{"id":49,"date":"2025-07-23T19:18:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/chapter\/1-6-effective-interpersonal-communication\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T14:19:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:19:24","slug":"1-6-effective-interpersonal-communication","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/chapter\/1-6-effective-interpersonal-communication\/","title":{"raw":"2.6 Effective Interpersonal Communication","rendered":"2.6 Effective Interpersonal Communication"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"1.6-effective-interpersonal-communication\">\n<p class=\"import-Normal\">Jordan Smith (2025) summarizes a TEDtalk, <a class=\"rId23\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4&amp;t=87s\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation by Celeste Headlee (2016)<\/span><\/a> and offers us concrete ways to promote effective interpersonal communication.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li>Be Present: Devote your undivided attention to the person you are speaking with and do not multitask. You won\u2019t have to pretend to pay attention by nodding and making eye contact if you\u2019re doing that anyway.<\/li>\n \t<li>Be prepared to learn: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue where you simply unload your opinion on someone and receive nothing in return except for the satisfaction of dominating them.<\/li>\n \t<li>Ask open-ended questions: When you want your conversation partner to answer on their own terms ask \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201chow\u201d questions such as \u201cHow did the meeting go?\u201d \u201cWhat was the meeting about?\u201d When seeking short answers ask specific questions such as \u201cWas that a good meeting?\u201d You will get a shorter answer such as \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d Try to ask a \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201chow\u201d questions \u201cHow did the meeting go?\u201d \u201cWhat was the meeting about?\u201d<\/li>\n \t<li>Listen without interruption: Respond to your conversation partner\u2019s main points rather than to some digressive story you were reminded of by one of their minor points. When you respond in that way, it reveals that you haven\u2019t been listening past the part that inspired the barely relevant thing you feel contributes to the conversation, though it really does not move the conversation along so much as derail it.<\/li>\n \t<li>Honor the uniqueness of their experience: When the speaker relates something that happened to them, resist the urge to make it about you by equating their experience with yours. If they are talking about grieving a death in the family, for instance, don\u2019t dishonor that information share by responding with how you felt when your dog died. It is not the same.<\/li>\n \t<li>Stay out of the weeds: Rather than struggle to offer up all the details (the names, places, dates, etc.) and digress on minutiae, focus on your main points.<\/li>\n \t<li>Listen: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue, and therefore requires that you actively pay attention to what the speaker says to understand it rather than to merely reply to it<\/li>\n \t<li>Be brief: People are busy, so if your conversation detains them for longer than they have time for, you will stretch their patience. Pay attention to the other parties' nonverbal communication. If they are starting to step away, look away, or nod fast, this may indicate that they are done with the conversation.<\/li>\n \t<li>Ensure you pronounce someone\u2019s name correctly: Some take offense at their name being mispronounced, and especially with their name being confused with a different but similar name. If someone\u2019s name looks unpronounceable on paper, simply asking them how they prefer their name to be pronounced is better than confidently mispronouncing it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"import-Normal\">This section is adapted from <a class=\"rId24\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/10-1-verbal-communication-and-conversation\/\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">Verbal Communication and Conversation<\/span><\/a> in <a class=\"rId25\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">Communication at Work \u2013 Simple Book Publishing<\/span><\/a> (2nd ed.) Copyright \u00a9 2025 by Jordan Smith licensed under a <a class=\"rId26\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License<\/span><\/a>, except where otherwise noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-Normal\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff\"><\/p>\n\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"1.6-effective-interpersonal-communication\">\n<p class=\"import-Normal\">Jordan Smith (2025) summarizes a TEDtalk, <a class=\"rId23\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4&amp;t=87s\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation by Celeste Headlee (2016)<\/span><\/a> and offers us concrete ways to promote effective interpersonal communication.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Be Present: Devote your undivided attention to the person you are speaking with and do not multitask. You won\u2019t have to pretend to pay attention by nodding and making eye contact if you\u2019re doing that anyway.<\/li>\n<li>Be prepared to learn: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue where you simply unload your opinion on someone and receive nothing in return except for the satisfaction of dominating them.<\/li>\n<li>Ask open-ended questions: When you want your conversation partner to answer on their own terms ask \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201chow\u201d questions such as \u201cHow did the meeting go?\u201d \u201cWhat was the meeting about?\u201d When seeking short answers ask specific questions such as \u201cWas that a good meeting?\u201d You will get a shorter answer such as \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d Try to ask a \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201chow\u201d questions \u201cHow did the meeting go?\u201d \u201cWhat was the meeting about?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Listen without interruption: Respond to your conversation partner\u2019s main points rather than to some digressive story you were reminded of by one of their minor points. When you respond in that way, it reveals that you haven\u2019t been listening past the part that inspired the barely relevant thing you feel contributes to the conversation, though it really does not move the conversation along so much as derail it.<\/li>\n<li>Honor the uniqueness of their experience: When the speaker relates something that happened to them, resist the urge to make it about you by equating their experience with yours. If they are talking about grieving a death in the family, for instance, don\u2019t dishonor that information share by responding with how you felt when your dog died. It is not the same.<\/li>\n<li>Stay out of the weeds: Rather than struggle to offer up all the details (the names, places, dates, etc.) and digress on minutiae, focus on your main points.<\/li>\n<li>Listen: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue, and therefore requires that you actively pay attention to what the speaker says to understand it rather than to merely reply to it<\/li>\n<li>Be brief: People are busy, so if your conversation detains them for longer than they have time for, you will stretch their patience. Pay attention to the other parties&#8217; nonverbal communication. If they are starting to step away, look away, or nod fast, this may indicate that they are done with the conversation.<\/li>\n<li>Ensure you pronounce someone\u2019s name correctly: Some take offense at their name being mispronounced, and especially with their name being confused with a different but similar name. If someone\u2019s name looks unpronounceable on paper, simply asking them how they prefer their name to be pronounced is better than confidently mispronouncing it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"import-Normal\">This section is adapted from <a class=\"rId24\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/10-1-verbal-communication-and-conversation\/\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">Verbal Communication and Conversation<\/span><\/a> in <a class=\"rId25\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">Communication at Work \u2013 Simple Book Publishing<\/span><\/a> (2nd ed.) Copyright \u00a9 2025 by Jordan Smith licensed under a <a class=\"rId26\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\"><span class=\"import-Hyperlink\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License<\/span><\/a>, except where otherwise noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-Normal\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":6,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-49","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":37,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50,"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49\/revisions\/50"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/37"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/professionalandtechnicalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}