Interpersonal skills are also commonly known as or referred to as people skills or social skills. 'Interpersonal' by definition is a relationship or communication between two people or more. Therefore 'Interpersonal Skills' can be defined as how well you can manage a relationship or communication between two people or more. The more skilful you are in 'Interpersonal Skills', the more you can avoid a conflict of interest that may arise from a misunderstanding or due to lack of 'Interpersonal Skills' of the other person on the other end.
Interpersonal Skills are related and directly proportional to the level of one's Emotional Quotient (EQ) or also known as Emotional Intelligence (EI). The higher one's EQ/EI the better interpersonal skill that person will likely possess. Emotional Intelligence affects your Interpersonal Skills; naturally, humans communicate and interact with other people, both individually or in groups. People who has a high emotional intelligence and good interpersonal skills are usually more successful in their career.
"IQ gets you hired, but EQ gets you promoted" - (Communication in 21st Century,2012)
However, Interpersonal Skills are not just important for our career. Our personal live can also benefit from a good Interpersonal Skills. For example, people with good Interpersonal Skills are usually more likeable thus have a better social live. And people who lack of Interpersonal Skills generally have a tough time building relationship with people.
"Through awareness of how you interact with others - and with practice - you can improve your interpersonal skills."
The above is a line taken from a website SkillsYouNeed.com, and what has been said is very true. Through awareness and with practice, you can definitely improve your Interpersonal Skills. By building and training your Interpersonal Skills, you are also. in a way, improving your Emotional Intelligence.
But bear in mind that Interpersonal Skills also applies to both verbal and non-verbal communication. Meaning, you would need to be aware that being Interpersonally Skilful in just verbal communication would not work. You would need to be intelligent in non-verbal communication as well, as both verbal and non-verbal communication both happen simultaneously during a simple conversation.
Interpersonal Skills are related and directly proportional to the level of one's Emotional Quotient (EQ) or also known as Emotional Intelligence (EI). The higher one's EQ/EI the better interpersonal skill that person will likely possess. Emotional Intelligence affects your Interpersonal Skills; naturally, humans communicate and interact with other people, both individually or in groups. People who has a high emotional intelligence and good interpersonal skills are usually more successful in their career.
"IQ gets you hired, but EQ gets you promoted" - (Communication in 21st Century,2012)
However, Interpersonal Skills are not just important for our career. Our personal live can also benefit from a good Interpersonal Skills. For example, people with good Interpersonal Skills are usually more likeable thus have a better social live. And people who lack of Interpersonal Skills generally have a tough time building relationship with people.
"Through awareness of how you interact with others - and with practice - you can improve your interpersonal skills."
The above is a line taken from a website SkillsYouNeed.com, and what has been said is very true. Through awareness and with practice, you can definitely improve your Interpersonal Skills. By building and training your Interpersonal Skills, you are also. in a way, improving your Emotional Intelligence.
But bear in mind that Interpersonal Skills also applies to both verbal and non-verbal communication. Meaning, you would need to be aware that being Interpersonally Skilful in just verbal communication would not work. You would need to be intelligent in non-verbal communication as well, as both verbal and non-verbal communication both happen simultaneously during a simple conversation.
As it shown in the picture above, (while S stands for Sender and R stands for Receiver) it is apparent that in a two-way communication between two people, there will be a Message coming out from the Sender in which the Receiver would then interpret the message and react by sending out a Feedback. It is very important to bear in mind that during this communication, something we refer to as a 'noise' might disrupt the message or the feedback. Without Interpersonal Skills, this 'noise' may create a conflict of interest between the Sender and Receiver.
There are few simple ways in which you can improve your Interpersonal Skills. They are such as (but not limited to);
There are few simple ways in which you can improve your Interpersonal Skills. They are such as (but not limited to);
- Clarity - by improving the clarity of the message you are trying to convey to the other receiving end, you may reduce the possibility of 'noise' interference while also helping the Receiver of the message to be able to understand your message better. Hence smoother conversation can be achieved.
