Interpersonal Communications

8 Pages 2002 Words

When people think about interpersonal communication they tend to only think about the words that are spoken. Interpersonal Communication (IC) as defined by the book is communication between two persons or among a small group of people who have an established relationship. IC is more then just the words spoken, it’s how the words are perceived, what the words are trying to tell you, and how the words are spoken. When trying to get a clear meaning of IC you have to break it down into smaller meanings. I’ve seen it broken into 14 different subheadings. Today I’ll mainly focus on Self-Disclosure, Listening and Conflict.
Self-Disclosure is the process of revealing something about yourself to another, generally information you’d normally keep hidden. Information disclosed could be about your behaviors, values, beliefs, desires or self-qualities. Sometimes self-disclosure can be as simple as sharing a story with a stranager at a doctor’s office. Generally it’s a process that is developed over time with other person.
Things like who we are, the culture you live in, gender, the listeners and topics being disclosed determines who, when, where and how much we disclose. Extrovert people are more likely to self-disclose then those who don’t like speaking. Depending on where you’re from, disclosing one’s feeling could be perceived as weak. No matter what culture or gender we are more like to disclose information on hobbies, attitudes, interest, and opinion on religion then we are on sex, personalities, or relationships.
Research has supported the poplar stereotype that men and women disclose information differently. Women disclose more intimately with other women then with other men. Women are more likely to share such information like greatest fears, current or past relationship issues and likes or dislikes in a relationship. Men think that if they self-disclose they’ll be looked as not being in control. Whe...