Interpersonal Communication - Essay Example

 “Interpersonal communication” Introduction: Interpersonal communication is the process of communication between a particular set of individuals. Interpersonal communication is composed of four components i.e. the sender, the receiver, the message and the feedback. The sender is the individual who is sending the message whereas the receiver is the one who is receiving the information from the sender. Message is the most important component of this cycle as it forms the main theme of interpersonal communication. Message here is the information which the sender is trying to convey to the receiver. Messages can either be verbal or nonverbal. And lastly feedback is the process through which the sender receives a feedback from the receiver as to whether he has understood the message or not. (West et al 2008 p 406) It is the basic need of human beings to communicate with each other. This communication results in formation of societies in which all the human beings are interrelated with each other (Tom R. Burns, Thomas Martin Baumgartner, 1985), each person plays his role and behaves in a specific manner. The way of dealing varies from person to person, depending on the degree of interaction for instance, the way in which a person behaves with his friends and family is entirely different from the way of treating a shopkeeper. The manner of a leader to address with his nation differs from the one treating the students or teachers. Therefore it can be concluded that the manner of interpersonal communication varies according to the relation with other individuals. It is seen that in the modern world commu-nication has become a necessary part of every organization and thus all its principles are to be followed correctly in order to get successful. But as interpersonal communication consists of a broad spectrum of conveying messages it is difficult to convey everything successfully. This may also lead to misunderstandings and problems in interpretation of messages and thus might lead to huge errors. This essay would further analyze interpersonal communication from different perspectives and would discuss a problem encountered by me in my organization regarding interpersonal communication (Graf et al 1994). Interpersonal Communication as being used today Interpersonal communication is being practiced all over the world and not only in small institutions. Businesses are using the spectrums of interpersonal communication more broadly than any other organization. Interpersonal communication is so broad that it also depends on the surroundings. The way, in which an individual behaves with friends, is different from the behavior with other individuals. Interpersonal communication not only refers to verbal communications but it also includes nonverbal communications such as body language, facial expressions and emotions. These nonverbal signaling also accounts for human behavior (Certo et al 1994, p 699). Theories relating to Interpersonal Communication It is believed that non verbal communication is the most prone type of interpersonal communication when it comes to misunderstandings and errors. Nonverbal communications usually contribute more than the verbal ones. The chief cause of misunderstandings is poor communication and interpretation skills. According to uncertainty reduction theory it is difficult to gain knowledge about the behavior of other people. Especially with whom we meet for the first time (Baxter et al 2008, p 423). Social exchange theory also defines human behavior and tells about the relationships among the people of society. It exclaims that when people come in contact with each other, they form a society in which even the strangers can come close to each other to become good friends. The basic reason behind this fact is exchange of information between these individuals. (Bryant & Jennings 2000, p 454). Real Life Example of a Problem caused by lack of skills for Interpersonal Communication Both these theories of interpersonal communication can be related to a problem in my real life which I encountered when I was working as a manager in an organization. I had vast experience in the field of leadership and managing and had completed my degree of Masters in Business when I was called in by a huge organization to join them. The basic problem that I faced in carrying out my tasks successfully here in this organization was the lack of proper interpretational communication skills by the workers. In the very beginning I did not realize this weakness in the workers and this created problems for me while carrying out my tasks. One of the major problems that I faced while working in the organization was when a worker was not able to grasp my non verbal communication skills and acted out differently on my orders. This happened when I started my job in the organization for only a few days. It was the assistant manager who was not able to comply with the non verbal expressions that led to deep problems for the organization itself (Cushman & Cahn 1985). The scenario started when the organization was about to launch a specific product and the date for the product launch had been fixed. It occurred when a rumor spread that our competitor was launching a similar product and that too before our own product launch date. Seeing this, our product manager came up to me for a go ahead to launch our product before the date previously announced. But I using my skills derived that something malicious was going on inside our organization and hence did not want the product launch date to be moved. My assistant manager was also present there when the date for product launch was to be decided. At that time my verbal expressions showed dismay over the news by the product manager but they clearly meant that the launch date should not be moved. Verbally at that time I said that I would like to change the launch date but non-verbally my expressions clearly showed dismay. My assistant manager did not understand my non-verbal expressions and he rather moved the launch date at that very day. Later on it was found that the competitors wanted us to launch our product earlier so that they could improve upon their product and launch an even better version of it. And they were quite successful in producing the better version of the product. (Cushman & Cahn 1985; Sociological Abstracts 1984). Lack of interpersonal communication skills was clearly cited in this example as the assistant manager was not able to understand my non-verbal expressions. The principles which are laid down by uncertainty reduction theory and social exchange theory can be said to be lacking here in this example. This is because I was new in the organization and the workers there did not know me properly. It was impossible for the assistant manager to understand my non-verbal expressions as he was not aware of my principles and personality. Social penetrating theory also reveals that once an individual interacts with strangers they do not share any personal information at once, but as the time passes by this interaction gets better and they start sharing information amongst them. In the first orientation stage they share a little more information as both are very conscious for the interaction. In the second exploratory affective stage they get more frank but still remain very cautious in their relation. At this stage it becomes difficult to judge that which information should be shared. In the third stage, the affective exchange, the individuals become closer to each other and their relation transforms into friendship. They share information without feeling any hesitation. An in the final stable stage the expressions are exposed to each other and the relationship further deepens. (Baxter et al 2008, p 423) The principles of Social Penetration Theory were also not followed by the organization and me as the individuals there were unaware about my principles and