What are Interpersonal communication skills – types and examples (with Diagram)

Interpersonal meaning relation between people, communication means exchanging our thoughts, ideas and information with others and skill means ability to do something effectively and efficiently. 

So, all together, Interpersonal communication skills mean effective ability to exchange our knowledge, ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions with other people. 

Interpersonal communication skills are highly in demand in almost every industry because candidates with these skills add extra values to business, which is always desired by the industries. 

Most businesses mention interpersonal communication skills as the must have skills for candidates in their job profiles. So, possessing these skills are not optional rather compulsory skills for job seekers to every employer who wants to gain respect and promotion in the workplace.

Possessing interpersonal communication skills also makes you a better social person, as you become an effective communicator in your day to day social life with your friends and family members.

Interpersonal communication skills – meaning, types and examples

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. What are interpersonal communication skills?
2. What are the elements of interpersonal communication?
3. Types of interpersonal communication
4. Interpersonal communication examples
5. Importance of interpersonal communication
6. Final Thoughts on interpersonal communication skills

1. What are interpersonal communication skills?

In simple words, interpersonal communication skills are the set of skills that are required to establish an effective and productive verbal and nonverbal communication with an individual, small or large group of people in order to deliver our thoughts, ideas, knowledge and information to others. 

Let us understand this interpersonal communication skill with example:

Suppose you are a software engineer,  now in order to to perform well in your software engineering industry, you are required to accumulate a list of technical skills through which you will perform your engineering jobs in the software area. Now you you may possess a good level of technical skills to perform your software engineering job but what will happen if you are unable to communicate with people by speaking due to the language barrier, your all the skills  will face a serious challenge due to this language barrier,  what will happen if you are very poor in time management,  it does not matter, how good you give your service but if you fail to manage the time, people will never trust you again and ultimately you will lose the business.

 So you can see that your technical skills are not enough to perform well in a job scenario.  In order to perform well you need some other set of skills which will help your technical skills to be performed in the right manner in order to become productive.  These other set of skills like verbal  communication skill which is speaking efficiently to convey your thoughts with words to the other person,  the nonverbal communication skills like time management skills,  you tone of voice,  body language,  appearance, facial expression etc,  all these plays very important role to perform your job in the most productive and efficient manner. 

2. What are the elements of interpersonal communication?

The elements of interpersonal communication can be classified in 5 groups, they are:

1. Message sender or Communicators 
2. Information or Message
3. Medium or Channel
4. Barrier or Noise
5. Feedback

The message sender or communicator is the person who is communicating with either an individual or a small or large group of people. 

Intent of the communicator is to deliver some information, ideas, thoughts, knowledge, emotions or feelings to others. 

The message is either conveyed through face to face verbal communication or using some medium or channel like email, softwares or telephonic communication etc. 

As we deliver the message through different types of medium, there can be various sorts or barriers to make the communication unproductive or ineffective, such as loud noise, poor internet connection, bad telephone connection, software malfunctioning, issues with devices etc. 

At the end of the communication the feedback is taken in order to make sure that indent of the communicator is accomplished and no misunderstanding has taken place. It can be done by repeating the main information and confirming the listener or audience. 

3. Types of interpersonal communication

Interpersonal communication is broadly divided into 4 types, they are:

1. Oral or Verbal Communication
2. Nonverbal Communication
3. Written Communication
4. Listening

4. Interpersonal communication examples

Here is a list of examples of interpersonal communication skills to consider.

1. Speaking clearly and precisely with fluency, face to face and through telephone or internet
2. Conveying the information by writing email or other means without grammatical and spelling mistakes
3. Listening actively patiently and attentively without interruption others
4. Tailoring the verbal and non verbal communication to suit with the audience
5. Sending message through right channel 
6. Excellent in English language and local language
7. Strong command on non-verbal communication 
8. Ability to understand the nonverbal cues
9. Capability to handle advanced technologies like advance devices, email services, softwares, social media platforms etc
10. Carrying friendly, confident and cheerful attitude
11. Speaking with right volume and tone
12. Respecting and appreciating others
13. Controlling the emotions

5. Importance of interpersonal communication skills

There are many reasons why interpersonal communication skills are important in daily life and in workplaces, below given a list of them.

1. Interpersonal communication skills are demanded by the job recruiter
2. You enjoy better relationship with your friends and family
3. It creates self-esteem, respect and confidence
4. Professionalism is displayed
5. It imparts positive values and sustainable growth to the business
6. Advertising and sales related business requires as must have skills
7. Job possibility enhances
8. You become an attractive person as a result possibility of promotion increases
9. Relationship with others in workplace and family becomes stronger
10. You learn to take better decision
11. You become a critical thinker and problem-solver 
12. Deliverance of message through speaking and writing become more effective
13. Revenue and productivity grows
14. Entire process of work become smoother and efficient
15. People start to like you due to your better personality
16. Interpersonal communication skills are required for career success
17. Better customer management takes place
18. A person with these skills can expect better income
19. Leadership ability enhances
20. Crucial to become a successful business person
21. Make positive effects on social behavior
22. Boosts performance in work
23. Reduces pressure and makes you more happier 
24. Established trust and strong relation between business and others
25. The exact purpose of communicator is fulfilled
26. Makes positive effect on entire business management
27. Better work force is created
28. Less conflicts occurs
29. Saves time and the time is money
30. Job satisfaction is experienced

6. Final Thoughts on interpersonal communication skills

Human beings are social beings, therefore we all like to interact with others in some way or others regularly. Interpersonal communication skills help us to interact with others most efficiently to produce the best result. 

Remember our interpersonal communication skills are measured by the employer during the interview and even in our regular work life in the workplace to define our capabilities in handling the job.

Strong interpersonal communication skills makes our life more comfortable and happier.

Here are some of the takeaways:

• Interpersonal communication skills are required to establish a productive and efficient verbal and nonverbal communication for sharing our knowledge, thoughts and information with others. 
• Elements of interpersonal communication skills are Communicators, Message, Medium or Channel, Barrier or Noise, Feedback.
• The types of these skills are divided in four groups, they are Oral or Verbal Communication, Nonverbal Communication, Written Communication and Listening
• Some of the examples of these skills are speaking effectively and precisely, writing without errors, Displaying right body movement, making regular eye contact, speaking with appropriate tone and volume, understanding nonverbal cues of others etc.
• Interpersonal communication skills are important because employers desire to recruit candidates possessing these skills, better relationships are established with the people in the workplace and family, Possibility of growth and success enhances. 

Last but not the least, you can learn and develop these interpersonal communication skills by gathering genuine feedback from others, loving criticism and making them the stepping stone for developing, Always learn from others with better interpersonal communication skills, assess yourself and find your weaknesses, Be willing to fix and rectify them.

Let me know your suggestion in the comment section below for adding more life to this article and helping others to grow.

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