UNIT 2: INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND BODY

LANGUAGE
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Learning Outcomes
2.2 Effective Communication
2.2.1 Seven C’s of Effective Communication
2.3 Communications skills
2.3.1 Verbal Communication Skills
2.3.2 Non-Verbal Communication Skills
2.4 Understanding Interpersonal Skills
2.4.1 Importance of Interpersonal skills
2.4.2 Interpersonal skills for job search and at workplace
2.5 Types of Interpersonal skills
2.5.1 Social Skills
2.5.2 Peoples Skills
2.5.3 Soft Skills
2.5.4 Life Skills
2.6 Group Communication
2.7 Learning Essential Body Language
2.7.1 Eye Contact
2.7.2 Tone
2.7.3 Space
2.7.4 Handshake and Touch
2.7.5 Facial Expression
2.7.6 Hand Gestures
2.7.7 Postures
2.8 Time Management
2.8.1 Advantage of good Time Management. `
2.8.2 How to manage time?
2.9 Let Us Sum Up
2.10 Feedback to Check Your Progress Question
2.11 References and Further Reading
2.0 INTRODUCTION
In this competitive world the performance of an individual is measured not just on
the basis of grades but also on the basis of certain other skills and aptitude. Interpersonal
skills are one of the most important skills that a professional must have. According to the
Oxford Dictionary the definition of interpersonal skills is “The ability to communicate or
interact well with other people.” Interpersonal skills are required everywhere in family,
social life or workplace. One of the most important stages of life where interpersonal
skills are required most is when one faces an interview. The way one talks, behaves with
others, dresses up, one’s gestures, postures, listening skills etc all are part of interpersonal
skills that one has to work on. These skills can be learned and with practice they can be
mastered.

Mastering good interpersonal skills will help you in developing leadership

qualities and good perform workplace by making your social interaction better. These
interpersonal skills become important as they help one to showcase the technical
knowledge attained, getting opportunities to showcase one’s talent and standout amongst
others.
 In this unit we will learn and understand about various interpersonal skills and
body language.

2.1 Learning Outcomes

An interpersonal skill is a subject that has to be practiced to achieve the desired
goal. This unit is designed with relevant exercises at the end of each topic, which will
help the learners to enhance their interpersonal skills.

After going through this unit and practicing the exercises your will be able to:

 Demonstrate good verbal and non verbal communication skills in

different situations of life.
 Present yourself better according to the occasion and use body language
to your advantage.
 Display excellent interpersonal and group communication skills.
 Manage Time effectively.

2.2 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Human beings are social animals and communication is a very important part of
human existence. Every individual communicates with the help of different languages and
gestures. Effective communication helps one to present ones ideas, express one’s
thoughts, exchange the knowledge one has and helps in presenting the opinions in a
convincing manner. This exchange of messages is done by the communicator (the person
who communicates to others) with utter clarity and the purpose of communication is
achieved effectively. Effective communication is the communication where what the
sender (the one who wants to communicate the message) says is understood in the same
way by the receiver (the one to whom the message is communicated). In another words
there is no change in meaning of a message when it is communicated from the sender to
the receiver. No scope of misunderstanding makes communication effective.

Communication has many forms, it could be Verbal communication (the one

which include language and sounds), Written communication (the one that include text or
different written languages), Non-verbal Communication (the one that include gestures
etc) and lastly Visual Communication (Which includes, graphs, charts illustration etc). All
these forms will be explained in details as we move ahead. It is very important to
understand these forms and how to use these forms effectively for best results in
communication.
 Source: https://digiaide.com/effective-communication/

While meaning of communication and clarity in it is an important factor in

communicating effectively, another important factor is the channel of communication that
the sender is choosing to communicate. The message that the sender wants to
communicate can be sent through emails, through phones (verbally or through
applications like whatsapp, messenger etc), in person, through internet etc.

The medium of communication has its own importance in communication. The

different media also have different formats for Example: When communicating through
social media one should know the abbreviations that are generally used like LOL (Laugh
Out Loud), ASAP (As Soon as possible), NB(Not Bad), MT (Modified Tweet) etc. This
dictionary of abbreviations keeps on increasing and one has to keep oneself updated.
Emojis are also a form of communication that one should know when and where to use.
The Emoji or also known as emoticons are form of non-verbal visual communication
forms. They are a form of pictogram, the smileys that are used a lot these days in present
communication on the web. The emoticons add feelings without articulating in words in a
web conversation. Use of wrong emojies can lead to trouble so the correct meaning and
use should be learnt for effective communication through these emoticons.

