Today, there is a belief that the formed skills of communicative relations are closely related to the material component. Money, career, relationships, friends - in all this communication plays an important role. To successfully build the process of interpersonal communication, you need to know some tricks, which you will learn in this article. With proper interaction with the interlocutor, it will not be difficult to win him over.
Group, mass and interpersonal communication
Before moving on to the terminology of the main concept, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with other types of communication:
- Mass communication is the process of disseminating information and influencing others through radio, television, print, cinema, etc., resulting inmessages of this kind reach a large mass of people.
- Interpersonal communication is a process of interaction and transfer of information from one person to another, involving information exchange. The main purpose of this species is the mutual understanding of two or a group of people.
- Group communication involves communication within a group of people, the number of which reaches, as a rule, up to twenty people. It is worth noting that interpersonal and group communications have some similarities, since in both cases, people interact through speech. Returning to group communications, it should be added that the totality of communication interactions allows both strengthening the group and increasing conflict among the participants. If the concept of interpersonal communication involves information exchange, the main purpose of which is the mutual understanding of two people, then the purpose of group communication is the implementation of interdependent actions and the solution of joint tasks.
A little more detail
Interpersonal communication consists in direct contact with people tete-a-tete, that is, face to face. Interpersonal communication is characterized by the psychological closeness of the interlocutors, the presence of empathy, understanding and sympathy. This type of communication contains three interconnected parties:
- communicative - consists in the exchange of informational verbal messages between interlocutors, the transmission and reception of feelings and opinions;
- perceptual - affects the process of understanding and perception of the interacting parties, whichcontributes to the formation of certain interpersonal relationships;
- interactive - consists in the exchange of actions between communication partners (for example, a request - consent or refusal).
Interpersonal communication is one of the most important categories of psychological science, as communication plays a major role in the interaction of people. In this type of communication, there are two types of communication: non-verbal and verbal. The first option has its origins since ancient times, and the verbal one appeared much later, but is a universal way of communication today. In other words, interpersonal communication is the communication of at least two persons, which is aimed at the mutual establishment, knowledge and development of relationships, involving mutual influence on the behavior, mood, attitudes, and state of the participants in this process. It is also the most free from the formal framework regulating the style and form of the message, which makes it more intelligible and accessible. In addition, in the process of personal communication, the effect of perception can be enhanced by the intonation of the interlocutor, his gestures, voice timbre, facial expressions, charm, focused exclusively on a particular person. It should be noted that in interpersonal communication there are great unlimited opportunities for applying the feedback effect.
Shapes
Depending on the transmission channel, interpersonal communication is usually divided into oral and written. The written form of interpersonal communication in communication includesinformation in the form of reports, reports, orders, etc., where the coding symbol is a written word. The following advantages of this form of communication are distinguished:
- the ability to store information;
- greatest precision and care when creating a message.
Disadvantages include:
- it takes more time to form a message, unlike the oral form of communication;
- no opportunity to establish feedback and share information.
When choosing a form of communication, you should follow the rules:
- oral form is preferable in cases where it is necessary to convey a personal, new, ambiguous, emotional message to the interlocutor (telephone conversation, personal meeting);
- writing is most effective when sending a routine, impersonal, simple and long message (e-mail, official letter).
For the effectiveness of interpersonal communication, it is recommended to combine both forms. For example, a phone call can alert you to an important meeting and get an immediate response from the other party, while a reminder message in writing with the specified time and date ensures that the recipient does not forget about it. Today, there are many different tablets, mobile phones, faxes, computer networks that blur the boundaries between written and oral forms of communication and make each of them the most effective.
The oral form is in the form of a dialogue, conversation, discussion, telephoneconversation, where the coding symbol is a word. In addition to oral speech, non-verbal communication plays a huge role in interpersonal communication: intonation, smile, facial expressions, gestures, facial expressions, and so on. Such information is capable of conveying feelings and thoughts in a more effective way than any carefully chosen words. Oral communication also has disadvantages. As a rule, they include the following:
- difficulty in storing information due to the fact that this type does not leave notes, records and documents;
- the emergence of some barriers to interpersonal communications, which in the future can lead to errors and misunderstandings, usually barriers include: inability to listen, stereotypes, different perceptions and more.
Let's consider them in more detail.
Perception
Perception - the process of obtaining and transforming information, through which the individual receives an understanding of reality. It is worth noting that it is subjective, since each person tends to interpret this or that situation in different ways. With the help of sound, visual and tactile channels of obtaining information, a person perceives only what matters to him. Thus, perception depends on how accurately a person receives the information that the sender wanted to convey to him.
