Interpersonal

Communication
Pof. Hesham AbdElhamid Toohamy
Professor of Psychology
Faculty of Arts
Benisuief University
 Interpersonal
Communication
Elements of Interpersonal
Communication
In order to understand well interpersonal
communication we have to analyze it.

Interpersonal communication can be broken

down into six of elements; namely, they are:
 The Communicators
 The Message
 Noise
 Feedback
 Context
 Channel
 Context
Messages/Channels Feedforward

Feedback

Source/ Source/
encoder encoder
Noise
Receiver/ Receiver/
decoder decoder

Feedback

Messages/Channels
Feedforward
The Communicators
 The simplest communication should involve at least two
communicators:

a sender and a receiver

of a message

 But that does not mean that we have one-way

communication process; where one person sends the
message and the other receives it.

While one person is talking and another is listening,

then they switch their roles.
 Usually, communications are always
complex, two-way processes, with people
sending and receiving messages to and from each
other simultaneously.

 In other words, we have to understand

interpersonal communication as an interactive
process.

 While one person is talking the other is listening -

but while listening they are also sending
feedback in the form of smiles, head nods ….
etc.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD COMMUNICATOR?
 Interpersonal communication is a fundamental
aspect of any practice.

 It is a two-way process where two persons can

give information through verbal and nonverbal
messages.

 Good communicators have to be:

 An Active Listener,
 An Effective Presenter,
 A Quick Thinker.
 A Win-Win Negotiator.
 Good communicator
must be characterized by at
least five traits:
 Exercise: Try to guess
these trais and then try to
apply them on you
must be characterized by at
(1) Having listening skills
Good communicator

least five traits:

(2) Being clear and concise

(3) Being confident

(4) Using empathy

(5) Being self-aware

(1) Having listening skills:

Speaking

The main Non-verbal

Writing components communication
are:

Listening

Listening is a
vital factor in
good
conversation
(1) Having listening skills: (cont.)
To be good communicator you
have to follow this sequence: Wait to listen to the
others who are
interacting with
you.

Consider and reflect

on what they have
said

Respond
appropriately
(1) Having listening skills: (cont.)
Sometimes,
- an individual does not give himself the
opportunity to listen well
or
- even they forget to listen

they say what they would like to say

so as result they may not contribute

anything useful to the conversation
Later on this book we will
discuss more about the
listening skills
‫كن متناغما ً مع المشاعر‬
(2) Being clear and concise

A good communicator can

convey and share a message

through
few words
Using long
sentences
about one
topic

can
sometimes
lose your
audience

so it’s best to
keep things
short and to
the point
In some cases
you can go in-
depth where
necessary

but otherwise
it’s good to use
clear language
in shorter bursts
(3) Being confident

Communication isn’t just verbal.

People also
communicate
non-verbally

so our body
language and the
way we present
ourselves makes
a big difference
 can be the
difference
Speaking in between
Maintaining
a confident a self- a good
stance assured presentation
way and
an awful one
Confidence is
key

even when
you’re not
feeling entirely
sure of yourself

sometimes you
have to fake it
to make it
(4) Using empathy:

while handling
disagreements and
discussions

you have to be
able to
empathize with
the other person
(4) Using empathy:
It is matter to be empathetic; because:

that shows
that you are the
interested to conversation
and
understand will be more
the other productive
person’s
point of view
(5) Being self-aware:
It is matter to be empathetic; because:

The best
communicators and know how
are the ones best
that are aware to help
of their own the flow of
contributions to dialogue
the
conversation
 Communication for the sake of it is not very
helpful.

Good communicators have to know:

when
when
it’s best to let
a contribution and
others take the
is needed
floor.
 Who are you?
Describe your self ………
The Message
Message not only means the speech used or
information conveyed,

but also the non-verbal messages exchanged

such as:
 Facial expressions
 Tone of voice
 Gestures
 Body language.
Non-verbal behavior can convey additional
information about the spoken message.

In particular, it can reveal more about

emotional attitudes and feelings

which may underlie the content of speech.

 Interpersonal
communication
model
Noise

Noise refers to anything

that distorts the
message

it has a special
meaning in
communication
theory

so what is
received is
different from
what is intended
by the speaker
 Factors that can interfere with
communication involve:

Physical 'noise' such as Other factors that are

background sounds considered to be ‘noise’:

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The use Inappropriate Cultural

of complicated Inattention Disinterest differences also
body language
jargon can be
considered
'noise' in the
context of
interpersonal
communication

In other words, any distortions or inconsistencies that occur

during an attempt to communicate can be seen as noise.
Feedback
Feedback consists of

messages the receiver returns,

which allows the sender to know :

 how accurately the message has been
received,
 the receiver's reaction.
 Question:
To which messages the receiver responds?

He may respond to both:

 the unintentional message
 the intentional message.
Types of the feedback:
Types of feedback:
range from

direct verbal statements,

for example "Say that again, I don't understand",

to

subtle facial expressions or changes in posture

that might indicate to the sender that the receiver
feels uncomfortable with the message.
Importance of the feedback:
Feedback allows the sender to:
a) Regulate
b) Adapt the message
c) Repeat

in order to improve communication.

Context
Any communication
must take place
within context, so
context have to affect
all types of
communications.

In other words, All

communication is
influenced by the
context.
 Types of
context may
The situational context of involve:
where the interaction Participants'
takes place, expectations
The of the
emotional interaction
for example in a room, climate
office, or perhaps
outdoors
The social context

which involves

Relative
The roles Responsibilities status of the
participants

All of these factors constitute the context and all of them will affect
the communication.
Channel
The channel refers to the physical means by
which the message is transferred from one
person to another.

In a face-to- During a
face context telephone
the channels conversation
which are the channel
used are is limited to
speech and speech
vision alone.