Do you know when you can just tell that someone is in a bad mood just by their expression even if they have not said a word to indicate that they are in a bad mood? It’s the little things that give them away like their expression, that you are sensitively capturing. Or even if their expression is not betraying their current state, it could be the way that they are behaving, showing that they’re in survival mode. If it is someone you know well, then you can easily tell by their behavior having been altered from their usual behavior. How can noticing such things be useful and meaningful for us?
There are many non-verbal cues that we as humans can tend to give out to indicate the current emotional or mental state that we are in. Even if it’s a complete stranger, we can tend to pick up on subliminal hints through the way that they are acting, the words that they are speaking, the way that they are speaking, the tone they employ while speaking, the facial expression they have, among other non-verbal cues. In fact, body language accounts for 55% of communication between people.
You are able to tell a lot about a person you’ve just met, given that you are paying attention to all of these cues being presented by that person, whether they are doing it intentionally or unintentionally. The ability to correctly assess and understand information about them without having been directly presented with it is a little concept (it’s actually quite a big concept) known as Interpersonal Sensitivity.
Where some individuals are more attuned to have a higher level of interpersonally sensitive, others are lesser, owing to the different kinds and lengths of experiences that the individual has with others, and the natural personality traits. It can be easily understood as to why people would deem it as a very useful skill to be able to assess more with less more accurately. You may be able to comfort your friend better, be there for them in a more meaningful way, be able to tell if someone is trying to wrong you among the very many other useful results that a high level of interpersonal sensitivity can help you achieve. Would you like to be able to ‘read’ people?
Importance Of Interpersonal Sensitivity
Why is interpersonal sensitivity critical to an overall approach of a human that is driven towards a life of betterment and success? Does it really have a substantial effect on promoting the wellbeing of an individual? The short answer is yes. We’ll go into detail about how that comes to be. If we look at just the surface of the concept of interpersonal sensitivity, we’ll begin to understand that this concept that revolves around understanding the traits and habits of those around you, might be difficult to achieve for some, but it is definitely worthwhile taking the time and energy to practice it, as the rewards are tremendous.
Interpersonal Sensitivity’s Impact On Relationships
It is said that interpersonal sensitivity is key to forming and maintaining meaningful relationships with other individuals. Now if you are a loner and you don’t want to have people in your life that care about you and take an interest in you beyond a superficial end or an ulterior motive, then you don’t need to worry about interpersonal sensitivity to aid you in forming and maintaining meaningful relationships.
But if you are like the majority of the world that strives towards that very goal with the utmost commitment, then it is quite essential to be able to know and assess their true feelings and mental state at any given time. Interpersonal sensitivity is so useful because at the end of the day it helps you to understand and communicate better with other people. And that is especially true when people are trying to hide some aspects of themselves from you, as you better understand how you should or should not act in different situations and moments.
Every individual person has their own unique characteristics, flaws, and qualities, and all of these characteristics, flaws, and qualities, are what our society is comprised by. This collectivism is a reflection of every person, and when you have the ability to better understand a single individual, you have a lot better chance of living in harmony and peace in the society you’re living in, in general, and connect with anyone much more easily.
But is interpersonal sensitivity only important with regards to the role it plays in bringing us closer to finding a good friend or a loving spouse? As we saw that our entire environment is built by people’s characteristics, flaws, and qualities, we can deduce that it plays a much larger role than that. It has an effect on very basic elements as well as larger ones, like healthcare, career, self-actualization, and so many other fields. Let’s take a look at the impact that interpersonal sensitivity positively impacts on these specific domains, of career, healthcare, and self-actualization in a person’s life.
Impact Of Interpersonal Sensitivity On Your Health
Our modern health system is operating by big teams of doctors, nurses, and researchers, and our healthcare system is heavily relying on the skill of interpersonal sensitivity. If doctors are not able to communicate with the patients in a manner that is acceptable to them, they run the risk of their healthcare being compromised, and if patients are not able to communicate freely with their healthcare providers, the same situation is likely to prevail.
