Interpersonal Skills are the Key for a Thriving Business

Interpersonal Skills

Is your workplace productive, effective and happy?

In a working world that is increasingly driven by technology, interpersonal skills are more important than ever.

Our success as a species depends on our ability to communicate in every area of our lives; at home, with friends and in the workplace.

These skills are critical, regardless of the workplace hierarchy or the industry you work in.

Soft Skills

Interpersonal skills, or soft skills as they’re also known, allow us to convey ideas, solve problems and be first-rate team players and leaders.

They also mean we show greater empathy and understanding towards others, so they feel appreciated and valued.

Strong soft skills form the building blocks of a successful and harmonious office or workplace. As we progress in our careers, it is important to improve and nurture these skills as we grow and develop. They are also crucial for any business to thrive.

The better its people communicate and interact with each other, the more efficient and productive the organisation will be.

What Are Interpersonal Skills?

Are you searching for an interpersonal skills definition?

Interpersonal skills can make the difference between good and great employees, but what exactly are they?

While hard skills are the technical expertise and knowledge needed to do a particular job, interpersonal skills are characterised by our interactions with other people.

These interpersonal skills, or people skills, relate to qualities that you rely on when communicating with others.

Great interpersonal skills cover a broad range of strengths and they are underpinned by active listening, empathy, motivation, dependability, engagement and teamwork.

These capabilities enable you to solve problems, work well in a group, lead a team, manage your time and promote relationships in an effective and authentic way.

Most Important People Skills

Leadership

Being a strong leader requires several soft skills and even if you are not a leader, it is important to possess these skills to influence regardless of your job description.

Leadership traits include being motivating, trustworthy, creative and communicating well. Being able to delegate clearly is also a valuable asset in a leader.

Good leaders enhance productivity and inspire confidence and enthusiasm in employees. They also encourage creative and innovative working environments.

Communication & Presentation

People with strong communication and presentation skills and those who fully understand information, who clearly translate it to others, will have a better chance of excelling at work.

This type of communication takes place between individuals such as co-workers, leaders and their teams, internal and external stakeholders and, of course, with clients and suppliers.

Daily Communication

Daily communication occurs in meetings, interviews, presentations and other environments. Good verbal communicators convey messages clearly, receive feedback well and use the right tone and language.

They will also reflect what they are saying through paraphrasing and summarising. Good communicators also practice active listening. This is a communication technique that means you are engaged in listening to the person who is talking to you.

Cues include eye contact, smiling and verbal affirmation. Being an active listener leads to avoiding mistakes and misunderstandings and increases productivity. It also makes people feel heard, valued and understood.

Positive Body Language

Another important factor within communication and presentations is positive body language. Experts agree that more than half of communication is through non-verbal communication.

Therefore, the majority of what is understood by another person is not communicated by words but through physical cues, including our bodies, posture and facial expressions.

This body language conveys our interest and encourages others to talk to and connect with us. Positive non-verbal cues include having a relaxed and open posture, maintaining eye contact and smiling.

People Management

Good management is about getting the best out of yourself and your team. Anyone can build essential management skills from performance management to change management, from running effective appraisals to better and shorter meetings.

Each element is a key building block in the human psyche for effective management.

Teamwork

Productive team workers display many soft skills. These include excellent communication, collaboration and leadership skills.

A good team worker will know when to stand back and listen, or when to show initiative and lead.

Being able to work as part of a team will help you and everyone around you. It boosts relationships, lightens the workload and leads to creative problem-solving.

Conflict Management

Conflict in the workplace is inevitable.

Whether you are a manager or not, you will likely have to resolve conflicts.

Good conflict management skills allow conflicts to be resolved quickly and peacefully, and for groups to work together more collaboratively. They also promote a more respectful and productive workplace.

Time Management

This is a skill that is valuable in every area of life.

Knowing which tasks to prioritise leads to better decision-making and increases productivity.

Creativity and Strategic Thinking

Having an aptitude for effective and creative problem solving is a valued attribute. Most jobs have an element of problem-solving.

Good problem solvers identify challenges, explore solutions and implement the most viable ones. This can be hugely beneficial in workplaces of all descriptions.

Other Interpersonal Skills

There are countless other interpersonal skills. These include Assertiveness, Negotiation, Influencing, Coaching and Mentoring, Resilience... to name a few.