- Empathize - you, when you are the Sender of the message, you must keep in mind that the Receiver might see and think differently on the subject matter. Hence it is encouraged for you to actually think, and put yourself into their shoes and see if you can understand their different opinion on the matter. Of course, naturally when you are at the Receiving end, you must also put yourself into the Sender's shoes and think from their view on the matter.
- Stress - understand that many factors including 'stress' may put either you or the Receiver of the information on the 'edge'. It is apparent that people who are under pressure and feeling stress tend to be slightly over-sensitive and get worked up easily. It is very natural and common. However people with a high level of Interpersonal Skills are generally able to overcome 'stress' in a way that it does not have much impact on how they communicate with each others.
- Reflection - one of the most important key point you need to implement and do regularly in order to improve your Interpersonal Skill is self-reflection. It is very straight forward and self-explanatory as the name suggest. Basically every now and then, whenever you hit the 'bump' during a conversation with your peer, sit back and reflect on what would the outcome be had you say or do something differently than what you did? What could you have done to avoid the 'bump'?
In conclusion, with enough practice everyone can be Interpersonally Skilful and Emotionally Intelligent. With a good Interpersonal Skills you would be able to thrive in both your social life and your career. All it takes are patience, practice and persistence in order to master Interpersonal Skills. It is simple, but it is not easy.
References
Eunson, B. (2012). Communicating in the 21st century. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley and Sons Australia.
http://advancedsearch-identity.com/,. (2014). Basic Elements Interpersonal Skills. Retrieved from http://advancedsearch-identity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BasicElementsInterpersonalCommunicationsSmall.png
http://warpandwoof.org/,. Laughter at the Office. Retrieved from http://warpandwoof.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Laughter-Web.jpg
http://www.ICTD.org/,. (2014). Interpersonal and Self Development Word Art. Retrieved from http://www.ictd.org/images/articles/750.jpg
Investopedia,. (2010). Interpersonal Skills Definition | Investopedia. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/interpersonal-skills.asp
Nah, W. (2009). The Three Different Levels of Listening. Communicatebetter.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://communicatebetter.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/three-different-levels-of-listening.html
Selectioncriteria.com.au,. (2007). What are communication and interpersonal skills?. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.selectioncriteria.com.au/a-commsinterp.html
Skillsyouneed.com,. (2011). Interpersonal Communication Skills | SkillsYouNeed. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/interpersonal-communication.html
Skillsyouneed.com,. (2011). Principles of Interpersonal Communication | SkillsYouNeed. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/principles-communication.html
Eunson, B. (2012). Communicating in the 21st century. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley and Sons Australia.
http://advancedsearch-identity.com/,. (2014). Basic Elements Interpersonal Skills. Retrieved from http://advancedsearch-identity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BasicElementsInterpersonalCommunicationsSmall.png
http://warpandwoof.org/,. Laughter at the Office. Retrieved from http://warpandwoof.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Laughter-Web.jpg
http://www.ICTD.org/,. (2014). Interpersonal and Self Development Word Art. Retrieved from http://www.ictd.org/images/articles/750.jpg
Investopedia,. (2010). Interpersonal Skills Definition | Investopedia. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/interpersonal-skills.asp
Nah, W. (2009). The Three Different Levels of Listening. Communicatebetter.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://communicatebetter.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/three-different-levels-of-listening.html
Selectioncriteria.com.au,. (2007). What are communication and interpersonal skills?. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.selectioncriteria.com.au/a-commsinterp.html
Skillsyouneed.com,. (2011). Interpersonal Communication Skills | SkillsYouNeed. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/interpersonal-communication.html
Skillsyouneed.com,. (2011). Principles of Interpersonal Communication | SkillsYouNeed. Retrieved 21 October 2014, from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/principles-communication.html