Interpersonal Aspects of Communication in Workplace

This article discusses the importance of interpersonal communication skills in the workplace and how it affects cooperation, production, and conflict resolution. It also covers the art of persuasion and its tactics in the workplace. The article explains the three elements of interpersonal communication, namely nonverbal, preverbal, and verbal factors. It also highlights the effects of interpersonal communication in the workplace.

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INTERPERSONAL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION IN WORKPLACE
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Introduction
One of the main factors that determine the growth of an organization is the way
information is passed among the employees and the management. Proper communication do fuel
efficiency in the operations of the company. Communication in an organization refers to the art
of conveying intended information from one person or group, the sender, to another person or
group, the receiver through various communication channels. A research done by Johnson,
Donohue, Atkin, and Johnson (2011) elaborates that piece of information in a company can be
communicated downwards; from top management to workers, horizontally; between workers of
the same rank or upwards; from lower employees to management. This process does occur
through various communication channels such as through emails, phone calls, verbally or
through gestures (Enzinna 2016, p. 60). These communication channels can be categorized into
three groups namely; formal, informal and unofficial communication channels.
A formal communication channel conveys organization's formal information such as the
company's policies and goals. Generally, such information follows some chain of command from
top to bottom or he reverses. An informal communication channel may be referred to grapevine
communication that occurs between socializing colleagues in a company (Carr, & Zube, 2015, p.
40). Unofficial communication channels in an organization can be described as rumors in that
they may convey an essential piece of information from the management, but the message has
not gone through the recommended process.
Interpersonal Communication
One of the fundamental types of communication is known as the interpersonal aspects of
communication that mostly entail communicating to persuade or influence others. DeKay (2012)

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found out that this aspect of communication mostly known as communication between two
people, it can include written and non-verbal communication though it is mostly through spoken
language face to face communication. The basic elements of interpersonal communication
include nonverbal, preverbal and verbal factors.
The element of Interpersonal Communication
1. Nonverbal Factors.
The nonverbal elements of interpersonal communication include the way people interpret the
verbal cues in the process of communication. One of the nonverbal factors includes eye contact,
where the speaker holds the gaze of the audience. This element mostly shows how serious and
confident the speaker is about whatever he or she is speaking about and would end up
influencing the seriousness of the listeners.
As explained byKurzius (2015) body posture is another factor that influences the perception of
the information passed. For instance, a speaker who speaks while facing away from the audience
would mean lack of interest in whatever communication he or she is conducting. Other factors
include the positioning of the speakers’ arms, use of certain gestures such as shielding with arms
across and fidgeting may imply lack of experience or inadequate confidence.
2. Preverbal Factors
These factors to do with the way the speaker speaks include the rate of speech, the pitch of the
voice and his or her tone. Such factors have varying influence on how the way audience receives
the information (Rusu & Chiriță 2017, p. 42). For example, the volume of the speaker determines
how important the information may be, raised volumes may imply that the message passed is

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more important than those parts conveyed in lower volumes. How the speaker stresses some
syllables in a word can alter the way audience take the meaning.
3. Verbal Factors
These factors include the choice of words, grammar, and language style used by the speaker. The
formation and quality of messages passed in interpersonal communication are greatly affected by
these verbal elements. The choice and organization of the words used during interpersonal
communication have a lot of influence on the clarity and effectiveness of the information passed.
Rusu and Chirița (2017) state that even though the interpersonal communication factors work
independently, their combination ensures proper understanding as well as avoid misinterpretation
and confusion. Constructing and delivering a piece of information in a precise manner the first
time helps in preventing the need to repeat it in future. These are the factors that constitute
interpersonal communication skills.
Importance of Interpersonal Communication Skills in a Workplace
1. Promoting Effective Communication
Excellent interpersonal skills enhance the establishment of good relationships between workers
in a company, this environment promotes sharing of ideas and skills among workers (Kleckner,
& Marshall, 2014, p. 79). Additionally, the employees would be respectful to their colleagues
and one another’s opinions.
2. Keeps the Feedback Loop Open

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Effective communication and the ability to work on the feedback the company gets from within
and outside is one of the essential aspects of a dynamic workplace (Sanina, Balashov, Rubtcova,
& Satinsky, 2017, p. 260). If one employee is unfamiliar with some of the company’s terms and
processes, it is the effective interpersonal communication among the workers that will enable
other colleagues to take him or her through.
3. Expands employees Opportunities
Workers and managers with good interpersonal communication skills are always favorites of
their fellow employees, a situation that earns colleagues' trust which can, in turn, earn them
higher positions with more responsibilities.
4. They Make workers Relatable
Good interpersonal communication skills make a manager easy to interact with. This ability
makes other employees feel that the manager is easily approachable in case they have challenges
and are seeking his or her piece of advice (Mackenzie 2010, p. 538). Working with juniors who
believe in their manager is always encouraging and ensures smooth operations in the company.
5. Increases Credibility and Customer Satisfaction
A manager with good communication skills will always inspire his or her junior to be dedicated
to their work and take responsibility in every stage of production they participate in (Kleckner, &
Marshall, 2014, p. 68). With this commitment, there would be improved product quality which
will result in customer satisfaction and possibly increased customer base through acquisition and
maintaining new customers.

