skills

The Importance and Development of Interpersonal Communication Skills

1. Introduction to Interpersonal Communication Skills

Interpersonal communication skills are important in the development of interpersonal relationships. If we have good interpersonal communication skills, we can achieve harmony in our relationships with people around us. For that reason, an effort should be made to plan student learning on interpersonal communication skills. These programs are usually applied in extracurricular activities in any school semester. The programs scratch the surface and do not concentrate on developing much student competence. This situation makes subjects with interpersonal skills very rarely adopted by students and education institutions. It is necessary to have a project to develop a professional performance program to provide students the opportunity to develop interpersonal communication skills.

Interpersonal communication skills are an essential aspect of communication that people have to have. Interpersonal communication is the transactional process of face-to-face interaction between people who have a relationship. In that process, senders and receivers exchange symbols to create meaning in culture.

In the educational environment, students need to have the basic knowledge and skills of a subject, but they also need other qualifications in order to succeed. Not only subject matter, but the development of personal characteristics is important to facilitate the ease of communication and a healthy learning process. Examples of such qualities are interpersonal relationships, self-esteem, sociability, independence, problem-solving, ability to manage emotions, and the ability to think. Our education systems should make a bigger effort to teach students these aspects as well as information on specific subjects.

2. Key Components of Effective Interpersonal Communication

Listening Skills. An individual may possess assertiveness, self-awareness, empathy, non-verbal behavior, and the capacity to manage, build, and apply their skills with no negative or limiting beliefs. However, without the ability to listen, one fails to succeed in transmitting a message. Claiming to be a good listener resonates with all people at all levels. The ability to improve the skill is important in all aspects. A good listener gives full attention, understands the circumstances surrounding the communication, and empathizes with the feelings and emotions of the speaker. They communicate that understanding to the speaker to ensure mutual understanding and message clarity. Ineffective listening can result in misunderstandings, confusion, and missed opportunities. The results from good listening, conversely, include that your behavior demonstrates respect, enhances understanding of a message, displays patience, and analytic action helps recall the situation more effectively.

Assertiveness. Assertive communication is based on mutual respect. It is a mature, happy communication skill that reduces stress, helps people get what they want, and improves various aspects of both personal and professional relationships. Neither passive nor aggressive, it is the expression and assertion of one’s own rights, feelings, beliefs, and opinions. A person communicates with self-confidence, expresses needs, ideas, and feelings, ensuring that they are heard and understood, and communicates honesty, tact, and sensitivity. An assertive person encourages others to behave by showing respect, empathy, active listening, and open communication. Since the difference between being assertive and being aggressive is significant, teaching assertiveness and making efforts to develop it in all aspects of one’s life is crucial to good communication.

3. Strategies for Developing and Improving Interpersonal Communication Skills

As with any change, the decision to develop and improve interpersonal communication skills can seem daunting at first. However, practicing these skills in a variety of situations will help you feel more comfortable using them in different contexts. In everyday meetings, at gatherings with friends and family, at work, and with people in all areas of your life, you will have the opportunity to try new skills or to build on existing skills. Over time and with repeated use in different situations, these skills will become more natural to you and any nerves that you have about using them will lessen. Over time, strengthening these skills will also improve your sense of self-worth, confidence, and motivation. What is more, when you are ready to unleash the power of interpersonal communication, there are several directions in which to turn for help.

After dedicating yourself to developing and improving your interpersonal communication skills, you should find that you feel more able to engage with others as a result. This may then improve your personal and professional relationships. Taken together, this may result in a decrease in levels of stress, anger, and disappointment that you feel. Effectively communicating with others may also help you to become more productive in personal and professional roles and become a more effective leader. Wider social, professional, and personal benefits include increased empathy and the ability to create strong connections with others. All of this combined may help you to fulfill your values and passions.

4. The Impact of Interpersonal Communication Skills in Various Aspects of Life

A gay man who works at a financial services firm has not let his patient hearing or skill in mediation turn his office into a permanent group therapy site for his two co-workers. Two students who think they are working at cross purposes will develop their ideas, or possibly evolve them into an exciting and workable synthesis. In another instance, an advocate for public access to information meets with a legal opponent to establish common ground before representing their organizations in a public debate. These individuals, of course, are performing interpersonal communication, but in the process they offer many different roles and goals.

Interpersonal communication is important because it can help us to achieve our basic relational and instrumental goals. Consider these examples: As Curt attempts to get a date with Jazmine, he talks about his cat so that she will think he is sensitive. If he is successful, Jazmine will give him the positive feedback he needs and progress in his budding relationship. Multimedia animator Ron Goldstein catches up on the latest techniques from conversation with his peers. Driven by a passionate interest, a nursing student listens intently to a national leader in the fight against teenage anorexia nervosa and then engages in dialogue with the speaker. A senior engineer’s tactful firmness with a younger colleague eventually yields a workable, high-value, job-linked writing instruction.