This entry will give you a brief understanding of communication skills versus interpersonal skills. While the two are related they are ultimately different if you are listing them on a resume or researching for personal development.
Communication is essentially expressing a thought, idea, or action through spoken, written, or nonverbal communication. This doesn’t have to be actual words. for example, a parent can communicate a certain behavior their child needs to stop demonstrating immediately by a look or the pointing of a finger. A wink is a form of communication as is the raising of one’s hand. Raising a hand typically means you have a question while the raising of two hands usually means surrender, openness, or vulnerability. Communication is extremely important in accomplishing our goals and living our lives but should not be confused with interpersonal skills.
Interpersonal skills while interpreted through the way one communicates is different than communication skills by itself. One can know how to communicate with others while having terrible interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills represent your ability to interact, not just communicate with others. This can be described with concepts like “chemistry” with your team members, others feeling empowered or appreciated when they are around you and being cooperative or supportive of those you come into contact with, to list a few examples.
Communication skills and interpersonal skills are both important and can be improved with effort and personal development. A big part of developing interpersonal skills is developing patience. Patience to tolerate someone who is stressed or being difficult, patience to allow the other person to finish their sentence before interrupting or patience to stop for a moment and put yourself in another person’s shoes.
Interpersonal skills really grew in importance over the past twenty years as bosses today are navigating a totally different world with the newer generations than they have in the past. Change has both advantages and disadvantages, but it is always constant. It is a good idea to strengthen both communication and interpersonal skills as you move forward with your business or career.
Thanks for reading, more to come.