Stereotypes
One of the barriers to interpersonal communication are stereotypes. As a rule, stereotypes are a stable opinion about any situations or people. with them atthere is no possibility of an objective analysis of a person, which negatively affects both the sender and the recipient. In this regard, before conveying specific information to the interlocutor, it is important to make sure that he really understands the essence of the problem.
Unable to listen
Lack of concentration on the interlocutor and inability to listen is a serious barrier to interpersonal social communication. In order to correctly receive a verbal message, it must be heard. During the conversation, it is important to receive information from the interlocutor, interpret it correctly and give an adequate answer, if the situation requires it.
Specialists give some tips for improving the effectiveness of interpersonal communication in the process of listening:
- it is not recommended to speak and interrupt your interlocutor;
- during the conversation, ask questions, thereby maintaining the interest of the partner;
- create a favorable atmosphere for your interlocutor, find interesting and common topics;
- during a conversation, do not criticize or argue with the speaker, try to evaluate the essence, not the words.
- let the other person know that you are listening.
Nonverbal barriers
Non-verbal symbols include: gestures, posture, distancing, facial expressions, eye contact, voice intonations. Their transmission occurs simultaneously with verbal signals (words), which can enhance or modify the meaning of the message.
Bad feedback
Successful activity through interpersonalcommunications is determined by the effectiveness or, conversely, the ineffectiveness of feedback. Any conversation always implies a two-way direction. Simply put, in the course of a conversation, feedback from the interlocutor is necessary to increase the effectiveness of the exchange of oral messages. Do not forget about its importance, as it allows you to assess how correctly the interlocutor understood the information. An obstacle to effective communication can be not only poor feedback, but also its complete absence.
Principles in interpersonal communication
Probably, many have noticed that some have difficulty communicating with people, while others, on the contrary, very quickly find a common language. The secret is simple - for a successful and productive information exchange, everyone should know the processes and principles of interpersonal communication. Every day we are faced with a large flow of people and, at times, social contacts are inevitable. Without noticing it, when communicating, a person has a certain impact on his interlocutors, and thereby develops his own individual line of behavior. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the simple rules of interpersonal communications:
- When communicating with an interlocutor, it is important to remain calm, because excessive emotionality can interfere with the perception of information. After the opponent has finished his speech, be sure to show that you understood and heard him.
- Do not forget about the appearance, as this allows you to create the first impression of the interlocutor. During a conversation, a person tends toinvoluntarily observe your opponent and form your own opinion about him, not only based on his words, but also on his appearance. Therefore, it is so important to follow the gait, manner of speaking, hairstyle, clothes.
- As previously mentioned, interpersonal communication is a process of interaction between two or more people, so for a successful relationship, you need to carefully listen to your interlocutor. During the conversation, try to focus solely on the participant in the dialogue and not be distracted by the drafting of questions that you plan to ask.
- Don't forget the fact that it only takes about five minutes of conversation to form a first impression of your interlocutor. In the first minutes of communication, all the senses are aimed at getting to know the opponent as best as possible. As a rule, after four minutes, a person is ready to make a choice about whether to continue the conversation. Therefore, if you want to gain trust and succeed in communicating with the interlocutor, from the very beginning you need to watch your facial expressions, gestures and tone.
- Experts advise starting a conversation with neutral topics. In the process of communication, it is worth showing goodwill, politeness and tact. One of the proven and simple ways to win over an opponent is an open and sincere smile.
- During a conversation, it is important to watch your facial expressions and facial expressions. A vivid expression of emotions (both negative and positive) can become an obstacle to building a constructive conversation.
Features
Offerconsider the distinctive features of interpersonal communication:
- Irreversibility is the inability to return the spoken words.
- Relationships are a determining factor in the gradual process of interpersonal communication, which develop as a result of creative and business contacts, as well as the ability of people to emotionally perceive each other - empathy.
- Inevitability and inevitability is explained by the fact that a person is a social phenomenon, the existence of which is impossible without communication.
Thus, speaking about the features of interpersonal communication, the following aspects should be highlighted:
- Activity of communication partners. By sending informational messages, one participant assumes the activity of another, who, in turn, also needs to focus on the goals, motives and attitudes of his interlocutor.
- Active exchange of thoughts of the participants in the conversation contributes to the establishment of interpersonal communication.
- In the process of verbal interaction, mutual understanding or misunderstanding occurs, which is obtained in the presence of feedback.
