Interpersonal communication means the communication that takes place between two
people who may or may not have known each other over the course of time. In our day to day lives communication forms the most essential part through which we can connect to the world around. Interpersonal communication takes place all the time, throughout the day. We cannot stay without communicating. Even when we do not say anything, the silence speaks for itself. Our behavior, gestures, facial expressions etc. constantly communicate. So even when you are not talking you are communicating. This shows that communication is inescapable.
Interpersonal communication is irreversible. Once the word is out of your mouth, it cannot be swallowed back. So one should make sure that whatever one blurts out from the mouth it should be done with deliberation. Also what makes interpersonal communication more complicated is that it is always in contextual. For example a communication that takes place in a church would be very different from that taking place in a carnival. Also the behavior and the gestures of the person would change accordingly.
Not only the content but also the culture to which a person belongs defines the course of the communication. A person from Spain would interpersonal communication in a manner that is different from that of a person from Portugal. Also the psychology of the person plays an important role in defining the content of the conversation. A person who is high in spirits would communicate in a tone and manner that is different from those who are going through a bad phase in their life. This leads to a mismatch of intent when two people are talking who have varied aspirations.
Words can also have more than one meaning. A sentence said by someone may imply something else for somebody else. To make things clear one needs to make sure that the interpersonal skills to communicate thoughts are used judiciously so that no scope of misunderstanding is left. What we say should always match with what we intend to say.
Another aspect of interpersonal communication is with whom is the communication being done with. When talking to your closest confidant, the manner of conversing is different to that used when you are conversing with your boss or any other person in a party. The mannerism of a person shows stark difference when dealing with different people and this does not take much time to switch.
The other aspect of interpersonal communication is how well we are able to express our emotions. The emotions can be expressed with the help of gestures, expressions, and voice modulation etc. which all form part of the body language of a person. So all in all interpersonal communication is not just what we speak but how we speak and to whom are we talking to.