
SOCIAL SKILLS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING THEM
Definition of Social Skills
Social skills are the
techniques used to communicate and interact with people either verbally or
through gestures. The way we communicate is very important and can helps others
interpret a situation. The majority of communication is through our body
language, tone of voice and reactions, all these are a part of our social
skills.
The importance of social skills
Your social skills can
help you in a number of ways. For example, meeting new people at school,
college university or work or in your personal relationships. Social skills
start to develop from birth and will continue throughout your life. Some
people are very good at meeting new people or facing new situations and others
struggle. The teenage years are typically the most difficult time for a
number of reasons; peer pressure and establishing your own adult identity as
well as the body, especially the brain, undergoing profound change are all
influencing factors.
As human beings we
typically need interaction with others and if we struggle to make or retain
effective relationships, we can suffer emotionally.
Can they be developed?
Like any other skills,
social skills can be learned and developed. The key is self reflection,
understanding how you react especially under the stress of meeting new people
or new situations can really help.
Some factors to consider
are listed below:
- Staying calm in social situations is a
skill that can be developed. Breathing and giving yourself time to adapt
to a situation can really help; first impressions do matter so take a breath
and say “hello” with a smile.
- To convey your message effectively you
need to relax and focus more on delivering your message. Take a breath and
think before you speak.
- Learn to polish your listening skills. When
communicating with someone actively listen to them to learn what they have to
say. This involves participating in the conversation, asking relevant questions
if necessary or at least maintaining comfortable eye contact.
- Reflecting gestures, interest, language, tone and
speech is a way to engage in a meaningful conversation. You don’t have to mimic
someone but mirroring and matching maintains connection.
- Limit personal views and
self-disclosure. It is good to talk about yourself a bit but not every
conversation should have your personal input.
- Part of the social training pack is maintaining eye contact
with the person you are talking to. Do not stare them but do look at them; not
maintaining eye contact can show lack of interest.
Benefits of developing social skills
Conclusion
The benefits of developing your social
skills are potentially massive, it requires you to be honest with yourself and
try to understand who you are. Any development will take time and
practice, changes will not happen overnight. This is where having a
mentor can really help you. They will be able to see you as others do and
point you at areas which may need developing.
Having well developed social skills can solve
social problems. It can give you an control over stressful situations and help
you develop more meaningful relationships. For example:
Better
relationships: it
is easier to get along with people when you develop good social skills. You can
make more friends or get along better in school or work. Once you learn
to control the stress in your life, it is easier to take advantage of the
opportunities in front of you.
Communication: teamwork is an important aspect of social skills so
learning to work with others not only benefits you, it benefits to the team
too. The key to good teamwork is being a good communicator, being clear is what
you say but more importantly, listening to others.
Good
social skills will help you avoid people you don’t like: If you know how to communicate, you can take more
control over situations and people you wish to avoid.
TAGS: social-skills
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