Social skills, or social skills of a person, are those skills that we use every day in life, to communicate and interact with other people, both individually and in a group.
People with strong social skills are usually more successful in both professional and personal life.
This is because they move well in a team and are able to communicate effectively with other people.
A person (or leader) who is proficient in these emotional intelligence social skills is basically a great communicator .
Social skills are the culmination of other dimensions of emotional intelligence, such as self-awareness, self-control, motivation and empathy.
Social skills move people to go in the direction you want, with the strong awareness that nothing important is achieved alone, but teamwork is important.
Social skills can be divided into two groups:
- skills that influence people , such as influence, communication, conflict management, inspiration and change;
- skills that generate collaboration , such as knowing how to build bonds, collaboration and knowing how to work as a team.
It is never too late to improve your social skills. The first step is to honestly examine yourself and admit that you need to improve in your deficient areas.
So let’s find out some tips that will help you do it.
Nine tips for improving social skills
There is a significant correlation between your social skills and your success in every area of ​​life. With good social skills, it’s easier to make friends, build strong relationships, and move forward in your career.
If you lack social skills, it’s important to learn how to build them with the following tips.
1 – Listen
People are often self-centered, and because of this, many are used to talking about themselves or waiting for the other person to finish so they can start talking again.
I also do it often and maybe I will do it again. But I’m starting to try to focus my mind on the other person by forgetting about me, being able to hear better what other people are saying or wanting to say.
2 -Be truly interested in other people
If you become more interested in people, then you naturally become a better listener, because you will be genuinely interested in what is on their mind, often dispelling the initial prejudices that can ruin communication.
If you listen to what someone has to say, then you may find that, for example, it’s not as boring or different from you as you first guessed. It is much easier to create and improve relationships if you focus on the other person than on yourself.
3 – Treat others as you would like to be treated
The law of reciprocity is strong in humans. As you treat someone else, they will feel compelled to treat you in the same way. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but definitely, but over time these things will come up.
One of the most important things in relationships and conversations is your attitude. It determines much of the interaction and how you treat other people. So, even if you say nice words, you can create a different feeling in the person you are talking to, because your thoughts, feelings, tone of voice and body language are not aligned with your words.
4 – Maintain a positive attitude
Adopting a positive attitude is the choice to remain positive regardless of external circumstances. You may not be able to do this all the time, but staying positive is just like eating or exercising daily. When your mind gets used to this behavior, it becomes almost automatic, interpreting reality in a different way than before.
Instead of seeing the problems in everything, you begin to see the opportunities and what is good in any person or situation.
5 – Be silent
There are many good reasons to learn to be quieter. This will help you develop your listening skills and avoid unnecessary arguments, reducing the harm you can do to others, such as criticizing.
6 – Communicate more than in your own words
To become a better communicator you need to improve the way you say something by loading your words with more emotion or enthusiasm.
Your attitude, as mentioned before, also has a big impact on your body language. If you are feeling relaxed, open and positive this is also transmitted through your body and vice versa.When you are listening, for example, you can lean and maintain eye contact to reinforce that you are actually listening.
If you correct your body language you will also be able to keep your attention as emotions can work backwards.
7 – Smile and use a sense of humor
Do your best to smile and be cheerful with your group mates. The positive energy that radiates will attract others to you. Don’t have an aura of being funny, as most people are attracted to a person who can make them laugh.
Use your sense of humor as an effective tool to reduce obstacles and gain people’s affection.
8 – Learn to resolve conflicts
Go one step further by simply connecting people and becoming one who resolves conflicts when they arise.
Learn to be an effective mediator, helping to resolve disagreements and shorten differences between people. By managing to play this role, you will garner the respect and admiration of those around you.
9 – Put yourself in the shoes of others
As already extensively covered with other articles, empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel.
Try seeing situations and responses from another person’s point of view.
