Interpersonal Skills – How to Improve & Examples

There is no doubt that having great interpersonal skills is the stepping stone to a successful life. Those with strong interpersonal skills tend to work well with other people both in a formal and informal environment. They are able to communicate effectively with others, be it family, friends, colleagues or clients. Building strong relationships with the people around which is a must-have social skill. Do you feel socially awkward? Do you find it hard to communicate with other people? Do you want to improve your social or interpersonal skills? If yes, then here’s how you can start to develop your interpersonal skills.

What are Interpersonal Skills?

Interpersonal skills are the abilities you rely upon when you interact and communicate with other people. The skills are demonstrated whenever you engage with people around you, determining your ability to build relationships and work efficiently with others.

Why are Interpersonal Skills Important?

• Interpersonal Skills allow you to interact with others more effectively and improve your ability to work together on a larger scale. 
• Interpersonal Skills are extremely important for building a great career. You have a higher chance of getting a job if you possess strong interpersonal skills than a candidate who lacks the ability to communicate well. 

Interpersonal Skill Examples

Do you know that having strong interpersonal skills can help you navigate the complexities of life, both at home and at work? Here are some of the interpersonal skills that can help you complete your day-to-day tasks with ease:

• Active listening
• Teamwork
• Responsibility
• Dependability
• Leadership
• Motivation
• Flexibility
• Patience
• Empathy
• Emotional Intelligence
• Reliability
• Time Management
• Openness to Feedback

Active Listening

Active listening is one of the most important skills in a position where you are required to work with other people as it helps you develop a mutual understanding with the other party. Being an active listener allows you to connect with others, understand their point of view and open doors for a healthy relationship at work. For example, if you want to work in customer services, sales or the hospitality industry, you must be able to listen actively to understand and respond to the needs of customers and clients. 

Teamwork 

In simple terms, teamwork means the ability to work together, communicate effectively, anticipate and inspire each other as a team to get coordinated collective action. There are many instances at the workplace where you are required to work along with others to achieve a certain goal. Effective Teamwork involves strong communication skills, leadership qualities, problem-solving and being a sport. 

Leadership

Leadership is a skill that makes you stand out among the crowd. Leadership requires organizing, delegating and strategizing, along with these a leader is also responsible for getting the most out of everyone. Strong Leadership skills include self-awareness, call to action, being decisive and understanding your peers. This is the reason why most employers tend to look for people who possess strong leadership qualities which are mandatory for the business field. 

Empathy

Being empathetic is when you are able to perceive and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experiences of others. If you are working at a school, you will be required to empathize with the students to understand and solve their problems. While At the workplace, empathy can help you develop great relationships with your peers. Being empathetic also helps employers maintain a genuine relationship with the employees, allowing them to work as a team and increase productivity, morale and loyalty to the organization. 

Openness to Feedback

One of the mantras to succeed in life is to be open to feedback. Openness to feedback allows you to clarify your expectations, learn from your mistakes, build confidence, and develop soft skills and a willingness to perform better. Openness to feedback is a skill both the employer and employee must have as it allows the organization to be more effective. For example, when you tell the employees that they’ve done a good job regarding the tasks assigned to them it boosts their confidence and urges them to be more productive. It’s human nature to do more when you receive positive feedback. 

How to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills?

Interpersonal skills play a vital role in being successful in life. However, not everyone has natural interpersonal skills but it isn’t that difficult to develop some. If you feel that you lack some, then here are some tips that may help you with that:

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses specifically and figure out what elements of your interactions you’d like to develop
• Observe other people and their interactions. 
• Maintain a positive attitude towards life in general. Having a positive attitude can impact your day-to-day interactions with others. 
• Body language is a great method to conduct effective interactions with others. Maintain good posture and confidence while interacting.
• Be careful with what kind of language to use while interacting. Try to use formal language when interacting with clients/or at the workplace.
• Conquer your thoughts and emotions. Self-awareness can help you understand where and how to showcase your emotions while being at the workplace.
• Be compassionate while interacting with people. It helps you build better relationships with others. 

FAQs

It is clearly evident that interpersonal skills are important for your professional and personal life. Having strong interpersonal skills can not only help you build confidence but can open an array of career opportunities as well. For more such blogs, follow Leverage Edu.