Interpersonal
Communication
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Meeting People. Who am I?
• ‘I am not what I think I am.
• I am not what you think I am.
• I am what I think you think I am.’
• Greetings and Introductions.
2
Meeting someone new…
• Formal vs Informal
• Introducing yourself
• Introducing others:
– Say the name of the
person of authority or
importance, higher ranking,
older, new, client,
woman FIRST
– Say each person’s name
ONCE
– Add a little information
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Your response?
• Stand up
• Listen carefully for the
name. Repeat the
name to ensure you
heard it and said it
correctly.
• Smile, establish eye
contact, move towards
the person
4
Greeting someone you haven’t met before:
• How do you do?
• How do you do?
• Pleased to meet you.
• Pleased to meet you, too.
5
Tips on Introducing Others:
• 1. Mention the name of the person of
authority or importance, regardless of
gender, first.
• 2. You only have to say each person’s
name once.
• 3. If you can, add some information about
each person.
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Do you know who to introduce first?
• Younger person to older person (use older
person’s last & younger person’s first
name)
• Peer in your firm to outsider
• Non-official person to official person
• Junior executive to senior executive
• Company executive to customer or client
• Man to woman
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What do you do when you are being
introduced?
• Stand up.
• Move toward the person, establish eye contact,
look pleasant or smile.
• Greet the other person and repeat his/her name.
Mentioning the name has the advantage of
reinforcing the person’s name in your memory
and adding a touch of friendliness and to show
that you are interested. Extend your hands for a
handshake.
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Stages in a Conversation
• Opening
• Middle
• Closing
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Opening
• Self-introduction
• Make a statement, or a statement
followed by a question.
• Questions can be asked about the
other person, the situation, or current
events.
• A pleasant self-disclosure
• Offering help
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True or False.
a) There are four stages in a conversation:
opening, preamble, body and closing.
b) To start a conversation, you need to have an
opening line or what is termed an “icebreaker”.
c) The best kind of icebreaker should be attentiongrabbing e.g. “I’m a serial killer”.
d) To begin a conversation, we can start with a
statement about a situation, weather, current
news event or about the other person.
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True or False.
•
•
Appropriate self-disclosure means sharing
biological data, personal ideas and information.
To encourage conversation, we should ask only
closed-ended questions.
•
A good way of starting a conversation is to offer help.
•
It is quite safe to talk about topics like movies,
travel and books.
To be popular quickly, one should quickly
disclose as much personal details about
yourself as possible.
•
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Right Topics for Conversations
• Which topic is safe to start a conversation
with? Which topic should one avoid?
• Check whether you are savvy when it
comes to choosing the right topic to make
small talk with.
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Keeping a Conversation Going
• Questions to draw the other person out
• Having something interesting to talk
about yourself
• Be a good observer & listener
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Ending a Conversation
• It is important to end the conversation
warmly so that both parties feel good
about the exchange that has taken place.
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“Ladies and Gentlemen!”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The person sitting next to
you on the airplane
David Beckham queues
behind you at a food junction
Fiona Xie comes to your
cousin’s BBQ
Your eye candy waiting at
the bus-stop
The boss’s wife sits next to
you at the dinner
…anything else you can
think of?
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Conversation Checklist
•
•
•
•
Did I smile at appropriate times?
Was my smile genuine?
Was my body language open?
Was I careful not to cross my arms in a
defensive posture?
• Did I move and lean toward people rather
than back away?
• Was my voice enthusiastic?
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Conversation Checklist
• Did I sound interested in others?
• Did I look at people approximately 80% of
the time?
• Did I avoid eye jumping (being shifty-eyed)
or staring?
• Did I periodically nod or look as if I a
• greed?
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6 ways to improve your Conversational
Skills:
• When new person joins conversation, draw him in by mentioning the
subject of discussion/ i.e. include third person in the conversation.
•
Accept sincere compliments graciously with a “Thank you”.
• If someone asks you whether you like bowling, don’t just say “No”.
• When in the company of others, avoid speaking about a mutual
friend or a private matter of which the third party has no knowledge.
• Avoid all slang and bad language.
• Be comfortable with some silence. No need to talk all the time.
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Words and
Phrases to
AVOID
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Foul
Language
Sexist
Language
Rudely
disagreeing
with others
Bodily
imperfections
or dress
sense
Racist
statements,
references to
class, religion,
disability
Pretentious
language
Slang
Jargon
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Words and
Phrases that
Should Not
Be Forgotten
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P’s & Q’s
“Right on, partner!”
