Interpersonal Communication Skills Key Terms

Enhance workplace strategies by learning interpersonal communication skills key terms

By Michele Vrouvas

It's almost impossible to overestimate the significance of interpersonal communication skills in the business world. What human resources manager has never had to rely on interpersonal negotiations to handle hostility between two or more employees? Or what sales representative would minimize the importance of effective listening strategies at a company sales meeting? Successful businesses, whether they're employment advertising agencies or bio pharmaceutical manufacturers, pay top dollar to employees who can effectively communicate with clients, business partners and senior management. Knowing some key terms related to interpersonal communication skills is a clever way to learn these strategies.

Optimal thinking

Optimal thinking is a mental strategy based on what used to be called positive thinking. When you rely on optimal thinking, you are making the most of any situation.
Try: The Community for Optimal Thinkers explains the kinds of choices optimal thinkers make and the thoughts they should be focusing on. See also how optimal thinking compares with negative thinking.

Effective listening

When you practice effective listening, you are using the highest form of listening skills. You retain more data and send nonverbal messages to the speaker.
Try: Wright State University puts effective listening into the context of interpersonal communications. It explains the relationship between receiving information and giving feedback to the sender. It also explains how the most skilled communicators depend on effective listening techniques.

Feedback

As an interpersonal skill in the workplace, feedback refers to any responses you receive to your behavior and work from both managers and coworkers. Feedback can be constructive or negative.
Try: Read suggestions for constructive feedback at Human Nature At Work. Find out why the ability to give your staff positive feedback remains one of the most defining skills of a manager.

Verbal communication

When people use verbal communication, they speak or write to one or more individuals. Experts agree that verbal communication is the foundation of interpersonal skills.
Try: The University of Louisville explains the origin of verbal communication and its main purposes. Also find out how etiquette plays an essential role when people verbally communicate and how public speaking fits into the verbal communication model.

Nonverbal communication

When you give other people messages that you don't communicate with your voice or written words, you are using nonverbal communication techniques.
Try: Go to Fort Hays State University to learn how body posture, tone of voice and even facial expressions constitute nonverbal messages that you send to others, whether intentionally or not.

Interpersonal negotiations

Interpersonal negotiations come into play when you are in a situation requiring you to handle difficult people or to deal with a potentially hostile individual.
Try: Go to Global Development Research Center and find out how you can follow a proven technique for using interpersonal negotiations to handle sticky workplace situations.