Interpersonal skills are defined as the set of skills people own by which decide the way they communicate and interact with others. By its direct link with soft skills and emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills insinuate how one manage the relationships that they have collected over time and resolve any impending conflicts.

Within the workplace context, which is more than often a people-filled and team-oriented environment, interpersonal skills have proven itself to be vital in any aspects of the operation. Possessing a great level of interpersonal skills will give you the advantage of dealing with group projects, “oiling the wheels” of any interaction and handling discord.

Some of the major components that make up a person’s interpersonal skills are communication, active listening, empathy, problem solving and the ability to be open to feedback. These skills are not something that could be learned overnight, rather, interpersonal skills should be cultivated with constant efforts on a daily basis.

1. Communication skills

Having clear communication both verbally and non-verbally is the foundation of any strong and resilient organization. Tasks could only be carried out and completed proficiently when communication is there to keep everyone in the loop about the expectation and requirements regarding the job.

Communication is also essential in voicing your concerns and issues to higher management within the chain, a culture of transparency and clarity throughout the entire mechanism is what leads a company to greater success.

Find out more about the importance of effective communication here

2. Listening skills

Monitoring your listening skills could also facilitate communication since these two are interrelated most of the time, especially at workplace. Active listening shows your boss and fellow colleagues your level of engagement during both formal meetings and informal discussions.

Plus, paying close attention to information being shared by others at work could make them feel more valued and respected which would strengthen your relationship with them and collaborate with ease.

3. Demonstrating empathy and understanding

Empathy is of essence to workplace atmosphere. Employees will be reluctant to come to work if their boss and colleagues do not practice compassion and show understanding to the difficulties they might have been facing.

This quality can be found among people that are highly intuitive with a great grasp of emotional . Empathy and understanding enables you to relate and express sympathy towards people’s problems at work as well as help you get along with them.

4. Problem solving

It’s fair to say that most our time at work is spent dealing with tasks and solving problems stemming from them. We could all agree that it’s an inherent part of any job and the ability to be prepared and ready to solve any of these problems is indispensable.

Honing your problem-solving skills could significantly facilitate your process of working your way up the career ladder since it is one of the most important qualities people at the top management should possess.

Explore the DO’s and DON’Ts while sharpening your problem-solving skills with us here. 

5. Openness to feedback

People who easily get defensive towards different perspectives and feedback often lack interpersonal skills.

It is important to listen to feedback so you can learn about your piece of work from different viewpoints and to adjust / apply new ideas where possible and relevant. This is a highly needed practice in the process of refining your piece of work as well as enhanced productivity.

At NashTech, we seek to create and nurture an environment which facilitates the interpersonal skills development of our employees. We embrace everyone’s way of expressing themselves at the office since NashTech believe that each of our valued employee contributes to the lively and amiable workplace that we are lucky to have.

Read more about people at NashTech here.