Question

How do you assess the need to adjust your interpersonal style to talk with different types of clients or professionals? Provide one example of where your interpersonal style needs to be adjusted to accommodate a client needs. For example, where there is a language difficulty or perhaps difficulty in gaining confidence of a professional or referrer.

Answer 1

Answer:

Introduction: Interpersonal style refers to the skill of communicating in different domains and deliver thoughts or views more effectively and efficiently than a layman. It helps in providing a future prospect. Without interpersonal skills everyday business would be very difficult, since almost all aspects of work involve communication. Many jobs also involve collaboration and interaction with different types of people, and interpersonal skills are vital to make this happen.

Examples of areas of improvement in respect of interpersonal skills are:

Listening sills - Even the best communicators must listen carefully. Failure to listen properly can have disastrous consequences, from failing to follow through on a manager’s instructions to not completing a customer’s request. If you fail to listen, you cannot interpret what has been said and respond appropriately

Self-Confidence - To be successful, it is important to demonstrate self-confidence at every stage of your career, whether you are a graduate looking for an entry position or a more experienced member of the team hoping to secure promotion. Self-confidence at work will improve the way people see you and your views, ideas and opinions will be taken more seriously. Confidence also enables you to deal with challenging situations more effectively and allows you to set and reach new goals.

Work Ethic - Work Ethic can be split into three distinct strands, the first of which is professionalism. This incorporates everything from how you present yourself through to your appearance and the way in which you treat others. The next strand is respectfulness. All workplaces require you to work under pressure at some time or another and exercising grace under stress will earn you more recognition. No matter how short the deadline or how heated things may get, always retain your diplomacy and poise. Whether you are communicating with a difficult customer or trying to collaborate on a complex project fraught with difficulty, do your best to respect everyone’s opinion and understand the value that they bring to the project.

Relationship Management - Building effective relationships is one thing but managing them is something entirely different. This is an important skill in many roles, from junior posts through to management. At every level in a business you will be expected to manage relationships with colleagues, partners and clients to some extent. The ability to manage relationships based on respect for each other and mutual trust is very important within any business environment.

FIGURE 3-1 Model of interpersonal performance.

SOURCE: Stephen Fiore’s presentation. Klein, DeRouin, and Salas (2006). Copyright 2006, Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ASSESSMENT APPROACHES AND ISSUES

One way to assess these skills, Fiore explained, is to look separately at the different components (attitudinal, behavioral, and cognitive). For example, as the model in Figure 3-1 indicates, previous life experiences, such as the opportunities an individual has had to engage in successful and unsuccessful social interactions, can be assessed through reports (e.g., personal statements from applicants or letters of recommendation from prior employers). If such narratives are written in response to specific questions about types of interactions, they may provide indications of the degree to which an applicant has particular skills. However, it is likely to be difficult to distinguish clearly between specific social skills and personality traits, knowledge, and cognitive processes. Moreover, Fiore added, such narratives report on past experience and may not accurately portray how one would behave or respond in future experiences.

The research on teamwork (or collaboration)—a much narrower concept than interpersonal skills—has used questionnaires that ask people to rate themselves and also ask for peer ratings of others on dimensions such as communication, leadership, and self-management. For example, Kantrowitz (2005) collected self-report data on two scales: performance standards for various behaviors, and comparison to others in the subjects’ working groups. Loughry, Ohland, and Moore (2007) asked members of work teams in science and technical contexts to rate one another on five general categories: contribution to the team’s work; interaction with teammates; contribution to keeping the team on track; expectations for quality; and possession of relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Another approach, Fiore noted, is to use situational judgment tests (SJTs), which are multiple-choice assessments of possible reactions to hypothetical teamwork situations to assess capacities for conflict resolution, communication, and coordination, as Stevens and Campion (1999) have done. The researchers were able to demonstrate relationships between these results and both peers’ and supervisors’ ratings and to ratings of job performance. They were also highly correlated to employee aptitude test results.

Yet another approach is direct observation of team interactions. By observing directly, researchers can avoid the potential lack of reliability inherent in self- and peer reports, and can also observe the circumstances in which behaviors occur. For example, Taggar and Brown (2001) developed a set of scales related to conflict resolution, collaborative problem solving, and communication on which people could be rated.

Though each of these approaches involve ways of distinguishing specific aspects of behavior, it is still true, Fiore observed, that there is overlap among the constructs—skills or characteristics—to be measured. In his view, it is worth asking whether it is useful to be “reductionist” in parsing these skills. Perhaps more useful, he suggested, might be to look holistically at the interactions among the facets that contribute to these skills, though means of assessing in that way have yet to be determined. He enumerated some of the key challenges in assessing interpersonal skills.

The first concerns the precision, or degree of granularity, with which interpersonal expertise can be measured. Cognitive scientists have provided models of the progression from novice to expert in more concrete skill areas, he noted.

Another issue is the importance of the context in which assessments of interpersonal skills are administered. By definition, these skills entail some sort of interaction with other people, but much current testing is done in an individualized way that makes it difficult to standardize. Sophisticated technology, such as computer simulations, or even simpler technology can allow for assessment of people’s interactions in a standardized scenario.

ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES

Administrative Assistants

Administrative assistants need to be highly dependable among other interpersonal skills. Administrative assistants also come in contact with customers or clients on a regular basis, making interpersonal skills a necessary function of the job.

How to Deal with a Customer’s Language Barrier

When dealing with a business customer who doesn’t speak English (or doesn’t know much of the language), you can overcome that customer language barrier in a number of ways:

• Show some emotion. Most emotions, such as excitement, joy, fear, frustration, and anger, are universal. Just remember that some cultures are more or less restrained in their expressions, so stay within your customers’ comfort zone. Follow the customer’s lead.
• Slow down, but don’t shout. Even if a customer understands English, different people have different levels of fluency. You may be speaking or introducing new concepts so fast that everything becomes a blur to them. Slow down, but avoid cranking up the volume. Non-English-speaking customers who don’t comprehend your words probably aren’t hearing impaired.
• Draw a picture to communicate an idea. Some people prefer to see things, as opposed to hearing about them, so even the most rudimentary drawing can be much more helpful than trying to repeat your words over and over. Also, finding a picture from a magazine or showing a customer a chart or graph can speak much more clearly than words.
• Show without so much tell. Some people prefer to experience a product for themselves. If possible, let the person try out the product or service.
• Ask for help. If others are around who speak your customer’s language, don’t be shy about asking for their assistance. People who are bilingual are often willing to translate for those who aren’t, whether you’re in a store, office, airport, hotel, or some other location. If you have a bilingual employee, all the better.

• Double-check your customer’s understanding. If you’re unsure whether your client has understood your message try to confirm meanings by asking the question a different way, or having him or her explain information back to you.
• Be patient. The key to overcoming any language barrier is to exercise patience. It’s not your or the customer’s fault that you can’t speak each other’s language.
• Maintain your sense of humor. Overcoming language barriers can be frustrating for you, as well as for your customer. A smile can help break the tension and make communicating easier.

How to Approach Customers with a Friendly Smile

Service with a smile is always important for your business. To every customer you greet, your sincere facial expression should say, “I’m so glad to see you!”

To overcome the fear and trepidation a customer feels, always greet customers with a warm, sincere smile. Don’t be fake about it. A gracious welcome

• Reduces the customer’s fear of the unknown
• Builds trust
• Makes your customer feel good about him- or herself
• Makes your customer feel good about doing business with you

    You can work on your smile and use it during any customer interaction: