You are liable to find out that companies often value strong interpersonal skills these days. Your resume should highlight the same if you have strong interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are often how you interact and communicate with others.
And that’s why you may want to spend a little time reviewing the rest of the post on “how to improve interpersonal skills.”
How to improve interpersonal skills – is a fair question, but the solution is not easy to come by; in fact, there are quite a few tips on how to do just that. The challenge is to ensure you carry out these suggestions to the letter. And in due course, you should be able to give your interpersonal skills a much-needed boost!
Maintain a positive outlook:
Sure, sounds easy. Not so much – when you contemplate that most of us often have to work under duress and pressure. It could be related to your home or your personal life. But the fact remains that you are bound to be under pressure/ duress while you are supposed to focus on your job simultaneously.
That’s why it is always a good idea to categorize – which should make it possible to focus on your job, enabling you to deal with the various interpersonal issues later on.
Maintaining a positive outlook is integral to your career toolkit – one you are bound to find essential. So, focus on the positive if you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed due to a personal issue. It always helps.
Control your emotions:
When it comes to your workplace, always keep your emotions in check and under tight control. Do not lose control; it is never a good idea to lose one’s emotions at work because it gives the management a terrible impression.
Make it a point to always appear calm and unfazed under most circumstances. Make sure your tone reflects the same.
Build trust:
When working at the office, connecting with your colleagues is a great idea to develop mutual respect and trust. There are several ways you can start developing trust and a working relationship.
For example, you can emphasize the value of their expertise to the company and praise them for the same. And this should enable you to develop a closer relationship and trust with it! You can even approach them for help on other projects – but with one caveat.
Make sure you credit them for their contribution – which is fair. This should make the management aware of their expertise as well.
Connect better:
No one is asking you to head out on a date with your work colleague. But if you work with a colleague for nearly eight hours a day, isn’t it right you should know more about them? So make it a point to learn about their background.
This should help you to learn more about what you have in common – all of which can enable you to connect better with them. By working with colleagues with whom you have a closer relationship, you should be able to maximize your output!
Dislikes:
Chances are that you are bound to dislike a few in your office for one reason or another. And the thought of working with them, on sensitive projects and for long hours is enough to get your skin crawling. So how are you supposed to work closely with someone you dislike?
That’s why you develop interpersonal skills. For starters, focus on one of their character traits that you admire above everything else. Build on that, and you should be able to forge a working relationship.
Listen to your colleagues:
While at the office, you should listen actively to your colleagues and what they are saying. This is what “active listening” is all about. Listening to your colleagues should make them feel valued and that they have contributed something of value to the conversation.
Active listening is all about listening and repeating what the other person has said until the meaning fully sinks in. And when listening to others speak, you can also add modern examples and analogies, which should further cement your working relationship!
Be assertive:
One of the cornerstones of any official working relationship is that you must provide all the signs of being confident. And that means you must be assertive when it comes to your needs, requirements at the office, etc. Your colleagues must understand that when required, you can be confident and assertive and depend on you.
These are some ways to develop your interpersonal skills, connect better with others at the office and even develop a close working relationship. Granted, it is not going to happen overnight. It is a slow process; you will need patience as you focus on developing your interpersonal skills to meet the various challenges ahead.