Know what is the communication situation and context.

If you are appearing for a job interview, the objective of communication is different and
when you are doing to explain a project to a client, the communication objective is
different. The way communication is planned and executed will differ bases on these
objectives.
 Source: https://blog.emojipedia.org/openmoji-a-free-and-open-source-emoji-set/

One can learn effective communication by learning and practicing 7c’s of

communication that should be applied in any communication situation for positive
results.

2.2.1 Seven C’s of Effective Communications

It is very important to have a clear understanding of the real objective of you

should communication. Once the goal of communication is set there are other principles
of communication that will help you achieve your goal.

The seven C’s of communications are as follows:

1. Clarity
2. Correctness
3. Conciseness
4. Courtesy
5. Concreteness
6. Consideration
7. Completeness

Let us understand these seven C’s of communication in detail.

1) Clarity: Clarity play an important role in sucessful communication. The message

designed to be delivered should be clear and should be easily understood by the
receiver. Firstly what has to be communicated should be clear to the sender. Too
much communication at a time could confuse the receiver, so it is best to keep the
communication short and precise. The language should be kept simple and
according to the target audience or the receiver for example, if the communication
is designed for the higher management of an organization, then the language
should be formal and technical language may also be used. But if something has
to be communicated to general public, then it is adverisble to keep it simple.
 Clarity

concretness Correctness

7C's of
Effective
Communicati
on Courtesy
Conciseness

Consideration
Completeness

2) Correctness: It is very important to have command over language and to design a

correct communication message. Writing is an art that one achieves through
constant practice. It is important that the message should have correct grammar,
punctuations and also correct spelling. The accuracy of the message also presents
a good image to the receiver. To practice correctness it is very important to re-
check the content for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. The level of
difficulty of the language sould also be kept according to the receiver and the
sentences should be designed accordingly.
3) Conciseness: The communication message should be brief and crisp sentences
should not be unnecessarily lengthy to facilitate understanding. The message
should also convey the point directly. An effective communication is concise
saves time and catches of the attention of the receiver and is retained. The
communicator should repetition in the message, use relevant information and
avoid unnecessary expressions.
4) Courtesy: “Politeness costs nothing and gains everything.” The following quote
is very important when it comes to communication with others. A communication
becomes redundant if the experience of the receiver is not good. So courtesy
becomes one of the most important factors in designing a communication
message. The communication message design should be polite towards the
sender. Uses of words like thank you, I appreciate, please etc makes a message
full of courtesy and while verbally communicating the tone or the expression
should sound genuine while communicating these words. It is very important to
say whatever is written or communication message designed with full sincerity
and for that one should use the tone that sounds respectful. It is also very
important not to include discrimination in language for, racial, gender, color creed
etc.
 5) Concreteness The message should be specific and the point. Make your
communication message meaningful as unclear and vague message results to
distraction and the purpose of communication is lost in the process. You may also
use facts and figures in your message. It is recommended to use active voice
rather than passive voice.
6) Consideration: Always design the communication keeping the receiver in mind.
It is very important to design the communication message from the point of view
of receiver for whom it has to be designed. If the communicator is considerate
than only he or she can develop the “you attitude” and design a sincere message
keeping in mind the usefulness of the message. The “you” has to considered
instead the “we” and also keep in mind to be make the message positive and also
optimistic in approach.
7) Completeness: Make sure whatever you want to communicate should be
complete as incomplete message leaves the receiver confused and can also lead to
a completely different meaning of the message as opposed to what was intended
by the to source or communicator

Check your progress: 1

Note: Write your answerer in the space given below:

Check your answer given at the end of the unit

Q.1 What are the four forms of communications of effective communication?

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Q.2 What are the seven C’s of communication?

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2.3 Communication Skills

Professional life, social life and personal life all require good communication
skills. It is important to communicate one’s feelings and the ideas precisely and
effectively. Good communication skills can help an individual in working effectively and
progressing in professional life. effective communication leads to better understanding.
Good communication skills at professional level may help you in explaining a project
effectively to your clients and seniors. or in cracking a job interviews. Effective
communication skills include holding fruitful convsersation good listening skills, mindful
observation and skills of emphasizing important points with the people you are
interacting.

Communication skills will also teach one to interact effectively in different kinds
of communication situation like one to one interaction, group communication,
communication over phone, video calling, communication on internet (social media
communication, emails etc) and so on.
 Let us start by learning about verbal communication skills or spoken
communication skills.

