Improve Your Social Skills And Be Smarter In Your Relationships

Do your social skills play a role in how you feel? Think about this for a moment…how did you feel when you managed to communicate effectively with another person? Or how did it feel when you handled a disagreement in such a way as to avoid damaging the relationship in the slightest?

Now pause for a moment. What emotions did you experience when things went wrong?

The ability to build and maintain good relationships actually plays a role in your emotions and well-being. Why is this something good? Well, this ability is not rigid at all. Because you can stimulate it.

So be sure to read on. Find out more about how to connect with people in a more intelligent way!

Humans are social creatures: the importance of your social skills

In our daily life, we are constantly communicating with other people. This can take many forms. You order a cup of coffee or you talk to a colleague about a project that you share. Or you tell your partner how much you love him. In everyday life there are thousands of scenarios of broad social interaction between people.

How successful these scenarios will be depends on your social skills. How intelligent or wise are you in developing your social skills?

Because this is how you can make the difference between satisfying and unsatisfying relationships with your family, your friends and your loved ones. But that is not everything.

Good social skills will also help you interact effectively with other professionals. It will also be a support to get along with your colleagues. In addition, you will succeed in resolving conflicts and speaking in public in a pleasant and relaxed manner.

You will also help your children to develop in a healthier way. And eventually you too will be able to grow. How did that happen?

If you have the right social skills, it means you adapt better psychologically. It leads to better health and happiness. Moreover, it also means that you will have better social support systems.

Communication is the key to social skills

Your ability to communicate and how it’s developed is a big part of your social skills. Assertiveness is one of the key concepts in this case.

Assertiveness is a specific way of communication. You express your thoughts and opinions while always considering other people. You do this in situations where it may not be so easy to do so.

So it is part of the communication where you show self-respect and respect for others.

With assertiveness, we strike a balance between aggressive and passive communication. With aggressive communication you try to protect your rights. Passive communication involves only trying to defend the rights of other people. A fundamental part of this is sometimes saying “no”.

It is also very important to put the many kinds of social skills into practice. Some behaviors will help you respond effectively when interacting with other people.

An essential factor here is listening and paying attention to what the other person is saying. It is important that you do this without assuming hidden motives.

On the other hand, you also have to express what you feel and think. Because just like you, the people you talk to can’t read minds. Explain your opinion about things. This will make it easier to connect with others.

Being able to start, maintain and end conversations is one of the fundamental building blocks of good social skills.

Other aspects of social skills: more than just communication

When you try to improve your social skills, the ultimate goal is efficient communication. But to achieve this goal you also need to be skilled in other areas. For these other areas will ensure that your relationships with other people are satisfying and quality.

One example is pro-social behavior and willingness to cooperate. This means you do certain things for the sake of other people, even if they haven’t asked you to.

It doesn’t mean you stop worrying about your own problems. You also do not radically push them aside. But it means finding a balance between the two.

It is also very important that you learn how to prevent and solve problems. If you succeed in recognizing, foreseeing and confronting conflicts effectively, this will help you find a solution. Moreover, this solution will satisfy everyone in the best possible, calm and honest way.

Work on all these things and you will improve your social skills!

Featured image courtesy of Priscilla du Preez, Bryan Apen, and Phil Coffman.