Reflection On Interpersonal Communication Experiences & Skills

Question

Task:
Prepare a report critically reflecting on the interpersonal communication experiences and skills using different examples.

Answer

Introduction
According to Witt (2016), interpersonal communication seems to be a process through which people can exchange their information; meaning and feelings with the use o non-verbal and verbal messages such as face to face communication. Interpersonal communication is known to take place when people are found to be interdependent and also have knowledge about each other. Hence, the present study deals with the reflection of communication experiences and skills along with making use of different examples related to work and personal life.

Discussion
Role of communication within personal and professional relationships and its impact
Effective communication is considered to be the key for a long lasting and healthy relationship. If individuals are not seen to communicate effectively with each other, problems can be raised. As stated by Chen (2017), communication generally plays an essential role for the reduction of misunderstandings along with strengthening the bonding within the individuals. As per my knowledge, we should listen to the ideas of other people with being able to effectively and clearly communicate. For instance, as a leader in my profession, I have experienced that good communication helps in building a positive relationship and also encourages teamwork in an effective as well as productive manner. This also allowed my team members to share any kind of problem with me and reach out to a collaborative solution as well. On the other hand, I have also evidenced that personal communication also consists of a great significance as it can help in solving problems.

Thus, as put forward by DeVito & Joseph (2016), a good communication in the professional life has been considered to have a positive impact within the performance involving higher morale of the employees; increased productivity and employee retention as well. On the other hand poor communication might lead to a lack in understanding.

Styles of listening and talking along with its impact on others
There is a great importance of talking and listening styles. For instance, I have experienced that effective listening has helped me in becoming a better student and has also helped to handle my interpersonal relationships in a more effective way. However, it has also been evidenced by Wright & Bridget (2016), that this can result in others to be perceived for being more intelligent. On the other hand, talking styles are also significant as it can help in exchanging the ideas in an effective way. For instance, in my professional field, I always try to have a good conversation with my team members which results in having a positive relationship along with encouraging them to take challenges in the workplace and be much more productive as well. To deliver a good task within my organisation, I try to engage in being a content oriented listener where I am much more interested in the messages that are delivered from the HR and the employees and whether it is right or not. However, this might at times lead to a negative consequence. For instance, practicing content oriented listening can provide less attention for the speaker rather than the message and its credibility.

Barriers for communication and making it challenging
As per the views of Beebe, Steven, Susan, Beebe & Redmond (2017), most people generally think that communication is an easy way and consists of a simplistic view. However, the barriers related to communication tend to make it much more difficult; complex as well as frustrating. I have evidenced some barriers in my professional field.

Emotional barriers
This is the major barrier and free communication seems to be emotional. This mainly carries mistrust; fear as well as suspicion. This results in many people holding their thoughts through communicating their feelings for others. For instance, in my organisation, HR decides about employee of the month whereas; at times, my team members have experienced injustice and I was not able to do anything beyond the authority. This created an emotional barrier for me.

Language barriers
Our language is another aspect which might create a barrier for the other people who do not seem to be familiar with our language or rather expression. As opposed by Malikhao & Patchanee (2016), language barriers might create hindrances within both professional and personal relationships. This can also result within the individuals for feeling isolated as compared to the rest of the population.

Recommendations to overcome the barriers
There are certain recommendations which can help in overcoming the emotional barriers of communication within the workplace. For instance, removing ourselves from a situation can also be an option as angry people generally face difficulty while processing a logical statement along with limiting their ability for accepting the solutions and explanations as well. For example, I can avoid any emotional or heated situation which might result in bad outcomes. On the other hand, as opined by Soehner & Darling (2017), relaxation exercises can also be practiced for controlling any situation within the workplace through controlling emotions.

However, to avoid the language or any other barriers of communication within the professional life, the use of many jargons and words needs to be avoided. The level of tone and noise needs to be maintained or rather mitigated as noise seems to be the main barrier of communication that needs to be overcome through the basis of priority. Nevertheless, active listening is yet another strategy for avoiding such situations (Kowal & Jolanta. 2016). For instance, I as a team leader in my organisation, requested the HR managers for providing classes to the employees to learn different languages along with considering the visual communication methods. This has helped in their personal growth as well.

Conclusion
To conclude, the present study has evaluated the significance related to interpersonal communication within both the personal and professional field. A reflection has been provided in the above discussion regarding the role of communication with its impact. However, styles of talking and listening have also been highlighted along with its impact on others along with the barriers of communication. Nevertheless, the recommendations have also been emphasized in the present study to overcome the respective barriers of communication.

References
Beebe, S. A., Susan J. B, & Redmond, M.V. (2017). Interpersonal Communication : Relating to Others. Eighth ed. Boston: Pearson.

Chen, L. (Ed.). (2017). Intercultural communication (Handbooks of communication science, 9). Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9781501500060

DeVito L. & Joseph A. (2016). The Interpersonal Communication Book. Fourteenth edition. Global ed. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson. Retrieved April 17, 2020 (INSERT-MISSING-URL).

Kowal S. & Jolanta, C., (2016). Communication and Information Technology in Society : Volume 1-3. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Retrieved April 17, 2020 (INSERT-MISSING-URL).

Malikhao, P., & Patchanee, P., (2016). Effective Health Communication for Sustainable Development. New York: Nova. Retrieved April 17, 2020 (INSERT-MISSING-URL).

Soehner, C., & Darling, A. (2017). Effective Difficult Conversations : A Step-By-Step Guide. Chicago: ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association. Retrieved April 17, 2020 (INSERT-MISSING-URL).

Witt, P. (Ed.). (2016). Communication and learning (Handbooks of communication science, volume 16). Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9781501502446

Wright D., & Bridget L., ed. (2016). Communication Skills : Challenges, Importance for Health Care Professionals and Strategies for Improvement. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publisher's. Retrieved April 17, 2020 (INSERT-MISSING-URL).