2.3.1 Verbal Communication Skills

Developing one’s language skills is essential for enhancing interpersonal skills. Verbal
communication can be expressed orally or in sign language. Language, grammar and
articulation of language is important to learn. It is essential to support language with
effective non-verbal skills like body language, facial expression and the voice modulation
about which we will learn in this unit.

The following are some of the important aspects of verbal communication:

 An important aspect of verbal communication is how you greet the

receiver and introduce yourself. It helps you from the first impression on
the receiver of your communication which can be your interviewer, boss,
colleges or any other common audience.
 It is also important to choose your words carefully. These combined with
the non-verbal skills make for an effective communication.
 The communication situation also decides how words are presented for
eg. a professional presentation calls for a formal language while an
official dinner sees a mix of formal an informal words and expressions. If
the written communication is for an official email even then the language
will be formal but if it is about some festival celebration then the
language will change accordingly.
 Active listening is also very important to develop good verbal skills. As
in case of spoken communication until one listens to the receiver
carefully, communication cannot become fruitful. So one should
concentrate on what the other party has to say and not be rigid one’s
thoughts. One should be open to ideas and not be judgemental. One
should allow the speaker to complete what they are saying and not
interrupt in between. One should also try to avoid noise and other
distractions and be objective. The same is applicable for written
communication like taking notes in a meeting.
 Cultural factors are also important to consider as they can influence the
receiver. So cultural factors should be kept in mind while drafting the
message.
 During spoken communication, one should also keep in mind the tone,
speed and volume of the communication. Tone makes a great deal of
difference in communication, for example, if one says thank you in a
sarcastic manner then the whole meaning of the communication changes.
The speed at which one communicates is also important. You may have
noticed that if someone speaks very slowly it gets boring and when
someone speaks very fast, the concentration of the audience gets lost and
the communication message is also lost. Communication volume is also
important as these days people suffer from information overload, i.e
consuming huge amount of communication from multiple resources. That
too makes communication ineffective.
Advantage of effective verbal communication

Effective verbal communication has many advantages through which one can
develop one’s interpersonal skill;

 It builds good relations

 It can help in persuading others
 It brings clarity and leaves no room for confusion
 Helps in improving productivity
 It helps in increasing motivation levels.

2.3.2 Non-Verbal Communication Skills

Communication also happens without the use of language whether spoken or

written. The art of using eye contact, body language, gestures, facial expression, different
postures etc. is non-verbal communication skills. Non verbal communication is important
in several ways. Researches have shown that 35% of any communication comprises fo
verbal communication while 65% is non-verbal. This illustrates the importance of non-
verbal communication. Non-verbal communication helps to develop effective
interpersonal communication skills. Let us learn and understand these:

Silence is an important part of non-verbal communication. It is important to learn

the art of silence and use it when required.

Five important roles of non –verbal communication skills

o Non verbal cues can be repeated and help in making verbal

communication skills strong.
o The non-verbal cues add as substitutes to the spoken language as
expressions are enough to communicate at times.
o Many a times non-verbal communication especially body language can
compliment verbal communication and adds to the effectiveness of the
communication. For example while saying thank you to someone if you
fold your hands and smile it adds to the communication.
o Non verbal communication also helps in emphasizing upon what is being
said. If someone is patted on the back while being appreciated it adds
value to spoken words and the receiver feels that the appreciation is
genuine.
o Body language never lies. If what you say is not what you mean, your
body language may contradict your speech and the receiver may be
doubtful of your words.

The types of body language will be discussed later in this Unit in detail. Let us
first understand what are interpersonal skills.
Check your progress: 2

Note: Write your answerer in the space given below:

Check your answer given at the end of the unit

Q.3 What are the advantages of effective verbal communication?

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Q.4 What are the five important non-verbal Communication skills?

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2.4 UNDERSTANDING INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Interpersonal skills are all about developing the people’s skill, the social skills,
soft skills and life skill which are all helpful in different aspects of life . One requires good
interpersonal skills to communicate with everyone on daily basis. Some people naturally
inherit good interpersonal skills, but these skills can be learned by anyone who want s to
be a good communicator and wants to develop good relationship with those they
communicate. To achieve these interpersonal skills it is important to practice them on
daily basis in both personnel and professional space.

Employees in an organization who showcase go od interpersonal skills are

noticed, get good opportunities and are also promoted faster as they are able to present
their work better than other and prove themselves as asset to the company. Interpersonal
skills when used according to the situation, people and culture along with appropriate
tactics, can lead to effective communications. Good interpersonal skills combine d with
technical skills is the key for a successful career.

