Business Communication

The Role of Self-Concept and Self-Disclosure in Building
Positive Interpersonal Relationships


Both self concept and self disclosure play a vital role in building interpersonal relationships. A positive self concept and appropriate self disclosure can result in strengthened and enhanced relationships, personal, social or professional relationships. Firstly,   the research news source Science Daily (2008) defines interpersonal relationships as social associations, connections or affiliations between two or more people and they tend to vary in different levels of intimacy and sharing. There are many different types of interpersonal relationships that can be developed between two or more people. These include relationships between individuals working together in the same organization or team, relationships between a couple, relationships with family members and relatives and relationships between friends. Additionally, interpersonal communication is a type of communication that involves the interaction between two people on a one-to-one basis or in a small group (Ware & Harrison-Hill, 2014). It is the exchange of information, feelings and meaning between two or more people through verbal and non-verbal communication forms, meaning that interpersonal communication is not just about what is usually said with words and language (verbal communication), but also how it is said and the non-verbal messages sent through our non-verbal communication behavior whether intentional or not, such as vocal qualities (paralanguage) which include the tone and pitch of voice, body movements/body language/body gestures (kinesics), physical characteristics, facial expressions, touching behavior and space/physical distance between the communicators (proximity). The non-verbal communication is essential as sometimes it is more powerful than verbal communication as it can express feelings, emotions, attitudes and reactions more than words.

Self-awareness is how people see themselves,...