The important things I learned from class are very informative, educational, and effective. Through my own learning, I would be happy to share to you the following that I surely believed open your minds and hearts to embrace the knowledge sincerely and apply it to yourselves. There are more or less five focal points based on what I learned on Interpersonal Communication course at Ashford University that I really wanted to share:
- Recognize how words have the power to create and affect attitudes, behavior, and perception.
- Understand how perceptions, emotions, and nonverbal expression affect interpersonal relationships.
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- Define emotional intelligence and its role in effective interpersonal relationships.
- Describe strategies for managing interpersonal conflicts
- Recognize how self – concept and defensive and supportive messages and behaviors create positive and negative communication climates.
For your better understanding about interpersonal communication, I will provide the basic concept of interpersonal communication; it plays a vital role in people’s daily existence. With its guiding principles, we cannot simply ignore it. Interpersonal communication is the most significant way and an accomplishment to be considered as well. Through communication, people are able to learn the needs, ideas, and emotions applicable to any conversation.
In addition, for people to communicate well one must take the first move to make any contact with another person, the other person is expected to response for the possible connection to happen. What a person perceives in the world always depends on what he keeps his mind on. The perception makes sense to the person and he interprets what he perceived. It is simplified in a manner of two – way process, the sender, and the receiver who both exchange their messages that contained ideas and emotions respectively. The sender conveys information needed for mission achievement, he is proactive enough for the receiver to understand the message clearly. The message is delivered verbally; however, it is also delivered non – verbally. The receiver needs information to achieve his tasks. The effectiveness of the conversation rests on the ability to listen. There are instances that some people have difficulties to listen and resulting to misunderstanding. In this manner, the receiver should exert control over the conversation. It is important that the receiver ensures that the sender clearly understand what the receivers wanted to tell. The two – way process is very applicable in your relationship as couple, the conversation is more interesting, clearly understood and possible conflict is avoided.
Both the sender and the receiver should actively listen with each other. For example, if Piper is the receiver, he is required to be active in the communication process, and actively listens. Piper should focus his attention on the message by giving a momentary priority and if it possible, there should be an eye – to – eye contact. He listens and even looks for the non – verbal content of the message at the same time hearing every word attentively. Non – verbal cues provide information about what the sender wants to convey. The perception and intent of the message differ. Everything reflects the feeling behind the spoken words such as the choice of words, tone of voice, body position, the gestures, and eye movements. As couples who just engage recently should always keep an open mind and defer judgment. Do not assume that your individual perception rely on the agreement with the intent of the sender.
How you manage to use every word that you would like to express. These perceptions, emotions, and nonverbal expression affect interpersonal relationships. If both of you thorough understand, the process then there is no way to be disoriented about the fact especially nonverbal expression should go together with the perception that is well – interpreted and understand in reality bases. Whenever problems occurred in the relationship, feelings and emotions are involved. Feelings arise the moment you add though and interpretation to the physical reaction while emotions are the reactions your body has to certain stimuli. Your awareness of the thoughts and interpretations you give to your emotions and the feelings, you certainly have the ability to improve better in life. In addition, emotions and feelings allow people to develop the ability to understand others.
The ability to understand your own emotions and those of other people and to act in a useful way based on that understanding is an emotional intelligence. It involves the ability to recognize own emotions and the emotions of other people around, to utilize understanding of emotion to assist people to think effectively, to understand how various types of emotions are associated to one another, and to regulate emotions and to assist other people to deal with their emotions. Without emotional intelligence, it is hard to have good relationships with other people. Emotional intelligence is making good judgments about when to deal with emotions and when to put them on hold. For example, excessively angry or jealous, if you cannot understand the feelings of others, you are unable to perform appropriately. It means to say that is a person do not have an emotional intelligence, he is not able to control himself or merely understand others well enough to have good relationship.
