What is interpersonal intelligence? How does is serve as a vital factor for communication? To know all about it, read on.Intelligence, by definition, is a property of the mind that includes many related abilities like the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, think abstractly, understand ideas, use language and learn. Intelligence includes the abilities to comprehend, analyze and react to a situation. Intelligence is the collection of our abilities to act and react.
Howard Gardner, an American psychologist postulated the theory of multiple intelligences. He categorized intelligence on the basis of the different faculties of intellect. He observed that a person shows a flair for linguistic skills while another fails to grasp language; some exhibit excellence in mathematics and logic while others are proficient in sports. He came up with forms of core intelligences namely linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic and musical. The other forms of core intelligences deal with a person's ability to understand the feelings of others and one's ability to know oneself. They were called interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences respectively.
What is Interpersonal Intelligence?
We are a part of society; we are social animals. Hence along with our abilities to lead a life as an individual, it is also important to be able to live and grow as a part of a group. It is important to enhance our social abilities to thrive in the society. This includes the abilities to interact with others, understand them and interpret their behavior. Interpersonal intelligence is something we all need to have but it becomes a vital factor for people in occupations that require interaction with people. Those who have to deal with people as a part of their profession need to have interpersonal intelligence. These include medical practitioners, people in sales or marketing fields and teachers.
Interpersonal intelligence relates to the concept of interaction with the people around. It is about the understanding of their thoughts and feelings and the ability to respond to them. People with an interpersonal intelligence typically fall in the group of extroverts. They are sensitive to the moods and sentiments of others. They possess the ability to cooperate with people around them and are seen as team players. They can work in a group with ease and efficiency and can understand the temperaments of others in the group.
Interpersonal Intelligence and Effective Communication
An understanding of others that characterizes interpersonal intelligence, is a vital factor for effective communication. For an effective communication to be possible the parties involved in it should understand each other’s views. To communicate effectively with another person it is important to grasp his/her opinions about a subject, put oneself in the person’s shoes to understand the reason behind his/her views. As these abilities constitute what is known as interpersonal intelligence, this type of intelligence is a vital factor for effective communication. People who bear an interpersonal intelligence can easily communicate with others. As they have an understanding of moods and emotions of other people, they can empathize with them. They learn by working with others and take interest in discussions. Thus, people with an interpersonal intelligence make very effective communicators.Interpersonal communication is defined as one that occurs between two people who are interdependent on each other and share a common history. Interpersonal skills are the skills needed to interact in social situations. They include the abilities to effectively convey one's feeling to another person and understand his or her say on the subject. These skills refer to the communicative abilities applied during a social communication.Interpersonal skills facilitate a communication wherein conflicts and debates are reduced, interactions become easy, people seem approachable, hassles minimize and a healthy and productive environment is created. Be it in a work sector or at home, be it a formal communication, be it a chat with friends, the art of communication underlies them all. It is the knack to effectively communicate, which rules every relationship. A professional relationship is guided by effective business communication and so is the interaction with family and friends. This makes us realize the importance of interpersonal intelligence.Now that we are aware of the importance of interpersonal skills in our lives, let us look at the ways of improving interpersonal skills. Interpersonal intelligence can be developed if one wishes to acquire it. It being a vital factor for effective communication, acquiring interpersonal skills becomes necessary.
To improve one’s interpersonal skills, one must learn to be positive and appreciative. Learn to pay attention to the people around you. Laud them for their successes and try to be their support during their downfalls. Rather than being a complainer, learn to lighten situations with humor. Practice empathy, the key to reach out to others. Improve your interpersonal skills to be an effective communicator and join the camp of the ‘interpersonally intelligent’!