Team building

Communication
Negotiations
skills

Interpersonnel
skills
Confilct
Adaptability
mangement

Affirmation skills Persuasion skills

 Interpersonal skills are very important and are used in different situations of life.
It is important for team building, developing communication skills, and for conflict
management; it also helps in developing persuasion skills, affirmation skills, adaptability
in any situation i.e. people and culture, as well as negotiation skills too. Let us discuss the
importance of interpersonal skills in detail.

2.4.1 Importance of Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are useful in everyday conversations and in many aspects of

life. Let us understand them one by one.

 Good interpersonal skills increase the chances of success of your

communication no matter whether its verbal (spoken or written skills) or
non verbal (body moments, postures, eye contact etc).
 Interpersonal skills also teach the art of active listening i.e. not just
listening to the words but also processing it in your mind and retaining
what you deem important. Then the receiver gives feedback to the sender
thus making the communication process two way.
 Good Interpersonal skill helps in building good relationship with people
and develop positive attitude.

2.4.2 Interpersonal skills for job search and at workplace

It is important to understand, learn and practice interpersonal skills as it may help

at the time of job interview and for getting a job and then to excel at workplace. Let us see
how;

Interpersonal skills for Jobs search

A job interview is not just a test of the knowledge or technical knowhow but also
a test of interpersonal skills required for the profile. Here are same pointer that will help
you develop these for a job interview:

o Be a Good Listener, listen carefully what interviewer is asking

o Job openings in the field of law, marketing and sales etc require
negotiation skills, remember not to be aggressive while displaying them.
o Verbal and non-verbal skills are being speak confidently and know that
both your tested here.
o Most of the positions require you to work in team, so you will also be
tested on your team skills. For eg. the interviewer may give you situations
and ask what you would do when confronting such a situation? At that
time remember what it takes to be a good team leader and work
effectively in team. The idea is to test if you can be a team player and
whether you could be a team leader.
o You could also be given situations or asked question to understand your
conflict management skills. The interviewer is looking for the best
conflict management tactics to be implemented according to the situation.
o Also collaborations is also one area where you will be tested.
Interpersonal skills at workplace

Interpersonal skills are very helpful when it comes to workplace. It is important to

be knowledgeable and technically sound but it is of no use if you will not be able to share
that knowledge effectively. Let us understand what all interpersonal skills are important at
workplace:

o An important aspect of interpersonal skill set is negotiations skills. As

you progress in your career these skills come handy. They benefit both
the employees and organization.
o Problem solving skills are also important. This skill set increases
productivity at workplace.
o Team work comes next in the list. Primarily teamwork builds a positive
environment which gets quality work.
o Being skilled in making presentations, emails, projects proposals etc.
enhances verbal communication skills whether spoken or written.
o Appropriate eye contact, gestures and facial expressions etc also aid in
communicating effectively through interpersonal skills.
o These skills also enhance dependability, empathy and responsibility of
employees in a workspace.

Such skills help in promoting positive attitude, confidence, enthusiasm and help in
building a good rapport amongst employees. That is the reason why companies attach
much value and importance to training pertaining to interpersonal skills regularly.

Activity 1

List down five interpersonal skills that you think are essential for your personality. Also
Write down why it is important for you to learn these skills.

Five Interpersonal skills to learn Why you want to learn them

2.5 TYPES OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
We may consider four broad categories of interpersonal skills social skills,
people’s skills, soft skills and life skills. Let us understand each one of them in detail.

2.5.1 Social Skills

Man is a social animal and socialization is important for excelling in life. Social
skills are learnt in childhood. Infact, learning begins with social skills. Any where you go
including both personnel life and professional life you will encounter we come across
different types of people, everyone you interact with may not be the same all the time and
every individual has to be dealt with differently. It is the art of socialization that helps us
do so.

Below are some imports tips that you can use to develop good social skills and
relationships with people:

 Always remember every individual is not the same. Some people talk a
lot, some are introvert and don’t talk much but are good listeners, some
people take a lot of time to open up and develop trust. while you interact
with anyone try not to judge the person. Instead understand him as it her
will help you in socializing better.
 Be emphatic towards others and try to think from their point of view. It
will help you develop better understanding of the person which
eventually leads to developing good relationship.
 A stubborn attitude is never welcome. Always corporate with people
whether at home or workplace. People who corporate are liked in turn
will get cooperation from others when they require it.
 Respect is very important in any social relatiohship. People who give
respect also get it in personal and professional lives.
 It is also important to maintain appropriate distance with people you work
with. If people don’t feel comfortable around you it becomes difficult to
communicate and maintain good social relationship. Especially in case of
opposite genders it is important to maintain a healthy physical distance.
Bad breath, body odor is another factor that could upset other so make
sure you do not smell bad before you go near people.
 People who are of complaining nature are not liked. So develop a positive
attitude, be thankful, and try to stay happy at home and workplace.

