‘Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Communication’ is a course that will provide you with an understanding of effective communication in the workplace. The course begins with an introduction to the intrapersonal and interpersonal forms of communication, where it provides thorough descriptions of both forms of communication by highlighting scenarios where they apply in real life. You will learn about the uncertainty theory and its relevance in interpersonal communication. Afterward, you will learn about self-concept and the different dimensions of self as proposed by Luft and Ingram. Here, you will learn about the connecting elements involved in the self-definition process, like self-reflection, and how these connecting elements affect the overall communication process. You will learn about interpersonal needs as a component of human nature fulfilled by the process of communication. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is employed using real-life workplace scenarios to illustrate the interpersonal needs of individuals. Like many other things, effective interpersonal communication is a process that is often achieved through persistent effort and time, and this process is supported by the theory of social penetration. You will learn about the social penetration theory and self-disclosure as part of this course.

The course further delves into the rituals of conversation, where it places focus on the parts of a conversation. You will learn explicitly about the initiation, preview, talking point, feedback and closing stages of a conversation and the best practices for each. You will then learn about employment interviews where you will discover the best practices for handling the preparation, performance and post-performance phases of an employment interview, both as a potential employee and an employer. As professional communicators, we can acknowledge and anticipate that conflict will be present in every context or environment where communication occurs, and the workplace is no exception. In this course, you will learn about some of the principles in managing conflicts in the workplace. You will learn about specific approaches like avoidance, defensiveness, face-detracting, gunny sacking and others. Another area covered explicitly in this course is the concept of evaluation and criticism in the workplace. With this topic, you will learn about how to properly engage in communications that are aimed at evaluating or criticizing you in the workplace, both on a physical and psychological level.

Effective communication is undoubtedly an essential tool to human existence and co-existence. Human needs are, in one way or the other, attended to through the process of communication, and effective communication only means that these needs are effectively met. The workplace is one area where this effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of communication proves hugely consequential, as it is one place where individuals with different value systems and self-concepts interface on a daily. Organizations must develop structures and an environment where effective communication thrives, and the same applies to the individual. Effective communication can improve how individuals handle disagreements and misunderstandings and consequently meet their human needs. This course will teach you how to examine your self-concept – how you communicate with yourself. You will also examine how you communicate with others – your interpersonal communication habits – and learn how those characteristics can be explained by the social penetration theory and predicted by rituals associated with human interaction and conversation. With a rich blend of additional course resources and engaging exercises, this course promises adequate learning on the topic of interpersonal and intrapersonal communication in the workplace. Be sure to enrol today to improve your communication skills in the workplace.