Nov 14, 2011
Nov 11, 2011
The Less You Speak The More You Will Hear
Being in the "people" business, it stands to reason that honing people skills regularly keeps us in the game. Just like a knife that becomes dull with use, people skills can always use a good sharpening. After all, even a dull knife can cut, but it's often a messy cut. (And frequently I end up cutting myself with that same dull knife...)Take, for instance, the people skill of "listening." I like to think I'm a good listener. Most of the time, I am. I hear well because I am HERE well. But, truth be told, that skill can stand some sharpening. I admit I'm guilty of answering emails while family members or office associates are talking to me. I'm guilty, too, of looking at my Blackberry every time it beeps and flashes and demands my attention, which it does every time I get an email or a notification. (Oooh! Someone else commented on one of my AR posts! Be right back.....) I've even been guilty of being inside my own head listening to THAT conversation instead of the one going on with me outside my noggin. Can you hear me?
Since being a good listener requires giving others undivided attention, it might be possible to spend all our time on listening to others and lose our ability to focus on our own needs. For instance, we might not want to listen because we might really need to answer those emails. We might not want to listen because maybe we had a bad day and need to decompress. (Or maybe we just want to get on AR and reply to those comments....)
I think that being a good listener is not just about HEARING but also involves being aware of our own needs and being able to express to someone that we might not be available for them at that particular moment. As good listeners we should make listening to our own needs a priority too. I know that when I am distracted but still trying to listen to someone I am really doing a disservice to both the person speaking to me AND myself. Both the other person's needs and my own needs deserve my undivided attention, and unfortunately we cannot multitask and effectively listen at the same time.
September is International People Skills Month so in honor of this, I'm going to practice better listening skills. When I'm listening, I'm going to be actively listening and in the moment with the speaker. And when I am unable to listen, I'm going to let the speaker know, so that when I am able to listen the speaker will have me, undivided.
So let me put down my Blackberry....(oh, wait...I just got another comment...Oooooh! I'm FEATURED!)....I'm sorry, what did you say?
I'm listening! Really.
Since being a good listener requires giving others undivided attention, it might be possible to spend all our time on listening to others and lose our ability to focus on our own needs. For instance, we might not want to listen because we might really need to answer those emails. We might not want to listen because maybe we had a bad day and need to decompress. (Or maybe we just want to get on AR and reply to those comments....)
I think that being a good listener is not just about HEARING but also involves being aware of our own needs and being able to express to someone that we might not be available for them at that particular moment. As good listeners we should make listening to our own needs a priority too. I know that when I am distracted but still trying to listen to someone I am really doing a disservice to both the person speaking to me AND myself. Both the other person's needs and my own needs deserve my undivided attention, and unfortunately we cannot multitask and effectively listen at the same time.
September is International People Skills Month so in honor of this, I'm going to practice better listening skills. When I'm listening, I'm going to be actively listening and in the moment with the speaker. And when I am unable to listen, I'm going to let the speaker know, so that when I am able to listen the speaker will have me, undivided.
So let me put down my Blackberry....(oh, wait...I just got another comment...Oooooh! I'm FEATURED!)....I'm sorry, what did you say?
I'm listening! Really.
Nov 9, 2011
Interpersonal skills continue with the relationship in an effective way
How Often do You tend to have difficulty following a project through from beginning to end. How often do you get frightened or stressed when I am in the company of an angry person. How often do you order to avoid a conflict, I find it easier to lie than tell the truth. How often do you have judged myself harshly.
I am my own worst critic, and I am harder on myself than I am on others. How often do you feel that I am being taken advantage of by individuals and society in general; I often feel victimized. How often do you take myself very seriously, and I view all of relationships just as seriously.Expressing yourself and your rights without violating the rights of others.
Conflict is natural and inevitable. Conflict Resolution helps you resolve differences so that you may continue with the relationship in an effective way.
Knowing how to recognize and express anger appropriately can help us to reach goals, handle emergencies, solve problems and even protect our health.
Nov 8, 2011
Interpersonal Skills is The Backbone of Success
Interpersonal skills are all about developing good relations with people around you through right communication and behaviour. Communication includes both verbal and physical communication. The way you speak, what you speak and the body language you display plays a big part in creating your image. Good interpersonal and communication skills accompanied by brilliant ideas and hard work can work wonders for you. Life and business coaches recommend some steps that can prove useful to you in developing these skills.
