Different social skills
What are Social Skills? 5 Examples in the Workplace
Your business will be more successful if your team members have strong social skills, often referred to as interpersonal or “people” skills. People with these key attributes are better at collaborating with coworkers, customers, and clients, which typically leads to higher quality work and increased sales for your business.
As you’re making hiring and promotion decisions, look for people with these key interpersonal skills:
- Communication
- Cooperation
- Leadership
- Relationship-building
- Empathy
Here are some social skills examples, tips to help you identify people with these skills, and why they’re an asset to your organization.
What are Social Skills?They are socially focused soft skills that people use to build relationships with coworkers, clients, and customers. There are dozens of “people” skills that people use every day, but the most impactful ones include:
1.
If your team members have strong written, verbal, and non-verbal communication skills, your team will be more efficient and effective. Whether they are writing an email or speaking up in a team meeting, people with strong communication skills can explain their ideas and give instructions clearly and concisely.
People with strong communication skills are also active listeners. They may ask follow-up questions, give actionable feedback, remember what people say, and expand on the ideas of others.
You will be able to assess a candidate’s written communication skills from their resume, cover letter, and any writing samples. If you move forward with the interview process, you’ll be able to quickly evaluate their verbal communication skills (for instance, whether they are engaging and speak clearly and confidently). You’ll also witness their non-verbal communication in action through body language, eye contact, and facial expressions.
2. Cooperation
When your employees cooperate with one another, they share ideas, provide advice, and pitch in when a coworker needs help.
While competition is integral to some jobs, like being a trial lawyer or politician, your company will be more productive if your coworkers work together as a team.
Look for employees who praise their coworkers, congratulate them, and offer to help with projects or any problems that arise. When you interview candidates, ask them to provide an example of a time they worked closely with a small team and what makes them a good “team player.”
3. Leadership
There are several social skills that signal someone’s leadership capability, including decision-making skills, the ability to delegate, an eye toward team-building, and confidence. It’s important to understand that being an effective leader doesn’t mean talking the loudest or otherwise being an “alpha” presence in the office (in fact, that behavior often drives away good employees).
Look for employees who lead new projects, mentor team members, and identify problems and solutions. Ask candidates to tell you about a time they led a team at work or school and what traits make them a good leader.
4. Relationship-Building
Your company will perform better if your employees are adept at developing relationships with colleagues, clients, and customers. It will improve employee recruitment and retention, increase employee morale and engagement, and help you gain repeat customers and clients.
Employees with strong relationship-building skills are collaborative, friendly, and engaging. Ask candidates to share what they think past coworkers would say about working with them—and then check with their references.
5. Empathy
Empathetic employees have an easier time connecting with colleagues, customers, and clients. If your employees are empathetic, they understand other people’s emotions and can build stronger and more productive relationships.
Look for employees who are respectful and accepting of other people’s perspectives. Ask candidates to tell you about a time they worked with a difficult coworker, customer, or client and were able to navigate or even diffuse the tension.
There are numerous ways your company will benefit from having coworkers with strong social skills. Here are the advantages you’re likely to see if your employees have all the key skills:
- Heightened Employee Morale. When your employees work well together, employee morale and engagement is sure to surge. Your employees will be more productive, collaborative, and motivated, making your team and business more successful.
- Increased Productivity and Performance. If your employees have all these socially focused soft skills, they will be able to work together more effectively. It’s likely they will produce higher quality work, making it more likely you’ll have repeat customers and clients.
- Improved Employee Recruitment and Retention. When a critical mass of employees possesses these important skills, they become tenants of your company culture, helping you recruit and retain top talent.
You need the right team in place for your business to be successful. Now you know the key social skills to look for when you’re evaluating candidates and employees and how they will help your bottom line. Attract and retain employees with the right blend of hard and soft skills by implementing additional hiring and management advice from Monster.
What are Social Skills? | SkillsYouNeed
Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance.
Human beings are sociable creatures and we have developed many ways to communicate our messages, thoughts and feelings with others.
What is said is influenced by both verbal language and the way we use it - tone of voice, volume of speech and the words we choose - as well as by more subtle messages such as body language, gestures and other non-verbal communication methods.
The fact that some people are better 'social interactors' than others has led to detailed investigations into the nature and function of interpersonal interaction.
Developing social skills is about being aware of how we communicate with others, the messages we send and how methods of communication can be improved to make the way we communicate more efficient and effective.
There are distinct advantages to having well developed social skills.
Here are five:
1. More and Better Relationships
Identifying well with individuals leads to more relationships and, at times, friendships.
