What Is Interpersonal Communication?

You need interpersonal communication to interact with others at home, in school, at workplace, or when talking to a friend. Interpersonal communication involves exchanging ideas, feelings, and information among individuals. It does something more than words and has been divided into various categories. These elements work together and help us convey our message to others.

What Are Ingredients of Our Communication?

A study by Dr. Albert Mehrabian revealed significant findings and brought insights into our understanding of human communication. In his studies, Dr. Mehrabian found that words reflect only 7% of our communication. If this is true, what happens to the rest of our communication?

Tonality, or how we express ourselves, reflects 38% of our communication and understanding. This includes tonality, volume, pitch, and other vocal details. Finally, there is body language. According to the findings of Dr. Mehrabian, it includes 55% of what we understand from others.

Our conscious mind focuses on words, and it is not able to understand all messages that we are exposed to during an interaction. This means that our conscious can process only about 7% of what we can receive. On the other hand, there are tons of messages and signals that come from tonality and body language, that is about 93% of our communications.

What happens during a meeting, or a conversation, is that we focus on what we want to say, but we forget to adjust our tonality and body language accordingly. We may be able to pay attention on some aspects of these two elements but taking everything into consideration is almost impossible. As a result, most of us miss our chances to fully express ourselves. Therefore, one needs to sharpen their skills to master this art by mastering words, tonality, and body language.

What Are Ingredients of Our Communication?

Active Listening

Active listening is an invaluable tool that helps us communicate effectively. This skill can’t be ignored at any cost. It involves the complete implementation of the things that have been said. Full attention is devoted to an individual who is speaking. Visual cues are given to him by the speaker to ensure that he gets full attention from the listener.
Active listening encompasses the following:

● Paying attention and maintaining eye contact

● Showing empathy and nodding the head

● Withholding judgement

● Using positive body language

● Smiling and keeping track of what is being said

● Asking questions from time to time

● Reflecting on what is being said

● Clarifying key points and paraphrasing messages

● Verbal affirmations in the form of yes, ah, or mhmm

● Summarizing all that is said or expressed

Most people are confused between listening and hearing. You hear with ears while listening takes place with the whole body. The more we practice the art of active listening, the better we get at it.

Body Language

Half of the communication is performed without words. It means that your body, the way you sit, and your gestures have a significant role in how others perceive you. We tend to send signals from our bodies every time we interact with others. Be mindful of your body language.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are bound to happen while we express ourselves. You can overcome these concerns by incorporating feasible conflict resolution and problem-solving techniques. Instead of getting angry, tackle the conflict calmly and maturely. Those who understand and address the fears and also implement ways to fix these issues are the ones who succeed in their endeavours. Controlling your emotions and remaining level-headed will prevent it from getting much worse.

Your Attitude Counts

No one wants to associate with people who are negative or are in the habit of procrastinating things. On the other hand, carrying a positive attitude and being liked is a valuable asset in itself. Even your manager will promote you if you are likable and easy to work with. Being independent and staying true to your words makes you a trustworthy person in the eyes of others. Furthermore, employees would hire staff that would deliver quality work and incorporates punctuality in their life.

Shows Empathy

Being empathetic doesn’t necessarily mean understanding others; it means demonstrating sensitivity to others’ thoughts and feelings. Everyone loves associating with compassionate individuals and creating a positive aura around themselves.

Be Coachable

Whom would you like to associate with? Someone who is open-minded and willing to take criticism in a constructive manner or those who aren’t ready to change his ways post-feedback.

Being coachable means you take accountability for your weaknesses and are willing to work on them to become a better version of yourself. Knowledge is your greatest wealth, and acting on the inputs will help people achieve their goals.

Why Are Interpersonal Skills Important?

Interpersonal communication is vital as it improves our engagement with people. Better engagement means achieving the goals as individuals, professionals, and organizations would be much easier. Also, it offers the following advantages:

● Strengthens relationships among individuals

● Form new connections

● Boosts morale of firms and teams

● It makes them capable as leaders

● Improves conflict resolution

● Align the organization and business goals better

● Reinforce trust

● Makes company culture stronger

● Establish new connections with leads, contacts, and more.

How Can Interpersonal Communication Skills Help You Become More Successful Professionally And Personally?

In Professional Life

Interpersonal skills will enhance your performance at work, and as your relationship with others gets better, it leads to job satisfaction. Observe how you interact with others, and practice improves interpersonal skills among individuals.

In Personal Life

Interpersonal skills help to form meaningful personal relationships, and your warm smile can draw people towards you. This attitude will attract people toward you.

In Conclusion, Interpersonal skills not only bring personal but also helps a person develop professionally. These individuals exhibit qualities that set them ahead of the crowd and help them climb ladders of success at later stages of life. If you are looking for ways to improve interpersonal communication, consult ‘Dr. Alireza Sharifi’ at (647) 671 0002 or email me at alireza@altatc.ca.

What Is Interpersonal Communication?