Interpersonal Communication Skills
UNIT
III- Interpersonal Communication
Skills
Interpersonal
Communication
Interpersonal communication is the interaction and exchange
of information between two or more people. This can be verbal and/or non-verbal
communication.
Key interpersonal communication skills
Interpersonal communication is the process of exchange
of information, ideas and feelings between two or more people through
verbal or non-verbal methods. It often includes face-to-face exchange of information,
in a form of voice, facial expressions, body language and gestures. The level
of one’s interpersonal communication skills is measured through the effectiveness
of transferring messages to others.
Effective
interpersonal communication methods
Interpersonal communication is the ability to engage in
expressing feelings, thoughts or information to another person. With
interpersonal you can communicate in three main basic ways: Verbal
Communication, Non-verbal Communication and Written Communication.
Verbal Communication
Communicating verbally is a major means to sending messages
between teachers, students and teachers. Examples of verbal are face to face
meetings, telephone calls, departmental meetings, video chats and
presentations.
Non-verbal Communication
Non-verbal
communication is less commonly used. However, gestural communication such as
sign languages allows people without hearing to be connected to the educational
community. All these ways of interpersonal communication are ways of connecting
with others and building relationships between staff members such as teachers,
students and parents.
Teamwork
Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a
common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way.
The movement towards teamwork was
mostly due to the Hawthorne studies, a set of studies conducted in the 1920s
and 1930s that highlighted the positive aspects of teamwork in an
organizational setting. After organizations recognized the value of teamwork and
the positive effects it had on their companies, entire fields of work shifted
from the typical assembly line to the contemporary High Performance Organizational Model.
For a business to function effectively people must work well
together in order to achieve a common goal. Some people struggle with teamwork
because they believe that they know how to do the job better than anyone else
and they do not trust others to do their roles. This can create conflict and
hurt the overall effectiveness of the team.
If this is something you find difficult assist your
colleagues whenever you can and ask your colleagues for their opinions and
ideas - be enthusiastic when colleagues offer their own ideas.
A leader that can’t
work with a team is a failure!
Leaders that develop great
teams around them have two things that they do well:
- They have a
lot of emotional intelligence and
- They are able
to provide a clear vision for the team.
Basic team
dynamics
·
Open communication to
avoid conflicts.
·
Effective coordination to
avoid confusion and the overstepping of boundaries.
·
Efficient cooperation to
perform the tasks in a timely manner
·
High levels of interdependence to
maintain high levels of trust, risk-taking, performance.
Training to
Improve Teamwork
1.
Forming
This stage is described by approach/avoidance
issues, as well as internal conflicts
about being independent vs. wanting to be a part of the team.
Team members usually tend
to 'play it safe' and minimize their risk taking in case something goes wrong.
Teamwork
in this stage is at its lowest levels.
2.
Storming
The second stage is
characterized by a competition for power and authority, which is the source of
most of the conflicts and doubts about the success of the team.
If teamwork is low in this
stage, it is very unlikely that the team will get past their conflicts. If
there is a high degree of teamwork and willingness to collaborate, then the
team might have a brighter future.
3.
Norming
The third stage is characterized by increasing
levels of solidarity, interdependence, and cohesiveness, while simultaneously
making an effort to adjust to the team environment.
This stage shows much higher levels of teamwork
that make it easier for the above characteristics to occur.
4.
Performing
This final stage of team development includes a
comfortable environment in which team members are effectively completing tasks
in an interdependent and cohesive manner.
This stage is characterized by the highest levels
of comfort, success, interdependence, and maturity, and therefore includes the
highest levels of teamwork.
Advantages of
Team Works
Problem Solving: A group of people can bring together
various perspectives and combine views and opinions to rapidly and effectively
solve an issue. Due to the team's culture, each team member has a
responsibility to contribute equally and offer their unique perspective on a
problem to arrive at the best possible solution.[20] Overall, teamwork can lead to better decisions, products,
or services. The effectiveness of teamwork depends on the following six
components of collaboration among team members: communication,
coordination, balance of member contributions, mutual support, effort, and
cohesion.
Healthy competition: A healthy competition in groups can be used to motivate
individuals and help the team excel.
Developing relationships: A team that continues to work together will eventually develop
an increased level of bonding. This can help members avoid unnecessary
conflicts since they have become well acquainted with each other through
teamwork. By building strong relationships between members, team members'
satisfaction with their team increases, therefore improving both teamwork and performance.
Individual qualities: Every team member can offer their unique knowledge and ability
to help improve other team members. Through teamwork the sharing of these
qualities will allow team members to be more productive in the future.
Motivation: Working collaboratively can lead to increased motivation
levels within a team due to increasing accountability for individual
performance. When groups are being compared, members tend to become more
ambitious to perform better. Providing groups with a comparison standard
increases their performance level thus encouraging members to work
collaboratively.[
Importance of teamwork
·
Teamwork
motivates unity in the workplace
·
Teamwork offers differing
perspectives and feedback
·
Teamwork provides improved
efficiency and productivity
·
Teamwork provides great
learning opportunities
·
Teamwork promotes workplace
synergy
Skills
Empathy is, at its simplest, awareness of
the feelings and emotions of other people. It is a key element of Emotional
Intelligence, the link between self and others.
Empathy goes
far beyond sympathy which might be considered “feeling for” someone. Empathy,
instead, is “feeling with” that person, through the use of imagination.
Empathy is a
capability we all have—perhaps to greater or lesser degrees—that allows us to
put ourselves in the place of another person and experience their feelings. We all crave
connectedness and it seems our brains are hard-wired to mirror others’ experiences. Research shows children as young as
two demonstrate understanding that others have different perspectives than
their own. Even babies prefer to hear sounds from
other babies rather than older voices—evidence of our human desire for affinity
and alignment.
Benefits of Empathy: There are
important benefits of empathy.
Identity: Empathy affects our own identity. We tend to understand ourselves
through the people we spend time with and we derive our sense of self from the
types of people with whom we have the closest relationships.
Cooperation: Empathy also facilitates cooperation which is critical
for teams to function effectively. In a new study, when empathy was introduced into
decision making, it increased cooperation and even caused people to be more
empathetic. Empathy fostered more empathy.
Innovation: Empathy can expand your horizons and extend your thinking.
By understanding an unfamiliar point of view, you can stretch and test new
perspectives and ideas—a process key for successful innovation and important to
ensuring your thinking doesn’t stagnate.
Influence: In addition to the benefits of empathy to the community,
empathy is also good for you individually because it can help you sell and
influence others. Putting yourself in others’ shoes and understanding their
perspectives facilitates discussion. Empathy also allows you to use their
perspective as a common starting point toward influencing them to your point of
view.
Empathy is important especially
when you disagree with others and it can admittedly require effort. In addition, it is easier to
empathize when you are similar or when you share things in common with another
person. But is it perhaps more important and beneficial when your empathy lets
you see something different than your own view and learn from another
perspective. Empathizing may not change your mind, but it can help you
appreciate others and connect in new ways.
Emotional
intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the
ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate
effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.
We define EI
or EQ as the ability to:
a)
Recognize, understand
and manage our own emotions
b)
Recognize, understand
and influence the emotions of others
In practical
terms, this means being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact
people (positively and negatively), and learning
how to manage those emotions – both our own and others –
especially when we are under pressure.
When would I
need to manage my Emotional Intelligence?
a)
Giving and receiving
feedback
b) Meeting tight deadlines
c) Dealing with challenging relationships
d) Not having enough resources
e) Dealing with change
f)
Dealing with setbacks
and failure
Empathetic listening
Empathic listening is a structured listening and questioning
technique that allows you to develop and enhance relationships with a stronger
understanding of what is being conveyed, both intellectually and emotionally.
As such, it takes active listening techniques
to a new level.
Empathic listening
Empathic listening is the practice of being attentive and
responsive to others’ input during conversation. Also called active listening
or reflective listening, empathic listening requires you to be considerate of
the other party’s input. One main quality of empathic listening is giving
support and encouragement rather than advice or criticism. Listening
empathically entails making an emotional connection with the other person and
finding similarities between their experience and your own so you can give a
more heartfelt response.
