Sources of Communication Information & Training

Why Interpersonal Effectiveness Training May Be Worth a Try

Corporate culture, especially including the relationships workers at your company forge with one another, matters, according to a study released last week by the Highlands Ranch, Colo.-based workplace performance consultancy The Tracom Group.

Interpersonal Effectiveness Training (IET), or the ability to create productive interactions and maintain positive working relationships is worth it, according to findings based on a fall 2005 survey of training executives from 100 U.S. companies. The participating companies, which all had familiarity with IET, were randomly selected from an independent list of training and human resources executives. Only one person was interviewed from each company, and the companies had an average of 50,000 employees and $8.7 billion in sales.

Trainers have faith in this form of development, the study shows. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed believe IET works, and more than 94 percent confirm the importance of it in building and maintaining co-worker relationships, communicating effectively, managing conflict and retaining valued employees.

Companies should pay attention to how IET is administered, though. Ninety-five percent would rather have multi-rater feedback from others and a self-rating of a participant rather than a self-rating profile alone. Eighty-six percent of those who have already implemented IET integrate it into broader programs, while 39 percent offer it as a stand-alone class.

For a full summary of the study, visit www.socialstyle.com.

What is Interpersonal Communication?

Almost every problem, every conflict and every misunderstanding has at its most basic level an interpersonal communication problem. So, what is interpersonal communication? If you serious in your quest, you can dowload, read, print and evaluate yourself in this 18-page self-evaluation guide of interpersonal communication.

Communication researchers have developed this introductory training guide to help you realize what kind of communication ctyles you give out as a Sender and Receiver of communication information in your daily work and home life. The document details how to eliminate the barriers to effective communication in your life, by showing you how you might come across in your communcation. We communicate in order to:

• Get acquainted
• Express emotions to others
• Share information
• Persuade others to understand our personal views
• Build relationships

You can dowload a PDF version of this document by clicking here: Interpersonal Communication Guide