How to Improve Inter-personal Skills

Question

In career development, inter-personal skills have main worth. In any business/non-business organization requires always improvement in inter-personal skills of employees. I need to outline, few techniques to help a person to improve his inter-personal skills. Kindly, suggest me in this regard.

Answer 1

From How to Win Friends and Influence People:

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

1. Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Six Ways to Make People Like You

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking

1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say "You're Wrong."
3. If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Start with questions to which the other person will answer yes.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
   1. Appeal to the nobler motives.
   2. Dramatize your ideas.
   3. Throw down a challenge.

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise every improvement.
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest.

While these aren't always going to apply or be a great thing to do, they are ideas of how to build relationships which is usually another way to describe interpersonal skills. Emotional Intelligence may be another idea for something to study to help improve how one handles emotions and other people.

Answer 2

To provide balance, also consider looking at The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Both books are classics but are very different in their approach. The first is about techniques to influence other people (which might be perceived as insincere and therefore backfire.) The second is about attempting genuine personal change (which is harder to accomplish.)