By developing your social skills you become more charismatic, a desirable trait . People are more interested in charismatic people as charismatic people are (or at least appear to be) more interested in them.
Most people know you cannot advance far in life without strong interpersonal relationships. Focusing on relationships will help you get a job, get promoted and make new friends.
Well honed social skills can increase your happiness and satisfaction and give you a better outlook on life.
More relationships can also help to reduce the negative effects of stress and boost your self-esteem.
2. Better Communication
Relating with people and being able to work in large groups naturally develops one's communication skills.
After all, you can not have great social skills without good communication skills and being able to convey one's thoughts and ideas may be the single most important skill that you can develop in life..
3. Greater Efficiency
If you are good with people, you can more easily avoid being with the people you do not like as much as others.
Some people dread social interactions because they do not wish to spend time with individuals who do not have similar interests and viewpoints. It is a lot easier to attend a meeting at work or a party in your personal life if you know at least some of the people who will be there.
If you are in a social situation and do not want to spend time with 'John' because you don't like him or he cannot help you with a particular issue, a good set of social skills will allow you to politely convey that you need to spend time with other people at the get together.
See our pages improving self-esteem and building confidence.
4. Advancing Career Prospects
Most worthwhile jobs have a 'people component' and the most lucrative positions often involve a large amount of time spent interacting with employees, media and colleagues.
It is rare that an individual can remain isolated in their office and still excel in their job. Most organisations are looking for individuals with a particular, tactical, skill set: the ability to work well in a team and to influence and motivate people to get things done.
See our pages: Employability Skills and Transferable Skills for more information about the kind of skills that employers are looking for.
5. Increased Overall Happiness
Getting along and understanding people will help to open many personal and career-related doors.
Having the confidence to start a conversation at a work-related conference may lead to a new job offer with a higher salary. A smile and 'hello' in a social situation may lead to a friendship being formed.
See our pages: Personal Presentation and Emotional Intelligence for more.
Characteristics of Social Skills
- Social skills are goal-directed.
- Socially skilled behaviours are interrelated in the sense that one person may use more than one kind of behaviour at the same time, for the same goal.
- Social skills should be appropriate to the situation of communication. Different social skills will be used for professional and personal communication.
- Social skills can be identified as certain types of behaviour whereby an individual can be judged on how socially skilled they are.
- Social skills can be taught, practiced and learned.
- Social skills should be under the cognitive control of the individual - learning them involves learning when to use particular behaviours, as well as what behaviours to use, or how to use them.
Use the characteristics of social skills to think more about what the term, 'Social Skills' means.
The acknowledgement of social skills in this way leads us to think that social skills can indeed be learnt, usually through practice and experience but also taught.
Further Reading from Skills You Need
The Skills You Need Guide to Interpersonal Skills eBooks.
Develop your interpersonal skills with our series of eBooks. Learn about and improve your communication skills, tackle conflict resolution, mediate in difficult situations, and develop your emotional intelligence.
Develop your Social Skills
As social skills involve effective communication it is useful to further explore the models of communication and understand how effective communication can be encouraged and developed.
We have lots of further information to help with this development, follow the links below for more.
It is generally acknowledged that social skills and character development are more difficult to attain and harder to change when people get older, so the sooner you start, the better.
Take our Interpersonal Skills Self-Assessment to discover your strengths and weaknesses.
6 types of social skills and what are they for? / psychology
Throughout our lives we are forced to face a number of social situations in which we must interact with other people. In order to deal effectively with each of these situations, people must develop what is known as social skills.
These abilities allow us to communicate with others and resolve situations and conflicts in our interactions with others. In addition, there are different kinds of social skills which are classified according to their complexity and according to the functions they perform.
- Article on the topic: "Assertive communication: how to express yourself clearly"
What social skills?
At present, there is no consensus in the world of psychology that allows unequivocally and equally to define the concept of "social skills". However, if we take into account both its characteristics and its functions, we can define social skills as a set of tactics or behavioral maneuvers that people naturally learn and which are used in situations of interaction with other people in order to successfully solve a social situation.
The fact that these skills are not innate but acquired spontaneously throughout our lives makes them susceptible to learning and improvement through social skills teaching methods. feelings in an adequate and satisfactory manner. In the same way, it also gives us the opportunity to express our opinions and thoughts according to the situation in which we live..
Thanks to them, we enjoy favorable and positive interpersonal relationships; we feel better with ourselves and help achieve our goals in our social life .