- The essence of interpersonal communication is that information is not only accepted by the interlocutor, but analyzed and comprehended.
- The information that was received by the interlocutor and returned back organizes the participants in interpersonal relations into a common information field.
Criteria
The accuracy of the transmission of the meaning of information messages is most influenced by such factors, called barriers. Specialistsidentify the following interpersonal communication criteria that can be used to determine effectiveness:
- costs of functioning interpersonal relationships;
- accuracy of the meaning of the transmitted information.
Views
There are types of interpersonal communication - verbal (speech) and non-verbal, where the transfer of information is carried out using gestures, facial expressions, and body movements. We propose to consider each separately.
Non-Verbal Communication
Psychologists pay great attention to body language, as it can tell a lot about the intentions and feelings of any person. The movements and postures of people cannot be considered completely innate: as a rule, they are acquired in the process of communication. Body language includes things like:
- facial expression is a way of using facial expressions;
- gestures - the transfer of information occurs with the help of hands;
- proxemics - a method of using space, where the distance between the interlocutors is taken into account when communicating;
- body position - means controlling your body;
- tactile communication - speaks of the status, degree of closeness or friendship between communication partners.
Paralinguistics
Paralinguistic means tend to embellish speech with emotional coloring that speaks of a person's momentary state (fatigue, calmness, agitation). These include intonation, as well as the tonal level of the voice, for example, the volume with whichit is natural to express anger.
Verbal communication
Verbal communication is considered to be the most common and studied type of interpersonal communication. The speech type of interpersonal communication has a complex structure and appears in a variety of stylistic varieties (literary and colloquial language, various genres and styles, etc.). All of the above characteristics and other elements of the communication process contribute to its implementation.
Ways to improve interpersonal communications
Any communication involves the interaction of people with each other. In order for each conversation to be successful, psychologists pay a lot of attention to the development of interpersonal communications. By adhering to the following rules during contact with an opponent, interpersonal communications can be significantly improved:
- Learn to disengage from psychological barriers that are a significant obstacle in fruitful communication. Internal barriers can often arise in the course of a conversation. You can avoid them by focusing on important points during the conversation.
- Don't forget good manners and charm. Many people have access to such a "superpower" as charisma, thanks to which you can get everything you need from communication without any problems. This trait is not exclusively an innate quality, which means that it can be developed.
- Say no to psycho-physical clamps. Cheeky or too constrained body movementswill become a signal for the interlocutor about the presence of psychological and physical abnormalities. Perhaps the opponent will not be able to give a clear definition of this condition, but he will immediately feel something is wrong. In this regard, the success of your conversation will be a big question. To avoid such cases, it is important to be able to relax during a conversation and, of course, to train.
- Become a protégé. If among your friends or acquaintances there are such people who are excellent in communication, then it is worth trying to observe and imitate them. By adopting an already proven model of behavior, you can achieve significant success.
- Speak as much as you can, especially for very shy people. Conversations on abstract topics will help save you from feeling embarrassed, on which everyone can express their opinion: about the weather, about gas prices or traffic jams. This simple secret will help improve interpersonal relationships.
- Communication implies the active interaction of individuals, but do not forget that all people are different, and the approach to each should be purely individual. Communicating daily on a variety of topics with those around you, whether it's a work colleague or a supermarket clerk, you will gain invaluable experience in communication in different styles and increase your self-confidence.
- Master the art of asking questions. Scientific research has shown that the right question is half the solution to the problem. During the conversation, the correct and accurate question will be the one that the opponent wants to answer and think about it. Toto talk to a communication partner, it is worth using open-ended questions, which usually begin with the words "why", why, "how", etc. In addition, during the conversation it is important to soften the questions so as not to offend the interlocutor.
Yes method
Experts advise to put into practice this method, the essence of which is simple: a person does not need to mention at the very beginning of the conversation those topics that can lead to disagreement. By smoothing sharp corners, you can achieve the best result. Psychologists recommend starting a conversation with questions that the interlocutor will definitely answer in the affirmative.
In conclusion
We found out that interpersonal communication is a complex process of interaction between two or more people, which is indispensable in the modern world. Thus, in order to successfully build a communication process, it is necessary to refrain from evaluating and criticizing your interlocutor, to avoid conflict situations and disputes. In order not to become a boring interlocutor, it is not recommended to talk about your problems often. If you want your opinion to be considered, respect the other person's point of view. Remember that the manifestation of irritability and tactless behavior can become an insurmountable obstacle to establishing contact between interlocutors.
