BUS709 Communication in Business: Interpersonal Skills & Social Media

This essay provides a critical reflection on interpersonal skills and social media's role in modern business communication. It explores social media platforms, blogs, and videos, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of social media in business, including marketing and employee communication. The ...Read More

Running head: COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS: REFLECTION ON INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Social Media communication.....................................................................................................2
Role of Blogs and videos in social media..................................................................................4
Benefits of Social Media in current business scenario...............................................................4
Pros and Cons of Social Media..................................................................................................5
Interpersonal Skills in communication.......................................................................................6
Relationship between listening, interruption and Feedback......................................................6
Raising Questions.......................................................................................................................7
Body Language..........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
As opined by Wood (2015), communication is one of most basic requirements of the
individuals and it helps the individuals to not only interact with each other but also to cascade
important information as well. Regan et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint the machinery of
communication had gained a special prominence within the spectrum of the modern-day
business world and the different workplaces of the business enterprises since effective
communication is required for the adequate or the fruitful completion of the diverse jobs or
tasks that the individuals are required to perform. More importantly, it had been seen that the
process of communication is being used as a sieve or a vessel which offers the opportunity to
the individuals or the workers within the spectrum of a particular workplace to pass on or
transfer the required or necessary information which helps the individuals to work in an
effective manner (Lane 2016). Furthermore, the construct of communication allows the
workers of a particular workplace to maintain the necessary link with the other workers and
this in turn helps them to work in a collaborative manner for the completion of the different
tasks. In this regard, it needs to be said that the tool of social media had emerged as one of the
most important ones which is being extensively used in the different workplaces for the
purpose of attaining the goal of effective communication (Geisinger 2016). Moreover, it is
seen one of the most important factors which affects the process of communication is the
interpersonal skill of the individuals who are participating in the process of communication.
In this paper, I would undertake a critical reflection of the topics of interpersonal skills and
social media and its usage for communication in the modern-day business world.
Social Media communication
Dolan et al. (2017) have articulated the viewpoint that the emergence of different
disruptive technologies like social media and others have drastically changed the manner in

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which people communicate with their friends, family members and others. As a matter of
fact, it is seen the different platforms of social media like Facebook, Instagram, WatsApp and
others and their extensive usage by the different individuals have made the traditional forms
of communication like letters, telegrams and others completely obsolete (Fuchs 2017). I
personally believe that there are various gratification factors which propels the individuals to
take the help of different social platforms like its cost-effectiveness, the ease of access, the
opportunity to interact with people from diverse parts of the globe and others. In this regard,
it needs to be said that as per a report more than 81.7% people of the entire have used one
platform of social media or the other at some point of their life and out of these a substantial
percentage of users use the different platforms of social media almost on a regular basis
(DeVito 2019). I am of the viewpoint that for an effective understand of the reasons why the
construct of social media had gained such a huge popularity one needs to understand the
basic differences between the social media and the traditional forms of media or
communication.
Cardon and Marshall (2015) are of the viewpoint that one of the major differences
between social media and the traditional medias which were used by the individuals for the
purposes of communication can be attributed to the time factors. In this regard, I would say
that the earlier medias like letters, telegrams and others used to take many days for the
purpose of reaching the receivers and also many times it was seen that the letters, telegrams
and others were being lost in transition. However, the individuals with the usage of social
media platforms for the purpose of communication do not have to face such problems
because the messages sent by them reaches the receivers within seconds and also the chances
of the messages being lost is minimal. In addition to these, it is seen that the individuals have
to spend a much lower amount of cost for sending messages through the different social
media platforms, as a matter of fact they only need to take care of the data charges, whereas

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for sending letters, telegrams and others the individuals in the earlier times had to spend a
substantial amount of money (Meikle 2016). Another important aspect of the different aspect
of the social media platforms is the global reach or the presence of these platforms and as a
matter of fact it is seen that the individuals through the usage of the social media can interact
in an effective manner with the people from the diverse parts of the world without having to
reveal their true identity (Carr and Hayes 2015).
Role of Blogs and videos in social media
As discussed by Kumar et al. (2016), an important trend seen within the framework of
social media communication is the fact that different blogs, podcasts, videos and others are
being used by the individuals for the purpose of communicating with others. For example, it
is seen that unlike the earlier times, wherein the individuals have to depend on the written
words and also write them with great economy because they were being charged for each of
the world, with the disruptive technology of social media it is seen that the individuals do not
have to face any such difficulty (Razmerita, Kirchner and Nielsen 2016). As a matter of fact,
the individuals have the opportunity to write long blogs which are likely to be read by
thousands of people from all over the world, record their voice and upload them, record
videos and others. I personally believe that these have not only simplified the process of
communication but also helped in an effective exchange of knowledge among the people as
well. In this regard, it needs to be said that the individuals have the opportunity to share their
knowledge over websites like Wikipedia and others which in turn is likely to help thousands
of people.
Benefits of Social Media in current business scenario
Wang, Pauleen and Zhang (2016) are of the viewpoint that because of the different
benefits offered by the tool of social media it is seen that the contemporary business

