What is Interpersonal Communication?

1. Source‒Receiver: Interpersonal communication is the interaction between people where at least two people are involved. Each person performs both source (i.e., formulates and sends messages) and receiver functions (perceives and comprehends messages). In interpersonal communication, the term source‒receiver stresses that each individual performs both functions. The source formulates the message and the receiver comprehends the message so that the communication process is established.
2. Encoding‒Decoding: The act of creating communications, such as speaking or writing, is referred to as encoding. Decoding, on the other hand, is the act of comprehending messages, such as through listening or reading. Encoding is the process of turning your ideas into a code, which you do by transferring them via sound waves (in the case of speech) or light waves (in the case of writing). By converting sound or light waves into concepts, you are removing them from a code, and so decoding. As a result, speakers and writers encode information, while listeners and readers decode it.
3. Messages (Feedback‒Feedforward): The next element is the messages that signal or the stimuli for a receiver. The way we walk, the way we eat, all communicate messages about us. These messages are received via hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, or by a combination of these senses. It has two major parts, feedback and feedforward. Feedback informs the speaker of the impact she or he is making on the audience. The speaker may tweak, amend, reinforce, deemphasize, or change the substance or structure of the messages based on this input. Before delivering your principal message, you give feedforward information. The message to come is hinted at in Feedforward. The preface or table of contents of a book, magazine covers, email topic lines, and introductions in public speeches are all examples of feedforward. Feedforward can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, you could utilise feedforward to indicate your want to chat with someone, stating something like “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a week; what’s up?”
4. Channel: Channel is the medium through which messages pass. It is the bridge that connects the source and the receiver. There are different kinds of channels of communication like face-to-face communication, email, telephones, virtual calls, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
5. Noise: Noise is defined as anything that distorts a message or stops the recipient from receiving it. There are four different types of noise. Physical noise, physiological noise (produced by barriers inside the transmitter or receiver, such as visual impairments, hearing loss, etc.), psychological noise (wandering thoughts, biases, and prejudices), and semantic noise are all examples of noise (language or dialectical differences). Noise is present in all communications. It cannot be completely eradicated, but its consequences can be minimised. To resist the effects of noise, you can improve your language abilities, strengthen your skills for delivering and receiving nonverbal messages, and improve your listening and feedback skills.
6. Context: Context is the environment wherein communication takes place. Communication always takes place in some setting, and the context in which it occurs can have a tremendous effect on what happens. To be more precise, communication occurs inside intertwined contexts. Physical, social, historical, and cultural contexts have been defined, though a relational context could be included as well. It influences the form and the context of the message.

Importance of Interpersonal Communication in Workplace

Personal Development: Interpersonal communication skills facilitate personal development. When leaders are able to communicate well in an organisation, their interpersonal qualities like feedback, empathy, delegation, and gratitude improve, which in turn helps them develop themselves. 

Problem Solving: Problems are the part and parcel of any orgaisation. Everyday new problem comes up within a team, within projects and even in the organisation as a whole. Interpersonal communication skills help managers and leaders in solving problems. It helps them in understanding the problem and finding apt solutions. For example, if any employee is unable to complete a task in hand, good interpersonal communication skills will help the manager solve the problem by providing a tool or an exercise that is only possible with the help of communication.

Higher Productivity: According to workplace communication statistics, 86% of employees and executives blame company failures on a lack of efficient collaboration and communication. Teams that communicate effectively, on the other hand, can enhance their productivity by up to 25%. Employee productivity is directly proportional to effective interpersonal communication.

Conflict Management: 81% of the employees said that misunderstanding occurs regularly, sometimes, or occasionally in their workplace. Conflict during discussion is sometimes mistakenly regarded as invariably destructive and is to be avoided at all costs. In order to resolve conflict, interpersonal communication skills become crucial. They help the leader in formulating strategies that use communication to soften the crucial matters.

Building Trust: 99.1% want to be a part of a company that promotes open and honest communication. Trust is at the heart of relationships. We rarely develop or maintain positive relationships with people of whom we are suspicious or wary. Lack of trust forms one of the major reasons for poor management and poor performance. Employees feel that they are not a part of the organisation and their performance is highly affected. Interpersonal communication skills improve trust and workplace communication between employees and managers.

Enhance Teamwork: Employee teamwork is highly important to 37% of workers. Interpersonal communication skills help the team to coexist in a cordial manner. Jealousy, positions, salary all become minor and team becomes the major. So, interpersonal communication skills help the team exist together and enhance their productivity.

How to Become a Powerful Communicator