6 tips for building interpersonal communication skills

Explore these six tips with different interpersonal communication examples to learn how to better your workplace communication:

Know your goal: Maybe you keep butting heads with a coworker or feel shy sharing your ideas with your manager. Whatever the case, pinpoint your communication goal so you know what you’re working toward and can develop a strategic plan to achieve it.
Practice active listening and empathy: People want to feel listened to when they talk. This shows you care about and understand what they say. And you also retain important information you might need later, like meeting or project details.

You can show your coworkers you care and understand by expressing your empathy toward their situation and actively listening — making eye contact, leaning in, nodding — when they speak.
Be curious: While you’re the center of your internal world, showing interest in your neighbor's situation helps you learn more about them and makes them feel seen.

Be curious about your coworkers’ lives, projects, preferred workspaces, etc. Ask good questions and enjoy more thoughtful and interesting conversations as your coworkers reciprocate your inquisitiveness.
Use clear language: Getting to the point plainly helps avoid confusion. Speaking briefly with deep meaning is a learned skill, but it’s worth the effort.

Vague language can lead to misunderstandings, mistakes, and even arguments. But everyone gets further ahead if a manager or coworker speaks clearly, uses appropriate language, and checks in for understanding throughout the conversation.
Be open to feedback: When you open yourself up to constructive criticism, you foster collaboration and a growth mindset. You learn valuable lessons by trusting those around you, their expertise, and their feedback.
If you close yourself off to this input, you risk losing valuable learning opportunities. Stand up for your ideas, but welcome others’ honest opinions.
Look for common interests: If something fascinates you, it probably intrigues someone else, too. Even if they aren’t, sharing your interests might encourage them to share something about themselves. You never know who you’ll bond with over a favorite productivity platform or weekend activity.