Most jobs involve working with others. And your ability to effectively cooperate, manage conflict and contribute to your workplace can play a large role in whether you are successful in what you do. For this reason, employers highly value a certain set of professional skills known as interpersonal skills.
This article covers what interpersonal skills are, the top interpersonal skills that employers love, and how you can best showcase them. This way, you can develop the skills needed to help you succeed in your career!
What are interpersonal skills?
Interpersonal skills, which are sometimes referred to as soft skills or employability skills, are a set of skills that enable you to work well with others.
For certain roles that involve high social interaction, such as sales or customer service, interpersonal skills will be a requirement for the job. However, even for jobs that have minimal social interaction, such as data entry or copywriting, you will still often work with others to some degree and will need to include some of these skills in your résumé’s skills section.
Most employers value a mix of both technical and interpersonal skills. And although interpersonal skills can sometimes be more difficult to measure, they are no less valuable than technical skills. In fact, interpersonal skills are so valuable that many employers even require candidates to take an interpersonal skills assessment as part of their application.
Types of interpersonal skills
Since interpersonal skills denote a person’s ability to work well with others, the basis of these skills is communication. Therefore, all interpersonal skills can be categorized into four types of communication, which are outlined below:
Verbal communication
Since verbal communication has such an omnipresent role in many jobs and career paths, it’s one of the key types of interpersonal skills. This is also a skill that employers assess during interviews, as the exchange is typically conducted verbally.
Some specific examples of interpersonal skills that would fall under the category of verbal communication are public speaking, conflict management, persuasion, negotiation and collaboration.
Written communication
In the age of emails and instant messengers, written communication is a hugely important skill in the workplace. With the average worker spending 28% of their day reading and answering emails, written communication skills are a necessity for most professional jobs.
Written communication skills include being able to convey a message effectively through writing, adapting your tone of voice, and thinking about the audience. Therefore, persuasion, empathy and collaboration are three specific types of interpersonal skills that fall under written communication.
Non-verbal communication
With studies showing that around 70–80% of communication is non-verbal, learning how to communicate through body language, mannerisms and expressions is key to being an effective communicator and getting your message across accurately.
Non-verbal communication is also key to ensuring you make a good first impression. As people make first impressions on average in as little as 0.1 seconds, non-verbal communication skills such as confidence, body language, behavior skills, attitude and tone of voice will help you develop a strong foundation in your interpersonal interactions with others.
Active listening
A sign of exceptional interpersonal skills isn’t only being adept at sending your message across clearly, but also accurately receiving messages from others. And for this reason, active listening is a key interpersonal skill.
Active listening enables you to take in the full message of what your speaking partner is saying and to process it on a deeper level. This way, you can respond and act accordingly based on the actual message. Some examples of specific interpersonal skills that require active listening are collaboration, persuasion, conflict management and customer service.
Top 20 interpersonal skills
There are numerous types of interpersonal skills, and depending on the specific job, there may be more emphasis on certain skills than others. However, some interpersonal skills have proven to be highly transferable and valued across a range of different roles. We’ve compiled a list of 20 of those skills below.
1. Collaboration
Effective collaboration involves harnessing the ideas, knowledge, opinions and skills of multiple individuals to solve a problem or achieve a goal. And with innovation being key to business success, collaboration is a vital interpersonal skill. Collaborating effectively involves active listening, establishing goals and a way of working, and getting everyone on the same page.
2. Leadership
Even if you’re not in a position that entails managing people, leadership is an important interpersonal skill to have in any work environment. Leadership skills involve being proactive, asking for help when needed, and exuding confidence. Therefore, whether you are a director or an intern, leadership skills will most likely help you be more successful in your career.
3. Teamwork
Although there is some crossover between collaboration skills and teamwork skills, they differ in some ways. While collaboration includes more brainstorming and problem solving, teamwork involves cooperating effectively with others to achieve a shared goal. People who are team players are reliable, supportive, flexible, open-minded and respectful of others.
4. Relationship management
Maintaining good relationships with clients, vendors and business partners is key to any successful business. And for this reason, employers value relationship management skills. In contrast to customer service skills, relationship management is about building long-lasting, trusting professional relationships that are viewed as a partnership, more than as transactional.
5. Problem solving
In the workplace, problem solving is oftentimes not done in isolation. Although one individual may first recognize the problem, the process of generating a solution usually requires obtaining resources, knowledge and input from others. As problems inevitably arise, problem solving is a key interpersonal skill.
6. Persuasion
For certain fields, such as law or sales, persuasion and a positive attitude are vital in order to be successful. However, regardless of your job, persuasion can be a valuable skill. For example, you may need to persuade a coworker to take your idea on board, or persuade your boss to give you more responsibility. And for this reason, persuasion is a useful skill across many roles.
7. Customer service
If a role requires any interaction with customers, then customer service skills will usually be a requirement. After all, businesses wouldn’t exist with their customers. So, employers want to know that their employees have the skills required to retain customers, and not lose them.
8. Empathy
Empathy is one of the five pillars of emotional intelligence. And with emotional intelligence expected to be one of the most in-demand skills according to The Future of Work study (PDF), empathy is hugely important. You can develop empathy skills through active listening, asking questions and making an effort to understand the perspective of the other person.
