Strong interpersonal skills

In today’s fast-paced world, having strong interpersonal skills is a job requirement. Whether you’re interacting with clients or colleagues, there are certain skills you need to improve interactions and foster relationships. There are even situations where your social and emotional intelligence (or lack thereof) can make or break your career.

So what exactly constitutes strong interpersonal skills? We’ve compiled a quick list of essential characteristics that will help you build better relationships at work including likeability, rapport building, maintaining composure under pressure, empathy and compassion, and social intelligence.

Likeability

In the workplace, you want to be known as someone liked and respected. This means being friendly, kind, non-judgmental, trustworthy and authentic. The importance of “likeability” cannot be overstated. It can make the difference between a job promotion or being overlooked for the next project. Having strong interpersonal skills makes it easier to gain people’s trust and establish rapport with others.

Rapport Building

Rapport is a close connection or similarity between two or more people that creates a sense of harmony or cooperation. In short, rapport is what drives effective teamwork and working relationships at work. The key to building rapport is to use your words and body language in a way that will attract people to you. For example, smiling and being open shows sincerity.

Managing Under Pressure

In today’s work environment, it’s important to be able to handle the unexpected. Some employees find themselves under pressure in different ways: they are faced with issues that are beyond their control or face organizational pressure or other external stressors at the workplace. You may be put in a situation where you have no choice but to make an impulsive decision, speak out of turn or even come across as angry and hostile.

Empathy and Compassion

Understanding and communicating about the feelings of others not only establishes rapport, but is also crucial for maintaining relationships at work. You must be able to see things from another person’s point of view. Being empathetic means you can understand another person’s emotions, fears and needs. Being compassionate means you are ready to listen, have an open mind and treat people with respect and dignity.

Social Intelligence

There is a link between social intelligence – the ability to understand how peoples’ minds work – and emotional intelligence – the ability to identify one’s own feelings as well as those of others. Social intelligence will help you build rapport with other people which will improve your communication skills. Also, social intelligence will make you more successful at work.

Most interviewers are looking for your skills (likeability, rapport building, managing under pressure and empathy and compassion), but you not only need to prove that you have these skills, but that you can show them in action. It’s good to be able to talk about certain situations or occasions in your life that reflects how these skills helped you succeed. This is known as a “life story” and it’s one of the most common questions asked in interviews.

To go beyond the points mentioned above, I suggest these skills:

Ability to listen

Good listeners are always attentive and pay attention to what other people have to say. Good listeners can reflect back on the information given and provide additional details for the interviewee, which allows him or her to respond appropriately. This will help build rapport with the interviewer. (See also: How to Answer Interview Questions)

Non-verbal communication

While an interview is conducted with words, you must also demonstrate your skills in communicating through non-verbal cues such as eye contact, body language and tone of voice. A good listener will keep his or her eyes fixed on the person he or she is talking with, lean in instead of sitting back in his chair while making eye contact and using small gestures at appropriate times during a conversation.

Reliability

The best way to show a potential employer that you are reliable is to be punctual for the interview. Being on time for the interview demonstrates that you are reliable and that you have good time management skills.

Openness to feedback

Employers look for candidates who can take constructive criticism in a positive manner. If you were let down by someone in your life you may respond adversely or with hostility. Taking feedback positively allows employers to see your ability to learn from mistakes and grow as an individual. The best way to demonstrate this is by asking your interviewer how they might change certain aspects of your performance in the future, and then working towards these changes once asked.

Positive attitude

One major aspect of interviewing is creating a good first impression. This involves demonstrating an upbeat, confident and energetic attitude. You may want to talk about how much you love working at your current job in order to demonstrate this – this will also help show what your goals are for the future. I suggest using references that can describe you as a positive person and someone who likes to have fun.

Having strong interpersonal skills can be an asset to your career. If you feel that there is more to do in your life, it may be beneficial for you to take a gap year to gain some experience and develop these skills even further.