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What You Need To Know About Interpersonal Skills

An individual with great interpersonal skills is often seen as someone who portrays a strong character in a group of people. It signifies a person’s behaviour or attitude when involved in any human interactions.

Employers highly regard these skills as they can positively contribute to the workplace and among working peers. When searching for a new hire, most companies would prefer candidates who know how to engage effectively with other people. In this article, we will explain everything you need to know about interpersonal skills.

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What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills are a type of social skill that we use to communicate or interact with people on a day-to-day basis. Those who have great interpersonal skills are considered to be good with people.

These types of people skills can be both verbal and non-verbal as long as we have the ability to deliver effective communication.

5 examples of interpersonal skills

There are many types of interpersonal skills, but here are five examples that you should know:

1. Clear communication

Interpersonal communication skill is the most important type of people skill that every individual must possess. It is a process of exchanging information, meaning and feelings through verbal and non-verbal messages.

Verbal communication involves getting the message delivered through sounds and words, like a face-to-face conversation. Non-verbal on the other hand involves unsaid or unspoken words like body language, eye movement and more, which we’ll explain further in the fourth point.

Interpersonal communication is all about being able to speak, listen, influence, persuade and negotiate with people. Having a lack of interpersonal skills can potentially cause social awkwardness as you’re unable to communicate and deliver the messages well.

2. Building relationships

Building connections and mutual relationships can benefit you in different ways such as broadening your job opportunities, possible career advancement and even opportunities for personal improvement

This skill involves establishing and developing healthy relationships with people you meet in different places or settings. You will also be able to directly develop collaborative abilities to work with more people from all sorts of industries or backgrounds.

3. Leadership

Having the ability to lead is another set of interpersonal skills that can sharpen your career growth. It allows you to motivate other people into action, not by demanding but by leading and commanding on any tasks or assignments.

Everyone says ‘Be a leader, not a boss’, but what’s the difference between these two? A boss is someone who focuses more on the business outcome, while a leader focuses more on the bigger picture. In simpler terms, a boss manages employees, while a leader inspires employees to think creatively, innovate and work together as a team.

Leadership is a sought-after skill as it brings quality to motivate a team, delegate responsibilities, listen to feedback and have constructive solutions to problems.

4. Non-verbal communication

As explained previously, non-verbal communication also plays a bigger role in shaping great interpersonal skills. Some examples include facial expressions, appearance, tone of voice, body language, eye contact, writing and more.

Your non-verbal communication suggests valuable information about how a person might be feeling about you. It basically represents extensive ideas to portray a person’s thoughts and feelings.

A great example of a famous idiom that says, “Actions speak louder than words”, people’s actions and reactions are more impactful than the words they say. Bad non-verbal communication may cause you to offend and hurt others unknowingly.

5. Self-confidence

Self-confidence is a noticeable skill that makes you visible while you’re in a group of people. Having the right level of self-confidence will open doors to recognition and improve the way people perceive your ideas, thoughts and opinions.

This skill can be learned through the process and the only way you can make your self-confidence possible is to first believe in yourself. Understand your worth and let yourself thrive through the skills you have.

Why are interpersonal skills important?

Interpersonal skills are always useful in personal and career life as they can bring success to any individual in the long run. Strong interpersonal skills can help you to do well in job interviews and build fruitful growth in your career.

Hiring managers and recruiters would be more likely to hire candidates who carry strong interpersonal skills. Undoubtedly, these types of people are able to work well with others, including coworkers and clients. These skills also allow an individual to be adaptable to different working environments and cultures.

Interpersonal skills can be learned and developed, but it depends on how well you’re socially exposed and how much you have learned throughout your career journey. 

How to highlight your interpersonal skills in the resume?

You can start by revising your personal statement or profile summary in your resume and include some interpersonal skills that you have, for example:

I’m a passionate digital marketing specialist with 5+ years of experience working in one of the top digital marketing agencies. I have led a team of six, handling content production and task delegation. I possess strong interpersonal skills with demonstrable success in overseeing a team, coordinating digital marketing strategies, engaging and negotiating with clients as well as generating leads. I am looking to secure a managerial role where I can manage and aid the digital growth and structure of a company.

The above example highlights the skills that we have listed earlier which include building relationships, leadership and self-confidence. Placing this short description at the top of your resume is a great way to grab the attention of the hiring manager or employer who reads it.

Keep in mind that your personal statement is just a summary of your expertise and experience, while the rest of your resume will validate the skills that you mentioned.

If you’re a fresh graduate, we’ve covered an article on what skills you can include here.

How can you improve your interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills don’t come naturally as they are nurtured, developed and learned. If you want to improve your interpersonal skills, here are some ideas that we can suggest for you:

  • The earlier the better. If you are a student, get involved in social activities and be more involved in events and projects that you are interested in,
  • Learn through your coworkers. Observe your manager and top-performing colleagues by understanding how they strive in their roles. You can also possibly ask for tips!
  • Be more forward. While working in a group, be productive and always become the first one to raise hands or ideas with confidence.

All employers value candidates with excellent interpersonal skills. If you feel like you need to enhance your people skills or have more questions about it, get in touch with us at Xremo as we’d love to hear from you!

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