Empathy and help: Empathy means to go beyond merely sympathising with a person's situation to understanding and addressing their problems. Developing an ability to look from another person's point of view like that of your colleagues, the people outside your workplace or your family might help you develop good positive relations with them. In addition you can also give compliments and appreciate people for their qualities and accomplishments. Try smiling often, it keeps the atmosphere cheerful; a genuine smile can accomplish many things.
Listen to people: Cultivating the habit of effective listening can go a long way in creating good relations for you. Those who really listen to what is being said are always liked. Many problems are caused because of lack of willingness in the other person to listen carefully. Such problems can be avoided. Life coaches and business coaches advise many ways in which you can communicate that you are listening. While in a conversation it is important that the speaker understand that you are listening; you can do this by maintaining a proper eye contact throughout the conversation. You might also want to encourage the speaker through different verbal or physical responses like shaking your head or making appropriate sounds. A relaxed and friendly expression also encourages the speaker. Asking appropriate questions after the speaker has finished will help you understand the conversation.
Assertiveness: Assertion may be a necessary quality for you to grow. Being assertive does not mean being rude. One can be friendly and helpful yet assertive in dealing with people. A direct approach in communication with colleagues might help you. However, you might want to take care that your assertiveness does not become a hurdle in maintaining relationship with your colleagues and friends. In such cases you can try and be frank, clear and precise in discussing the problem. It is also important that you give time to the other person to put their thoughts clearly in front of you and respect their point of view.
Conflict resolution: Conflicts are a part of all organisations and relationships. However, instead of taking part in the existing conflicts consciously or unconsciously, it might help you to act as a mediator. Playing favourites might lead to problems which can be avoided. You might also attempt to bring the people involved in conflicts together on a table and make them resolve their issues. It is important that you maintain a positive attitude and work with the best intentions. It might also help to not take offence or become personal in such situations. Finally try to find an alternative solution to the problem. Efforts in this direction will make the top management take notice of you and might lead to a leap in your career.
Developing effective interpersonal skills leads to great success and happiness in relationships. These strategies can be used at both workplace and in families. This might reduce conflicts and disharmony and contribute towards creating a healthy environment.
Nov 6, 2011
Interpersonal Communication And Conflict Management Skills
Conflict is inevitable, but it can be reduced and turned into something positive. The interpersonal conflicts we experience on a daily basis at both from the large organizations to a tiny corporation. Conflict shifts people's focus away from work and the basic goals of the team, department and organization. It negatively impacts productivity, morale and ultimately the results. The most important skills needed for managing employee relations are interpersonal communications and conflict management skills.
Interpersonal communication skills is the foundation for making the hostile work environment and it allows the supervisor or manager an opportunity to build a good relationships with the overall workgroup. In an organization peoples are required to work with a group. Because of cultural differences among the team member a tremendous amount of interaction is required. Interpersonal skills can help to create the right workplace climate reducing disruptive behavior. Also supervisors and leaders should respect their employees to accomplish a goal. Interpersonal communication has many dimensions. Interaction with other people allows individuals the opportunity to develop and enhance their own ideas and share valuable information with the others. Through the proper perception of the interaction employee can find solutions to improve their organizational effectiveness. Interpersonal skills develop good employee relations with the workforce through visual and verbal imagery making employee more satisfied and fulfilled.
No one likes to deal with conflict, but the truth of the matter is that we must. Problems that aren't dealt with tend to become septic and spread into other areas and relationships. Conflict Management Skills can help in resolving employee relations issues quickly and more effectively, and can create greater satisfaction with the workgroup. Surveys show that managers now spend about 20 percent of their time on conflict resolution. And, as employees are asked to communicate with a greater variety of people, they need their own conflict management skills. Most of us are less skilled at handling conflict than we should be. Although studies show that a negotiating behavior is usually the best response to a conflict situation.
