Introducing the Basic Concepts

Fabio de Assis
Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal Skills
"Interpersonal
p skills" refers to
mental and communicative
algorithms applied during social People’s Interaction
communications and interactions in
order to reach certain effects or
results. The term "interpersonal Communication Skills
skills" is used often in business
skills
contexts to refer to the measure of a • Interviewing
person's ability to operate within • Counselling
b i
business organizations
i ti th
throughh • Dealing with staff problems
l h ff bl
social communication and • Leading Discussions
interactions.
Basic Elements of Communication
The p process of communication
involves four basic elements.

Sender: person who sends

information.
Receiver: p
person who receives the
information sent.
Message: content of information
sentt by
b sender.
d
Feedback: response from receiver.
Communication Channels
Communication channels are the
medium chosen to convey the
Non‐
message from sender to receiver. Verbal
Verbal
Direct channels: those that are
obvious, and can be easily recognized Written /  Body 
b the
by th receiver.
i
Spoken
k Language
Indirect channels: those channels that
are usually recognized subliminally or Colour Sound
subconsciously by the receiver, and
not under direct control of the sender.
Types of Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication is
subdivided
bdi id d into
i t 3 types:
t

Dyadic Communication: method of

communication that only involves two Qty of people involved
people such as a telephone conversation or
even a set of letters.
Medium
Public Speaking: is the process of
speaking
ki to a group off people l in
i a
structured, deliberate manner intended to
inform, influence, or entertain the Message / Information
listeners.
Small Groups Communication: refers to How the message is delivered
the nature of communication that occurs in
groups that are between 2 and 12
individuals.
Body Language
Bodyy language
g g is the most p
primitive
form of communication.
Facial Expressions
Also known as non‐verbal
communication, it’s often more
efficient than spoken language, by Body Movements
y
showing the true meaning of what
we speak.

May be deceiving, very much used in

Hand Gestures
Business and Political affairs.
Facial Expressions and  their Meanings
Pouting with the lower lip: Worry or
Nervousness
Pursed lips or pouting: Annoyance or
Irritation
Sucking of lips: Puzzlement
Curled Lip: Dislike or Distaste
K itt d Brows:
Knitted B P l
Puzzlement
t
Pulling a face: Indifference or
Annoyance
Raised Eyebrows: Surprise or
Disagreement
One Raised Eyebrow: Displeasure
(Burton:1996:10) Source: Google Images
 Body Movement

Movement Meaning
Leaning forwards You’re listening and
slightly towards the paying attention to
person what is being said
Nodding occasionally Paying Attention
Leaning back with
You’re not interested
your head resting on
in what is being said
the back of your chair
You’re irritating the
Fidgeting Movements
other person

Source: Google Images
 Hand Gestures

Gestures Meaning
Demonstrate warmth,
Open
p Hands
confidence and interest
Nervous Movements
like fiddling with
objects, doodling, Irritating
playing with your
hair

Source: Google Images
Eye Contact

Contact Meaning

Dependsd on the
h culture
l
in question, varying
from confidence and
Direct eye contact respect (low power
d
distance)
) to extreme
disrespectfulness (high
power distance)

Once again depends on

Eye contact  each culture, showing Source: Google Images
avoidance respect, fear, shyness
and so on.
Spoken Communication
In order to communicate effectively,
y
the Spoken Language fills the gap L
Language
left by the Body Language, which
isn’tt able to transmit the whole
isn
meaning of ours thoughts to the Clarity
others.
Humans are the
H h onlyl living
li i creatures
who are able to communicate in a Listening
very complex level. We’ve been
doing and improving this for
thousands of years.
Understanding
Approaching
In order to approach
pp people,
p p it’s
important to be aware of the
circumstances.
Different Circumstances

Some people like to be approached

straight up and others must feel Demand
comfortable with the environment
prior to being approached.
Different Approaches
pp
Analysing the circumstance is the
key factor for the right approaching.
Listening
The most important
p communication Person’s 1 Action Person’s 2 Action
skill of all.
Speak Listen

Continue to Speak Evaluate
Enables the receiver to fully
Continue to Speak Form an opinion
understand the situation, giving
enormous advantage to the good Continue to Speak Plan reply
listener.
Continue to Speak Rehearse reply

Wait for a gap to 
g p
It’s a complex
It’ l mental
t l process, as Continue to Speak speak and keep on 
shown on the right side. listening
Presentation Skills
Presentingg effectivelyy is about
selling the idea to the public.

The reputation
rep tation of Managers may
ma
depend on how good their
Presentation Skills are.

Crucial decision can be made based

on formal presentations.

