Interpersonal communication skills consist of the verbal and non-verbal cues that a person uses to communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas with another person. These behaviors have been learned and with reflection, practice, and guidance, one can identify possible problems and make changes to improve their ability to communicate.
How to identify problems:
- If you have difficulty conveying your thoughts and feelings to others
- You are finding there is an increase in tensions or arguments during conversations.
- You find yourself doing things for others, that your uncomfortable with and go against your morals/values
- You are distancing yourself from interactions with others due to fear of their responses.
Ways to improve Interactions:
- Remain relaxed and keeping positive attitude during conversations
- Show interest in others points of view and be accepting that they may be different than yours
- Learn to be assertive, by expressing your thoughts and feelings in a way that others can understand, while showing respect.
- Distancing self from negative interactions and not partaking in others conflicts when possible
- Being able to reflect on past interactions, by identifying problems and being able to learn from these to improve.
