Q.
1 Interpersonal skills and its importance
Interpersonal skills are the skills that we use every day to communicate and interact
with other people, both individually and in groups. In other words, it means a congenial
and pleasant interaction of people with others. Interpersonal skills are those
psychological factors that exist within a human being and which constantly affects his
behavior while interacting with others.
People with strong interpersonal skills are usually more successful in both their
professional and personal lives because such people are capable of appropriately
communicating with different people who possess a variety of personality traits .
Interpersonal skills are very important because they are constantly evaluated by
everyone who communicates with us either in one way or another. Employers often
seek to hire people who will work well in a team and be able to communicate
effectively with colleagues, customers and clients. In other words, they hire staff that
has interpersonal skills.
Interpersonal skills are not just important in the workplace, our personal and social
lives can also benefit from better interpersonal skills. People with goo d interpersonal
skills are usually perceived as optimistic, calm, confident and charismatic - qualities
that are often endearing or appealing to others. Interpersonal skills act as foundation to
developing other skills.
Though these interpersonal skills are to some extent inherent in one, they can be
nurtured and developed with effort. We have all been developing our interpersonal
skills since childhood - usually subconsciously. Interpersonal Skills become so natural
that we may take them for granted, never thinking about how we communicate with
other people. With a little time and effort you can develop these skills. Good
interpersonal skills can improve many aspects of your life - professionally and socially
- they lead to better understanding and relationships. One should become aware of how
one interacts with others. With practice, one can improve one’s interpersonal skills.
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Q.2 Behavioral traits required for cultivating Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills can be developed by working on the following personality and
behavioral traits:
Resolving conflict: There are chances of conflict when many people work together on a
project. At that time, one should take a neutral position. The overal l interest of the
organization should be given priority. One should not get bitter towards the people
having opposing views. One should try to convince the people about the logic behind
the right decision that benefits the organization. Only such persons g et noticed who is
able to create an impression that he works for the benefit of the organization.
A smiling face: A tense face creates unnecessary tension while a smiling face creates
positive, energizing and productive environment within the organization . One can get
great results just with the help of a smiling face. It shows one’s confidence in handling
the situation.
Appreciative attitude: If one wants to get the best out of team mates and co -workers,
one should appreciate the work the team members have been doing. A small pat in the
back or a simple remark like ‘well done’ or ‘good work’ can increase the enthusiasm of
team members. It also prompts them to work efficiently.
Assertiveness: Even when appreciating others, one should be assertive. One should be
very specific about the needs, wants and expectations and also the reasons behind it.
Being assertive is about expressing your feelings and beliefs in a way that others can
understand and respect. Assertiveness is fundamental to successful negotiation. One
should not become rude while becoming assertive.
Communication skills: This is one of the most important skills. Communicating
without ambiguity is the key secret of strong performers and leaders. Effective
communication skills help the person in avoiding conflict and get the work done.
Listening skills: Listening is not the same as hearing. We should take time to listen
carefully to what others are saying through both their verbal and non -verbal
communication. In other words, it is our ability to interpret both the verbal and non -
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verbal messages sent by others. This skill is vital in improving relationships and
teaming in a corporate setting.
Developing empathy: The word ‘empathy’ means to understand and appreciate another
person’s position. It implies putting oneself in somebody else’ shoes and trying to
understand how one would have felt if he were in the same position as the recipi ent of
the situation. It is important for the leader to understand that other people may have
different points of view. The leader should try to see things from their perspective. In
doing so, one may learn something whilst gaining the respect and trust of others.
The attribute of taking bold decisions: The ability to take bold decisions is one of the
hardest among all the personality attributes. Such decisions are not easy to take because
these are almost always unpopular. Such decisions do not get immediate or easy
consensus. Many a times, these are resisted by the majority.
As a result, a vast majority of people tend to play safe because it is far simpler to go
with the majority or the popular view. Such attitude by leaders leads to steady business
decline over a period of time. Leaders who practice s uch safe approaches are often the
ones who are stuck after getting their first break. Inability to take bold decisions
promptly at the proper time may cause immense harm to any organization.
However, strong leaders do not hesitate in taking bold decision s. It is to be noted that
they do not take blind decisions blindly. Instead, they think about the impact and the
risks involved in such decision, and are always ready with the contingency plan. The
creative trait in their personality often brings up new perspectives that are fresh,
innovative and out-of-the-box. Such leaders increase their communication frequency
while taking bold decisions in order to explain their logic behind their bold action. Very
often this leads to the organization finally supporting such leaders with much hope,
pride and expectation for better career growth.
