Good people skills
Having good interpersonal skills is important in both your personal and your professional life. Good people skills allow you to communicate well and connect with people, which can lead to a happier work environment and more opportunities in your career.
Interpersonal skills are also essential in many jobs. Any role where you have to work in a team or interact with customers and clients requires finely tuned people skills. If you want to step into a management role, learning good people skills is even more critical.
In this guide, we cover what people skills are and why they’re important, and provide some examples of people skills in the workplace.
What are people skills?
‘People skills’ is a term used for a set of abilities that help you communicate and work well with others. There are many different traits that can be considered people skills, including being an effective communicator, having high emotional intelligence, being able to resolve conflicts, having leadership skills, and being able to build friendly relationships.
Why are people skills important?
Is there someone you know who seems to get along well with everyone? This is because they have good interpersonal skills. Good people skills are important because they help you work easily with others, improving productivity and building a positive workplace culture.
Some important people skills in the workplace include communicating clearly, active listening, conflict resolution and emotional intelligence. All of these enable you to build rapport with colleagues, understand the needs of customers and clients, and collaborate with a team.
When you have good people skills, it’s easier to:
Work with others
Negotiate
Build a positive workplace culture
Overcome obstacles
Ask for and provide support
Influence and/or lead others
Network
Stand out
Employees with good people skills typically form good relationships with managers and leaders, which can help progress their career.
People skills – examples in the workplace
There are many good people skills that can help you in the workplace. Here are a few examples of interpersonal skills you can develop to help build strong, productive relationships with coworkers and other people in your life.
1. Active listening
Active listening is giving someone your undivided attention when they’re speaking to you. It’s making an effort to take in their information or point of view, rather than listening just to respond. Actively listening in the workplace will improve your comprehension of new information and help you better understand different perspectives. Good listeners are often able to build trust and close connections with those around them, and pick up things other people miss.
Here’s how to improve your active listening skills:
Focus on what the other person is saying
Don’t interrupt them
Ensure you understand what has been said before responding
Ask for clarification if you haven’t understood
Maintain appropriate eye contact and positive body language
Repeat key points to show you understand and are taking the information on board
2. Communication
Communication is a critical skill to master in the workplace and one of the most important people skills to develop. Clear communication allows you to easily collaborate with team members and work as a cohesive whole. Good communication also helps you avoid misunderstandings.
To become a better communicator:
Practise saying/writing in a direct and concise manner, omitting unnecessary information
Ask questions if you don’t understand something
Use simple terminology and don’t speak too fast
Learn your and others’ communication styles
3. Confidence
Confidence is a handy trait to have in the workplace and in life. It’s feeling that you’re capable, which allows you to approach challenges with a positive mindset. Being confident at work and in job interviews gives the impression of a competent and decisive worker who knows what they’re doing.
There are some things you can do to build confidence if you feel unsure of yourself:
Have faith in your skills and experience
Curb negative self-talk
Practise confident body language
Try not to overthink
Get moral support from a mentor, colleague or friend
4. Charisma
Charisma is a personal trait that combines confidence with charm. Charismatic people are able to make a strong first impression, influence people and form friendly relationships with ease. In the workplace, charisma is handy in leadership, sales, and any position that involves influencing opinions.
Some people have natural charisma, but it can be learned by:
Becoming a better conversationalist
Giving people your full attention when they speak
Working on your confidence
5. Creativity
Creativity is not just being able to draw or write – it’s the ability to come up with original ideas and think 'outside the box'. While creativity may not be commonly thought of as a people skill, it can help you collaborate with others by coming up with inventive ways to solve problems.
While creativity is a natural talent, it’s also a learned skill that you can develop by:
Being open-minded
Consciously trying new experiences
Challenging your own beliefs
Brainstorming ideas and thinking abstractly about things
Experimenting with different styles of working
6. Assertiveness
Assertiveness is communicating your thoughts, ideas and directions confidently, but not aggressively. It means advocating for your ideas, your work and yourself in a level-headed way. Being assertive helps you communicate and collaborate in a team setting so your contributions are heard. Assertiveness is important for leaders, reporters, lawyers, sales people and in any profession that requires good people skills in general.
If you want to be more assertive:
Practice voicing your opinion in a positive way
Use ‘I’ statements: ‘I think…’, ‘I have found that….’ ‘In my opinion…’
Establish boundaries and don’t be afraid to say no to unreasonable requests
7. Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is a useful set of people skills. By diffusing situations and easing tension, you can build relationships, create connections and open up career opportunities. Leaders often require good conflict resolution skills, but anyone who works in a team or with customers needs to be able to resolve issues.
You can get better at resolving conflict in the workplace by:
Using empathy to put yourself in the other person’s shoes
Be open-minded
Practising active listening to fully understand an issue
Negotiating to find a mutually agreeable solution
Collaborating to come up with solutions
8. Teamwork
When teams work well together, they’re happier and therefore more productive. As a team player, you can better connect with your colleagues, streamline collaboration, and solve problems efficiently. Good teamwork can also improve workplace culture.
