Interpersonal Communication and Team Building

We start to communicate from a very early age and communication skills are often considered to be something that everyone possesses. But if you fail to communicate effectively, you might end up with outcomes that you never expected. Interpersonal communication refers to the exchange of verbal and non verbal messages sent through expressions, tones, gestures and body language.

Good interpersonal skills allow you to network effortlessly and effectively. They also serve as an essential foundation for teamwork. In order to be an efficient team member, it is essential that you communicate with the other team members clearly and effectively.

Interpersonal Communication

There are two types of communication; one-way and two-way. In one-way communication, the information flows from the sender to the receiver and in two-way, information flows both ways.

The process for interpersonal communication is simple. Information, which includes both verbal and non verbal messages, flows from the sender to the receiver via a medium. The receiver of the information then provides feedback to the sender.

Interpersonal communication can be broken down into different components, which are

1. The Communicators: There need to be at least two people involved for any communication. The communicators can act as senders and receivers simultaneously.
2. The Message: The message includes both verbal information and non verbal gestures
3. Medium: The physical means that transfer the message from sender to receiver. E.g. in face-to-face communication, speech and vision serve as a medium
4. Noise: It is anything that distorts the message. It can be in the form of physical noise or any other factors such as ambiguous words or disinterest that may distort the understanding of the message
5. Feedback: The messages that the receiver returns, which tells the sender about how well the message was comprehended.

Team Building

A team is a group of individuals that are working together towards a common cause. For example, an HR director along with his managers is the HR team for an organization. Teams must be developed between individuals that have skills that complement each other. Some weak employees can also be teamed up with the high performers to promote employee development

The purpose of team building is to achieve a task that would be difficult or impossible for a single individual to perform in the given conditions. Team members need to be clear on the purpose the team is willing to achieve.

It is also essential that the team members must also be able to communicate clearly and effectively with other team members. This will help in avoiding conflict amongst the tasks performed and the roles assigned.

If you have the skills required for effective team building and teamwork, you can achieve a lot more than what you would achieve working by yourself. You will see the stress level go down and when accustomed to teamwork, will enjoy work more.