These skills are also observed in the animal world. In nature, we can observe communication skills and relationships between members of the same animal species, these abilities are similar to what we know as social skills.
Finally and finally, social skills have a number of characteristics that distinguish them and distinguish them from other types of human abilities. These characteristics:
- They are learned and therefore is able to learn and improve .
- They are essential if we are to have good mental and psychological health.
- They are not rigid patterns of behavior but norms that adapt to every situation.
Types of social skills
There are various ways to group different types of social skills according to the classification criteria used. In this case, we will stick to the classical classification of social skills, within which, as we will see, there are 6 different sets.
It should be added that all these categories are modulated by two main attitudes in establishing interpersonal relationships.
1. Basic Social Skills
They are the first to be acquired, being important for creating and maintaining satisfactory communication . These include:
- Know how to start a conversation.
- know talk .
- Active listening skills.
- Wording of questions.
- Introduce yourself .
- Thank you.
- The ability to give compliments.
- Empathic skills .
2. Advanced Social Skills
After a person has acquired basic social skills, he has the necessary base to work on advanced social skills, which gives us strategies for conveniently dealing with social relationships. This category of types of social skills includes the following skills:
- Opportunity to express your opinion.
- Ask for help.
- Opportunity to apologize .
- participation.
- Offer and give instructions.
- Follow instructions.
- Conviction ability .
3. Affective social skills
These types of skills are related to the ability to effectively identify and manage both our feelings and the feelings of others. Within this category there are:
- Identify and recognize emotions and feelings.
- Understand the feelings of others.
- Container express feelings and emotions .
- Expression of affects.
- Respect the feelings of others.
- Capacity for to face the wrath of others .
- Independent ability.
- Management of fear of communication with people.
- Ability to inspire others.
- Container for comfort others .
4. Negotiation skills or alternatives to aggression
Social negotiation skills enable us to avoid or manage conflicts.
They lie in the ability to solve problems in interpersonal relationships without the use of aggression or violence. They are:
- Know how to ask for permission.
- Possibility to share .
- Ability to help others.
- The ability to love yourself.
- Ability to tolerate and respond to jokes.
- Negotiation skills .
- Ability of self-control.
- Ability to defend one's rights.
- Don't get into fights .
- Ability to avoid problems for other people.
5. Stress Coping Skills
These types of skills are essential for successful conflict resolution in situations of tension or stress. This group includes:
- The ability to manage feelings of shame.
- Ability to protect others.
- Tolerance for failure.
- Ability to respond to beliefs .
- Ability to respond to an accusation.
- Ability to formulate complaints or claims.
- Ability to respond to complaints or grievances.
- sportiness.
- Know how to resist group pressure.
- Manage a difficult conversation .
- Tolerance to be ignored or disregarded.
- Ability to deal with conflicting messages.
6. Planning skills
In the category of social skills related to planning, we can find:
- Recognition of one's abilities .
- Ability to make decisions.
- Setting goals .
- Determine the cause of problems and solve them.
- Collection of information.
- Ability to focus on a task.
12 social skills that improve the work of IT project managers / Sudo Null IT News
Hi Habr! I present to your attention the translation of the article: “12 Soft Skills That Make IT Project Managers Unstoppable” by Pavel_Ku.
Increasing competition in the labor market means that jobs based on technical skills are no longer enough. In reality, such skills include creating work breakdown structures, project budget management, earned value estimation, and critical path diagrams. All of these skills require technical training and the application of professional knowledge and tools to succeed. What are the social skills of a leader and how do they help to unleash the capabilities of project managers?
Social skills (also known as “people skills”) are also important, and their development is becoming increasingly popular in jobs in all industries. These skills provide a real advantage to managers who have learned to use them well.
Definition technical and social skills
Technical skills allow you to acquire a certain competence in the industry of your choice. In fact, this technical background is a key ingredient for every project. This typically includes programming skills, project management competencies, or systems design experience.
Technical qualifications, certifications and experience are the most common basis for hiring.
The best thing about social skills is that they help us make the best use of our technical base in a given situation.
Social skills provide and enhance technical skills. This leads to innovation and creativity in today's fast paced environment.
They are often considered secondary to technical when applying for a job. However, the obsession with technical skills over social skills may be driven by the need to focus on immediate progress.
Here is a list of the social skills required for successful project management.
Manual
Just as every crew has its own pilot, just as the strongest army has its own commander, any performance-oriented team must have its own leader. Being a leader is not only about creating a good atmosphere and motivating everyone, but also about solving everyday problems.