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6. Make a Leader Effective
Good interpersonal communication skills mean a leader can communicate his or her ideas clearly
to colleagues and juniors and this makes them effective leaders.
Effects of Interpersonal Communication in Workplace
a. Improved Cooperation among Workers
Workers with good interpersonal communication skills tend to cooperate better given that each
one of them can express their issues and ideas more clearly.
b. Improved Production
Good interpersonal skills would increase the efficiency of production as every worker clearly
understands his or her role in the company, and this situation tends to avoid overlapping between
workers hence no confusion.
c. Good conflict resolution
Managers with excellent interpersonal communication skills can listen and solve conflicts
between their juniors, as they can monitor and make informed judgments and decisions
(Mackenzie 2010, p. 535).
Persuasion

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According to Ametrano, Constantino, & Nalven (2017), persuasion in the context of a workplace
is the process of trying to change the attitude or perception of a given person or group towards an
idea, a person through the means of spoken, written or visual communication to convey
reasoning, feeling or their combination. Persuasion can be achieved through the following six
tactics;
Consistency-This tactic banks on the belief that people do follow consistency. If the
management commits itself to making the company workers believe in the new idea or leader,
they would finally believe due to the consistency. For instance, if salesperson becomes consistent
with his or her product, the consumers would end up giving the product a try which would lead
to an eventual sale.
Reciprocation- The manager can use the idea of giving a gift to the workforce to feel the guilt of
giving back through accepting the product, idea or leader being introduced.
Social Proof- Human beings are always influenced by what other people do. To persuade a
group of employees into believing in some idea, an intelligent manager would convince a small
easygoing fraction of the group; the entire group would follow suit employing social proof.
Authority- This tactic argues that people are obliged to follow the rules of authority. To
persuade worker into believing in some idea, a wise manager would be accompanied by an
expert in the field the plan was drawn (Johnson 1974, p. 18). The presence of the expert would
finally make the workers believe in the idea as they would not want to question professionals in
their areas of expertise.
Liking- The tactic believes in the idea that people are more likely to believe people they like. A
wise manager would identify a few workers who are popular in the company, convince them to

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believe in the newly introduced idea or leader. The famous individuals would easily persuade
colleagues into the manager’s point.
Scarcity- This tactic involves psychological applications of making people believe that if they
don't join the group, they would be left out or would become odd one out in the society. In his or
her attempt to persuade workers into an idea, a wise manager would find a way of convincing a
few then make the remaining employees feel that they are left behind (Stephens, Barrett, &
Mahometa 2013, p. 238). This tactic works best in advertisement field where companies create
the feeling that the advertised product is almost out of stock, and that consumers should harry
and grab the remaining few.
The art of persuasion mostly arises in a company when a group of workers are against some idea
or leaders based on some previous experiment or just pieces of information at hand. Such
circumstances need careful approach by the management considering that the opposing group
has reasons that may be right (Punyanunt-Carter, & Arias 2017, p. 119). A manager with
excellent interpersonal communication kills should listen to them and analyze their reasons for
opposition, then apply the appropriate persuasion tactics.

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List of Reference
Ametrano, R, Constantino, M, & Nalven, T 2017, 'The Influence of Expectancy Persuasion
Techniques on Socially Anxious Analogue Patients' Treatment Beliefs and Therapeutic
Actions', International Journal Of Cognitive Therapy, 10, 3, pp. 187-205.
Carr, C, & Zube, P 2015, 'Network autocorrelation of task performance via informal
communication within a virtual world', Journal Of Media Psychology: Theories,
Methods, And Applications, 27, 1, pp. 33-44.
DeKay, SH 2012, 'Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace: A Largely Unexplored
Region', Business Communication Quarterly, 75, 4, pp. 449-452.
Enzinna, MN 2016, 'Reconsidering Nonverbal Communication among Children with Mental and
Physical Disabilities', Journal Of The Communication, Speech & Theatre Association Of
North Dakota, 29, pp. 56-70.
Johnson, J, Donohue, W, Atkin, C, & Johnson, S 2011, 'Differences Between Formal and
Informal Communication Channels', Journal Of Business Communication, 31, 2, pp. 111-
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Johnson, MG 2011, 'Context, Flexibility and Meaning: Some Cognitive Aspects of
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Kleckner, M, & Marshall, C 2014, 'Critical Communication Skills: Developing Course
Competencies To Meet Workforce Needs', Journal For Research In Business Education,
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Kurzius, E 2015, 'The extraverted chameleon: Personality’s effects on mimicry of verbal
behavior', Journal Of Individual Differences, 36, 2, pp. 80-86.
Mackenzie, ML 2010, 'Manager communication and workplace trust: Understanding manager
and employee perceptions in the e-world', International Journal Of Information
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Punyanunt-Carter, N, & Arias, V 2017, 'The interplay between interpersonal communication and
instructional communication', Communication Education, 66, 1, pp. 118-120.
RUSU, O, & CHIRIȚĂ, M 2017, 'Verbal, non-verbal and paraverbal skills in the patient-
kinetotherapist relationship', Timisoara Physical Education & Rehabilitation Journal, 10,
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Sanina, A, Balashov, A, Rubtcova, M, & Satinsky, D 2017, 'The effectiveness of communication
channels in government and business communication', Information Polity: The
International Journal Of Government & Democracy In The Information Age, 22, 4, pp.
251-266.
Stephens, K, Barrett, A, & Mahometa, M 2013, 'Organizational Communication in Emergencies:
Using Multiple Channels and Sources to Combat Noise and Capture Attention', Human
Communication Research, 39, 2, pp. 230-251.