Remember a
previous
conversation
topic or event
“WOW!
Alright!”
“Thought u’d
NEVER ask!”
Compliments
“I guess so”
Decline
politely
“When looking at faults,
use a mirror, not a
telescope”
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Words and Phrases that Should Not Be
Forgotten:
• Name of the person to whom you are
speaking
• Statements of agreement
• Requests for advice or assistance
• Statements or questions that refer to a
previous conversation or event
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Expressing Politeness
•
To request someone to do something or
suggest to her or him to do something
•
•
•
•
To show the speaker’s involvement
To say ‘Yes’ politely
Saying ‘Yes’ to a request
Saying ‘Yes’ to an offer or invitation
•
•
To say ‘No’ politely
To give positive criticism
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TELEPHONE
CONVERSATIONS
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Answering a call
Making a call
Picking up a second line
Taking messages
Leaving messages
International calls
Bad connections
Nonverbal elements
Hanging up
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Things you should note down when
taking a message:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Name of person caller is looking for
Name of caller
Contact number/s of caller
Date of call
Time of call
Brief message if any.
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Leaving messages on an automated voice
system
•
•
•
•
•
Speak clearly and slowly
State clearly whom your message is for
State your name clearly
State your contact number/s
State your message clearly and briefly. Do not
leave long, complicated messages as the
message may get cut off if time on the voicemail
runs out.
• Any other important details
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Non-verbal elements in Telephone
Conversations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
VOICE QUALITY
Friendly. Smiles can be communicated through your
voice even if the other person is not able to see you.
Always be mindful of your facial expressions.
TONE
Energetic, enthusiastic and even.
RATE.
VOLUME.
PITCH
High-pitched voices are unpleasant. Low-pitched voices
may come across muffled.
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Activity
• Read the following situations. In
groups of threes or fours, discuss
• a) what is wrong with the current
situation
• b) and ways to improve the situation.
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Activity
• You and Sally are having an intimate
conversation about your old
secondary schoolmates. Mei Ling,
your new coursemate, joins you. After
saying “hi” to her, you continue your
conversation with Sally. After a while,
Mei Ling walks away.
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Activity
• You have spent days finishing a detailed report
for your boss. Half an hour after you have
submitted the report, your boss asks to see you.
Before you even close the office door, your boss
screams at you and tells you your report is the
worst he has ever read and he cannot believe
he hired you. Then he answers the phone and
waves you away with an impatient wave of his
hand.
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Assignment 3: Individual Presentation
To be done in Week 12 (4 July 2012)-30m
• Objectives:
• 1. To reinforce a greater understanding and
awareness of useful aspects in interpersonal
communication.
• 2. To develop students’ confidence in giving a
presentation.
• 3. To foster enjoyment of communication skills
through students’ creative exploration and
conveying of ideas.
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Description:
• 1. Prepare an individual 3-minute presentation on any
one of the following topics:
• a. Words Hurt
• b. Your Body Speaks
• c. Listening with your Heart
• d. The Art of Conversation
• e. Politeness is more than “Please” and “Thank You”
• 2. You can use PowerPoint slides to help in your
presentation.
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Description:
• 3. Reinforce the key message in your presentation with a
self-created original final product. You are given a
maximum of 2 minutes to explain and present your
final product. Your final product can be:
• (a) a video clip reflecting the theme of the chosen
concept
• (b) poster(s)
• (c) comic strip(s): can be drawn on paper or other media.
• (d) song(s): can be sung in class or recorded and
presented in class. Lyrics must be shown.
• Other ideas for final product? Discuss it with your tutor.
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Description:
• 4. Convince your audience on the relevance and
importance of the issue/ concept.
• 5. Besides course notes on “Communication Process”
and “Interpersonal Communication”, include additional
information from your own research. A bibliography of
your sources of information is necessary. To make your
presentation more meaningful and interesting, you
should narrate a little story, give some examples or
share some personal experiences.
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Some important areas to note as you
prepare for this assignment:
• a. Structure of Presentation: Is the presentation well
planned and organised?
• b. Content of Presentation: Are there enough facts and
research done?
• c. Delivery: Are you merely reading from script and
PowerPoint slides with little eye contact with audience?
Did you start and end your presentation in an interesting
manner? Is your tone too monotonous?
• d. Visual Aids: Are your slides too cluttered with lengthy
sentences?
• e. Final Product: Did you take time and effort to create
it? Does it support your central message?
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