Interpersonal skills are skills that will help an employee to interact better at work, and to be able to create communication among their co-workers. They can be described as behaviors that connect a person with society.
People use interpersonal skills all the time when dealing with others, whether in the workplace, in social situations, or within a family. We all learn about interpersonal skills and exercise them daily, but we need them very much in the workplace. As an employee you might have the skills already and apply them perfectly, but what if those skills could be improved and developed? They can generate more success.
According to Mary Madhavi Reddy’s article in Empuls, a holistic employee engagement platform, people who have effective interpersonal skills can speak confidently and interpret non-verbal gestures and facial expressions. And once individuals learn various ways to improve interpersonal skills, they become more assertive. These people can set healthy boundaries at work. Therefore, they can exclusively focus on their work.
Gisele Uwamahoro, a marketing manager at a shipping company, says that when interpersonal skills are developed they not only bring success but also impress managers and HRs.
"Interpersonal skills can favor an employee in a lot of ways, like developing good communication and negotiation skills that can help in negotiating for a raise. To develop them, try to look around and observe your co-workers that have successful interactions with managers, employees or clients and try to learn about what makes their interactions successful, lean about those skills that they have and you don’t and adopt them,” she says.
Uwamahoro adds that asking for feedback from people you work with every day can help you know where to improve and also get an idea of what skills you need to develop.
Divin Abijuru, a program developer, says that interpersonal skills are practiced everywhere for them to be developed.
"Let’s say you are a person that interacts a lot with different people, that should be your practice area, a place where you also learn from the skills of the people around you if it is the communication you believe is the skill you need to develop then you should always find a way to interact much with people and train your communication skill,” he says.
Diana Ineza, who works in logistics, says that a break sometimes is important, a pause to reflect on the growth made and the development needed.
"Sometimes pausing to reflect on the interpersonal skills is crucial, it is like evaluating yourself and examining where you need to improve, so look at the skills that have been improved, and also the ones you need to keep working on, note them somewhere. You can also consider adjusting your goals as your abilities progress,” she says.
According to an article on Indeed’s career website, setting meaningful goals is an important first step in improving your interpersonal skills. Consider your strengths and specifically what elements of your interactions you’d like to develop.
"For instance, you might notice that you are adept at initiating conversations with new people but you find following up to be challenging. Try using the SMART goal framework, meaning you develop goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based,” the article explains.
The article also says: "Try to keep your interactions with others as focused as possible in the workplace, whether you are communicating with a colleague, a supervisor, or customers, and clients. Often, this means omitting the potential distraction of devices such as smartphones and other screens. This may also be a beneficial practice because many employers prefer that team members refrain from personal media consumption while at work”.