How we communicate and relate to others can have a huge impact in all areas of our lives — both professional and personal. By improving our social and interpersonal skills we can increase the number of relationships we have as well as make them deeper and more meaningful.
Here are some points that can help you think of ways to improve your social and interpersonal skills:
- The more people you come in contact with the greater your chances of creating a relationship. You can connect to someone simply by giving a genuine compliment, smiling, or making small talk
- You can build relationships by doing things together — working through problems together or by engaging in an interesting or challenging activity
- To build a relationship, express a genuine interest in another person
- Make time for friendships — put aside time on a regular basis for phone calls, get-togethers, correspondence, social events, etc. Regular communication is ideal but not always necessary
- Improve your communication skills by learning the NLP Meta Model
- Don’t rely on your spouse or significant other to fulfill all your social needs
- We tend to have friends with similar interests. However, it can be worthwhile pursuing friendships with different kinds of people
- Remember details about other people such as names and faces, birthdays, family info, interests, etc.
And remember, even if you are a friendly outgoing person, not everyone is looking to socialize or find friends so don’t be discouraged if someone isn’t open to communicating with you.