Why Interpersonal Skills Are So Vital

Interpersonal skills are not something we can solely learn from a book; these skills are being developed from the moment we are born.

Productive and Dynamic Workplace

Businesses require their staff to have a strong understanding and grasp of interpersonal skills. Employers look for people who can communicate clearly and effectively and show a strong work ethic and drive.

The more people who have shown these important skills in any business, the more productive and ultimately successful the working environment will be.

By offering staff the right training and opportunities to focus on interpersonal development, businesses will have a competitive advantage over rivals and create a happier and more dynamic workplace with a positive impact on retention and talent attraction and of course, better performance and productivity.

Emotional Intelligence

Having these interpersonal skills is also essential to thriving at work in the future. These strengths are strongly associated with emotional intelligence, sometimes called EQ.

EQ was recently ranked sixth in the World Economic Forum’s list of top skills that employees will need to flourish in the workplace of the future. Despite the increase in technology, these skills are seen as increasingly important, with human interaction at the core of every business.

A recent LinkedIn report showed that 57 per cent of business leaders felt that soft skills (the skills only humans can offer) are more important than hard technical skills.

How to Improve and Reinforce your Soft Skills

Some people find these soft skills come more naturally to them than others. Being mindful of these skills and tapping into our awareness of them is the first step in boosting them.

One of the main ways you can bring attention to interpersonal skills and improve them is through training. We offer Open Courses, for the public, focusing on individual needs and goals.

We also run Tailored Training Programmes, designed always in partnership with the organisations we work with to respond to their specific people-driven challenges to help them meet defined aims and business objectives.

Professional Personal Development

Both Open Courses and Tailored Training programmes are designed with the person at the heart.

Our unique training method, Professional Personal Development, takes elements from psychotherapy and drama techniques and it’s backed up by the latest neuroscience studies as we build from the individual strengths and personal associations.

These courses include fun neuroscience games and icebreakers and a fully experiential delivery that makes learning truly stick for long term behavioural change.

Psychotherapy

The elements of psychotherapy help delegates to understand what is going on in their heads and their internal narrative.

The inner dialogue that we have with ourselves has a huge influence on the way we behave and we are perceived by people.

Drama Techniques

Drama techniques, like role-play and Forum Theatre, provide practical tools to change what happens around people. It helps delegates build on what they are already doing well and stretch their comfort zone to help them make the smallest change for the biggest impact.

Bespoke Programmes

Every single course and training programme is bespoke to the people in the room, making sure that the learning is personalised and memorable and the tools can be used straight away and be rolled out across the organisation.

By reinforcing your soft skills, you will help your teams work together more effectively and harmoniously, collaborate and problem solve, persuade, improve performance, lead and win new business. Our programmes will help them to handle a range of situations with confidence and skill.

How to Reinforce Interpersonal Skills

Show Appreciation and Invest in Your People Development

Businesses that value their staff will have a motivated workforce who feel valued and appreciated.

As well as saying thank you, businesses can show this through offering personal development based on their strengths and needs and other benefits, such as away days, fitness opportunities or financial rewards.

They are all great motivators for Millennials and Generation Z, as reported by a recent study from Allegis Group. By investing in your people, you’re increasing retention and attracting new talent.

Spread Happiness

Happiness is contagious, so having a cheerful and harmonious workplace will enhance output and performance.

Recent research shows that there is a direct link between employees’ happiness and their productivity at work.

A recent study, at Warwick University, shows that happier workers are 12 per cent more productive.

Be an Active Listener

Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience suggests that we only remember around 20 per cent of what we hear. Listening well, therefore, can have a major impact on our job effectiveness.

Encourage an environment where everyone feels listened to and understood.

Encourage Inclusivity and Diversity

No one ever likes to feel they have been left out of a group.

Promote a culture of inclusivity, where everyone is invited to share their ideas and welcome diversity in your workforce as a key competitive advantage.

Boost Assertiveness

An open and honest culture, where the leaders are assertive, will promote an environment where staff can tread the fine line between expressing their own views, whilst also appreciating those from others. Assertive behaviour includes accepting responsibilities and being able to delegate.

Despite technological advances substantially changing – even improving our lives and our jobs, it’s all for nothing without humans at the core.

Without people working effectively together with the purpose of achieving a common goal, no organisation can work, operate and thrive.