Successful leadership is essential for project managers.
This means that they must be able to lead and manage teams, set a vision, motivate and serve employees, train and inspire all team members.
Effective project managers lead from a strategic and operational perspective, they communicate the vision, evaluate performance, and make sure that all team members are provided with the powerful tools, money, and other necessary resources to succeed.
Leading people means serving them by taking responsibility for how to make the team's life better and projects more successful. The key skill in project management is leadership, not just management. You must provide a vision and project plan to empower your team.
Building trust
There is no leadership without trust. A true leader is one who has earned the trust of the team and can trust them without hesitation.
By being transparent about decisions and involving people in the decision-making process, a project manager can quickly achieve success.
He should be interested in the growth of team members and help people achieve their specific goals.
Communication
The ability to communicate well, understand and be understood is also extremely important for people involved in project management.
Effective communication is the key to any relationship. This skill of the project manager has an impact not only on the team, but also on clients and all stakeholders.
Poor communication jeopardizes the successful outcome of the project, while clear communication is mainly about understanding and maintaining a dialogue, rather than one-way communication. Therefore, it is very important for project managers to choose a quality online collaboration tool and select individual “keys” for each employee.
Active listening
This is not an innate skill, but a technique that can and should be developed day by day. Listening is directly related to communication.
In fact, it is not difficult to provide constant feedback to the speaker by reformulating what he has understood.
Good listening allows project managers to learn more about their clients and team members and be more involved. Mastering this skill creates mutual trust between all parties involved.
In order to improve active listening, you must focus on truly understanding what is being said and relaying the information in your own words.
Team spirit
Projects can involve different people, including clients, suppliers, sponsors, consultants, the quality assurance team, and so on. The team that works on the project interacts with most of these people, so it is important for them to feel safe and trust each other.
For any manager it is important not only to be a team leader, but also to be a full member of this group. That is why they should be able to organize team exercises and problem-solving activities in order to develop a project environment that will help people connect with each other.
Project managers need to know how and when to involve people in decision making, keep the team up to date on the client's business, resolve potential conflicts, and enhance team spirit.
Motivation
Any employee will stay motivated if he knows that his work makes sense. Project managers must take care of the various personal and professional needs and goals of their team members and be able to meet them in this direction.
It's not just about financial compensation, but also about a sense of accomplishment by doing difficult work, hierarchical growth, or gaining recognition for hard work.
Influence
The ability to get people to change their minds is another valuable skill for project managers.
Influence is power, and achieving greater impact in the workplace can be critical to the success of a project.
It can help you work more effectively and make you more respected, and make your voice heard and recognized.
However, it takes some time and effort to gain this influence.
There is a fine line between influence and manipulation, so try to understand them and use your relationships with team members effectively to ensure that you work together to make the right decisions and achieve all project goals.
Decision making
Decisions can be strategic or emergency, routine or operational.
Each project manager has their own set of criteria to help them make a decision. In their decision-making process, they should pay attention to how it will affect others and consult with their colleagues when necessary.
There are several main decision-making methods:
- Authoritative (command) when the decision of the project manager is final.
- Consultations involving team members and stakeholders.
- Consensus - a decision is made that the majority of the team members like.
- Random decisions are often made using the coin toss method.
Negotiation
Negotiation skills are also essential for project managers, who must always ensure that they listen to both sides and make decisions in a fair manner. They can negotiate with almost anyone, every day.
Finding a compromise is an essential element of a good negotiation process. You may often encounter competing interests, and it is your job to place these different interests on the same page in order to achieve the goals of the project.
Conflict resolution
Only an ideal world implies the absence of conflicts and contentious situations. In fact, conflicts are part of any system in which people participate.
Conflict resolution can be one of the core social skills that any project manager needs to master.
They may encounter various causes of conflict within the project team, from competition, gaps in communication, unclear requirements, to personnel policy, and so on.
Well-resolved conflicts can bring people together and make them more focused and productive.
Risk management
Any project can go beyond the plan, project managers are not magicians. Sometimes it is very difficult to anticipate and prevent risks before they become a problem. However, you should try your best to stay on top of your projects by controlling risks and proactively mitigating them as much as possible.
Risk management is truly your professional experience. The sooner you identify risks, the better your chances of avoiding them.
Coaching
A good leader is a good mentor. Coaching helps employees reach their own potential and rise from their current skill level to the next level.
To be an effective mentor, the project manager must be able to help people change their mindset about the situation and help them perform better.
When people know that a mentor is helping them, they take extra steps to achieve their professional goals.
