Teaching Interpersonal Communication in a Business Communication Course

To communicate effectively, to understand and to be understood, is a set of skills to be learned and practiced.

When the pressure is on, why do we sometimes fail to live up to our potential? Cognitive scientist and Barnard College president Sian Leah Beilock reveals what happens in your brain and body when you choke in stressful situations, sharing psychological tools that can help you perform at your best when it matters most.

"If you can move beyond the boring basics when you’re asked “What do you do?," you’ll set yourself up for new relationships, opportunities and revelations, says introduction expert Joanna Bloor."

Whether you're excited or nervous to introduce yourself, make a better first impression by avoiding these mistakes.

Listening skills are essential to leadership that’s responsive, attentive and empathetic. Here’s how to sharpen yours."

A popular school of thought, dramatized in the recent TV drama Lie to Me, is that a careful study of facial expressions—especially eye movements—tells investigators if a perp is dissembling. Reality is neither as dramatic nor as decisive. Even experienced investigators average only about a 65 percent success rate, according to researchers. Could computers do a better job?

"Researchers at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (U.B.), claim their video-analysis software can analyze eye movement successfully to identify whether or not a subject is fibbing 82.5 percent of the time." . . .

When it comes to success, it's easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to leave the rest of us in the dust, but social psychologist Amy Cuddy knows first-hand how attitude can outweigh IQ.

"Test your interpersonal skills. Assessment is for listening skills, emotional intelligence, verbal communication, and how well you work in a group situation."

A request plus a reason greatly increases your odds of getting a yes.

"It is possible for meetings to be effective and efficient. In fact, you can actually structure and run meetings that people are excited to attend. But it takes preparation, a smooth preamble, and effective paraphrasing. In other words, you need to be mindful of the 3 P’s."

"Successful persuasion requires intellectual heavy lifting. Understanding your target, knowing how to increase the value of your offering, choosing the right words and determining the timing of your persuasive efforts all are prerequisites of effective persuasion."

Psychologists have identified the driving force behind malevolent tendencies like psychopathy, narcissism, egoism, sadism, spitefulness, and more.

We should use tech to unlock and enable conversation for better communication, not discourage it.

According to new research, we shy away from writing thank-you notes because we believe they won't be received as positively as they actually are.

Tips from a comedian and a journalist on the art of going from small talk to big ideas. Try these out at the next summer wedding reception.

'You can almost hear the clock ticking in the background. The deadline for your presentation is just minutes away and you are nowhere close to finishing it. The reason? A talkative colleague who loves sharing his stories with you and being in the limelight just won't quit! He is done for the day and decides to visit you and share a bit of his day with you, failing to pay heed to the presentation slides open on your computer.

We face such people everyday – be it in the driveway to the office, in the lobby, during lunch break, or even in more formal settings like a meeting or negotiation. The question then is: how do you tell such people that you are no longer interested in what they have to say or that it is someone else's turn to make a point?

A team of researchers has successfully achieved brain-to-brain human communication using non-invasive technologies across a distance of 5,000 miles.

"Studies suggest there are a few simple ways to make yourself more likable. These strategies can come in handy for everything from friendships to job interviews."

Communication is critical to success in business and life."

Body language plays a crucial role in our daily lives, whether we know it or not.

From casual interactions with strangers to more formal exchanges with colleagues; we can reveal to people what we’re all about (or not about) with just a few simple gestures.

For confident and successful people, positive body language tends to be part of their make-up but for others, a bit of gentle reminding may be required.

Too much or too little eye contact are both inappropriate.