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Are interpersonal skills important? I would argue they are essential to succeed in today’s workplace. They’re a key part of any task that involves another person, such as communicating with employees, resolving conflict, and serving customers, just to name a few. Sometimes, they are used in conjunction with other skills to help cultivate and maintain good relationships.
For example, to excel as a performance consultant, we emphasize the importance of two key skills. One is a systematic approach to problem solving. But performance consulting is something you do WITH a client, not TO a client. You can follow a process and still fail. That’s why you need a human aspect, which leads us to our second key ingredient—strong interpersonal skills.
When interacting with others, think about what you can do before, during, and after the interaction. Follow this four-step model to set yourself up for success:
1. Set a goal to determine what you want to achieve. Prepare to be non-judgmental and work collaboratively with others.
2. Develop rapport, ask questions, listen, observe, and handle any resistance or challenges.
3. Reflect on the interaction, specifically these three things: how the situation stands, the behaviors of others, and on your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
4. Create an action plan to adjust your approach the next time you interact with others. Focus on things you will do differently, such as getting information, building rapport, asking questions, and listening.
I wonder which part is most challenging for you. For me, it’s adjusting my approach. You see, it’s easy to walk away from an interaction and complain about the outcome. It takes more initiative, thought, and insight to walk away and think about what I can do differently next time. Did I offer value to the client? Are we making progress? Did I use open-ended questions to encourage the client to speak?
With these tips, your interactions will be meaningful, productive, and stress free. What interpersonal skills do you teach? What do you find most challenging and what tips can you share to overcome those challenges?
Additional Resource: How to Improve Your Client Interactions [Video]
For even more tips, check out our Consulting Skills for Trainers workshop. We focus on how to become a catalyst for making measurable improvements within your organization. You’ll also walk away with critical people skills to help build your credibility as a performance consultant.