Introduction
What is interpersonal communication? This is the way in which people from various background shows their emotions and communicates using both the non-verbal and verbal. The concepts of interpersonal communication include the self, perception of others and people’s emotions. The main function of the concepts of interpersonal communication is to educate individuals on the reasons why people behave in certain ways and why their bond is broken or success.
The self in interpersonal communication
The self has three different dimensions that are the self-awareness where the individuals are able to know themselves outwardly and inwardly. The best way for people to know themselves is by using the Johari window that has four parts. The first part is the open-self that shows that the individuals know themselves as well as other people. The other part is the hidden self that is when a person knows their inner self. The blind self is when others know the individuals (Griffin). The unknown self is when the individual is unknown to others and themselves.
The other dimension is the self-esteem that shows what value one has for them. The ways in which one can increase their self-esteem is through destroying the negative beliefs one has for them. The self-concept is the last dimension that shows an individual the image they have about who they are personally. The self-disclosure is another part of self because the individual is able to reveal their inner selves to others. The factors that influence self-disclosure are culture, gender, the audience and the topic. The self concept has enabled people to know my stand and what my values are this has enabled my colleagues to respect my values when we are communicating.
The perception of others in interpersonal communication
Perception in interpersonal communication the individual becomes aware of the surrounding objects or people. There are five stages of perception such as recall, stimulation, memory, organization, and interpretation evaluation. The factors that influence perception of others are judgements because the other person does not follow or act the way you want them to. The other is by stereotyping people instead of looking at the individual. I believe all people have equal rights regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views (Wood). This has enabled me to have friends from different background and thus we are able to communicate without biases.
The self-fulfilling prophecy, this is when the individual makes predictions about someone and thinks they are true. The ways in which one could change their way of perceiving others is by checking one's perception therefore, they should ask for confirmation before making judgements about what they see or hear.
The emotions in interpersonal communication
Emotions in communication are known as the process in which the individual communicate their feelings. There are individuals who suffer from dyssemia that is the inability to communicate emotionally (Knapp and Daly). The individual will not be able to show emotions at the right moment or they will not respond to other people’s non-verbal communication. Communication with emotions are either blended, this is when the primary emotions are mixed together. Then we have the primary emotions also known as the basic emotions they include love, joy, happiness, fear and sadness. In everyday life I find myself having mood swings therefore, it definitely hinders communication with others.
Emotions are communicated in both verbally and non-verbally. This is done when an individual who is in love with someone tells their friends. In non verbally they blush whenever they see the person they are in love with. Emotions can be contagious to the people around (Devito). A good example is laughing, when a person starts laughing the others join without knowing the reason why they are laughing.
The factors that hinder emotions are the culture and norms, where there are things that are not acceptable in the society such as a display of love affection. The other factor is fear of being vulnerable and thus people will be able to manipulate your feelings and action. The lack of interpersonal skills will hinder one way of showing affection.
In conclusion the concept of interpersonal communication affects the relationship in the society. An example of this concept that hinders communication is a lack of self esteem, judgmental towards others, and lack of emotions. These factors can be controlled by one building their self esteem through therapy and learning not to be biased by asking questions as to why some people are the way they are.
Work cited
Devito, Joseph A. The Interpersonal Communication 10th Ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon (Pearson), 2009.
Griffin, Em. A First Look at Communication Theory (9th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Knapp, Mark L. , Daly John A. . Handbook of Interpersonal Communications. California: Sage Publication, 2002.
Wood, Julia T. Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters. Wadsworth, Boston: 6th Editon, 2010.
