To teach your child good interpersonal communication skills, you must work with them to understand and develop strong listening and verbal skills. By actively listening to your child and sharing your thoughts and feelings about various matters, your child will soon begin to learn how crucial communication is to relationships and life in general. Continue reading this article to learn about the many ways you can teach your child good interpersonal communication skills.

#1 Actively listen to your child when they talk to you. This will demonstrate to your child that paying attention to others when they speak is an important aspect of interpersonal communication.

• Sit down or kneel to your child’s eye level so you can make eye contact when they speak to you.
• Remove distractions that make it difficult to hear your child by turning off the radio, television, or by moving into a quiet room away from others.
• Display signs of verbal and non-verbal listening as your child speaks; such as nodding your head or saying short, verbal expressions that prove you are listening.

#2 Verify that your child listens to you when you speak. This will help your child understand that they must listen to others in addition to being listened to for means of effective interpersonal communication.

• Ask your child to repeat back to you in their own words what you say to them, then praise them when they are correct.

#3 State phrases related to your own personal thoughts and feelings. This will teach your child how to speak in a direct way that allows others to know exactly how they feel.

• Use sentences that start with “I,” instead of “You” to effectively convey your feelings to your child. For example, say “I am upset that you didn’t finish your homework” instead of “You make me upset when you don’t finish your homework.”

#4 Ask probing questions to encourage your child to open up about their feelings. Regardless whether your child is upset or happy, asking them to share their feelings with you will encourage them to communicate with others at all times no matter how they feel.

• Begin your questions with “You” statements. For example, if your child is frowning, say “You look upset. Are you sad because it’s raining outside?” Questions such as these will help your child open up and make them feel more comfortable communicating with you.

#5 Teach your child not to interrupt others when they speak. A good display of interpersonal communication is allowing others to speak fully and express their opinions without being disrupted.

• Demonstrate the courtesy of not interrupting your child when they speak to you by allowing them to speak in entirety about a particular matter.
• Inform your child that in some cases, it is acceptable to interrupt others; but only when there is a question about the topic being discussed.

#6 Read books to your child on a routine basis. This will help teach your child to listen when they are being spoken to, while at the same time providing them with a fun experience.

#7 Play communication games with your child. Games will help demonstrate to your child the different ways in which interpersonal communication can be demonstrated and used.

• Show your child how to perform storytelling or enact conversations between their dolls or action figures.
• Take turns talking and listening to your child in 10 or 15 second increments. For example, listen to your child while they talk for 15 seconds, then make your child listen to you while you talk for 15 seconds.