9. Patience
Although patience is in some ways a character trait, it is also a skill that can be developed. And in order to work well with others and develop effective working relationships, patience is key. Since everyone works at a different pace and in different ways, it’s vital to keep your cool and not get quickly irritated with others.
10. Conflict management
Conflict is an inevitable aspect of working with other people. It is often caused by differences in opinions and by miscommunication. And since conflict is so common, employers value workers who are skilled at managing conflict in a healthy and productive manner that restores harmony.
11. Dependability
Dependability is a soft skill that can benefit any job. It requires a blend of abilities, such as time management, prioritization and accountability. The more methodically and proactively you work, the more your coworkers and supervisors can rely on you — which is vital in building and maintaining trust in relationships!
12. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence (also referred to as emotional quotient or EQ) refers to a person’s ability to understand, process and manage emotions in healthy ways. In the workplace, it helps you manage stress, minimize conflict, set boundaries and support others effectively where needed. Combined, all these can significantly increase your job satisfaction.
13. Motivation
Although motivation can be seen as an intrapersonal skill (as it influences the way you think, feel and act on an individual level), it often seeps into your relationships with others. In the office, being motivated yourself can inspire others to follow suit, boosting your team’s sense of drive, optimism and eagerness to achieve goals.
14. Flexibility
Similar to adaptability, flexibility refers to a person’s capacity for making changes (as well as navigating any unanticipated ones), often with the desire to accommodate others. As unforeseen challenges are an inevitable occurrence in the workplace, employers value team members who can make accommodations and devise workarounds in times of stress.
15. Negotiation
Depending on your role, you might be coming into contact with customers or clients on a daily basis. Having solid negotiation skills can help you ensure that your interactions are always beneficial to your company, maximizing the value you get out of each transaction.
Knowing how to negotiate effectively also makes the process of negotiating salary raises and promotions easier, so you and your employer can always find a middle ground that benefits everyone involved.
16. Time management
Although time management has to do with how you manage your tasks and deliverables on a personal level, it has a direct impact on how well you can collaborate with others. If you’re consistently falling behind in your work, anyone whose tasks or progress are dependent on yours is bound to also struggle as a result.
17. Humor
According to Psychology Today, “laughter can lower levels of stress and increase good feelings by releasing hormones.” As most people in the US (83%) suffer from daily work-related stress, humor becomes vital in uplifting spirits and strengthening connections in the workplace.
18. Assertiveness
Although nobody likes working with people who are arrogant, bossy or disrespectful, assertiveness is sometimes required to get things in order. In group projects or meetings, knowing how to take the lead and restore some form of structure when things become messy or confusing is essential — just as long as it’s done mindfully.
19. Positive attitude
If you have ever worked with someone who frequently complains about anything at all, you will know how quickly that can drain you. Someone with a positive attitude, on the other hand, can be refreshing to be around, instilling a sense of optimism in those they interact with.
Since negativity can cause work environments to become unhealthy, employers value a positive, can-do attitude in their team members.
20. Openness to feedback
We’ve talked about arrogant and negative coworkers being able to ruin everyone’s day; but the same applies to people who refuse to accept feedback. Often riddled with insecurity, employees who fail to demonstrate a growth mindset are difficult to work with, as they prevent themselves from admitting errors, taking accountability, learning from mistakes, and becoming better over time.
Showcasing your interpersonal skills
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the definition of interpersonal skills and which are the most sought after, you can work on developing and applying them in your career. Below are three ways you can showcase your interpersonal skills.
1. Demonstrate interpersonal skills at work
The most effective way to develop your interpersonal skills is by using them. One way to track your usage and development of these skills is to make a list of your interpersonal strengths and weaknesses. You can then seek out opportunities to enhance your strengths and develop your weaknesses.
2. Add interpersonal skills to your résumé
While interpersonal skills are often referred to as “soft skills,” they are anything but. Interpersonal skills can sometimes be more challenging to develop and more valuable than technical skills. Therefore, don’t hesitate to show off these skills when writing your résumé and cover letter.
3. Provide examples during interviews
Since interviews are a chance to demonstrate verbal communication, non-verbal communication and listening skills, they’re a prime opportunity for candidates to showcase their interpersonal skills. However, even though employers may be able to recognize your interpersonal skills, being prepared to provide concrete examples of them can really help you stand out as a candidate.
Key takeaways
When it comes to being successful in your career, interpersonal skills are not a nice-to-have — they’re essential. To help you develop these skills, below is a recap of three of the most important interpersonal skills:
- Collaboration: Since most professional jobs require innovation and the generation of new ideas, collaboration is key.
- Problem solving: Since it is unavoidable that problems will arise in the workplace, employers value people with problem-solving skills.
- Empathy: In order to collaborate and maintain professional relationships, being able to empathize with others is vital.
Since interpersonal skills are so important, you’ll want to make sure you’re continuously developing them — particularly if you’re on the search for a new job or want to keep a job you love. This way, you can build a professional reputation as someone who is effective, communicative and, overall, a great colleague to work with.
Are you working on improving your interpersonal skills? Which do you find the hardest to master? Let us know in the comments!
This article is a partial update of an earlier version originally published on September 13, 2022, and contains contributions by Electra Michaelidou.