What Are the Best Interpersonal Skills You Need at Work – Part One
No matter how qualified you are for a position or how many certifications you have under your belt, no employer is going to hire you if you lack good interpersonal skills. Interpersonal or people skills are the qualities and behaviours we exhibit while interacting with other people. They are considered to be one of the most sought-after soft skills (of which more later). We demonstrate them whenever we engage in any kind of verbal or nonverbal communication. In fact, qualities as basic as body language and attitude toward others greatly affect our chances of excelling at work. Strong interpersonal skills are a key indicator of success in a working environment, as benefits include displaying leadership potential, the ability to cooperate with teammates to solve difficult problems, as well as simply enhancing your popularity around the office.
According to Wikipedia, interpersonal skills relate to a person’s ‘EQ’ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient). This is the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterise our relationships with other people.
There are numerous people skills you will need to master if you wish to progress well within an office environment. These include:
The Ability to Relate to Others. Possessing the ability to relate to others and their position or viewpoint is critical to good business practices. By having a well-rounded personality and set of experiences, it’s usually possible to relate to almost everyone. Sometimes being able to relate to others simply means that you’re willing to agree to disagree with mutual respect; letting them know that at the very least, you understand their position.
Strong Communication Skills. This is the most essential people skill because it encompasses your character and your ability to get along with other colleagues in the workplace, persuading others to listen to your ideas, and much more. If you have a gift for the spoken and written word, you will always put your best foot forward. Being articulate is highly prized in the workplace, where time is at a premium and technology requires constant succinct and self-evident communication.
Patience with Others. If you’re patient with others and can keep a cool head in demanding situations, it will definitely be noticed by management and perceived as an extremely strong asset. When your boss is forced to deal with a situation where people have lost their cool, he or she will certainly remember the troublemakers when the next promotion becomes available.
Knowing How and When to Show Empathy. Having the ability to place yourself in someone else’s shoes is a key people skill. It allows us to create relationships with others, provides insights into people’s motives and allows us to predict responses.
Active Listening Skills. Hearing someone and actively listening to them are two entirely different things. Most people hear someone speak and begin to form a response in their mind based on snap judgement and pre-conceived ideas before the person even finishes what they’re saying. The key is to actively listen, which takes more time but produces better results. It means you listen without interruption and then take the time to process what has been said, contextualise it and form a response before replying.
Flexibility. Being likable or having a great personality is a highly contingent and context-dependent attribute. Supreme communicators have a great ability to shift gears when the context calls for it, and a deep well of communication options to choose from. This way, they can respond accordingly to what the current situation requires.
Negotiation Skills. Good negotiating skills are beneficial with both internal and external stakeholders. Internally, job offers and salary discussions greatly benefit from solid negotiating, as well as when it’s time to pitch a new idea or persuade colleagues to your way of thinking. Externally, both clients and suppliers often require negotiations and you can really save the day when you are successful in either scenario.
In such a competitive job market, it’s important to pay extra attention to what interpersonal skills you are conveying to employers and clients and how those skills measure up to the requirements of the position. Next time, we’ll explore some more people skills that help you succeed in business.
