What Do You Believe about Interpersonal Communication?

Good communicators are born, not made.

Answer explanation

Effective communication is a learned skill; although some people are born brighter or more extroverted, all can improve their abilities and become more effective communicators.

The more you communicate, the better at it you will be.

Answer explanation

It is not the amount of communication people engage in but the quality that matters; if you practice bad habits, you're more likely to grow less effective than more effective, so it's important to learn and follow the principles of effectivemess (Greene, 2003; Greene & Burleson, 2003).

In your interpersonal communications, a good guide to follow is to be as open, emphatic, and supportive as you can be.

Answer explanation

Each interpersonal situation is unique, and therefore the type of communication appropriate in one situation may not be appropriate in another.

The best guide to follow when communicating with perople from other cultures is to ignore differences and treat the other person just as you'd treat members of your own culture.

Answer explanation

The assumption will probably get you into considerable trouble, because people from different cultures will often attribute different meanings to a message, members of different cultures also follow different rules for what is and is not appropriate in interpesonal communication.

Fear of meeting new people is detrimental and must be eliminated

Answer explanation

Many people are nervous about meeting new people, especially if these are people in authority; managing, not eliminating, the fear will enable you to become effective regardless of your current level of fear.

When there is conflict, your relationship is in trouble.

Answer explanation

All meaningful relationships experience conflict; relationships are not in trouble when there is conflict, though dealing with conflict ineffectively can often damage the relationship.