When in conflict people have five basic conflict handling positions:
Avoiding
Accommodating
Competing
Compromising
Collaborating
Disordered management style and issues exacerbate the conflict because the communication gets distorted and people become frustrated in a workgroup. Managers should always address up difficult situation and speak up. Effective listening skills convey information properly. Listening what the person says, and responding to the conversation on a positive way reduces workplace conflict. Conflict of any type creates some type of emotions such as anger, frustration, and sorrow. Managing these emotions through respect and careful manner can establish a good relationship with the workplace. With all these techniques improve your conflict-management skills that will go a long way in fostering positive employee relations with a workforce.
Interpersonal communication skills is the foundation for making the hostile work environment and it allows the supervisor or manager an opportunity to build a good relationships with the overall workgroup. In an organization peoples are required to work with a group. Because of cultural differences among the team member a tremendous amount of interaction is required. Interpersonal skills can help to create the right workplace climate reducing disruptive behavior. Also supervisors and leaders should respect their employees to accomplish a goal. Interpersonal communication has many dimensions. Interaction with other people allows individuals the opportunity to develop and enhance their own ideas and share valuable information with the others. Through the proper perception of the interaction employee can find solutions to improve their organizational effectiveness. Interpersonal skills develop good employee relations with the workforce through visual and verbal imagery making employee more satisfied and fulfilled.
No one likes to deal with conflict, but the truth of the matter is that we must. Problems that aren't dealt with tend to become septic and spread into other areas and relationships. Conflict Management Skills can help in resolving employee relations issues quickly and more effectively, and can create greater satisfaction with the workgroup. Surveys show that managers now spend about 20 percent of their time on conflict resolution. And, as employees are asked to communicate with a greater variety of people, they need their own conflict management skills. Most of us are less skilled at handling conflict than we should be. Although studies show that a negotiating behavior is usually the best response to a conflict situation.
When in conflict people have five basic conflict handling positions:
Avoiding
Accommodating
Competing
Compromising
Collaborating
Disordered management style and issues exacerbate the conflict because the communication gets distorted and people become frustrated in a workgroup. Managers should always address up difficult situation and speak up. Effective listening skills convey information properly. Listening what the person says, and responding to the conversation on a positive way reduces workplace conflict. Conflict of any type creates some type of emotions such as anger, frustration, and sorrow. Managing these emotions through respect and careful manner can establish a good relationship with the workplace. With all these techniques improve your conflict-management skills that will go a long way in fostering positive employee relations with a workforce.
Nov 3, 2011
Vital Factor for Effective Communication
What is interpersonal intelligence? How does is serve as a vital factor for communication? To know all about it, read on…
Intelligence, by definition, is a property of the mind that includes many related abilities like the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, think abstractly, understand ideas, use language and learn. Intelligence includes the abilities to comprehend, analyze and react to a situation. Intelligence is the collection of our abilities to act and react.
Howard Gardner, an American psychologist postulated the theory of multiple intelligences. He categorized intelligence on the basis of the different faculties of intellect. He observed that a person shows a flair for linguistic skills while another fails to grasp language; some exhibit excellence in mathematics and logic while others are proficient in sports. He came up with forms of core intelligences namely linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic and musical. The other forms of core intelligences deal with a person's ability to understand the feelings of others and one's ability to know oneself. They were called interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences respectively.
What is Interpersonal Intelligence?
We are a part of society; we are social animals. Hence along with our abilities to lead a life as an individual, it is also important to be able to live and grow as a part of a group. It is important to enhance our social abilities to thrive in the society. This includes the abilities to interact with others, understand them and interpret their behavior. Interpersonal intelligence is something we all need to have but it becomes a vital factor for people in occupations that require interaction with people. Those who have to deal with people as a part of their profession need to have interpersonal intelligence. These include medical practitioners, people in sales or marketing fields and teachers.
Interpersonal intelligence relates to the concept of interaction with the people around. It is about the understanding of their thoughts and feelings and the ability to respond to them. People with an interpersonal intelligence typically fall in the group of extroverts. They are sensitive to the moods and sentiments of others. They possess the ability to cooperate with people around them and are seen as team players. They can work in a group with ease and efficiency and can understand the temperaments of others in the group.
