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The communication competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to use all the modes of transmitting, understanding, and receiving ideas, thoughts, and feelings--verbal, listening, nonverbal, written, electronic, and the like--for accurately transferring and exchanging information and emotions.
Effective interpersonal relations with coworkers are likely to be most strongly influenced by direct, face-to-face interactions, (although written and electronic communications may influence them to a lesser extent).
The key KSAs of the communication competency that are most likely to influence outcomes in direct, face-to-face interactions are:
(1) using verbal communication effectively;
(2) using nonverbal communication effectively, (including the empathizing skill, which refers to detecting and understanding another person's values, motives, and emotions);
(3) conveying information, ideas, and emotions to others in such a way that they are received as intended (requiring use of the describing skill to identify concrete, specific examples of behavior and its effects);
(4) engaging in effective active listening, which is the process of integrating informational and emotional inputs in a search for shared meaning and understanding, and requires the use of the questioning skill (the ability to ask for information and opinions in a way that gets relevant, honest, and appropriate responses).
The questioning skill helps to bring relevant information and emotions into the dialogue and reduce misunderstandings, regardless of whether the parties agree.
The empathizing skill helps to reduce tension and increase trust and sharing. Taken together, all of the above-described components of the communication competency are likely to promote more effective interpersonal relationships.
