It is not everyone's cup of tea to be around people. Some love being in a crowd, and others like being warm and cosy by themselves. Unfortunately, in today's world, we cannot afford to remain warm and cosy on our own. Because nobody wants to hire someone who cannot get along with people. In any job interview, our interpersonal abilities are evaluated more highly than any stellar academic record. Every employee is an asset to any organisation. Today your perfect CV or resume is not enough, good interpersonal and soft skills has become more important. Therefore, it's time to step outside of your comfort zone.
People skills include active listening, tolerance, trustworthiness, empathy, charisma, and so on. They also help assess an individual's capacity to connect or get along with people. Interpersonal skills, or "people skills," can be the ability to interact effectively with others.
People skills are not something anyone can acquire overnight but through relentless practice and effort. So if you are looking to enhance your people skills, you are at the right place.
Useful Resources: communication improvement course | executive development programme
Be more accepting
Acceptance is when you make others feel valued by keeping a smile on your face. It’s unconditional positive regard by embracing your colleagues' and acquaintances' opinions and thoughts with the utmost respect. Moreover, If you respect the other person, they will automatically feel better about themselves, and so will you. When you make acceptance a habit in your life, you will become a more positive, happy person. After all, all of us are unique in our own way.
Express your gratitude
Take a moment and reflect on a time when someone helped you get through a rough phase in your life, now that you are in a better position, you are grateful to have had him or her in your life. Isn’t that the same feeling you get when you look back?
Be it a smaller or a bigger favour, appreciate those who serve and help you every day, whether it’s a cleaner, assistant, security, or manager doesn’t matter, and express your gratitude towards them. Start from within by thanking your parents, children, wife, and siblings for everything they have done for you. As a result, people will find you more interesting, likeable and charming. Additionally, expressions of gratitude increase prosocial behaviour.
Admire the talents
Admiration is the feeling of liking and appreciating someone who has excellent abilities or has accomplished impressive things. For example, if you notice your colleague or your employee putting a lot of effort into any task they were assigned to and compliment them for it, this will boost their confidence because they know that you care. All humans have a deep subconscious need for validation. The fastest way to improve your relationship is to make others feel important in every way possible.
Be Empathetic
Empathy is when you mentally comprehend the feeling of others by putting yourself in others' shoes. To perceive the other person’s feelings, we should listen to them. So the best thing you can do is to listen to the person who placed all their trust in you and share the problems they are facing without judging them. Acknowledge how the other person feels by saying, “I am sorry you are feeling that way”, because those in pain want to be heard and understood. So be encouraging and supportive.
Use Open Body language
Body language is a type of non-verbal communication which plays a major role in enhancing our people skills. A person who fails to keep eye contact with someone speaking creates an impression that they are not interested in the conversation and will make the speaker feel unheard. Body language can convey sincerity, so while conversing with someone, meet people’s eye-line, hold your head slightly up, stand tall, and always smile.