Q.3 Principles & Barriers to Interpersonal Communication
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Interpersonal Communication is guided by the following principles:
It is inevitable: One cannot avoid communicating. If one is not communicating
verbally, then one is communicating non-verbally through signs and symbols that
indicate one’s personality and thought process. In professional Communication, it is
usually not intent that is appreciated but rather the behavio ur that is exhibited by the
person. To develop one’s communication skills, one should always make things simpler
and clear for the receiver to understand everything accurately. As one can never avoid
the communication, hence it is better to improve one’s skills and be perfect in it.
It is irrevocable: Words once spoken cannot be taken back. Words have a lot of power
in them. In professional communication, this can create a multiplicity of problems as
one of the parties may leak information or shared confidences to others.
It is open to misinterpretation: The world is full of innumerable people having
multiple backgrounds belonging to diverse cultures. Their communication styles are
different. Such people communicate in multiple contexts. As a result, interpersonal
communication is open to misinterpretation. Hence, confirmation and feedback are
essential. Trust and reliability are the other ingredients of successful interpersonal
communication.
It is highly contextual: Communication does not take place in isolation. It operates in
the psychological context, where participants in the interaction bring their attitudes,
values and beliefs into the transaction; the relational context where participants interact
on the basis of how well they know and relate to each other; the situational context
which defines the backdrop of the communication; the environmental context, whic h
deals with the physical location of the communication; and the cultural context, where
the participants may fail to communicate effectively if they fail to observe each other’s
cultural norms.
There are certain intrinsic and extrinsic factors that act as barriers to successful
interpersonal relationships. The intrinsic factors are:
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Ego: Feelings of perceived superiority over others inhibit good relationships. People are
wary of egoistic, aggressive personalities. People are also wary of passive and subdued
personalities.
Personal attitude: Some people are averse to building any form of relationship other
than the purely professional. They shy away from meeting people to chat unnecessarily.
They do not involve themselves in any social interaction.
Stress: When people are stressed, they choose to remain aloof and withdrawn. This
results in isolation and decreased interaction with others.
The extrinsic factors that may act as barriers to communication include:
Position: Feelings of inferiority/superiority due to rank, prestige, status and authority
may have an adverse effect on interpersonal relationships.
Distance: People separated by geographical and spatial distances are unable to interact
with each other. However, with the advent of technology, people are also building
relationships via e-mails and telephones.
Culture: People from one culture may not like to mix informally with people from
another culture. This prevents development of healthy interpersonal relationships.
Technology: Technological inventions have led to more people sending e-mails rather
than personally communicating a message. This may inhibit face -to-face
communication and the development of interpersonal communication.
Q.4 Dimensions of Cultural Differences
Culture is what we grow up in. It includes the religious systems to which we are
exposed, the educational system, the economic system, the political system, the
recreational outlets, the standards of etiquette the quality and quantity of
communication and so on. Culture constantly interferes when one is communi cating
outside one’s own culture. So, it becomes necessary for one to understand the various
dimensions of cultural differences. The following dimensions have been identified on
the basis of survey conducted in a very large U.S-based multinational corporation:
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Power distance: It indicates the extent to which a society accepts the fact that power in
institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. It is reflected in the values of
both the more powerful and less powerful members of the society. A manager in a high
power distance culture is seen as having more than his subordinate would have. In a
lower power distance culture, a manager is addressed by his first name and manages by
using equalitarian communication strategy.
Uncertainty avoidance: It relates to the degree to which a society feels threatened by
uncertainty and by ambiguous situations. The society tries to avoid these uncertainties
and ambiguous situations by providing greater career stability, following formal rules,
not allowing odd ideas and behaviors, and believing in attaining expertise. Uncertainty
avoidance is a significant obstacle to change. So, managers should use communication
strategy to get people involved and highlight the benefits of change in order to reduce
resistance.
Individualism/Collectivism: Individualism suggests a loosely knit social framework in
which people are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families.
Collectivism is seen in a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in -
groups and out-groups. They expect their in-group to take care of them. Managers from
individualistic cultures and collectivist cultures conflict in many ways. Managers from
collectivist cultures try to build consensus before implementing any decision whereas
manager from individualistic culture finds such attempt as a waste of time.
Masculinity/Femininity: Masculinity includes assertiveness, the acquisition of money
and things, and not caring about the quality of life. Most of the countries in the world
have masculine attitude. Femininity by contrast value family, children, and quality of
life. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are considered feminine cultures.
High-context or low-context culture: High context culture looks for meaning in what
is not said. In other words, it gives importance to non-verbal communication or body
language. In low-context culture, most information is expected to be in explicit codes,
such as words.
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Monochronic vs. polychronic time: In a monochronic
culture, time is considered to be a linear entity. Here, people talk about saving time,
wasting time, making time, and spending time. In polychronic cultures, time just is.
These cultures trace their roots back thousands of years. Thus, promptness diminishes
in value. People in polychronic cultures, people are more patient, less interested in time
management and more willing to wait for their rewards than those in monochronic
cultures. To them, time is flexible, unfolding naturally.