Interpersonal Intelligence and Effective Communication
An understanding of others that characterizes interpersonal intelligence, is a vital factor for effective communication. For an effective communication to be possible the parties involved in it should understand each other’s views. To communicate effectively with another person it is important to grasp his/her opinions about a subject, put oneself in the person’s shoes to understand the reason behind his/her views. As these abilities constitute what is known as interpersonal intelligence, this type of intelligence is a vital factor for effective communication. People who bear an interpersonal intelligence can easily communicate with others. As they have an understanding of moods and emotions of other people, they can empathize with them. They learn by working with others and take interest in discussions. Thus, people with an interpersonal intelligence make very effective communicators.
Interpersonal communication is defined as one that occurs between two people who are interdependent on each other and share a common history. Interpersonal skills are the skills needed to interact in social situations. They include the abilities to effectively convey one's feeling to another person and understand his or her say on the subject. These skills refer to the communicative abilities applied during a social communication.
Interpersonal skills facilitate a communication wherein conflicts and debates are reduced, interactions become easy, people seem approachable, hassles minimize and a healthy and productive environment is created. Be it in a work sector or at home, be it a formal communication, be it a chat with friends, the art of communication underlies them all. It is the knack to effectively communicate, which rules every relationship. A professional relationship is guided by effective business communication and so is the interaction with family and friends. This makes us realize the importance of interpersonal intelligence.
Now that we are aware of the importance of interpersonal skills in our lives, let us look at the ways of improving interpersonal skills. Interpersonal intelligence can be developed if one wishes to acquire it. It being a vital factor for effective communication, acquiring interpersonal skills becomes necessary. To improve one’s interpersonal skills, one must learn to be positive and appreciative. Learn to pay attention to the people around you. Laud them for their successes and try to be their support during their downfalls. Rather than being a complainer, learn to lighten situations with humor. Practice empathy, the key to reach out to others. Improve your interpersonal skills to be an effective communicator and join the camp of the ‘interpersonally intelligent’!
Nov 1, 2011
Developing Your Interpersonal Skills
In fact your ability to develop a sound interpersonal communication and relationship will impact the future expansion of your enterprise.
Three basic constituents form the core of good interpersonal skills. They are: the collaborative efforts, leadership qualities and intercommunication endeavors. Together these three ingredients make an effective combination for laying the foundation for developing interpersonal skills.
Let us go over each one of these constituents so that you can understand their importance in an enterprise.
Collaborative efforts:
You will need to create a synergy amongst the various stakeholders of your business. You will have to work in unison to attain the common goal. Teamwork requires that each one responds to each other's ideas. Learn to develop group goals for which you will have to take the collaborative approach.
Collaborative efforts include:
Teamwork - work as a team with other members; share the workload, assist others in the team to accomplish the tasks.
Instructions - bring clarity in instructions to avoid ambiguity and misinterpretations, tutor and train other team members to gain knowledge, work towards a common business goal.
Decision making - involve your team to come to an appropriate decision in the best interest of your trade, own up the outcome of the decision.
Distribution of work - ensure fair distribution of workload within your group, delegate authority and responsibility to make independent decisions.
Leadership qualities:
As a captain of your business you should be able to navigate your team towards the attainment of common goals. To be an effective leader you will need to develop good communication skills, personal appeal, high professional expertise and the ability to respect others ideas.
To develop leadership qualities you should:
Be capable of motivating others; develop a positive attitude; focus on finding solutions.
Encourage others to come up with better results; instill a feeling of confidence; listen to what others have to say; give constructive feedback.
Be supportive and not start finding faults with others in case collaborative efforts do not bring the desired results.
Intercommunication endeavors:
If should be your endeavor to establish well-defined communication with your clients, team members and employees. Nurture these contacts persistently to strike mutual benefit.
To evolve intercommunication endeavors you should:
Develop and sustain the contacts; interact with people having common business interests.
Keep a database of people who might prove useful in furthering your business cause; look out for those who have already established themselves in similar business.
Respect and use your contacts ethically so as to not to harm each other's business interests.
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