This communication gap’s negative effects can be highly amplified when it comes to dealing with patients that are mentally ill. Those with psychological issues are known to close up very easily when they are feeling threatened in any way, making it harder for other people to understand them, making it harder for them to cope with their problems, live a balanced lifestyle, and contribute to society.
If patients are unable to feel comfortable with regards to sharing and communicating what their issue is then the healthcare they receive is naturally hindered. In extreme cases, it can also permanently damage the relationship between the healthcare providers with their patient as communication which is undoubtedly the key to their future wellbeing, will not be able to be established.
There have been so many cases of terminally ill patients that have been able to recover due to the emotional strength that they were able to muster up. On the contrary, those who are psychologically fragile are seen to have their physical deterioration accelerated because of their emotional and mental states. As such, it is imperative that these patients be handled with the utmost care so that there is no compromise on the communication between the healthcare provider and the patient.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case, as some physicians and nurses are lacking interpersonal sensitivity, that is so needed amongst these patients.
Impact Of Interpersonal Sensitivity On Your Career
Caring about your career is not simply based on caring for how much money one makes. It does not necessarily have to indicate a materialistic objective. Careers are essential to driving society forward, as having someone be passionate about their career is not a drawback in any way, as it will ultimately further the advancement of society as a small cog in the big machine.
Similar to the way that interpersonal sensitivity aids humans in establishing meaningful relationships and better healthcare, effective communication is the byproduct of that interpersonal sensitivity when aimed towards your career as well. The successful relationships formed between coworkers will promote the successful exchange of ideas and skills which in turn will promote the overall success of the business or organization that they are all a part of.
Having a culture of inclusivity, where coworkers treat each other with respect and value one another’s voices, is necessary for a workplace, in order to have their employees feeling like they look forward to their work instead of dreading it. A workplace where the employees feel appreciated for the input they have to offer, will have them be more dedicated towards the cause of the business along with them actively pursuing ideas and ways to make the company that they work for thrive.
This importance of interpersonal sensitivity is so highlighted in today’s business environment that is more competitive than ever, given the fact that your competition is global, and given the economy and markets that are in the constant search for next promising venture or product. The result of this race is stress, that is toxic for relationships between people who work together.
If you are sensitive enough to not only see your own dead-lines and goals, and able to see the other person, whether it’s your boss, your colleague, your supplier, or the client you’re trying to acquire, you are providing more value to everybody. You not only see them as factors in your equation, rather than people that you can cooperate with, and build a relationships that is built on mutual contribution to each other.
When you are sensitive to others’ needs and feelings people are feeling more comfortable and the entire atmosphere is better, when without even noticing people feel that they can be authentic and show who they really are. This reduces so much competitiveness and stress, enabling trust and goodwill to pave the way you are operating together, throughout the entire chain of value in your business environment.
Impact Of Interpersonal Sensitivity On Your Self-Actualization
When you are sensitive to other people you understand them better, understand better who they are and what are their needs. And when you decide to treat them with compassion and care, this is the moment when you are closer to self actualizing yourself and fulfil your purpose, whatever that may be for you. Why is that so?
When you are only focusing only on what you need, what you ‘must have’, what you ‘deserve and entitled’ to have, you are signaling that you don’t have whatever it is that you are looking for. A person that has nothing to give can’t give anything to anyone. A person who has a lot, have more than enough that he or she can share with others.
Therefore, when you are able to dedicate your attention and care towards someone else, it means that you are abundant. You are not looking for anything, because your mindset is already where it should be. An abundance of love comes from within, abundance of any kind comes from within. And when you have enough for yourself, the act of giving to others is what signifies that, signifies that you have a lot.
This act and presentation of wealth and abundance can be achieved in many forms, and interpersonal sensitivity is definitely one of them. And the more you’ll practice that sensitivity, this observation of other’s needs, you’ll see that more opportunities will present themselves to you, bringing you one step closer to self-actualization, and perhaps even awaken you into a new awareness.