Qualities of an empathic listener
Here are some important qualities you’ll likely need in order
to listen empathically:
Presence: More
than just be physically in the same space with the speaker, presence entails
being focused closely on the conversation. To be present, it is important to
minimize external distractions and refrain from planning your responses while
the other person is talking.
Compassion: The
main component to being an empathic listener is identifying with the other
person’s emotional experience. Even if you haven’t experienced the same
situation as the speaker, you can try to find similarities anyway. For
instance, if a coworker states that they are having trouble adjusting to an
increased workload, you may identify by thinking of a time when you had more
chores at home.
Wisdom: If
someone is sharing something emotionally important with you, it’s likely
because they trust your judgment and experience. Wisdom includes both
understanding the speaker’s input and examining the circumstances around the
problem to better grasp all the factors involved. For example, if one of your
colleagues is having a conflict with another person in the department, you can
acknowledge one person’s stress while also considering that the other party has
their own challenges and is likely not trying to be offensive.
Non-judgment: An
important part of listening empathetically is to refrain from criticizing the
other party, either out loud or to yourself. You may find that you disagree
with something the speaker has said, but consider they have their own reasons
for acting how they do.
Trustworthiness: If
you’re in a situation where the other person is speaking to you about emotional
matters, it’s crucial to keep what they say in confidence. However, if they ask
that you support them by mediating a conflict with another party, you may
discuss the details of the conversation if it helps you achieve the speaker’s
goal.
Patience: Even
with close colleagues and friends, it can be challenging to disclose emotional
experiences. It may take the speaker some time to find the words for what they
want to say and feel comfortable enough to express them. Be patient and allow
them the time they need to speak freely.
Responsiveness: Although
empathic listening means listening to the other party without interjecting your
input, there will likely be a time when the speaker wants to hear what you
think. In these cases, it may help to clarify by asking, for instance, “Would
you like to hear what I think about this?” or “What kind of feedback would you
like from me?”
Time Management Definition
“Time management” is the process of
organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities. ... By using the time-management techniques in this section, you can improve your
ability to function more effectively – even when time is tight and pressures are high.
Good time
management enables an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time,
lower stree and leads to career success.
Benefits of Time Management:
Stress
Relief
More Time
More
productivity
More
opportunities
Goal Achievement
Better
Quality of Life
Attitude
Attitude is a psychological construct, a mental and emotional entity that
inheres in, or characterizes a person. They are complex and are an acquired
state through experiences. It is an individual's predisposed state of mind
regarding a value and it is
precipitated through a responsive expression towards oneself, a person, place, thing,
or event (the attitude
object) which in
turn influences the individual's thought and action.
Generally attitude is considered as a state of
mind and the way we receive the things and how do we react in different
situation.
Attitude can be broadly classified into two
types:
Positive Attitude: Positive attitude means to
see the brighter side of the situation.
Negative Attitude: Negative Attitude means to
see the darker side of the situation.
Leadership
Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill
encompassing the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence
or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.
A leader is someone who can see how things can
be improved and who rallies people to move toward that better vision. Leaders
can work toward making their vision a reality while putting people first. Just
being able to motivate people isn’t enough — leaders need to be empathetic and
connect with people to be successful. Leaders don’t have to come from the same
background or follow the same path. Future leaders will actually be more
diverse, which brings a variety of perspectives.
The Characteristics & Qualities of a
Good Leader
·
Integrity.
The
importance of integrity should be obvious. Though it may not necessarily be a
metric in employee evaluations, integrity is essential for the individual and
the organization.
·
Ability to delegate.
Delegating is one of the core
responsibilities of a leader, but it can be tricky to delegate effectively. The
goal isn’t just to free yourself up — it’s also to enable your direct reports,
facilitate teamwork, provide autonomy, lead to better decision-making, and help
your direct reports grow.
·
Communication.
A
Leader must be able to listen to, and communicate with, a wide range of people
across roles, social identities, and more. The quality and effectiveness of
communication across your organization directly affects the success of business.
·
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is paramount for leadership. The
better you understand yourself, the
more effective you can be.
·
Gratitude
Being
thankful can make you a better leader. Gratitude can lead to higher
self-esteem, reduced depression and anxiety, and even better sleep. Few people
regularly say “thank you” at work, even though most people say they’d be
willing to work harder for an appreciative boss. Learn how to give thanks and
practice more gratitude in the workplace.
