No matter the circumstances or formality of the conversation, the process of interpersonal
skills and effective interactions are a quintessential part of everyday life. Interpersonal skills
are the means through which all human relationships are initiated, negotiated, maintained,
transformed, and dissolved (Spitzberg & Cubach, 2002). Through the use of vocal and non-
vocal types of communication, a receiver is essentially trying to understand the situation that
the sender is communicating. Interpersonal skills illustrate the importance of receiving a
message without it losing its sentiment (Interpersonal Skills, 2018), however the complexities
and wide array of interpersonal skills make it challenging to demonstrate all these skills
naturally. The video provided for this essay discerningly showcases a conversation where
interpersonal skills are demonstrated, with some of these skills being used effectively and
some ineffectively from both the receiver and the listener. In particular, Polly’s (the listener
in the video) communication with Sandra shall be analysed through her verbal and non-verbal
responses in the 1st and 2nd person and how she has utilised several interpersonal skills that
impacted the interaction with Sandra. Additionally, suggestions will be planned for
improvements in the future.
Studies have been completed which showcased that the majority of the time that we interact
with others, is spent by nonverbal communication rather than speech. Hence, active listening
and efficient interpersonal skills require appropriate nonverbal behaviour and reactions to the
body language of the person they are interacting with (Beebe & Beebe, 2017). In terms of
non-verbal behaviours, Polly demonstrates the majority of the aspects SOLER (squarely,
open, lean forward, eye contact, relax) identified by Egan (2018) in the beginning of the
video, however as the conversation begins to escalate, Polly stops using some of the
characteristics found in SOLER. At the beginning of the interaction, Polly is sitting squarely
which makes the interaction a lot less confronting and makes Sandra feel much more
, comfortable. She additionally has uncrossed arms and legs and maintains good eye contact,
which further illustrate that she is actively involved in the conversation and is displaying a
response of interest. The importance of sustaining good eye contact shows that the listener is
being attentive and is interested in what the sender is saying (Buon, 2015). However, Polly
does not illustrate some forms of SOLER as she looks very tense as well as having her
shoulders back which comes off as threatening, which send mixed messages to Sandra. Polly
not only shows some forms of SOLER, but she effectively uses minimal encouragers such as
“mmm” and “right” which allows Sandra to understand that she has been heard and that Polly
is following what she is saying even though it doesn’t necessarily show either agreement or
disagreement. According to Goldin-Meadow & Alibali (2012), hand gestures are an essential
part of human communication and can serve as a reflection of what the speaker is explaining
and can additionally illustrate thoughts that the speaker themselves do not even know
themselves. Polly effectively uses hand gestures to emphasise the important aspects of what
she has to say and further reiterate her points. Although her use of minimal encouragers is
effective at the beginning of the interaction, these quickly become more dismissive with
Polly often relating back with an indifferent “yep” emphasising the fact that Sandra is not
being heard. Despite her use of some of the SOLER characteristics and her use of minimal
encouragers at the beginning, Polly fails to use body language in a positive way by the end of
the interaction. This can be seen when she is scratching her head, raising her eyebrows,
taking very large breaths and has her lips tightly sealed, these all create a sense of hostility
between Sandra and herself, which fails to allow for the conversation to continue. Similarly
to Polly, I usually tend to make people feel like I am engaged in the conversation by
constantly using well-timed and appropriate minimal encouragers, however unlike Polly,
when I am dealing with a conversation where I might be getting critiqued or I’m critiquing
someone else, I usually still try to use minimal encouragers that showcase that even if I’m not
skills and effective interactions are a quintessential part of everyday life. Interpersonal skills
are the means through which all human relationships are initiated, negotiated, maintained,
transformed, and dissolved (Spitzberg & Cubach, 2002). Through the use of vocal and non-
vocal types of communication, a receiver is essentially trying to understand the situation that
the sender is communicating. Interpersonal skills illustrate the importance of receiving a
message without it losing its sentiment (Interpersonal Skills, 2018), however the complexities
and wide array of interpersonal skills make it challenging to demonstrate all these skills
naturally. The video provided for this essay discerningly showcases a conversation where
interpersonal skills are demonstrated, with some of these skills being used effectively and
some ineffectively from both the receiver and the listener. In particular, Polly’s (the listener
in the video) communication with Sandra shall be analysed through her verbal and non-verbal
responses in the 1st and 2nd person and how she has utilised several interpersonal skills that
impacted the interaction with Sandra. Additionally, suggestions will be planned for
improvements in the future.
Studies have been completed which showcased that the majority of the time that we interact
with others, is spent by nonverbal communication rather than speech. Hence, active listening
and efficient interpersonal skills require appropriate nonverbal behaviour and reactions to the
body language of the person they are interacting with (Beebe & Beebe, 2017). In terms of
non-verbal behaviours, Polly demonstrates the majority of the aspects SOLER (squarely,
open, lean forward, eye contact, relax) identified by Egan (2018) in the beginning of the
video, however as the conversation begins to escalate, Polly stops using some of the
characteristics found in SOLER. At the beginning of the interaction, Polly is sitting squarely
which makes the interaction a lot less confronting and makes Sandra feel much more
, comfortable. She additionally has uncrossed arms and legs and maintains good eye contact,
which further illustrate that she is actively involved in the conversation and is displaying a
response of interest. The importance of sustaining good eye contact shows that the listener is
being attentive and is interested in what the sender is saying (Buon, 2015). However, Polly
does not illustrate some forms of SOLER as she looks very tense as well as having her
shoulders back which comes off as threatening, which send mixed messages to Sandra. Polly
not only shows some forms of SOLER, but she effectively uses minimal encouragers such as
“mmm” and “right” which allows Sandra to understand that she has been heard and that Polly
is following what she is saying even though it doesn’t necessarily show either agreement or
disagreement. According to Goldin-Meadow & Alibali (2012), hand gestures are an essential
part of human communication and can serve as a reflection of what the speaker is explaining
and can additionally illustrate thoughts that the speaker themselves do not even know
themselves. Polly effectively uses hand gestures to emphasise the important aspects of what
she has to say and further reiterate her points. Although her use of minimal encouragers is
effective at the beginning of the interaction, these quickly become more dismissive with
Polly often relating back with an indifferent “yep” emphasising the fact that Sandra is not
being heard. Despite her use of some of the SOLER characteristics and her use of minimal
encouragers at the beginning, Polly fails to use body language in a positive way by the end of
the interaction. This can be seen when she is scratching her head, raising her eyebrows,
taking very large breaths and has her lips tightly sealed, these all create a sense of hostility
between Sandra and herself, which fails to allow for the conversation to continue. Similarly
to Polly, I usually tend to make people feel like I am engaged in the conversation by
constantly using well-timed and appropriate minimal encouragers, however unlike Polly,
when I am dealing with a conversation where I might be getting critiqued or I’m critiquing
someone else, I usually still try to use minimal encouragers that showcase that even if I’m not
