Interpersonal Skills

In a job interview, a candidate with a weaker resume could outdo a candidate with a much stronger one. While the logic says that recruiters will prefer a candidate with high hard skills, it is not always the case. You see, soft skills in an interview certainly help you stand out. It is one of the big reasons why people with lower GPAs and academic performance can land promising jobs. In this explanation, we touch upon the concept of interpersonal skills and their importance in organizational behavior. If you are ready to dive deeper, then let's keep moving!

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StudySmarter Editorial Team

Team Interpersonal Skills Teachers

  • 9 minutes reading time
  • Checked by StudySmarter Editorial Team
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      Interpersonal Skills Definition

      What is the definition of interpersonal skills? In any organization, communication is a key factor in its success. Top-tier managers communicate the tasks to the team leads, who then communicate them to their team members. This information flow helps them keep their performance on track and promptly rectify mistakes. To make communication effective, employees need to have strong interpersonal skills.

      Interpersonal skill is the ability to interact and communicate with others.

      In organizational behavior, interpersonal skill is one of the main subjects. The reason is that it helps the organization achieve its goals. When the employees have good interpersonal skills, they can communicate effectively to find common ground. It also proves to be a key to handling complex situations in organizations and allows us to create a collaborative working environment.

      As for employees, they must develop strong interpersonal skills, which would help them in their professional journeys. We devote years and years of our lives to our professional careers; therefore, we must make conscious efforts to develop these skills. It has a direct impact on our employability and networking.

      Sales executives possess strong interpersonal skills and can build strong connections with clients. Due to this, they manage to forge good networks. It eventually helps them close sales and achieve their targets easily.

      Importance of Interpersonal Skills in Organizational Behavior

      We cannot downplay the importance of interpersonal skills in organizational behavior. For employees as well as employers, interpersonal skills play a huge role in understanding tasks and communicating issues effectively.

      For employers, it helps identify issues that could hamper the performance of employees. Employers must have strong interpersonal skills to communicate their roles and responsibilities to the employees. They can use these skills to build rapport with the employees.

      As for employees, it helps them to build good working relationships with their colleagues. They can use these skills to communicate their problems to the management. It would ensure that their problems are taken care of immediately. This factor will increase their job engagement and satisfaction.

      A graphic designer with strong interpersonal skills can better understand the demands of clients. It will save them time as they will not have to rework the assignment. As for clients, they will get what they want – a win-win situation for both.

      Interpersonal Communication Skills

      Interpersonal communication skills are required to share information and express feelings or thoughts either face-to-face or through a medium. It includes the following:

      • verbal communication,
      • non-verbal communication, and
      • active listening.

      Communication is an important aspect of interpersonal skills. People need interpersonal communication skills to communicate their messages and effectively receive information.

      Interpersonal communication is an essential part of an organization. Employees require information sharing to perform day-to-day tasks. They can communicate the progress of projects and get information from their superiors through interpersonal communication. It helps them to complete the tasks on time and produce better results.

      At the workplace, these skills could prove fruitful in resolving issues among coworkers. Organizations must focus on cultivating these skills in the workplace. They can introduce training to help employees acquire these skills.

      Interpersonal skills Interpersonal communication involves verbal and non verbal communication and active listening StudySmarterFig. 1 - Interpersonal communication involves verbal, non-verbal communication, and active listening

      Let’s discuss the elements of interpersonal communication skills.

      These are:

      1. verbal communication
      2. non-verbal communication
      3. active listening

      Verbal communication – It is an important element of interpersonal communication. You need to have good verbal communication to achieve success in your profession. From job interviews to working in an organization, effective verbal communication makes you stand out and helps you to connect with colleagues.

      Non-verbal communication – This type of communication includes body language, facial expressions, and gestures. It serves to provide clarity and establish trust in your verbal communication. It shows how the communicator is feeling or what his intentions are.

      Active listening – Communication is not complete without active listening. To connect with others and work collaboratively, you must actively listen to what others communicate. This will help you understand the message and provide a reply or solution. Active listening is especially important in dealing with customers.

      Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills

      Communication skill is a life-long skill that has a direct impact on our lives. It enables us to express our thoughts, listen to others, and build strong relationships along the way. However, to make communication effective, we need to understand the concept of interpersonal effectiveness skills.

      Interpersonal effectiveness skills mean communicating the exact feelings or thoughts without compromising on relationships and self-respect.

      It is the ability to manage communication effectively. People often struggle to say what they want to say, and this could make them feel frustrated. Interpersonal effectiveness skills help to enter a conversation with a defined objective. This way, one can easily communicate their thoughts to others.

