Interpersonal Relationships

Communication is a very important part of our everyday lives and our futures. Being able to communicate effectively makes all the difference when trying to carry a conversation or when presenting a new idea to your employer. Effective communication is when all the parties involved in the discussion understand what the communicator is trying to express. Effective communication is a very big part of interpersonal relationships. An interpersonal relationship can be that of lovers, friends or coworkers. An interpersonal relationship consists of sharing ideas and emotions as well as working together towards goals.
Interpersonal relationships can either be defensive or supportive. I find myself being both very many times because I can see things in all different aspects. I try to put myself in the persons shoes in order to determine what would be best in my eyes, A supportive relationship is one where you back up the persons ideas and actions. I believe a manager must always have a supportive relationship with their boss in order to enforce rules in the workplace. If the manager does not enforce their supervisor’s rules then things would go very wrong. A defensive relationship is something we see very often because we all have different opinions. In the workplace especially when working in the healthcare field being defensive can be mistaken for aggression. Having a defensive relationship means that although you work together you have different views and they are expressed. I had a meeting last week where I actually had to speak defensively towards the CEO of the company. Our quota was being held against us in a manner that I did not agree with and I advised the manager. Since she did not acknowledge my suggestion I brought it up in our meeting and not only was I acknowledged our quotas are being reviewed.
Part of being a successful communicator whether it is defensive or supportive is being assertive. Being assertive is essential in our daily lives especially in the