Interpersonal Communication Skills

An interpersonal skill allows people to communicate effectively with another group or individual. There are many interpersonal communication skills such as:

•  Methods
• Techniques and Cues
• Positive and Negative Language
• Active Engagement
• Barriers
• Types of Questions

Techniques and Cues

When communicating with others you must consider your body language and intonation. This ensures that the message you are trying to get over will be understood in the way you intend. An audience must be comfortable with the person talking to them. Body language can be different in many ways such as how close someone is to one another  can be a sign of how well they trust you such as if they remain extremely close they are most likely to have a strong friendship with you. If they move away when you get closer they do not trust you enough to let you violate their personal space.

Also eye contact with body language is very important because this can be a sign of someone being nervous, this could be the person looking left and right often. When people look at the floor it means they could be emotional, shy, or upset. When someone is not listening to the speaker they will be in a day dream or a thought. To communicate effectively with others you must not use this body language towards them, or if they are displaying this towards you change your body language so they feel more comfortable. If negative body language is used it can give the audience an image that you are aggressive, not bothered, difficult etc which would impact on how your message was delivered.

The image is an example of good body language. She is open, friendly, and well-presented etc.

This image is an example of bad body language. She is closed, unhelpful, ignorant etc.

Another factor is intonation and this must be use to give a positive impression to your listener because the use of your voice can tell someone your attitude towards the subject. Along with your voice you have the pitch, volume and rhythm. If you choose to not vary any of these factors then the audience will lose concentration and your voice will seem very monotone and boring. So to present you must control your voice and make it sound interesting and emphasis the point you are trying to get across. This will help to keep the audience engaged and listening to what you have to say.

Active Engagement

Active engagement is a skill where you listen to a speaker and you pay attention to them. This shows you have understood what the subject is about by using nodding, paraphrasing, and summarising. Paraphrasing is when the listener understands a situation/ subject and they return the feelings involved back to the speaker or they repeat the words that the original speaker had said to show that they were concentrating on the conversation.

 

Nodding shows the listener is listening to the speaker but doesn't feel the need to interrupt the speaker so they silently agree with a nod instead of saying “Yes I understand”. Summarising is when the listener understands the concept the speaker is trying to get across and they put it into their own words to show their understanding. You should try to actively engage with the audience because it shows a mutual understanding of the subject at hand and it is a way to make sure that the audience has understood the message you have conveyed. It is important however not to make assumptions i.e. if a person is nodding this is not necessarily an indication they have actually understood what you have said.