Five ways to improve your interpersonal skills. Human interaction is unavoidable no matter how much you try to alienate yourself from crowds. It is therefore imperative to sharpen your people skills so you do not struggle to get along with other and ask for help when you need it. Here is a list of five very easy to follow pointers for better interpersonal skills:
Have full control your emotions. Work or school is not the place to be overly emotional. Whether you’re extremely irritated, severely depressed or ecstatically happy, take a deep breath and tone your emotions down and strive to express yourself in a calm, patient manner.
Practice active listening. You can easily achieve this by maintaining eye contact with the speaker, nodding your head, and repeating what he or she says in your own words. The speaker will feel respected and you’re likely to be able to recall the conversation more easily afterwards.
Find one good trait in every co-worker. It is impossible to like every single person we work with but you can’t let personal preference get in the way of peak performance. If a colleague’s personality clashes completely with your own, the best way to handle the situation is by finding at least one good trait in that person and redirect your attention to it.
Cultivate a positive outlook. Teach yourself to be positive by reminding yourself every day of the good things about your life. If you’re stressed about a personal issue, look for the positive in the situation and try to build on that to avoid dragging those around you into a pool of negative energy.
Practice empathy. Gain a well-rounded view of things by putting yourself in other people’s shoes. This will help you develop empathy for others, which in turn goes a long way in finding solutions that work for everyone involved.
