Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal is created from two words, 'Inter' and 'personal,' which means communicating with each other.

Interpersonal skills are the skills required for effective interpersonal communication. The communication can be online, face-to-face, video conference on mobile, etc. We can communicate using any communication, such as verbal, non-verbal, written, and visual.

It explains the strategy and behavior of a person to interact nicely with others.These skills are not only bounded to our professional workspace but also help to maintain personal relations.

Interpersonal skills are essential, whether we are a manager, employee, or looking for work. Such skills are also known as soft skills that determine how well a person can communicate, behave, and relate to others.

Importance of interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are essential to maintain a healthy relationship with people in the workspace. It not only maintains positivity but also creates a comfortable environment for us to work.

A person with excellent interpersonal skills might be able to:

• Negotiate easily
• Be more likable
• Can easily read facial expressions
• Speak that people love to listen
• Decode body language
• Be more charming
• have good affinity with others
• Be socially positive and confident
• Have patience according to the situations
• More responsible

We can quickly improve our interpersonal communication skills.

An organization or company always seeks candidates that can work collaboratively with others. It helps us to work effectively with other members of different teams.

For example,

A project can be completed quickly with a group of members who work together to achieve a goal rather than a single member.

Interpersonal Intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence is defined as the ability to communicate effectively with others. Verbal, non-verbal and other forms of communication play a vital role in achieving effective interpersonal communication. Interpersonal intelligence can be quickly developed as compared to general intelligence.

It also defines a person's ability to quickly catch people's moods, feelings, intentions, and motivation. Such persons can easily understand and influence the actions and opinions of other people.

Interpersonal Skills

At work or on a family occasion, we must communicate and interact with many people, such as suppliers, buyers, project departments, managers, teams, colleagues, and relatives. A weak interaction can create a negative impression and might spoil our relations. Hence, interpersonal skills are essential to learn and develop.

Let's discuss some of the most common interpersonal skills, which are listed below:

Effective verbal communication

Effective verbal communication encompasses good relations at the workspace and home.

There are two aspects of effective verbal communication; 'what to say,' and another is 'how to say.' People with good interpersonal intelligence are also intelligent at verbal communication. They can easily ask some questions or express the information with confidence. They also know how to represent their words so that people can easily listen.

Effective non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication is not only about moving our body but also about our facial expressions.

For example,

Dance

Dance is a form of art where facial expression enhances it. Our body movements will not define it as a complete form of art.

People with good verbal communication skills can easily control their body language and spoken words.

Good Behavior

Behavior represents human relations. It is defined as the strategy in which people communicate with each other. It includes both verbal and non-verbal cues for effective communication.

Unusual behavior can cause distractions.

Body language

Body language is the essential interpersonal skills that use non-verbal aspects of communication. Two persons represent different body language for a similar task. We always give some unspoken signals during our conversation with others. Sometimes we are aware, while sometimes not.

It includes postures, eye movement, hand movements, facial expressions, voice tone, etc.

For example, moving our legs during the conversation shows the disinterest of a person in that conversation.

Being an active listener

Listening includes providing responses and reactions to the other person during a conversation, termed as feedback. Feedback to the speaker makes communication a more active process. It can be in any form, such as verbal or non-verbal.

Relationship Management

The relationships are the two-way stream. We must be emotionally intelligent to understand the relationships and their importance. We are required to set the boundaries to maintain a healthy relationship.

Communicate using clear words

We might not represent our views clearly while using unusual words. The language and words we use should be clear and precise. Picking hard words from the dictionary and inserting in our presentation does not mean that we are good at communication. We need first to develop communication using simple words. Speaking even with simple words can create a good impression.

Pitch

Pitch is defined as the frequency at which the vocal cord of the humans vibrates. The pitch determines how we represent our words in a practical, attractive, and easy to understand manner.

For example, a low pitch might not be audible to everyone, while a very high pitch may disturb.