2.5.2 Peoples Skills

People’s skills focus more on the interaction that one has with others. Developing
people’s skills is more about understanding the behaviour of the people you are
interacting with. Individuals have behavioral patterns which could be understood with
time. Understanding this pattern can help one to figure out how to deal with people with
different behaviors. People skills helps in better interaction, managing difficult people,
and building trust.

Learning people’s skills lets you to develop an effective personality, develop

interaction and negotiation skills. Do you know how people at work perceive you? Do
they find your personality pleasing? Do they find you easy or difficult to interact? Do
people like to work with you. If not, why not? These entire questions along with others
are important to develop your personality. Self analysis is best, you may also take advice
of your good friends.

Peoples skills also emphasizes on how to communicate effectively by being

respectful and empathetic. It teaches that building rapport with your target audience is
must for effective communication to happen as it builds trust.

2.5.3 Soft Skills

Other than learning soft skills, how well you develop and use them also depends
on one’s emotional intelligence. Especially in professions where one has to lookafter
customer service or deal with clients in a company these soft skills help a person to build
good relationship even without any specific training.

Some of the soft skills that are appreciated and valued by any companies are:

Creativity: every job whether it is working for a factory, corporate office,

working on site with different institutions all of them require creativity. It is known to
bring innovations and adds news solutions to the problem.

Use of humor: Humor makes any environment light. A person with good sense of
humor displays a strong personality as it helps in building good relations trust and reduces
stress.

Confidence: A person with self-confidence will take initiatives and will be better
with making decisions. Self-confidence is also important to work under pressure. It also
boosts other soft skills learned.

Honesty: An honest person is trusted more and earns dignity that makes one
valuable for any organization.

Friendliness: Friendly people are sociable, persuasive and he can be good stress
busters. But at workplace, it is also important to maintain professional environment.

Common sense: Common sense, they say is quite uncommon. But its presence in
an individual take faster decisions is the sense that everyone should know yet many
people lack it.

These soft skills add to any personality and makes the peson valuable for his/her
co-workers, seminars, and the organization as a while.

2.5.4 Life Skills

The psychosocial competencies along with interpersonal skills that helps one to
develop problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, creative thinking and decision
making skills are counted under life skills. Life skills are important for a productive and
healthy living.
 Stress Management is an essential part of life skills as in professional
environment where quality work needs to be delivered writtin the deadline. You will be
learning about how to manage stress in other units to follow.

Emotional regulation is also important to learn. Every individual has to deal with
personnel and emotional life together. At times one might be dealing with crisis at
personal or professional front and it might lower one’s productivity. It becomes important
to regulate one’s emotions. Mediation, various exercises and certain tactics helps one to
regulate the emotional crisis that one may be going through.

Self-awareness: The first step is to understand what you are feeling and why are
you feeling a certain way.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness includes being aware of your surrounding what is

happening around you and in your body. There are many activities you can search to
practice mindfulness. It will help you calm yourself and concentrate on the present.

Cognitive reappraisal: It is a part of psychotherapy and anger management.

Through cognitive reappraisal one can alter the way he or she thinks. If at workplace you
don’t like a person to work with this can help you change the way you think about it and
respond to the person.

Adaptability: It teaches one how to do objective evaluation of one’s situation.

For eg. you may ask yourself questions like why you are feeling a certain way or how is
the situation affecting your work, what is important at the moment etc. This will help you
think objectively make you mindful and enhance productivity.

Self-compassion: Behind to yourself and practice self –care. It increases yourself

worth. Remind yourself your qualities and writes them in a piece of paper. Take out time
for yourself, mediate or do some yoga. Do some breathing exercise it will help you relax.
It is also recommended to keep a gratitude journal.

Emotional support: One can have support group in form of friends and family,
counselors at workplace or other support groups. The best support you could find is
within yourself, so seek help with yourself by self-awareness and mindfulness and if it
does not help, one should not hesitate to seek help outside.

