INTERPERSONAL

COMMUNICATION

PROF LEENA CHATTERJEE

 DEFINITION
 Interpersonal communication involves
 Transfer of a thought/ belief/
information/ feeling from one person to
another
1. Understanding of the message by the
recipient
 Therefore interpersonal communication
is always a two way loop
SENDER RECEIVER
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
USE A CHANNEL OF DECODES
ENCODES
COMMUNICATION MESSAGE
MESSAGE

SENDER RECEIVER
 ENCODING/ DECODING
 Depends on repertoire/ vocabulary in a
particular language
 Knowledge about the issue being
discussed
 Information processing and organizing
skills
 Psychological state of communicator
 Relationship between the two
communicators
 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
 Channel refers to the medium of communication
eg. face to face, via telephone, through an email
or letter etc.
 Concept of “channel richness” or “media richness”
refers to capacity of a particular communication
approach transmit cues and provide feedback.
Richness of medium is measured by:
1. Ability to provide a variety of cues
2. Speed of feedback
 CHANNEL RICHNESS
 Channels in order of most to least
channel rich
1. Face to face dialogue
2. Videoconference
3. Telephone conversation
4. E-mail
5. Inter Office Memos
6. Letters
7. Notice Board
 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
 SEMANTIC BARRIERS: relating to use of language/
meaning ascribed to a symbol

 PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS: relating to the emotional

state and feelings and perceptions of the communicator

 ENVIRONMENTAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS:

relating to the design of office space/ opportunity for
interaction etc.

 CULTURAL BARRIERS: relating to differences among

cultures in their understanding and interpretation of cues
HIGH/ LOW CONTEXT CULTURES

 HIGH CONTEXT: Communication that relies

more on non verbal and subtle situational
cues. Also where status, relationship and
“how” things are said is given more
importance than “what” is said.

 LOW CONTEXT: A culture where directness

is valued in communication. Managers are
expected to be explicit and precise in
conveying intended meaning. Body
language or formal positions are secondary
to the spoken or written word.