Interpersonal Communication: Building Connections Together, Essay Example

First of all, the importance of interpersonal communications lies in the idea that it allows human beings to communicate, whether through speaking, writing, or some form of non-verbal communication. According to the authors of our textbook Interpersonal Communication: Building Connections Together, communication is a necessary component of all human relationships and can only occur between two or more individuals. Also, interpersonal skills allows a person to effectively deliver messages to others or to express his/her personal identity through words and actions (Gamble & Gamble 12). Thus, after reading our textbook, my own perspective on communication changed dramatically, especially related to its power and influence.

Helping future colleagues with understanding the power and influence of their own self-concepts, being how people perceive themselves both physically and emotionally and how they evaluate themselves as compared to other people, is of great importance to not only their own development as a human being but also my own. One way that I could help them to discover themselves is by telling them to attempt to view themselves from the outside or from someone else’s perspective or viewpoint. This is closely associated with what psychologists refer to as the existential self or knowing that one is separate from other people and distinct as a human being in relation to an awareness of what is occurring within the immediate environment. I might also tell future colleagues to look deep in the mirror and admit what one sees instead of pretending that the person in the reflection is someone else.

What I would do in order to help other professionals to improve upon their skills and abilities related to interpersonal communication includes 1), to advise them to learn how to think critically which can help a person to grow and develop as a professional, especially if required to interact with other individuals. This can be accomplished by forcing oneself to take control of his/her thoughts, actions, reactions, and behaviors toward other persons and in relation to circumstances and situations in the workplace. Also, by being able to think critically, my future professional associates could learn to make better decisions that would positively affect not only themselves but also those that they work with or supervise while on-the-job. This has much to do with being able to think rationally with common sense and reason instead of allowing one’s emotions to run away. In addition, by learning how to think and act rationally, my future co-workers (or hopefully future employees) could lead more fulfilling and happy lives as professionals in their chosen field, thus becoming more successful.

Perhaps the most important skill that a professional person can have is the ability to listen attentively and respond with words that are effective and meaningful to the listener/receiver. Overall, my perspectives on listening and communicating with words has changed dramatically, due to understanding that these two elements are crucial to true communications between two individuals or between a person and a group. This is especially true related to non-verbal communication. Sometimes, body language says it all or some kind of simple gesture, such as a simple smile, a frown or the loss of eye contact. Also, being able to maintain a conversation with another person without becoming redundant and off-topic is perhaps the hardest thing to accomplish.

Lastly, it appears that human relationships are based on conflict, whether good conflict such as coming to an understanding about a topic or subject, and bad conflict which often results in the destruction of human relationships. Therefore, in the future as a professional person, I will use conflict as a tool in order to fix and/or repair a relationship with a co-worker or supervisor, and when appropriate, to guide my co-workers into thinking my way, especially when I know that I am right and on the right track. This demonstrates power which of course can be used to heal a relationship or destroy it.

Works Cited

Gamble, Teri Kwal, and Michael W. Gamble. Interpersonal Communication: Building Connections Together. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2014.