HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

To know how to develop your interpersonal skills, the first and the foremost thing is to know and understand the meaning of interpersonal skills.

Interpersonal Skills are the skills used by a person to interact with other people. Interpersonal skills are also at times referred to as communication skills and it includes listening skills, speaking skills, leadership quality etc. It includes how effectively a person is able to express himself to others and how perfectly he presents himself.

Effective interpersonal skills are required in business, career, job place, family, society and everywhere where you come across many people.

Having positive interpersonal skills increases the productivity in the organization as it helps you to work efficiently without any personality conflicts. In informal situations, it allows communication to be easy and comfortable. People with good interpersonal skills can generally control the feelings that emerge in difficult situations and respond appropriately.

Interpersonal skills or your communication skills help you to build good relations with mangers, clients, employees and others at the work place. They play an important role in how you manage the interactions with clients and employees. Your interpersonal skills also are a determinant of your success or failure. So to be successful in your life, try out these few tips on interpersonal skills:

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A smiling face has no enemies. Few people want to be around someone who is always down in the dumps, gloomy or in a melancholy state of mind. Do your best to be friendly with clients, coworkers, employees. Maintain a positive, cheerful attitude about work and about life. Practice smiling often. The positive energy you radiate will draw others to you. A smiling face would always help you to attract people towards you.

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Never embarrass others. Embarrassing others in front of a group or may be alone is not at all a done thing. It leaves a wrong impression of yours on other’s mind.

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Always seek others’ opinion and finally do what is best. Pay attention to others. Observe what’s going on in other people’s lives. Acknowledge their happy milestones, and express concern and sympathy for difficult situations. Make eye contact and address people by their first names. Ask them for their opinions and suggestions. This will make them feel important.

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Always praise the good work. Be appreciative. Find one positive thing about everyone you work with and let them hear it. If you let others know that they are appreciated, they'll want to give you their best in future. Be generous with praise and words of encouragement. Praise in public, Praise in private, Praise promptly, Praise even when late. Employees need appreciation as it changes their metabolism.

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Never criticize others. Its right to give suggestions for improvement but criticizing someone would only demotivate the person. If you criticize a person before others, he may not give his 100% in the next assignment.

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Speak the language of the employee to make him understand clearly. Communicate clearly. Pay close attention to both what you say and how you say it. A clear and effective communicator avoids misunderstandings with coworkers, colleagues, and associates. If you tend to speak anything and everything that comes to your mind then people won’t put much weight on your words or opinions. Effective communication skills cultivates good relationships.

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Teamwork works. Try to bring people together. Create an environment that encourages others to work together. Treat everyone fairly, and don't play favorites. Do not give importance to a particular person while ignoring the others. Avoid talking about others behind their backs. Follow up on other people's suggestions or requests.

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See it from their side. Try to empathize. Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to view situations and responses from another person’s perspective. A ‘6’ from your side may look like ‘9’ from the other’s side. Those who are cant understand their own feelings are often unable to empathize with others. So, keep in touch with your own emotions to understand others.

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Before getting angry at others, think once that had you been in their position, wouldn’t you have done the same? Try to realize that others may not be having any option but to do this thing.

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Request instead of giving orders. People have a tendency of keeping up the requests but they might just skip the work ordered to them. For getting the work done, request for the same rather than ordering it. But request them in a way that they take it as an important or they may just overlook your request.

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Don't complain. There is nothing worse than a chronic complainer or whiner. Finding faults in others is inviting troubles. Finding the problems in others and complaining about them is not the end. Rather you must try to find the solution for the same and put it forward.

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Humor them. Don’t be afraid to be funny or clever. Most people are drawn to a person that can make them laugh. Use your sense of humor to lower barriers and gain people’s affection. Sense of humor is a very effective tool for improving interpersonal skills.