Hence, pitch maintenance is an essential part of effective interpersonal communication.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence or EQ is the ability to control our own and other emotions. Other factors, such as empathy, motivation, social skills, and self-awareness, also describe emotional intelligence.

Studies have shown that people with high EQ generally have better job performance, better mental health, and good relationships with others.

Emotional awareness also helps us to understand better the people communicating with us.

Interpersonal barriers

Interpersonal barriers are present outside the individual and affect communication around us. It may occur when any candidate lack sensitivity, confidence, etc.

So, let's discuss the interpersonal barriers of communication in detail.

• Lack of desire to explore
  Some individuals have no interest in exploring ideas, opinions, views, etc. that creates a communication barrier. Sometimes, it also becomes frustrating for others.
• Lack of participation
  It isn't easy to communicate with a person who is not interested in talking. It is considered a significant barrier to interpersonal communication.
• Cultural barriers
  Cultural barriers usually exit between countries, religions, caste, color, etc. at any level in society or an organization. These barriers can also occur between family or family members or groups.
• Unusual medium
  The selection of the channel determines effective communication. Sometimes, it is better to discuss a severe issue face-to-face rather than sending text messages or letters. It can be risky to discuss such issues on text messages or emails because it lacks fast feedback.
• Attitude barriers
  The attitude barriers can arise due to individual habits, attitudes, overconfidence or behavior. Such barriers lack in mutual understanding between people.
• Language Barriers
  The language barriers determine the difficulty of understanding the message between individuals or a group of people. It means that our language can become barriers if others do not understand our words, signs, or expressions.

How to develop Interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills are easy to learn and develop. Let's discuss the method to develop and improve our interpersonal communication skills.

• Create a positive outlook
  It means creating a positive attitude towards life and situations of self. A person with a positive attitude filters the best in the worst situations. It means that we should always try to filter good things around us rather than being negative.
• Have a control over the emotions
  Sometimes excess excitement, happiness, and sadness can adversely affect our communication. It is also defined as the ability to understand the emotions and feelings of other people around us.
• Be confident
  Being confident helps us to stand for ourselves and the right values. Confidence in our ideas and views attract the attention of other people.
• Help everyone
  We should try to put ourselves helping everyone. It also creates empathy for others. It will also create a positive environment around us, which further boosts confidence and performance.
• Focus on communication skills
  During the conversation, expressing ourselves and understanding others' views is essential to maintain trust and rapport. A good understanding of the audience required good communication skills.
• Managing people around us
  Sometimes, we are required to deal with rude or arrogant persons. Arguing or fighting for such things is not an intelligent way. In such situations, the key to effective interpersonal communication is to be calm and assertive.
  Unresolved conflicts not only disrupt our work but also affect productivity.
  The intelligent way is to deal, examine the situation and to find a solution to resolve them.
• Stand for self
  We should always stand for what we believe in. We should know to stand for the choice, decisions, and opinions based on our values. We should always try to talk politely and friendly with our colleagues and teammates.
• Avoid interrupting others
  Interrupting when someone else is speaking seems as a disrespected for the other person. We can interrupt by requesting that person. For example, we can say, 'Can I please interrupt, if you don't mind,' 'Sorry to interrupt you in between, but it was urgent' or 'can I please add something to your discussion' and so on.
• Reduce the physical barriers
  Physical barriers can cause distractions between the communications and make others uncomfortable. We should always try to make the interpersonal communication process more comfortable.
• Avoid distractions
  During any conversation, we should not concentrate on the people passing by or people talking around us. Do not think about the reply when others are speaking. Try to avoid distractions as much we can.
• Show the speaker that we are listening.
  Whenever we communicate with anyone, we can use our body language, such as nodding head, smiling, etc. to prove our involvement in the conversation. We can also use prompts, such as 'yep,' 'uh,' 'oh,' etc. to show that we are listening and understanding their words.