      Another aspect of these skills is learning to say no to others without compromising your relationships and self-respect. This way one can communicate with others while maintaining their integrity. We can use these skills to maintain healthy relationships in our personal and professional lives.

      At the workplace, your manager has unrealistic expectations of you. It has put additional pressure on you. Instead of suffering by staying silent, you can use interpersonal effectiveness skills to communicate with the manager while keeping your self-respect intact.

      Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace

      Professionals must develop a range of interpersonal skills to succeed in their workplaces. Here we discuss some interpersonal skills in the workplace that will help you professionally as well as personally.

      Conflict resolution – When you can resolve conflicts, it can help you in your career. Employees can have disagreements or conflicts in the workplace. The main thing is to manage these conflicts and move on. You need to be a good communicator and listener for conflict resolution. This skill is essential for leadership roles and will prepare you for such a role in the future.

      Empathy – Building connections requires empathy on your part. It allows you to relate with others and connect with them on a deeper level. In an organization, employees who can empathize with coworkers can become the favorites of the majority. This skill adds value to your job as you interact with your colleagues, listen to their issues, and empathize with them.

      Emotional intelligence – Employees with emotional intelligence can manage emotionally-charged situations effectively. They can tackle a wide range of social dynamics. These employees excel in roles where they must deal with customers. They can understand the needs of customers and provide satisfying solutions. Such employees are a good fit for leadership roles.

      Leadership – In an organization, the management is on the lookout to find potential leaders. Any employee who exhibits leadership qualities could be considered for such roles in the future. Such employees possess the ability to inspire others and lead by example.

      Interpersonal skills Leadership is a crucial interpersonal skill StudySmarterFig. 2 - Leadership is a crucial interpersonal skill

      Interpersonal Skills Examples

      Let’s go through some examples of interpersonal skills in the workplace.

      Management skills

      Employees with management skills can work in leadership roles in their professional journeys. From task management to people management, a manager/leader must do it all. With good interpersonal skills, managers can forge strong relationships with their team members. Management is also about delegating tasks effectively and choosing the right employee for the right tasks. It can improve the job satisfaction of employees and increase productivity.

      Teamwork

      You will not always get individual tasks. In projects, the management forms a team to work collaboratively. Therefore, it is important to have teamwork skills. You should be comfortable with collaboration. These skills help you work in teams and inspire your team members. Teamwork can only function well when all the members are on the same page.

      Dependability

      Dependability means that your managers and coworkers can depend on you to perform the assigned tasks. It is about taking responsibility and getting the job done. Dependable employees are an asset to the organization.

      Adaptability

      Adaptability is a key interpersonal skill for every professional. A fast-paced working environment enables employees to work according to the situation. The ability to multi-task and follow instructions quickly makes employees valuable to the organization.

      Interpersonal Skills - Key takeaways

      • To make communication effective, employees need to have strong interpersonal skills.
      • Interpersonal skills are key to handling complex organizational situations and allow organizations to create a collaborative working environment.
      • Interpersonal skills have a direct impact on our employability and networking.
      • Verbal, non-verbal communication, and active listening are part of interpersonal communication.
      • Interpersonal effectiveness skills help in communicating feelings or thoughts without compromising relationships and self-respect.
      Frequently Asked Questions about Interpersonal Skills

      What are interpersonal skills in business management?

      In business management, interpersonal skills are communication, active listening, and effective interaction. 

      What is an example of interpersonal skills?

      Conflict resolution is an example of interpersonal skills. 

      What are the 5 most important interpersonal skills?

      Conflict resolution, empathy, emotional intelligence, leadership, and teamwork are the 5 most important interpersonal skills. 

      How do you show excellent interpersonal skills?

      By practicing communication and listening exercises, you can show excellent interpersonal skills. 

      How do you identify interpersonal skills?

      You identify interpersonal skills by how people communicate and listen to others. 

      Why is an interpersonal skill important?

      Interpersonal skill is important because it helps us form meaningful workplace relationships. 

      What are soft interpersonal skills?

      Some examples of soft interpersonal skills are time management, problem-solving, and decision-making. 

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      Test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards

      __________ prove to be a key in handling complex situations. 

      Interpersonal skills can not be developed through employee trainings. 

      Employees need to put in conscious efforts to develop interpersonal skills. 

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      StudySmarter Editorial Team

      Team Business Studies Teachers

      • 9 minutes reading time
      • Checked by StudySmarter Editorial Team
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