The most frequent problems in relationships stem from silence or refusing to communicate, placating the other person, and playing games. These behaviors can disrupt a relationship and prevent honest, open communication. If you learn to develop interpersonal relationships, certainly, your relationship as couple will be a great success compare to those who do not embrace and never will embrace it at all. Strong interpersonal relationship really exists between two people who sincerely fill the emotional and physical needs with each other. For example, a husband has a strong interpersonal relationship with his wife because he provides everything as a provider such as shelter, food, love, care, and acceptance of some imperfections in life. The extent of needs that a husband fills is greater than the extent of needs that are filled between. An effective and personal communication stands at the core or heart of every relationship with friends, professional colleague, family member, and especially significant partner in life. Let yourselves enjoy the essence of effective interpersonal communication skills.
The key in building what you really desire in a relationship, as a couple is to develop the interpersonal relationship faithfully. The way you interact with your body language, the specific tone of your voice, and the genuine expression of your face are very significant in order to avoid conflicts. I would like to emphasize that interpersonal relationship is more than just the verbal communication between you and your partner. Communication is much with your gestures and body language compared to your words or voice. To enhance interpersonal relationship is simple; interpersonal relationships occur between two people who fill the needs with each other in some way. The needs that occur between couples include sexual fulfillment, affection, physical attraction, and conversation. The strength of interpersonal relationships are controlled through performing or neglecting to perform on the needs of the person whom you interacted. For example, carefully find out what your partner expects from you on special occasions like birthday or anniversary. To enhance or weaken the relationship is either filling or neglecting to fill them. There is a possibility that problems or conflicts occur when the couples or one of the parties has needs that are not met. For example, a wife has a strong interpersonal relationship with her husband only when her needs are met, however, problems arise the moment the wife does not get the thing she wants. If the wife feels she did not get what she wants, conflict happens.
There are different styles how people adopt in facing conflict. Commonly, they avoid or deny the existence of conflict. For couples like you, you should not take this way because it will never help your relationship stronger instead, it will ruin everything you invest in your relationship in all aspects. Remember conflict lingers in the background between couples and creates the possibility for more tension and worst scenario. Another response to conflict is that a person gets mad and blames the other. Both parties blame or find fault with the other for causing the problem; one or more parties is angry or upset emotionally and their behavior affects the relationship. Do not be mistaken to equate conflict with anger. It will never resolve the conflict and it will only serves to augment the degree of friction between the couples in a defensive manner. Conflict is natural and normal whenever two people interact together. Disagreement is the difference of opinion and usually restrained while conflict is more threatening and often unreasonable and angry. Make sure that the conflict is resolved accordingly to avoid a permanent damage in your relationship. For example, in happy marriage, couples can lighten the tension and to de – escalate the conflict. Each person deals with conflict based on experience, personality, and communication style. An assertive communication style allows the person to express openly and honestly his feelings and deal with conflict constructively in general. There are several strategies used in dealing with disagreement and conflict such as power, compromise, withdraw – avoid, placate – yield, and synergy.
Learn to cultivate how and when to communicate; equally show your willingness to listen with your partner. One of the most neglected interpersonal communication skills is listening. Listening is a core competence couples should master to be an effective communicator; a successful communicator is a good listener. To flourish interpersonal communication relationship is the ability to listen to the other person attentively. You cannot understand clearly, respond appropriately to what your partner will say, and provide useful feedback if you have not listen attentively. Bear in mind that hearing is not listening. Listening involves hearing, however, it is much more than the physiological act of the ears that perceived a sound and transmitted the auditory sensation to the brain. Listening skills is significant, if you lack in the development of interpersonal relationships and desire to improve it then I recommend you to develop your skill in listening. Through a well – developed listening skill, you will be able to create a positive communication climate.
I hope that the focal points I shared to will bring you happiness and fulfillment in your love life. I strongly believe that your bond as a couple will surely stay firm through the years to come. If you will apply everything I shared to you about the interpersonal communication relationship then it is not impossible that your special relationship as couple will stay strong, healthy, and productive. You will live happy ever after despite some odds or conflicts that will come your way. Everything will be going easy if you accept the imperfection and always have the heart to develop and improve yourselves in a manner of communicating constantly in an effective way the best as you possibly could. I would like to say good luck to the both of you and it would be an honor if I will be invited on your wedding day. May God Almighty shower His blessings to your relationship.
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