·
Learning agility.
Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you
don’t know what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in
unfamiliar circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can
foster learning agility through practice, experience, and effort. Explore how great leaders are great learners, with strong
learning agility to get started.
·
Influence
Being able to
convince people through logical, emotional, or cooperative appeals is a
component of being an inspiring, effective leader. Influence is quite different
from manipulation, and it needs to be done authentically and transparently. It requires emotional intelligence and trust-building.
·
Empathy.
Empathy is correlated with job performance and a critical
part of emotional
intelligence and leadership effectiveness.
·
Courage
It can be hard to speak up at work,
whether you want to voice a new idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or
flag a concern for someone above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a
key skill for good leaders. Rather than avoiding problems or allowing conflicts
to fester, courage enables leaders to step up and move things in the right
direction. A psychologically
safe workplace culture encourages speaking the truth.
Communication and Networking
A
communication Network is a collection of methods that users employ to pass on
valuable information. The communication network is the sum of all the means and
methods that an organization employs to communicate.
In the context of career development, networking is
the process by which people build relationships with one another for the
purpose of helping each other achieve professional goals.
When you
network, you exchange information:
You may share business cards, résumés, cover
letters, job-seeking strategies, and
leads about open jobs, information about companies and organizations, and
information about a specific field.
You might also share information about meet-up
groups, conferences, special events, technology tools, and social media.
You might also solicit job “head-hunters,” career
counsellors, career centres, career coaches, alumni associations, family
members, friends, acquaintances, and vendors.
Networking can occur anywhere and at any time. In
fact, your network expands with each new relationship you establish. And the
networking strategies you can employ are nearly limitless. With imagination and
ingenuity, your networking can be highly successful.
Networks in Communication
Following are the most common networks in various
organizations:
Vertical Network
This is a kind of a formal network. So consequently it
is suitable for communications between different levels of employees.
For example a higher ranking manager and a lower-ranking
official.
This network thus enables two-way communication wherein
immediate feedback is a common practice. This is a direct link between the
employees and their subordinates and thus the chance of miscommunication is
very low.
Circuit Network
Circuit network, two people or nodes will communicate
with each other continuously. One of the nodes will produce messages and the
other a feedback to the messages. The communication is thus two people
communicating with each other, sending messages and feedbacks and thus forming
a loop or a circuit.
This circuit or loop is what we call the circuit
network. Usually, the two people that are interacting via this form of networks
are of the same hierarchical level. This is different from the Vertical Network
where the feedback and the messages are two-way communication.
Chain
Network
A company or the organization is like a platform. It has
its leader at the front and the troop following right behind. For
communications that are for the more than two levels of employees, we can
employ this method of communication.
Here the network traces a chain of command. This may
start with a senior or a high ranking employee or a manager, who hands it over
to the next level and so on. For example, the communication starts from a C E O
and trickles down to the employees of a lower level.
The C E O may pass the information on to the managers
who will pass it to the lower levels without alteration. Notice that the
message which generates at the higher level has to trickle down to the lowest
level without any alteration.
Since in this communication, a large number of nodes or
repetition points may be involved, there is a great chance of error and
miscommunication.
In addition to this, the chain network is very time
consuming and often results in messages that are not understood by at least
some people in the chain.
Wheel and
Spoke Network
This is like the vertical communication but with the
difference that there are several people communicating with a central figure or
person. Here a single controlling authority is involved in a vertical type
communication and radiates instructions and orders to several of his employees
who are working under him.
This is an improvement over the chain communication and
provides a direct link between the top command and the employees. However, due
to the nature of this communication, it constitutes a form of the
micro-management and will thus be very taxing.
An advantage of the wheel and spoke network is that it
relays instructions and orders directly from the highest level to any
subordinate levels. There are no middle parties or disruptions to the
communication channel.
Due to the micromanaging nature of this type of
communication is only suitable for small organizations. Larger businesses will
not have the resources to deploy this mechanism.
It should also be kept in mind that this way of
communication is very effective and the miscommunication is the least.
Star Network
The star communication network has several participants.
Each of these participants enables two-way communication between each of
the nodes or people that are participating in the network.