Interpersonal Communication across Cultures
Interpersonal Communication across Cultures is a process in which people from
different cultural background try to interact and create a shared understanding so as to
achieve their personal goals as well as creating relationship with others. It should be
kept in mind that each culture has its way of interpreting message or information. The
way of communicating is also different from one culture to another. The differences in
communication between cultures are mostly related to cultural patterns, verbal and
nonverbal codes, relationships standards and roles, and social perceptions. When the
degree of differences between cultures becomes relatively large, it would lead to
misinterpretation and dissimilar expectations about how to communicate competently.
Every culture has its set of rules and standards about behaviors. So it is impossible for
anyone to learn a culture perfectly. All actions are bound to be wrong in some cultur es
or offending in someone’s view. Communication between culture are likely to be less
effective because of the violation of culture’s norms. In fact, people would never know
if they are expected to follow another culture’s norms or behave normally accordi ng to
their culture. There are many barriers to communicate across cultures, which are
preventing effective communication. There are six barriers in intercultural
communication: anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, ethnocentrism,
stereotypes and prejudice, language and non-verbal misinterpretation.
Anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, ethnocentrism
The first barrier that everyone faces is anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling that most people
felt in a completely new and different environment. They are nervous due to not
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knowing what they are expected to do during the communication transaction. Since
people are feeling nervous, they might not be totally focus on the communication
process. As the result, the common mistakes or appearing awkward to others are likely
to be made when people are anxious.
Beside the first barrier, assuming similarity instead of difference is also a barrier when
communicating across culture. In a new culture, it is natural for people to assume that it
is okay for them to behave the same way as in their culture. However, this assumption
makes people forget the important differences. In result, this could lead to
miscommunication.
Ethnocentrism is the third barrier that effects intercul tural communication. It means
negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture.
Every culture has its rules and standards. That is why it is impossible to apply the same
standards of one’s culture to others. This barrier has negative effects on intercultural
communication. Ethnocentrism leads to restriction and limitation of obtaining
knowledge and values of other cultures.
Stereotypes and prejudice
Stereotypes and prejudice are both challenges to intercultural communication. Both
terms are referring to making judgments about a person based on a gr oup’s common
values. Stereotype is a broad term and can be used for either negative or positive
judgment about individuals. Meanwhile, prejudice usually refers to unjust behaviors
and hostility towards a group, race, religion or sexual orientation.
Prejudice usually refers to irrational dislike based solely on the individual’s belief. The
highly prejudiced persons are identified to have an authoritarian personality. They tend
to over-generalize things. They are not likely to change their attitudes or beliefs, even
when they face new and conflicting information. Prejudice exists in all cultures around
the world. Prejudice prevents an effective communication since the person might
completely reject the new information that doesn’t suit their standards or beliefs.
Language
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Language is a set of symbols shared by a community to communicate meaning and
experience. For people with the same cultural background, same native language, it is
expected for them to understand the meanings better as their ways of thinking are
similar. However, in intercultural communication, people from different cultural groups
tend to misinterpret each other’s meanings. Therefore, language is an obvious obstacle
to intercultural communication. Even when cultures use the same language, there are
still differences, such as vocabulary differences.
Non-verbal misinterpretation
Effective intercultural communication is a mix of both verbal and non -verbal
communication. During an international business negotiation, non-verbal behaviors can
help getting the message across to foreign partners better than verbal behaviors.
However, there is also a risk of misinterpretation and cause confusion for the partners.
Most people know that languages are different from each others, but they are less likely
to aware that non-verbal messages are different as well. Non-verbal communications are
also unique and distinct from culture to culture and those differences are what create
confusion and misunderstanding in intercultural communication. As result, non -verbal
misinterpretation could create unfortunate misunderstanding and miscommunication,
especially when non-verbal behaviors’ meanings don’t match verbal behaviors. Non -
verbal misinterpretation is another huge barrier to overcome in intercultural
communication.
One can communicate effectively across cultures if one has the following qualities and
characteristics:
1. One should avoid ethnocentrism. An ethnocentric person may acknowledge the
existence of cultural differences but sees his country as the best in the world and
considers other countries as inferior. This should be avoided. One should
recognize and respect cultural differences and find ways to make the workplace
agreeable to all.
2. One should be non-defensive about one’s homeland. One would not be able to
explain fully the reasons behind burning issues. So, a straight forward discussion
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of the problems and what things are being done about them would be
appropriate.
3. One should be curious about other parts of the world and brave. One must have a
genuine interest in the people and the places that exist outside one’s national
boundaries.
4. One should be empathetic, understanding and nonjudgmental. One should be able
to see the world through the eyes of one’s intercultural partners with some
degree of objectivity. One should not try to impose one’s culture on others.
5. One should be patient. One should learn to expect the unexpected.
6. One should truly like and respect people belonging to other cultures. One should
not fake such respect.
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