Characteristics and Principles of Effective Interpersonal Communication - Term Paper Example

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Presented By goes here] To [your goes here] and number goes here] submission of the paper] Interpersonal Communication This essay will discuss what interpersonal communication is and how different communication issues affect the efficacy of interpersonal communication related to workplace scenarios. Interpersonal communication is a communication that takes place between two or more people. It is the exchange of words, symbols, or expressions between people. If we talk from organizational perspective, interpersonal communication is normal communication that takes place between the employees of any organization. Interpersonal communication between any two persons also depends upon the nature of relationships that exist between them. For example, the nature of communication that takes place between a person and his family members is different from the communication that takes place between that person and his boss. Therefore, we can say that interpersonal communication is influenced by the nature of relationships that exists between individuals. Characteristics of Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal communication has some distinguishing characteristics. Some of the main characteristics of interpersonal communication include convenience, commitment, and freedom. Let us describe all of these characteristics in some detail. Convenience Convenience or accessibility refers to the concept of availability. From organizational perspective, interpersonal communication needs all employees expressing willingness to communicate with each other. It never happens in interpersonal communication that one employee is talking and the other employee keeps quiet during the whole conversation. Interpersonal communication needs both persons to communicate with each other. Commitment Commitment is another characteristic of interpersonal communication, which means to express dedication and assurance to take part in the communication. Interpersonal communication is worthless without commitment of all employees involved in the communication. Freedom Expression of freedom is one of the most admirable characteristic of interpersonal communication. Freedom refers to the elimination of harsh attitudes or pressurized situations during interpersonal communication. All persons involved in the communications must have the freedom to raise their viewpoints in front of each other. Principles of Effective Interpersonal Communication While talking about interpersonal communication, let us talk about some of its main elements in order to get a detailed understanding of the principles of effective interpersonal communication. Kern (2010) asserts, “Effective communication helps in that the message is enable to achieve its goals and helps in receiving the desired response from the reader of the message”. Interpersonal communication is of many types, which include one-to-one conversation, small group conversation, social communication, business communication, workplace communication, and some other types. All these types of interpersonal communication need the participants to have a complete understanding of the basic elements of the communication. Some key elements of interpersonal communication play a great role in making the communication effective. Some of those elements include location for communication, language, trust, respect, and feedback. Location plays an important role in the success of interpersonal communication. Such location should be selected for the communication, which should provide the participants with a dynamic and lively environment. Language is another key element. Such language should be selected which could be understood easily by all individuals. Next key element is trust. Trust means that all participants of the interpersonal communication should have confidence in each other. Trust is the basic element of any relationship. Without trust, interpersonal communication is nothing as no result can be produced if the level of trust is low among the individuals. Respect is another element of effective interpersonal communication. It refers to the concept of giving value to each other. It happens in a sense that no person involved in the communication is allowed to show unwanted behavior against any other person. All persons must show respect to each other during communication. All people involved in the interpersonal communication should listen to each other carefully and thoughtfully. Another key element of interpersonal communication is feedback. Feedback plays an important role in the success of interpersonal communication. All individuals should provide instant feedback to the point of view expressed by any individual. It helps the individuals gain more confidence to express their point of views with more freedom and poise. These were the basic elements of interpersonal communication, which are of extreme importance for making the communication effective. If anyone of these elements is missing during the conversation, the participants can never get the expected results. Misconceptions in Interpersonal Communication There exist many misconceptions in effective interpersonal communication. These misconceptions reduce the efficacy of interpersonal communication. Misconceptions occur when the participants of the communication do not fully understand each other. Sometimes we do not know what to talk and sometimes we cannot effectively communicate our viewpoints to the other persons involved in the process of communication. Both situations adversely affect the process of interpersonal communication. Let us talk about those misconceptions, which create barriers to effective interpersonal interactions. Other Person Understands One of the biggest misconceptions in effective interpersonal communications arises when someone thinks that the other person involved in the process of communication understands his viewpoint. It is not a correct attitude towards communication. Any person involved in the process of communication should effectively promote his viewpoint using correct facts in order to make the other participants understand what he intends to say. If a person does not communicate his viewpoint in a proper way and just believes that other people already understand what he intends to say, it results in making the communication ineffective because no one can perceive the viewpoint of the other person. It is very important for any person to communicate properly with other people in order to make the communication process effective. It Would Be Better To Carry On Another misconception arises when a person thinks that it would be better for him to carry on talking if the other persons do not understand what he wants to say. The better option is to make the points precise and understandable rather than talking too much and making the communication hectic for others. One should know that others also have the right to speak or convey their viewpoints. Talking too much without proper facts is useless and risky for the effective interpersonal communication. Communicating Anytime Another misconception, which can adversely affect the interpersonal communication, arises when a person thinks that he can interact with the other person anytime. It is not a correct idea regarding interpersonal communication. It is because emotions of the person play a great role in making the interpersonal communication effective or ineffective. If the emotions of the other person are at extreme, then it not good to talk to the person at that time because high emotions of sadness or grief can distract the communication from its actual base. Interpersonal communication can only become effective at that time when the emotions of all persons involved in the communication are at normal state. Knowing Other Person Not all people know each other very well. Interpersonal communication can become ineffective if someone assumes that he or she knows the attitude of the other person. Each person involved in the process of communication should have a complete understanding of the behaviors and attitudes of all other persons because in this way, every person can talk to any other person confidently. Some People Cannot Communicate Another misconception regarding effective interpersonal communication is that all people possess the ability to communicate effectively. From organizational perspective, an employee may feel hesitation while talking to some other employee in front of a group of employees. Such employees cannot communicate effectively. While communicating with such employees, many hidden aspects of the conversation topic remain uncovered. Some people possess the ability to talk in front of others but they do not have much knowledge regarding the conversation topic and they try to overcome their disability by speaking something other than the original topic. It also results in making the interpersonal communication ineffective. Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Interactions Barriers to interpersonal communication mean those hurdles or difficulties that arise during the process of communication. These barriers also prevent the messages from reaching the desired receivers. Some of these barriers include language barrier, physical barrier, perceptual barrier, interpersonal barrier, emotional barrier, organizational barrier, and attitudinal barrier. Let us discuss these barriers in some detail in order to get a better understanding of how these barriers affect effective interpersonal interactions. Language Barrier “Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is the greatest barrier to effective communication” (Pillai, 2010). Language barrier arises when a language is not understandable by the persons involved in communication. Language barrier also arises when a person makes use of such words, which produce different meanings to the people belonging to different cultures. This problem is known as semantic gap. “The use of difficult or inappropriate words/ poorly explained or misunderstood messages can result in confusion” (Jain, 2008). For example, an improper or badly expressed message by one person to another person may result in breaking the relationship between them. Similarly, a mail written by an employee to his boss using improper English vocabulary may result in ending his job contract. Physical Barrier Physical barriers include closed office doors, difference of territories, difference of departments, and some other barriers. Physical barrier arises when the persons participating in communication have no physical access to each other. These types of conversations often result in telephonic conversations where all people can interact with each other through telephonic conference. Perceptual Barrier Perceptual barrier arises when we think that all persons involved in communication think the same way. However, in reality, all people have different mindsets. It never happens that all people think or perceive things in the same way. In such situation where a large number of people are involved, probability of perceptual barrier becomes high. Interpersonal Barrier Interpersonal barriers to effective interaction include lack of knowledge, lack of trust, lack of respect, improper body language, and lack of motivation. These barriers affect the efficacy of interpersonal interactions because effective communication requires all of the above-mentioned elements in order to be productive. Emotional Barrier Emotional barrier is one of the major communication barriers. Emotions play a great role when two persons interact personally with each other. Lack of trust in other person and excess of fear are those emotional barriers, which destroy the essence of interpersonal interactions. Organizational Barrier Organizational barriers include poor organizations culture, climate, stringent rules, regulations, relationship, status, and inadequate facilities (Jain, 2008). All these organizational barriers affect the mental ability of the people to communicate effectively with each other. Attitudinal Barrier Attitudinal barrier is also one of the main communication barriers. It arises due to lack of understanding, lack of pre-conceived notions, and lack of trust among participants of the interpersonal interaction. Limitations in mental and physical abilities create a barrier, which adversely affects the opinions and attitudes of the participants. Role of Perception in Interpersonal Relationships Perception is one of the key elements of effective interpersonal relationships. Perception makes us understand the attitude and behavior of other persons. Interpersonal relationships can become effective and stronger if a person successfully perceives the nature and attitude of the other person. Perception of other person’s nature can only be made by having constant interaction with that person. Role of Emotions in Interpersonal Relationships Emotions also play a great role in making the interpersonal relationships effective and result-oriented. High emotions and very weak emotions adversely affect the interpersonal relationships. High emotions often create aggression between the relationships whereas weak emotions make the interpersonal relationships dull and unexciting. Emotions should be stable in order to make the interpersonal communication effective. Role of Nonverbal Expressions in Interpersonal Relationships Non-verbal communication involves use of gestures, body language, eye contact, and facial expressions to transfer some meaningful message to the other person during communication. Gestures play an important role during interpersonal interactions. “If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff and unanimated” (Ritts, n.d.). Nonverbal communication is sometimes more useful as compared to verbal communication because the gestures and body language of an individual help in sending the messages more effectively and meaningfully to the other person. Conclusion This essay discussed what interpersonal communication is and how different communication issues affect the efficacy of interpersonal communication related to workplace scenarios. Interpersonal communication is a type of communication that takes place between two or more people. It depends upon the nature of relationships that exist between the people. Interpersonal communication has some distinguishing characteristics, which include formality, convenience, commitment, and freedom. Some of the basic types of interpersonal communication include one-to-one conversation, small group conversation, social communication, business communication, and workplace communication. There exist many misconceptions in effective interpersonal communication, which reduce the efficacy of interpersonal communication. Barriers to interpersonal communication are also a problem because they prevent the messages from reaching the desired receivers. There exist many key elements make the communication effective. Along with those key elements, perception, emotions, and nonverbal communication also play a great role in making the interpersonal interactions effective and result-oriented. References Jain, R. (2008). The Barriers to Effective Communication. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Barriers-to-Effective-Communication&id=1210011 Kern, T. (2010). 10 Steps to Effective Communication. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?10-­Steps-­to-­Effective-­Communication&id=4125739 Pillai, M. (2010). Barriers to Effective Communication. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/barriers-to-effective-communication.html Ritts, V. (n.d.) Six Ways to Improve your Non-verbal Communication. Retrieved from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/commun-1.htm Read More