Consider this as a wheel and spoke network that does not
have a central focus point. The members of this network are free to
communicate. They can exchange data and information with each other without any
hurdles or restrictions.
Which type of networks to be used and which type of
networks are suitable, depends on the size of the organization and the nature
of the projects.
The basis of good communication is a loyal and sincere
transmission and reception of information. This will also require a
well-defined set of processes and policies in the organization.
Speed Reading
Reading: Reading skill refers to the ability to understand written
text. Reading is generally defined as a
cognitive process that contains decoding symbols to attain meaning. Reading is
also important part of communication. In this process a person can be aware or
get knowledge of other creativity. There are various purpose of reading such as
General Reading, Academic Reading and Professional Reading:
A normal rate for learning is 100-200 wpm, and
for comprehension it is 200-400 wpm. Speed reading is normally done at a rate of around
400-700 wpm. Anything above 500-600 wpm means sacrificing comprehension,
although this varies from person to person.
Reading
is a lively process of making senses of words and sentences one reads. Reading
process involves three stages.
Skimming
Skimming is reading a text quickly to get
a general idea of meaning. It refers reading quickly without pausing to study
in detail. In Skimming what we read is more important than what we leave out. Goal of
skimming is a bird's-eye view of the material,
Example
A learner taking a reading exam decides to approach text by looking at the
title, introductions, and any diagrams and sub-headings, then skim reading to
get a clear general idea of what the text is about.
Scanning
Scanning is reading a text quickly in
order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names.
Sometimes facts may be
buried within long text passages that have relatively little else to do with
the topic. So a good speaker skims the material first to decide if it is likely
to contain the facts he needs. In scanning a reader needs to focus on table of
contents, summaries, indexes, headings, and typographical cues.
Decision
making and problem-solving skills
Most jobs have elements of problem-solving - this is where
you think of solutions to deal with a problem. This type of creative thinking
can help maintain harmony within a team. The general structure to
problem-solving is:
- Identifying
the problem
- Exploring
all of the solutions
- Deciding
on which solution to implement
- Implementing
the solution
- Reviewing
the outcome
Conflict resolution
It's likely that you'll need to resolve a conflict at some
point. Active listening and problem-solving are useful for this as you'll need
to hear from all sides objectively and you'll need to come to a positive
resolution.
Resolving
conflict is not always a negative experience - it can be very
constructive and provide you with an understanding of underlying problems, for
example, perhaps a team member is having difficulties at home which is making
them more irritable.
By forming a plan with those involved, you can help them move
forward and manage their difficulties. They may have never experienced this
constructive help before your mediation.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is a systematic approach to
problem solving that is often used to find and correct issues with complex
machines, electronics, computers and software systems.
Troubleshooting
is the process of diagnosing the source of a problem. It is used to fix
problems with hardware, software, and
many other products. The basic theory of troubleshooting is that you start with
the most general (and often most obvious) possible problems, and then narrow it
down to more specific issues.
Many
product manuals have a "Troubleshooting" section in the back of the
manual. This section contains a list of potential problems, which are often
phrased in the form of a question. For example, if your computer's http://monitor is
not producing an image, you may be asked to answer the following
troubleshooting questions:
1.
Is
the monitor plugged in to a power source?
2.
Is
the monitor turned on?
3.
Is
the monitor cable plugged into the computer?
4.
Is
the computer turned on?
5.
Is
the computer awake from sleep mode?
If the answers to all the above questions are yes, there may
be some additional questions such as:
1. Does your computer have a
supporting video card?
2. Have you installed the necessary video
card drivers?
3. Is the monitor resolution set properly?
Typically, each of these
questions will be followed by specific advice, whether the answer is Yes or No.
Sometimes, this advice is presented as a flowchart diagram. This
means each question is followed by a series of other questions, depending on
the answer. However, in many cases, only single solutions are provided for each
question.
Troubleshooting
is something we all have to do at some point, though some of us have to
troubleshoot product problems more often than others. The good news is that,
the more you do it, the more you learn and the better you get at fixing
problems. Since many products have similar troubleshooting steps, you may find
that after awhile, you don't even need the manual to find solutions to the
problems you encounter.
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