The pandemic might make you feel like you’re losing your people skills, but social intelligence is more important than ever. Here are a few of the things you can start working on to improve your relationships and communication skills.
Don’t Anticipate When You Should Be Listening
If you are spending conversations trying to formulate responses while someone else is talking, you’re not actually listening; you’re just waiting to talk. A lot of people do this unconsciously, but over time it will affect the depth of your relationships with others.
Fix this right now by practicing active listening! By actively slowing down and processing what you’re being told, you will become a listening pro in no time. The more you practice, the easier it becomes, so get started as soon as you can with the tips listed in this infographic.
Don’t Forget the Details!
If you have to ask the same questions over and over when talking about someone’s life outside of work, they might start doubting your capability at work. If you want to build excellent working relationships, you need to avoid this issue. Not to mention, it’s rude!
It’s fine to be a private person. Being socially intelligent doesn’t require that you hang out with your coworkers 24/7, but remembering details about their life will build trust. Remember what your teammate’s partner is, or occasionally check up on their children or a hobby of theirs. It shows you care!
Increase Your Awareness
Your level of social awareness hinges on your emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence can be measured by 5 factors: self awareness, self regulation, motivation, social awareness and social regulation.
Notice that the first factor starts with you and your own knowledge of your behavior. If you can’t tell when you’re making someone uncomfortable or a topic should be dropped, how can you call yourself socially intelligent?
Fix this before it’s a problem by actively working on improving your mindfulness. Emotional intelligence and awareness will follow.
Extend Empathy
Empathy is key to understanding others. By working to understand the motivations, struggles, and feelings of others, you’ll increase your ability to understand. It’s a continuous process; the more in tune you are with others, the better you’ll understand them and yourself in the future.
Not only will this skill help your interpersonal skills, it’ll also help your ability to run your business, manage your team and market to your audience.
Social Intelligence Will Pave Your Way Forward
Becoming socially intelligent will benefit every aspect of your personal and professional life moving forward.
It might feel overwhelming to develop these skills in hard times, but there’s good news. You’re already on your way to becoming more socially intelligent by reading this article! Now use the momentum from your new knowledge to get started. Give yourself a developmental boost by practicing active listening, following up on the details, increasing awareness and extending your empathy.
Best Practices for In-Person Business During a Pandemic
Why Great Leaders Need to Develop Emotional Intelligence
Mindfulness in the Workplace: Why It Matters and How to Cultivate It