These are some skills that could be learnt to regulate emotions and are very
beneficial. It helps one to regulate feeling and not let them affect the reactions. These life
skills also help one to think objectively and to display a regulated behaviour with self-
control.

2.6 GROUP COMMUNICATION

Communication with more than one people at a time is called group
communication. The members of group may be acquainted to you or they can be
strangers. The size of the group also varies. Communication has to be designed.depending
on these factors . These skills come handy while giving presentations to internal, external
clients and during exchanging of ideas and trainings.
Different channels used for group communication

Face-to-face group meetings: One of the most effective ways of communicating a

message to more than one person is by calling a meeting. As a communicator if you want
to make people understand some work, project, task etc. a meeting could be called and the
message could be explained personally. The advantage of this method is that feedback is
instant from the receiver and hence doubts and confusions can be cleared making the
communication process fruitful.

Conference calls/video calls: If the team you are working with is not at same
place then use of technology comes handy. Many organizations have their own video or
conference calling system as part of the companies’ data security policies. In the post
pandemic times they have become a with part of the most people’s work lives. Video calls
are effective as they include both verbal and non-verbal communication.

Emails/Digital Messages: One of the fastest ways of communicating a message to

multiple recipients is through emails. For email your written communication skills should
be good. Other social media apps may also be used for digital communication.

Notice/Memos: Notices and memos are a part of written group communication in

an set up. Notice could be used for open communication and memos for confidential
communication.

2.7 LEARNING ESSENTIAL BODY LANGUAGE

Body Language: The use of gestures, postures and body expressions
accompanying verbal communication constitute body language. The eye contact one
makes while talking and one’s tone of voice is also a part of body language. The body
language you use draws attention of people towards you, and helps your audience form an
impression of you. For eg. if you look straight into the eyes of the person you are
addressing or your audience, you are able to win the trust of the receiver. If during a
conversation you fold your arms across your chest, it is a sign to the other person that
your are not open to his/her idea. Specially with palms open is a sign of honesty.

Different aspects of body language are explained below:

2.7.1 Eye Contact: When the communicator makes eyes contact with the receiver it
shows confidence and helps in holding the attention of the communicator. The
way you look at the receiver or the audience and for how long you look is also
important. Eye contact reflects genuineness of the speakers. Besides this, eye
contact also helps the speaker to figure out if the receivers is understanding and
is interested in what is being said.
2.7.2 Tone: The tone in which something is said is important. In any conversation its
not just the words that are important but the way they are being said is equally
important the style, the tone of voice, whether the communicator is empathetic
or aggressive? All these things are noticed.
2.7.3 Space: The physical distance between you and the person you are having a
conversation with is also important to consider. Standing too close to someone
can be intimidating and uncomfortable for the person you are speaking with.
Always respect the personal physical space, especially if the conversation is a
 formal or between people of opposite gender. This physical distance at which
we speak depends upon the culture, your relationship with the person and the
situation. The physical distance between two people may be less if they enjoy a
close relationship with each others. The diagram below indicates the physical
distance between individuals in different situations and according to proximity.

Source
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Personal_Spaces_in_Proxe
mics.svg

2.7.4 Handshake and Touch: Handshake is a very important part of creating your
first impression. It is important to learn the right way to shake hand as it is a
frequently used gesture in professional settings.

Source: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1436889
While shaking hand keep the following points in mind
 Shake hand with right hand, even if you are left handed it is not
essential that person opposite is also lefty, so always shake hand
with left hand. If you have some object like your phone or a
briefcase make sure to hold it in left hand before you shake hand.
 Don’t squeeze the hand of the person you are shaking hands with,
nether make hand limp to make it a dead fish hand shake. The
pressure applied should be appropriate and brief. Shake hands
firmly as it leaves a good impression and the person seems
confidant.
  In interview situations don’t hold the hand for too long nor just
leave it in a second. One can shake hands for longer with people
who are well acquainted to you.
 It is recommend to greet by saying hello, welcome and to start
the conversation before you let go of the hand.

2.7.5 Facial Expression: There are seven expressions called ‘navrasas’ that include
the expressions of happiness, anger, fear, sadness, disgust, astonishment and
surprise. These are common for most of the cultures yet one should be careful as
some societies are very expressive and others are not. Expressions should be
used depending on the nature of communication. Don’t be too dramatic with
your expression as it may upset your audience. Use genuine expressions and in a
controlled manner depending upon the situation you are in. Always think before
you communicate. Expressions are different when one communicates personally
as compared to professionally or with on individual or a group or large
audience.
2.7.6 Hand Gestures: We use gestures all the time consciously or subconsciously.
Humans often communicate with hand movements, we use different sign hand
gestures to call someone, to communicate stop, to say no or to say Ok. Different
societies and cultures use different gestures to communicate the same. It is very
important to know the culture and society where you are going to communicate
and to learn their language of gestures in order to use it correctly as gestural
language used in one culture can be offensive in others.