personality. None of the workers got enough time to interact with me and get to know me. Main Problems in Interpersonal Communications It is seen from the above example that misunderstandings can arise due to lack of skills to interpret communication. The main issue that arises is due to poor communications. (Seaward 2004, p 536). This poor communication results either because of the fact that the speaker is not able to describe his thoughts clearly or because of the fact that the listener is not able to grasp the theme as laid down by the speaker. In the above example my assistant manager did not know me enough to derive as to what I was actually trying to say through my non verbal expressions. This is because he did not have enough time to know me as I was new in the organization. The problem because of this was that the company suffered because of the competitor’s new improved product launch. Problems in interpersonal communications can also arise when the theories of social exchange and self-disclosure are not being followed. People who do not disclose much of their identity to their workers and have unusual behaviors are supposedly were very weak when it comes to communicating. These people cannot deliver their messages to the listeners in a proper way and hence the whole message gets distorted when it reaches the listeners. Thus it is necessary that recommendations be made so that these problems can be avoided. Recommendations The above mentioned problem could have been avoided only if the interpersonal communication skills were built upon. As the theories suggest that it is necessary for someone to understand the other person’s skills and personality so that he can derive as to what is he actually trying to convey. But here some of the problem was on my side too as I was new in the organization and I had to apply the relevant concepts of interpersonal communication. Above all I should not have used non verbal communication skills to show him my dismay. I should have rather said it to him that the product launch should not be moved. The misunderstanding could have been clearly reduced if the theory of social exchange was followed. The organization should have provided me with enough time to know my workers. This could have provided benefits to both me and my workers. The workers could then easily realize what I was trying to convey and I could also read their body language. It would hence result in a two way communication. It is recommended that to avoid such a situation in an organization it is necessary that individuals who are hired have vast experience in interpersonal communications. These individuals should then be given time to follow the principles of social exchange theory so that they are able to know their fellow workers and similarly the fellow workers are able to know them. If I was given enough time with the assistant manager then I would have been able to grasp his level of understanding. I would then act in a way that my assistant manager would understand my messages easily. Interpretation is very important in organizations when it comes to interpersonal communication. Thus I would have exchanged my personal information with him so that he was able to understand my messages. If this was the situation then it would have been impossible for the whole scenario to arise. Similarly one thing which I did wrong in that situation was that I communicated with my assistant in a non verbal language. This non verbal language proved to be difficult to interpret by the assistant and hence he took the wrong decision. It is recommended that non verbal communication is lowered to the extent that it does not affect the theme of the message. It is recommended that in huge organizations typical skills of verbal communication are adopted so that the workers can interpret the messages properly. Moreover, generally speaking if one has to reduce the chances of misunderstandings while communicating he should make sure that the speaker transmits his message by his own self and does not involve third parties. In case of any compulsion, if it is necessary to send message through a third person then the speaker should choose a skillful person so that there would be no chance of confusions. But other than being skillful, third person should also be a reliable one. So that he conveys whole message without creating any definite, deliberate modification. The speaker should also try to convey message in black and white so that the chances of misinterpretations are reduced to a great extent (Columbia University. Dept. of Linguistics - Language Arts & Disciplines). In order to reduce misunderstandings we should also try to minimize non verbal communication. These non verbal activities mostly lead to make wrong interpretations. I believe that organizations should have training programs for interpersonal communication so that every worker in the organization has the necessary skills to communicate. These training programs should enlighten the workers about the problems which may arise because of lack of these skills and they should also tell the workers about the reasons which lead to distortions in the message. The programs should mainly tell the workers about how to interpret certain messages whether they are verbal or non verbal. As the workers would have a better view about the different types of communication they would be able to interpret the message accordingly and thus the message would not get distorted. Conclusion: Interpersonal communication is a mean of interaction with other people. It has different modes which are described by different philosophers. These theories are applicable in our routine lives (Richard A. Guzzo et al 1982, p 160). Sometimes we learn lots of lessons from the behavior of other people. It also happens in life that our personal disclosures make someone close to us. As we meet someone for the first time we cannot realize his nature. But as our interaction enhances it increases the social term. This is the theory of self-disclosure. But it is seen that if interpersonal communication is not done properly it will lead to many problems. Because of this misunderstandings may arise which would become a hurdle. As mentioned above the misinterpretation of the interpersonal communication led to a wrong decision to be taken. It is necessary for all the individuals to understand the concepts of interpersonal communication so that they can be successful. It does not only point to those individuals who are managers but points to everyone such as teachers, students and leaders. In order to minimize the errors in interpretation of messages it is necessary that some steps are taken. These recommendations as mentioned above can reduce the chances of errors in interpersonal communication. The most important of the recommendations revolve around the theory of social exchange, self disclosure and uncertainty reduction theory. It is important for everyone to follow these theories so that they do not create gaps while communicating with each other. Bibliography: WEST, R. L., & TURNER, L. H. (2009). Understanding interpersonal communication: making choices in changing times. Boston, Thomson/Wadsworth BURNS, T. R., BAUMGARTNER, T., & DE VILLE, P. (1985). Man, decisions, society: the theory of actor-system dynamics for social scientists. New York u.a, Gordon and Breach Science Publ. GRAF, L. A., CERTO, S. C., & CERTO, S. C. (1994). Experiencing modern management: a workbook of study activities for Certo Modern management, diversity, quality, ethics, and the global environment, sixth edition. Boston, Allyn and Bacon. SEAWARD, B. L. (2004). Managing stress: principles and strategies for health and well-being. Sudbury, Mass, Jones and Bartlett BAXTER, L. A., & BRAITHWAITE, D. O. (2008). Engaging theories in interpersonal communication: multiple perspectives. Los Angeles, Sage Publications. HEATH, R. 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