Interpersonal communication isn’t an exact science that can be solved with a math equation or with a formula. Interpersonal skills are complicated as they depend on the context of the situation, social cues and the personal experience of those involved. With so many different signals that can influence your communication, it’s important to have a tangible understanding of what good interpersonal communication entails. Once you can master interpersonal communication, you will benefit both personally and professionally.
Here’s why and how interpersonal skills can augment your work life, with some examples to follow.
- Interpersonal skills are a competitive advantage: As person-to-person communication becomes more digital, employers will favor workers that have the ability to communicate effectively with anyone in the work place (e.g., colleagues, superiors, and team members).
- Interpersonal skills strengthens relationships: It’s one thing to establish relationships but to build, maintain and augment relationships with key stakeholders is another benefit of interpersonal skills. With it, you can better identify common ground, improve your empathy and strengthen bonds with key partners.
- Interpersonal Skills builds trust: Good interpersonal communication can be useful with teamwork and networking, as it causes others to become more invested in your success. When you have earned trust from any one you work with, you can then more easily overcome unexpected situations and challenges.
- Interpersonal Skills creates more productive conversations: Discovering common ground and building trust will make future communication easier and more productive for all parties involved. Many times you can misunderstand another party because you come from different perspectives and experiences. Interpersonal connection can promote patience in any communication. You can then give each other the benefit of the doubt and find a way to align and move forward productively
As mentioned, interpersonal communication relies on a lot of different factors. To ensure that what you are saying is being interpreted as you intended, make sure you’re aware of the words and tone you choose to express as well as the experience of your audience and the environment in which it takes place.
To better understand what we mean, take a look at the following infographic with practical interpersonal communication examples. Each example demonstrates how interpersonal communication skills are inescapable, irreversible, complicated, and contextual all at once. You can also embed the infographic into your site’s HTML with the following code
Regardless of where you’re at in your career or what life stage you’re in, it’s never too late to begin employing and developing healthy interpersonal communication practices. Improving these skills will provide a more positive experience for yourself and those around you and therefore allow you to successfully achieve your goals.
Your comments: Do you want to have great interpersonal communication skills? If so, what is your biggest challenging in improving in this area? I look forward to your comments.
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New to BMCC? then start here – Soft Skills – How to Succeed Like an Executive
Best wishes to your career success!
Lei