Source: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-
image.php?image=46180&picture=fingers-gesture
2.7.7 Posture: The way a person sits, stand, walk, and position their head, shakes
hands also communicate a lot. There is a proper way to do all these things and it
important to learn theses skills as it communicating well helps in creating
positive impressions.

2.7.7.1 Sitting positions differs for males and females i.e. men sitting with legs
apart may appear confidant or relaxed whereas men sitting with their
legs together may be seen as not so confident or worried, this may also
be read as the mark of man not ready to open-up. Women are generally
seen sitting cross legged, it is a feminine position which is though closed
 but also elegant and refined. Sitting in Figure four lock (show below)
comes across as dominating, but also confidant.

Source: https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-
knowledge/personality-test-your-sitting-positions-reveals-these-
personality-traits-1655726286-1

2.7.7.2 Standing positions: The way one stands also supplements your speech.
The figure below shows various standing positions (unless it is very
cold). Cross legged and cross hands are also a defensive position and
convey that the communicator is trying to hide something and is not
very open to the speaker’s ideas. Standing with equal weight on both
legs and open hands shows a positive personality who is open to new
thoughts and ideas during the conversation.

Source: https://mcburgess11.wordpress.com/tag/body-language/page/2/
 Activity 2

Ask your friend/family member to make a video while you are talking in any
communication situation. Fill in the following table to analyze the body Language that
you are using correctly while communicating with others and what improvement it
requires.

Body Langue used Currently Improvements it require

2.8 Time Management

Time management is a skill that helps in achieving more in less time. All famous
and successful people have learned new skills and knowledge with the help of effective
time management skills. Before we can learn time management lets understand what time
management is. Time management is the process of planning and dividing time according
to what one desire to achieve. Time management helps in organizing your goals with an
effective plan; it is an activity of dividing your time smartly so that you don’t end up
wasting your time in working hard unproductively.

2.8.1 Advantage of good time management

Effective time management has many advantages which include:

 One can achieve greater productivity through better management of time

as planning can help in managing time in a manner that more work can be
done in a better way and in less time.
 It helps in achieving efficiency through time table which helps in
avoiding boredom and also helps one in generating the flow of work.
 Better time management leads to productivity and efficiency which leads
to sense of achievement. This reduces stress levels in a person.
 It helps in increasing focus on the task/goals as it helps in planning one
thing at a time but also it helps in achieving set goals.
 Helps in better decision making as planning always leads a person to
think how and when , a work is done which helps in saving time, leads to
better productivity and makes one take the right decisions.
 One can reach his or her set goal faster with effective time management.
 Time management skills helps in improving the quality of work as it
every task or goal is thought through before it is done which eventually
leads to good output.
 One acquires more confidence as it leads positive self-enforcement. The
plan is created and executed by oneself and once the results start showing
 the motivation of the person increases and the process also become self-
driven.
 Time management helps in developing self-discipline as one need to
follow the plan and monitor oneself to achieve it.
 It helps you create a good image at workplace.

2.8.2 How to manage time?

You must be considered by now that it is important to mange time well for achieving
goals and it is also important to learn interpersonal skills. Now let us see how to manage
time. Study the following steps:

Step 1 Set your Goals

The first task is to prioritize your goals. Ask yourself what are your goals? What are the
interpersonal skills you want to develop in your personality? Effective time managers
follow SMART Goals. Let us understand this. One should ask the following before setting
any goals:

Specific: Set clear and specific goals.

Measurable: The Goals that you set should be measurable so that you can know how
much you have achieved.

Achievable: choose goals that are achievable. If you feel they are difficult to achieve
break them down in steps. Make them attainable.

Relevant: The goals that you are setting should be relevant to you and your organization
and should be result based.

Time Bound: The most important thing is to give timelines to your goal. Time bound
goals with discipline become realistic to achieve.

Step 2 Prioritization

It is very important to prioritize your goals. You may have multiple goal to achieve but it
is important to decide, which one is most important. The goals that are most important
should be given more time, so that they maybe achieved at the earliest. You can make a
chart in which you can write your goal in the order of their priority and can write the time
you want to give to each goal along with priority.

