Improving Interpersonal Communication

Your success in whatever role you take on is highly influenced by your ability to communicate your thoughts, needs, and concerns in such a way that the recipient is open and able to understand them.

Equally critical to any successful communication is your ability to understand what others are communicating to you. Indeed Steven Covey recommends in his 7 habits, #5, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Communicating effectively is a process that is rife with pitfalls and traps that can sabotage your communications and consequently your relationships. In today’s environment there are many more modes of communication in use than ever before. These modes whether social media, email, texting, phoning, or face-to-face can be very effective when used in the right context but can also create misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the message.

In this seminar we will explore the communication process identifying when to use what mode, pitfalls and traps to avoid, including assessing your particular style/preferences and determining areas for you to further develop. We will work on how to build rapport, an essential element in promoting understanding. Finally, we’ll identify techniques in developing positive confrontation skills and delivering feedback to improve and build on new and existing relationships.

Improving Interpersonal Communication is an elective seminar for the Certificate in Business Communications.

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Program Content

Communication Process

• Converting thought or idea into a message for transmission
• Barriers to understanding the message
• Pitfalls and traps to avoid
• Developing rapport
• Assessing your style
• Ensuring your message is understood

Modes of Communication: Challenges and Effectiveness

• Email
• Texting
• Social media
• Phone
• Face-to-face

Facing Confrontation

• Preparing for confrontation
• What not to do
• Confronting in a positive and powerful way
• Maintaining the relationship

Use of feedback loops

• Identifying the right kind of feedback
• Giving effective performance feedback
• Seeking feedback for your own development

What You Will Learn

• To recognize common pitfalls and traps in the communication process and how to avoid them
• To understand your communication style and how to improve your ability to communicate more effectively
• How to improve your repertoire of skills and understanding in using the different modes of communication available today
• How to deal with confrontation in a more positive and powerful way
• How to give effective feedback
• How to develop feedback loops that can improve the communication process

Who Should Attend?

You will benefit from this seminar if you:

• want to get better results in your interactions with others
• want to enhance the quality of your relationships
• want to increase your effectiveness on the job
• are interested in seeking a better general understanding of interacting with people