Presentation Skills are easily judged

b
by the
h public.
bl (Rees and
d
Porter:2001:176)
Presentation Checklist
ƒ Clarify Objectives ƒ Clarity of Expression and choice of
ƒ Identify the target audience l
language
ƒ Prior publicity ƒ Eye Contact and Body Language
ƒ Geographical and Acoustic ƒ Volume of Information
arrangements
ƒ Structure ƒ Use of Humour
ƒ Will the opening attract interest? ƒ Pitch and variety of voices
ƒ Involvement of colleagues g and ƒ Use of examples
audience
ƒ Rehearsal
ƒ Motivation and comprehension of
the audience ƒ Opportunity for feedback
ƒ Timing pace and duration
Timing, ƒ Back‐up
B k notes
t and
d source off further
f th
ƒ Time Control information
ƒ Beware of reading from notes ƒ Evaluation of Presentation
ƒ Visual Aids
ƒ M difi i
Modifications f the
for h future
f
(Rees and Porter:2001:176‐177)
Tools for  Helping Balancing the Skills
The most known and applied tools for this
matter are Johari
J h i and
d Nohari
N h i Windows.
Wi d

The Johari window model focuses on the

balance of interpersonal communication.
communication
Interpersonal communication encompasses:

p
Speech, , Nonverbal communication,,
Unconscious communication, summarizing,
paraphrasing, listening, questioning,
Initiating, Turn‐taking

The Nohari Window is the inversion of the

Johari window, and is a collection of negative
personality traits instead of positive.
Johari Window
A Johari window is a metaphorical tool
createdd by
b Joseph
J h Luft
L f and d Harry
H
Ingham in 1955 in the United States,
used to help people better understand
p
their interpersonal communication
and relationships. It is used primarily in
self‐help groups and corporate
settings as a heuristic exercise.

When performing the exercise, the

subject is given a list of 55 adjectives
and p picks five or six that theyy feel
describe their own personality. Peers
of the subject are then given the same
list, and each pick five or six adjectives
that describe the subject.
subject These
adjectives are then mapped onto a
grid.
Quadrants ‐‐ Johari Window (cont
Quadrants  Johari Window (cont.))

Adjectives
Adj i selected
l d by
b both
b h theh Adj ti
Adjectives th t are nott selected
that l t d by
b
participant and his or her peers are the participant but only by their
peers are placed into the Blind Spot
placed into the Arena quadrant. quadrant. These represent
This quadrant represents traits of information of which the
the p
participant
p of which both theyy participant is not aware, but others
and their peers are aware. are, and they can decide whether
and how to inform the individual
about these "blind spots“.

Adjectives selected only by the Adjectives which were not selected

participant, but not by any of their by either the participant or their
peers, are placed into the Façade peers remain in the Unknown
quadrant, representing the
quadrant, representing information participant's behaviors or motives
about
b t the
th participant
ti i t off which
hi h their
th i which
hi h were nott recognized i d by b
peers are unaware. It is then up to anyone participating. This may be
the participant whether or not to because they do not apply, or
because there is collective
disclose this information. ignorance of the existence of that
trait.
Johari Window Adjectives List
Able Dependable Intelligent Patient Sensible

Accepting Dignified Introverted Powerful Sentimental

Adaptable Energetic Kind Proud Shy

Bold Extroverted Knowledgeable Quiet Silly

Brave Friendly Logical Reflective Spontaneous

C l
Calm Gi i
Giving L i
Loving R l
Relaxed
d S
Sympathetic
th ti

Caring Happy Mature Religious Tense

Cheerful Helpful
p Modest Responsive
p Trustworthy
y

Clever Idealistic Nervous Searching Warm

Complex Independent Observant Self‐assertive Wise

Confident Ingenious Organized Self‐conscious Witty

How does this affect  the Manager?
The more developed the
M
Manager’s ’ Interpersonal
I t l skills
kill
are, the easier it’ll be to deal with
problems within the company,
such as managing g g conflict and
leadership.
Performance

Managers
g with developed
p
Interpersonal Skills such as
interviewing, counselling and Healthy 
leading are more capable to Interaction

motivating and leading their staff

to meet the demands of the
Manager w/  Motivated and 
business. (Burton & Developed  Goal 
Burton:1994:01) Interpersonal 
Skills
Orientated 
Staff
Summarizing
Interaction
te act o

Other  Verbal 
Skills Communication

Interpersonal 
Skills
Body 
Listening
Language

Approaching Presentation
Extras
Websites: Books:

Online Johari Window Tool available BURTON, J. (1995). Interpersonal

at http://kevan.org/johari
http://kevan org/johari skills for travel and tourism.
tourism London,
London
Longman Scientific & Technical.
Online Nohari Window Tool available
at http://kevan.org/nohari
h //k / h i REES, W.
REES W D.
D (2001).
( ) The
Th skills
kill off
management. London, Thomson
Learning.
Complete
p Fabio’s Johari Window at
http://kevan.org/johari?name=Assis
Questions and Feedback