What is interpersonal communication: definition and 3 common myths

Effective interpersonal communication at work is essential to your career success. However, it is often not clearly understood or easy to improve. After doing some research on Google about how others talk about interpersonal communication, I want to offer my own perspective: a detailed definition of what interpersonal communication is and the 3 most common myths about interpersonal communication.

What is interpersonal communication?

Wikipedia defines interpersonal communication as “the process we use to communicate our ideas, thoughts, and feelings to another person.” I completely agree with the definitions, but still find them vague. To me, interpersonal communication is the process we use to build relationships with others through communication by effectively doing the following

• Understand the situation of the other. – We cannot build relationships with others if we do not take the time to listen and be fully aware of where the person we are speaking to is coming from.
• Communicate the right way – it’s not what we say that matters, but also the tone we use and how we say it based on our understanding of them, which can help the person we’re talking to hear and understand our intentions and ideas.
• Influence them to listen and/or take action as needed: At the end of the day, the purpose of communication is to come to a common understanding, build a better relationship, and/or agree what to do next if action is required.

The 3 most common myths about interpersonal communication

It is immensely difficult to improve your interpersonal communication if you still believe some common myths. Here are three of the most common myths.

Myth #1: Focus only on the facts: Facts are important in a conversation, but they can’t be the only focus. Often we spend too much time figuring out what facts we want to communicate and too little time figuring out how we want to communicate them. Every person we talk to is a human full of insecurities, ambitions and prejudices. So remember the common adage: “It’s not what you say, but how you make people feel that matters.”

Myth #2: If I’m right, I can say it: It’s never a good idea to kick someone when they’re down. If someone on his team makes a mistake, call it out but focus the conversation more on where to go from there and allow him to recover. If your client overbilled you, you still don’t want to go overboard in your communication. It is always better for the relationship if you give others the benefit of the doubt.

Myth #3: Sugar-coated bad news: Bad news, like a termination message or a message to your boss about a mistake you made at work, is hard to deliver. It is important to convey the message tactfully, but this is not the same as sugarcoating it. Sugar coating involves not being as direct or clear about the gravity of the message. While sugarcoating a message may make you feel more comfortable, it won’t help, as it may confuse or make the listener feel patronizing. Sincerity and a focus on moving forward help the most. What happened already happened. So be direct and focus on the next steps.

To learn more about this topic and how to improve your interpersonal communication at work, stay tuned for this upcoming post on 7 Tips for Effective Interpersonal Communication. I await your comments. I’m always in your corner.

-I read