The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. III, Nos. 3 & 4, 2009 32 Interpersonal Communication: Lifeblood of an Organization Communication plays a crucial role in the functioning of organizations. In fact, what an organization requires mainly is communication. It is an inseparable, essential and continuous process just like the circulatory system in the human body. As a result, communication effectiveness becomes a very vital factor in determining the efficiency with which an organization performs as a whole. The existence of an organization depends upon a number of things like unity of command, delegation of authority and responsibility, teamwork and leadership, each one of which entails a strong support of interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication, therefore, becomes the lifeblood of an organization. Fundamentals of interpersonal communication are communicators, message, noise, response, background and channel. Decent interpersonal communication skills support intimate relationship, counselling, selling, management, conflict management, etc. The various hindrances to effective interpersonal communication like sentiments, filtering, message crammed with information, defensiveness, cultural difference and argot can be overcome by simplifying language, controlling sentiments, listening ardently and using feedback. The paper examines the vitality of interpersonal communication for the subsistence of an organization. © 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved. Deepa Sethi* and Manisha Seth** * Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow, India. E-mail: deepa@jiml.ac.in ** Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow, India. E-mail: mseth@jiml.ac.in Introduction Interpersonal communication is the procedure by which people swap information, feelings and impart through verbal and non-verbal messages. This definition underlines the crucial fact that interpersonal communication is not only apprehensive about ‘what’ is pronounced, i.e., the language employed, but ‘how’ it is pronounced, e.g., the non- verbal messages sent, such as tone of voice and facial expressions. Hartley (1999, p. 20) defines interpersonal communication as having the following characteristics:  Communication from one person to another.  Communication which is face-to-face.  Both the form and the content of the communication reflect the personal characteristics of the individuals as well as their social roles and relationships.