Why Interpersonal Communication Is Your Most Important Skill

Why Interpersonal Communication Is Your fruchtwein Important Skill Weve talked about interpersonal communication before. Simply put, it refers to your people skills the ways in which you communicate with the people in your life, whether those people are your family members, friends or work colleagues. And its bedrngnis all about what you say, but also how you say it and how well you receive others katecheses, too.People who arebetter adept at interpersonal communication are empathetic and do well with regard to both diplomacy and negotiation.Thatswhy employers are increasingly seeking employees who have these soft skills. Lets break down these skills.Interpersonal Communication Soft SkillsDiplomacyDiplomacy is the ability to deal with a person in a sensitive and effective way. Anyone can learnknowledge, but a persons ability to interpret, translate oreffectively explain that information is highly valued.When you say someone is a natural diplomat, its understood to mean thathe or s he is skilled at bringing two opposing ideas or individuals together. And that matters to employers because they seek employees who can build bridges within an organization andwith that organizationspartners in meaningful ways.NegotiatonA good negotiator is someone who communicates with the goal of reaching an agreement. To succeed at negotiation, one needs to have strong interpersonal communication skills andbe someone who can get things doneto meet the goals of the organization.EmpathyEmpathy is often confused with sympathy. The difference is that empathic people can understand or share the feelings of other people they can put themselves in anothers shoes. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone. An empathic personfeel sads when his or herbest friend feels sad andhe or shecan understand another persons reaction and emotions they have perspective. While empathy is not the same as compassion, empathic people are usually compassionate people.The good news is that its not difficult t o improve upon theseskills by practicing. Heres how you can work on your interpersonal communication soft skills.How to Practice Soft SkillsListenStart by listening to yourself and working on your own self-awareness. Make sure that you are in touch with what you are saying as well as how you are saying it are there ways you can help improve your delivery? Then make sure you are hearing what the other personissaying and paying attention to how they are saying it.Pay Attention to DetailMake eye contact and provide feedback when youre receiving a message. Pay attention to your body language and try to keep open in the workplace. (Read Crossed arms are not open body language.)KeepCalmTry to focus on remaining calm and steady, especially during emotionally-charged conversations. Being passionate about your ideas is great, but letting that passion get in the way of delivering your message effectively is not so great.Have an Open MindPracticeempathyby trying to see the other persons point of view. It may not change your mind, but it may help to understand where they are coming from.CompromiseDevelop yourdiplomacyandnegotiationskills by making sure that you always allowthe other personto make their pointsduring yourconversation. And understand that resolving a conflict or coming to an agreement does not mean that everyone always gets exactly what they want sometimes negotiation and conflict-resolution mean compromise.The aforementioned soft skills that develop with interpersonal communicationare important both in the workplace and in your personal life. But, beyond practicing, the key to developing those skills is understandinghow interpersonal communicationworks in the first place.It can be broken down into various elements so that its more easily understood.Interpersonal Communication ElementsCommunicatorsIn order to have a conversation, at least two communicators must be present. These communicators should be working interactively and in sync with one another, ta lking and listening simultaneously. Both individuals are sending and receiving messages to and from each other.MessagesThe messages are what is being sent and received to and from each communicator. Theyre not necessarily verbal rather, they can be facial expressions and gestures, as well.NoiseThe noise doesnt literally refer to noise but, rather, complicated jargon, cultural barriers and the like. Noise refers to anything that can lead to the misinterpretation of the intended message.FeedbackThe feedback refers to the messages that the receiver returns to the sender albeit verbal acknowledgment, facial expressions, head nods or otherwise.When a receiver gives constructivefeedback, it lets the sender know how accurately the message was receivedto thus continue or adjust accordingly.ContextThe context is a nuanced element. It includes the setting in which the conversation takes place (i.e. an office or a coffee shop), the social contextwith regard to the communicators (i.e. their ro les and relative status), and the emotional climate that could affect their messages.ChannelA conversation always happens via a channel it could be a face-to-face interaction or it could happen via phone, email or video call.In short Interpersonal communication is important in the workplace, and organizations are seeking to build their teams and foster leaders who strongly demonstrate the soft skills of a good communicator.Showing that you understand someone or a concept in the workplace (your emotional intelligence) is sometimes more important than showing yourintelligence by the common sense of the word. Its great to haveanew big idea, to create that newhitcraze andinnovate in ways no one has. Butnone of thatwill matter if you cant effectively communicate why your new big idea is better than those that came before it. And none of that will matter if you cant be a team member, either.--Lissa Kline is currently the Director of Member Services at Progyny, overseeing the Patient Care Advocates. She worked at Columbia University Medical Center for several years in the division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Involved in Patient Services and the Donor Egg Program she loved working patients while they underwent fertility treatment. Lissa graduated with a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.