Interpersonal Relationship and Self-awareness

Introduction In this essay, we will discuss the importance of self-awareness and other forms of awareness in building quality relationships. Communication plays a vital role in developing any kind of healthy relationship, regardless of what phase the relationship is in. “Ineffective communication causes an interpersonal gap that is experienced in all facets of life and in all sectors of society” (Bolton, 1987, p.4) Communication can be divided into two categories which is verbal and non-verbal. Verbal is the spoken language whereas non-verbal includes gestures, body language and facial expression. Effective communication can be established when this two types of communication complement each other. We will discuss how self-awareness and other-awareness can be applied to heighten the ability in our skill in communication to bridge gaps in a relationship. After all, working on a relationship starts with working on ourselves.
Types of Awareness
Self-awareness is being conscious and being able to connect to our feelings and actions. By accepting and understanding our thoughts and interpretation processes, we will have a clearer picture of what we want to achieve. And this will undoubtedly help in making wise and sound decisions in a relationship. It is just like driving a car! In self-awareness, we have to be in control of our thoughts, speech, emotion and behavior. For driving a car, you would have to be mindful of our foot on the accelerator and brake, our hand grip on the steering wheel and our attention to the oncoming traffic ahead and environment around us. Until you know the mechanism and how to operate the car, then only will you be able to steer towards the intended direction smoothly.
Self-awareness also includes our innate habit of self-disclosure. This helps us to share information with other people to personalize our relationship and at the same time to gain information from others. The interaction is constantly evolving and changing as two people