What Effects Do Practice and Video Feedback Have on the Development of Interpersonal Communication Skills?

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the number of practice and feed back sessions on the development of select interpersonal communication skills. Measures were taken to determine whether the effects were only immediate or whether the subjects retained the information and new communication skills for a longer period of time. To test the effects associated with various combinations of practice and video feedback, 211 subjects were assigned to ten treatment groups plus a control group. Both cognitive recall scores and evaluations of the performance of interpersonal communication skills were taken two days prior to training, immediately after instruction, and both two- days and a two-weeks later. Results indicated that practice and feedback had a marked influence on the acquisi tion of interpersonal communication skills, but each seemed to be influencing different aspects of learning. Practice initially heightened the potential to learn the information about what to do, while feedback increased performance scores. Over time, however, the combination of both practice and video feedback produced the greatest effect on long term performance scores. Decay in the levels of achievement after training were more rapid in performance than in cognitive scores. Overlearning through practice and feedback was recommended as a way to produce long-term information retention and sustained skill performance.