Interpersonal & intrapersonal communication: - What is interpersonal & intrapersonal communication? - What is the difference between the two? - How can you master these skills with the help of exercises? ## **KEY NOTE #1: WHAT IS INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION?** Interpersonal communication means the exchange of information between two or more than two persons such as communication between father & son, employer & employee, teacher & student. You can use verbal, non-verbal, written & visual tools in interpersonal communication to achieve your personal & professional goals. ## **KEY NOTE #2: WHAT IS INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION?** Intrapersonal communication means communicating with your self. It involves self-talk & working towards mindset. Communication expert, Mr. Leonard J. Shedletsky has divided intrapersonal communication into the following 8 components: 1. Source 2. Receiver 3. Message 4. Channel 5. Feedback 6. Environment 7. Context 8. Interference You do this communication with yourself in your mind. You use intrapersonal communication in planning, problem-solving, inner struggle and evaluation. For example, when you have to give a presentation, you rehearse it many times by yourself. During rehearse, you will find that you are talking to yourself. By doing this you will identify & rectify your mistakes, not repeat your mistakes in the final performance. Now in this situation, you became your best judge & worst critique because it helps in increasing your confidence level. The benefits of intrapersonal communication in your personality development are as follows: #### **1. Managing stress:** You can do self -talk to calm down yourself during stressful situations. For example, you can say to yourself “Calm down & relax.” This technique is very helpful when you need to calm down yourself during a stressful situation. #### **2. Helps to open up:** We develop an understanding about us that is related to how others communicate with us & we process it intra personally. For example, a shy person feels hesitant to smile in public events, but he can overcome this hesitation through self-talk. He has to practice smile while he is alone. He might think that he is not comfortable with other people & people also have given him the tag of a shy person. So, you can remove your hesitation if you work on intrapersonal skills. #### **3. Self-reflection:** You can be a good communicator with the help of self-reflection because you become cautious about your behavior & actions. You will know how to communicate through words or body language according to situations. ## **KEY NOTE #3: EXERCISES TO MASTER YOUR VERBAL, NON-VERBAL & WRITTEN COMMUNICATION** There are many exercises through which you can master your verbal, non-verbal & written communication. #### **1. YOU CAN DO THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES TO IMPROVE YOUR VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS:** 1. `Stand in front of the mirror, talk to yourself while looking into your eyes.` Don’t take the help of any book rather talk to yourself about anything by looking into the mirror. It is not necessary that your words & sentences have to make sense as long as you can talk to yourself while looking into the mirror. If you practice this exercise for 10 days, you will find that your confidence level has increased. 2. `Read one article of a magazine or a newspaper in a louder way.` Keep a pencil below your tongue & then try to read the paragraph. This exercise will help in building your self -confidence & bring clarity to your speech. 3. `Practice tongue twisters.` They provide you clarity in speech & command over a language. For verbal communication, you should have a command over a language. For example, if you want to get command over the English language, you should practice“She sells seashells on the seashore.” If you practice such lines daily, you will get clarity in speech. Also, you can practice greetings such as “Hello”, “How are you”, “Thank you”,” May I help you” etc. It will help you to overcome your shyness. #### **2. YOU CAN DO THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES TO IMPROVE YOUR NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS:** 1. You should practice formal wear once in a day & try to walk keeping your head high. Keep your walk straight, confident & elegant. Also, practice walking with heels shoes because you might have to wear them in your professional life. 2. Practice body postures in front of the mirror. Notice your body language. Body language should be straight while sitting & shoulders should never be bent. Never sit with crossed legs. Keep hands freely on the lap, front table, or side. 3. Practice basic social engagement exercises. For example, practice to smile in front of the mirror, nodding head when you agree & shake hands while meeting someone. Your hand grip should be firm & friendly. #### **3. YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS WITH THE HELP OF THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES:** 1. Start freewriting every day. Develop the habit of writing a paragraph daily about any topic such as politics, sports, art, world news, history, etc. Write in the language in which you want to get a command. It will help you in developing grammatical command & confidence over the language. English is a common language in most countries. If you want to refines your English writing skills, refer to Wren & Martin’s book. 2. Write inspiring thoughts. Make a notebook and write words, thoughts & quotes that inspire you most. You will make your writing database rich. You can use this notebook to enrich your presentation, article & mail. ## **KEY NOTE #4: EXERCISES TO IMPROVE YOUR INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS** Most exercises of verbal communication can also be used to master your intrapersonal communication skills. Apart from them, the following exercises will also help you to improve your intrapersonal communication skills: - Stop being impulsive & think before you react - Yoga & mediation every day (It will give you peace & calmness that will help you in providing a better understanding of yourself.) - Practice saying positive things to yourself (For example, say yourself “I can do this”, “I am strong”. When you are low in confidence, give yourself the confidence to you by saying positive things) - Never let negative thoughts consume you (Save yourself from negative thoughts. Don’t make low points of your personality to become your weakness.) >_Communication is a skill that you can learn. It is like riding a bicycle or typing of you are willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve every part of your life._ – by Brian Tracy A small child does not know how to ride a bicycle but ultimately he learns through continuous practice. He fails but never gives up. All of us should take learning from this small child that no person is perfect rather its practice that makes a man perfect. You should practice all the above-discussed tips in this video to gain perfection in your communication skills.