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enterprises are increasingly using them for internal and external communication. For
example, it is seen that social media marketing had become one of the most commonly digital
marketing strategies by the different business enterprises. I personally believe that this not
only helps the business enterprises to effectively promote the goods or services offered by
them but also the reviews written by the different customers regarding the goods or services
that they have purchased from the concerned enterprises helps the enterprises to substantially
influence the buying behaviour of the potential customers as well. More importantly, it is
seen that the different platforms of social media also offer the opportunity to the individuals
to make money by way of the advertisements, videos, blogs and other things that they upload
(Meikle 2016). I personally believe that because of this the individuals no longer have to
worry about employment or financial security since they can use their creativity to make
money over the different platforms of social media. In addition to these, it is seen that the
business enterprises are using social media for the purpose of communicating with their
employees, stakeholders and others as well.
Pros and Cons of Social Media
I personally believe that there are advantages as well as disadvantages of the usage of
social media. For example, it is seen that one of the most important advantages of social
media is that it had improved the process of communication (Kumar et al. 2016). In addition
to this, social media also helps in the effective transfer of knowledge, helps the business
enterprises for the marketing or the promotion of their goods or services, is cost-effective,
chances of the data or messages being lost is very less and others (Schivinski and Dabrowski
2016). On the other hand, there are various negative aspects of the usage of social media as
well. For example, it can lead to addiction, can make individuals depressed or lonely, security
risks are high and others and because of these I believe that social media platforms should be
used by the individuals in a regulated, monitored and controlled manner (Fuchs 2017).

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Interpersonal Skills in communication
Regan et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the ability of the individuals to
communicate in an effective manner greatly depends on the kind of interpersonal skills
related to communication they have. As discussed by Hargie (2016), there are four important
interpersonal skills that the individuals are required to have so as to communicate in an
effective manner, namely, listening, questioning, feedback and body language. In this regard,
it needs to be said that listening is one of the most important components of process of
effective communication and allows or enables an individual to receive the information
which is being cascaded or transferred (Wood 2015). However, at the same time I would like
to say that the act of listening is different from the act of hearing. For example, during the act
of hearing, the different sounds are being received or perceived by the ear while the act of
listening not only requires concentration but also the active interaction between the ear and
the brain for the comprehension of the sound which reaches the ear. Furthermore, the act of
effective listening helps the individuals to get adequate information which had been passed
on, helps them to respond to the information and also offer feedback (Lane 2016).
Relationship between listening, interruption and Feedback
I personally believe that there exists a relationship between listening, interruption and
feedback. The skill of feedback helps the individuals to give their opinion or response to the
information that had been conveyed to them and thereby helps the sender of the information
understand the extent to which the information had been understood by the receiver
(Geisinger 2016). Furthermore, it also helps in the clarification of doubts or the addressal of
questions as well and thereby makes the communication more meaningful and effective.
Interruption is generally considered to be one of the most important barriers to effective

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communication however I personally believe that by interrupting the speakers at the points of
divergence or confusion or disagreement in opinion the involved parties are more likely to
come to an agreement. Furthermore, there are various barriers to listening which in turn
reduce the quality of the entire communication process and some of the most important ones
in this regard are noise, bias, preoccupation, lack of interest or focus and others (Junod Perron
et al. 2015). To overcome these barriers to listening, the individuals can take the help of
active listening wherein they can actively participate in the conversation which in turn will
help them to concentrate on the conversation (Jeuring et al. 2015).
Raising Questions
According to Lane (2016), questioning is another important interpersonal skill which
enhances the quality or the effectiveness of the communication which is being undertaken by
the individuals. I personally believe that by using the skill of questioning the individuals
indirectly resort to the usage of the process of active listening. The resultant effect of this is
that by questioning the individuals are not only being able to get their doubts or queries
regarding the conversation or information that had been passed on resolved but at the same
time improve the quality of the entire communication that are indulging in as well (Regan et
al. 2016). This in helps the individuals to offer the right kind of feedback so as to effectively
complete the cycle of communication.
Body Language
Body language is another important interpersonal skill that the individuals are
required to have to undertake the process of effective communication (Wood 2015). I
personally believe that the usage of the construct of body language not only enables the
individuals to make others understand the information which are trying to convey in a much
better manner but also adds to the meaning of the information. For example, it is seen that the

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individuals are more likely to understand the importance of certain specific words or pieces
of information if hand movements or facial gestures are being used for the expression of the
same. On the score of these aspects, it can be said that the different interpersonal skills
greatly help in the process of communication or the transfer of information.
Conclusion
To conclude, the means or the methods of communication which are being used in the
present times is different from the ones which were used in the earlier times. For example, it
is seen that in the present times the different platforms of social media have greatly improved
the quality of the communication process and offers different distinctive benefits to the
individuals as well. In addition to this, the individuals are also required to have different
interpersonal skills so as to effectively convey information or to receive the same. These
aspects of communication become apparent from the above analysis through the usage of the
constructs of social media and interpersonal skills.

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References
Cardon, P.W. and Marshall, B., 2015. The hype and reality of social media use for work
collaboration and team communication. International Journal of Business
Communication, 52(3), pp.273-293.
Carr, C.T. and Hayes, R.A., 2015. Social media: Defining, developing, and divining. Atlantic
Journal of Communication, 23(1), pp.46-65.
DeVito, J.A., 2019. The interpersonal communication book. Instructor, 1, p.18.
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Fuchs, C., 2017. Social media: A critical introduction. Sage.
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communication skills: beyond wishful thinking. Swiss Medical Weekly, 145(0708).

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Kumar, A., Bezawada, R., Rishika, R., Janakiraman, R. and Kannan, P.K., 2016. From social
to sale: The effects of firm-generated content in social media on customer behavior. Journal
of Marketing, 80(1), pp.7-25.
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