Step 3 Scheduling

Scheduling your goals is also very important. Usually morning times are very effective to
work as energy levels are high and its easier to concentrate. But some people are
comfortable working late hours. So it is recommended to find your peak time of work,
when you are most productive and schedule your high priority goals at that time.

Step 4 Concentrate and focus

Prioritsing and scheduling are easier tasks than following the plan of action. At such a
time, staying focused and concentrated on your goal is important. There are times when
one may not be to follow through. It is important to motivate yourself by looking at what
has been achieved. This generates enthusiasm and positivity.

Step 5 Follow your deadlines

Deadlines help in setting realistic expectations and ensure that the work is delivered on
time. One should stay disciplined and follow one’s deadlines.

Step 6 Practice time management

It is easy to make a time management plan but sometimes it becomes difficult to steadily
follow it. Practice makes it a habit.

Activity 3

Fill in the following table to analyze your current time management skills and the
changes you would like to introduce after reading this module

Current time management plan The plan developed after going through
time management skills

2.9 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we learned how to communicate effectively communication. Various
types of communication i.e. visual communication, verbal communication, non-verbal
communication and written communication were discussed in detail. Also the 7c's of
effective communication i.e. clarity, correctness, conciseness, courtesy, concreteness,
consideration and completeness and how they make communication effective were also
discussed.

We also learned the importance of interpersonal communication skills. Various

interpersonal communication skills like social skills, soft skills, people’s skills and life
skills were explained. The importance of interpersonal skills at professional front and at
the time of facing an interview was also discussed at length.

A board overview of aspects of body language like eye contact, tone, space,
handshake and touch, facial expressions, hand gestures and postures were also given to
explain how body language can help a great deal in attaining good interpersonal skills.

In the end, we time management and its advantages and how to manage time
effectively.
2.10 FEEDBACK TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS QUESTION
Check your progress 1

Answer 1: The four form of communication used for effective communication are
1) Verbal communication
2) Written Communication
3) Non-verbal Communication
4) Visual Communication
Answer 2: The seven C’s of communications are as follows:
1. Clarity
2. Correctness
3. Conciseness
4. Courtesy
5. Concreteness
6. Consideration
7. Completeness
Check your progress 2

Answer 3: An affective verbal communication has many advantages through which a

person can develop his or her interpersonal skill;
 It builds good relations
 Important for persuading others
 It brings clarity and leaves no room for confusion
 Helps in improving productivity
 Also lead to increase of motivation levels.
Answer 4: Five important roles of non –verbal communication skills
 Non verbal cues can be repeated and it helps in making the verbal communication
skills strong.
 The non-verbal cues add as substitutes to the spoken communication as
expression are enough at times to communicate what one wants to communicate.
 Many times non-verbal communication especially body language can
compliments the verbal communication and adds to the effectiveness of the
communication. For example while saying thank you to someone if you fold your
hands and smile it adds to the whole communication message being
communicated.
 Non verbal communication also helps in emphasizing the verbal communication
message. If someone is patted on the back while being appreciated it accent the
whole message.
 Sometime the message communicated with non verbal communication can also
contradict the whole communication process if not done truthfully.

2.11 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

1. Agochiya, Davendra (2018). Life Competencies for Growth and Success A
Trainer's Manual. Sage publications. p. 142. ISBN 978-9352805280.
2. Berger, Charles R. (2005-09-01). "Interpersonal communication: Theoretical
perspectives, future prospects". Journal of Communication. 55 (3): 415–447.
doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb02680.x. ISSN 1460-2466.
3. Corbin, C. White, D. (2008). "Interpersonal Communication: A Cultural
Approach." Sydney, NS. Cape Breton University Press
4. Forster, Mark (2006-07-20). Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time
Management. Hodder & Stoughton Religious. ISBN 0-340-90912-9.
5. Isa N. Engleberg; Dianna R. Wynn; Maria Roberts (17 February 2014).
THINK Interpersonal Communication, First Canadian Edition. Pearson
Education. ISBN 978-0-205-99284-3.
6. Pease, Allan & Barbara (2004). The Definitive Book of Body Language.
Orion House, London: Orion Books Ltd. p. 230. ISBN 978-0752861180.
7. Richard Walsh (2008). Time Management: Proven Techniques for Making
Every Minute Count. Adams Media. ISBN 978-1-4405-0113-5.
8. "Understanding and Enhancing Interpersonal Communication". Explore Our
Extensive Counselling Article Library. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2022-07-10.