Interpersonal skills mean having the ability to communicate and build healthy relationships with others. Interpersonal skills will help you in your job interviews and can have a positive effect on your career choices. They involve a wide range of skills, but particularly communication skills such as listening and speaking. They also involve the ability to control and manage emotions.
Some say interpersonal skills are the foundation of success in life. People who have strong personal skills will be able to work well with other people, including in teams or groups, formally and informally. They do communicate effectively with others, whether family or friends, colleagues, customers, and clients. They tend to have better relationships at home and in the workplace. Interpersonal skills are something that you rely on when you interact and communicate with others.
This blog provides a summary of interpersonal skills and how they are developed and used. It tells you where these skills are important. Finally, it tells you how to learn or develop the interpersonal skills needed at the moment.
Interpersonal skills are often referred to as social skills, people skills, soft skills, or life skills. We define it as the skills you or we need and use to communicate and interact with other people. They cover a wide variety of scenarios where interpersonal skills are supposed to be used. Examples of interpersonal skills include-
Teamwork is being able to understand and manage your own and others’ emotions. The ability to work together as an efficient team is very vital for a company or organization. Teamwork involves communication, active listening, flexibility, and responsibility; Responsibility is taking a stand for both defeat and success; Dependability is being that person whom people or co-workers can rely on. It involves keeping promises you once promised; Communication skills involve verbal communication, non-verbal communication, and listening skills. Verbal communication is all about what we say and how we say it. Non-verbal communication is what we communicate without words, for example, body language. Listening skills are how we interpret both the verbal and non-verbal messages sent by others.
Emotional intelligence is being able to understand and manage on your own; Leadership is being a leader and able to steer others towards success; Motivation is having the spirit to achieve anything; Flexibility is the capacity to be able to work on any task given to you; Negotiation, persuasion, and influencing skills are working with others to find a mutually agreeable (Win/Win) outcome. This may be considered a subset of communication, but is often treated separately
Conflict resolution and mediation are working with others to resolve interpersonal conflict and disagreements in a positive way, which again may be considered a subset of communication; Problem-solving and decision making are working with others to identify, define and solve problems, which includes making decisions about the best course of action; Patience is having the capacity to wait for the moment and to grab the opportunity at the right time when the team/company needs it.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another; In a work environment, strong interpersonal skills are something that can help you navigate complexity, change, and day-to-day tasks.
Strong interpersonal skills are a bonus when the interviewers are looking for people who can work well with others. They will also help you win in almost any job out thereby helping you understand other people and modify your approach to work together effectively. In our lives, we are supposed to talk and interact with many kinds of people on a daily basis. Good interpersonal skills will help these interactions to go smoother and pleasanter. With such skills, we can build long-lasting relationships both at home and at work. Employers value interpersonal skills because they contribute to increased work efficiency and help maintain an efficient workflow.
Good interpersonal skills help you communicate well with family and friends. This is extremely important when you have a partner. With good communication, you can resolve small problems before they become big issues. This only happens when you give and receive feedback effectively. Also, these interpersonal skills help with your personal and romantic relationships and parenting skills.
It is a well-known fact that we spend more time at work than with our partners. Work demands you to communicate with and interact with a wide range of people. Your ability to do so makes a big difference in one’s life. There are many jobs which demand interpersonal skills like customer-facing roles, health provision, financial advice and brokerage, computer programming, and development.
Nurses and Doctors are required to clearly understand what patients and their families are trying to say. The situation can get worse when one doesn’t understand the problem of the patient. Financial advisers and brokers should be able to understand what and what not are being mentioned by the customers to give appropriate advice to their valuable customers. Bad communication in this field can result in weaker customer relations and returns for the company or the adviser in particular. Technical or computer developers are the ones who are least expected to possess interpersonal skills because people think they don’t. But to no one’s surprise, they need a tremendous effort put towards interpersonal skills because they need to clearly understand the difference between what is technical and practical.
Teachers also need good interpersonal skills because they need to work collaboratively with each other, administrators, students, and parents. A teacher with good interpersonal skills can help students learn and grow effectively in education
Identify areas for improvement, The first step towards improvement is to know your strengths and weaknesses. Look for constant feedback about yourself from others. This will help you assess yourself efficiently
Focus on your basic communication skills, Communication is far different from what you think. Listen twice as much as you talk, listening and hearing are totally different. Be aware of the words you use, Practice clarity and learn to seek feedback all the time. Non-verbal communication plays a huge role than you can ever imagine. Please be aware of your body language, tone of voice, and the speed at which you speak. Learning to read body language is a vital part of communication
Attend workshops or online classes, There are several workshops and online classes for developing interpersonal skills. Seek opportunities to build relationships, Consider joining a group that suits your work or hobbies. Learn from your previous interactions, Review your every interaction and consider all ways you could have interacted more. Seek help from your friends, Ask friends or trusted colleagues to provide constructive criticism about your interpersonal skills.
Observe, Be attentive to the conversations that happen around you and grab the qualities you admire. Seek mentorship, Ask someone you trust, admire to counsel you on improving interpersonal skills.
Improving the effectiveness of your speech is an advanced communication skill. Communication problems might arise through three things:-Physical barriers where you can’t see or hear the speaker properly or language difficulties, Emotional barriers where you don’t find the topic or discussion interesting, and Expectations and prejudices that affect what people see and hear.
Emotions and Change can make discussions difficult. Various emotions can get in the way of communicating. It is suggested to postpone such conversations. Difficult conversations are often about the need for change. Especially conversations in which you’re criticized for your working ways.
Look inwards, Interpersonal skills start with you. The way you relate to others might be different from one to one. More people will be drawn to you when you have a positive attitude and this can help boost your self-confidence. Make sure you are stress-free. Not being passive or aggressive is key to effective communication.
And the most important skill that everyone needs to or wants to have is emotional intelligence:- Personal skills like self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation are required to be able to understand and manage our own emotions, including understanding what motivates us; Social skills like empathy are very important. Understanding and feeling for others and then being able to interact effectively with them.
Developing emotional intelligence helps us see from someone else’s perspective. This way we can learn many things while gaining the respect and trust of others
Use and practice the skills you have, there are many situations where you can use your interpersonal skills by putting yourself in those positions and practicing your skills, this will help you to improve.
Interpersonal skills are essential while working in groups:- Group work gives you the opportunity to work on your skills. It helps you to understand group dynamics and ways of working.
They help to negotiate and persuade or influence others:- Looking for a common solution rather than trying to win at all costs can establish a good relationship that will enable you to work together over and over again.
Resolving and mediating in conflict scenarios:- Conflict resolution and mediation skills and the constant battle to end the discussion as a win-win situation help a lot. This shows you respect both sides.
Involve more people:- Problem-solving and decision-making skills are put to best use when there are more people. Self-Reflection, Taking time to think about conversations will enable you to learn from your mistakes and successes
Regarding Interpersonal skills at work, in this competitive market, it’s very important how you’re conveying your skills. Practice these interpersonal skills every day and when you believe you achieved them totally, the very next thing that you should do is include them in the resume.
Good luck on your journey and let us know if you have any doubts regarding interpersonal skills. We will always be glad to help.
Prem Velpula, Content Writer