Here’s how to improve your teamwork skills:
Communicate clearly with your team members
Always practise actively listening
Work on conflict resolution
9. Honesty
Being honest, even when it doesn’t benefit you, shows you have integrity. Having integrity builds trust and respect, and being accountable for your work and actions makes your coworkers feel they can rely on you.
While being honest technically just means telling the truth, honesty as a people skill means being truthful while being tactful. Practice honesty in the workplace by:
Avoiding exaggeration
Providing accurate information and fair, constructive feedback
Being open to feedback from others
Being true to your word
Giving others credit where it’s due
10. Flexibility
Learning to be flexible and adapt to change is a good people skill in the workplace, because it allows you to overcome unexpected issues with minimal disruption. People who adapt to change and are more flexible are easy to work with, because they can take challenges in their stride. Flexible workers are seen as reliable, resilient and dependable.
You can be more flexible by:
Remaining open-minded about changes
Having a growth mindset
Embracing challenges
Making a conscious effort to have a positive attitude
11. Negotiation
Negotiation is the ability to come to an agreement with someone that suits all parties. You’ll need this people skill if discussing the terms of a new job, advocating for different working hours, or asking an employer for a raise or promotion. Being able to negotiate helps you get what you want without conflict.
You can improve negotiation skills by:
Backing your argument with facts/research
Using emotional intelligence to be persuasive
Practising through role-playing different scenarios
Building confidence and charisma
12. Empathy
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes and understand their situation and perspective. It’s an important people skill as it helps you connect with others and understand their feelings and motivations. Empathy allows you to more effectively communicate with people and gain their trust, which are essential to strong interpersonal relationships.
Become more empathetic by:
Listening carefully to what people are saying
Putting yourself in their position
Asking them about their feelings
Being aware of your biases
13. Persuasion
Persuasion is the ability to influence opinions, whether it’s to see your point of view or to help a customer make a purchase. People who are persuasive make good leaders, salespeople and marketers, because they understand what motivates decision-making – but it’s a good people skill for anyone to have.
Some ways to become more persuasive include:
Building empathy and trying to understand others’ feelings
Listening to others’ concerns and addressing them
Improving overall communication skills and charisma
14. Collaboration
Collaboration is simply working well with other people towards a common goal. In the workplace, this encompasses teamwork, liaising with outside suppliers or partners, and working with colleagues from different departments or even in different countries.
Here are some ways to improve your collaboration skills:
Communicate clearly and often
Be open to feedback
Listen to different opinions and ideas
Ensure everyone is working towards the same goal
People skills are essential to building strong relationships at work, and often crucial to doing your job productively. Some of the most important people skills and traits include good communication, teamwork, conflict resolution and empathy. While people skills can come naturally, they can also be developed and improved with practice using the guidance above.
FAQs
What are strong people skills?
Strong people skills mean you get along well with others, find it easy to build relationships, and work well in a team. Communicating clearly, being empathetic, and being persuasive are some strong people skills that can help you be successful at work.
I’m not naturally a social person. Can I still develop strong people skills?
Yes, you can develop strong people skills even if you feel you’re not a naturally social person. In fact, you may already have some strong people skills without realising, as introverts are often good listeners and have a strong sense of empathy for others.
What’s the difference between good communication skills and strong people skills?
Having good communication skills means being able to express yourself well to others, which is an essential part of having good people skills. People skills also include being charismatic, persuasive, empathetic and good at resolving conflict.
Sometimes I struggle to understand other people’s emotions. Is emotional intelligence part of people skills?
Yes, emotional intelligence is part of ‘people skills’. Emotional intelligence allows you to read and understand people’s feelings, and build rapport with them. You can improve emotional intelligence by:
Listening carefully when people are talking
Imagining how you would feel in their place or situation
Not assuming what people are feeling or thinking, instead, ask them
Asking for and take on constructive feedback
Paying attention to people’s body language for clues on how they feel
What are some non-verbal cues that can improve my people skills during work interactions?
Some non-verbal cues that can help you improve your people skills during work interactions include being aware of:
Tone
Facial expressions
Posture
Eye contact
Body language
How can I use people skills to connect with others at networking events?
You can use people skills like charisma and persuasion to connect with others at networking events. People skills like active listening and assertiveness can also help you make new connections.
I need to deliver critical feedback to a colleague. How can I use people skills to ensure a productive conversation?
You can use your people skills to provide honest, specific, constructive feedback to a colleague to ensure a productive conversation. Actively listening and using empathy to understand their point of view can help.
I’m leading a new team. What people skills are crucial for motivating and managing them effectively?
Problem solving, active listening, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and clear communication are all people skills crucial for motivating and managing a new team.
Is there a way to practise and develop my people skills outside of work situations?
Talking to and role-playing with friends and family can help refine your people skills. Going out of your comfort zone and meeting strangers, can also help you build people skills, including confidence and assertiveness. The more you interact with a diverse range of people, the better your skills will become.
