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Will McKenzie. Rachel Berry. Michael Scott. What do these characters have in common? People skills. Or more appropriately, a lack thereof!
I grew up watching these protagonists. Their awkward and childish nature was what made them entertaining and when I was younger, I found them hilarious. However, as I’ve gotten older and gained more life experience, I have been hit with the realisation that in reality, these characters wouldn’t ever be as successful as they are on TV.
After facing countless job interviews and undergoing many attempts to become less introverted, I’ve found out that people skills are important in life. They’re the key to helping you succeed everywhere you go. Whether it’s in an ordinary university interview, a bid to make more friends or even during a terrifying evening of trying to impress your partners’ parents, your people skills are what define and decide your future.
From 16, I went through the gruelling process of attending many interviews for jobs, and unfortunately my shy and quiet persona often let me down. I quickly learned that I did not possess the right people skills to aid me in my endeavours. Forbes explains that in order to become good with people, we needed to learn how to relate to others. Building a good rapport starts with empathy; put yourself in someone else’s shoes and watch them warm to your good first impression. It might not always work out, but unsuccessful experiences are necessary and will help you learn from your mistakes. After all, mistakes are just proof that you are trying!
Though, the main question is, how and when do you use people skills? Well, an Everyday Health article cleverly claims that we normally use these skills when resolving conflict. Resolutions should always happen in a positive way, so rather than focusing on winning, we need empathise and compromise. Making sacrifices and taking everyone’s problems into consideration are both very important parts of the process. It shows that we care and are willing to take risks for a good cause. Any appointed group leader (or other member, for that matter!) will need to have the right interpersonal skills to help reach targets while making sure that everyone is involved and happy.
Overall, people skills are important. They are what ultimately decide if our ventures are successes or just more terrible misadventures to record in our journals. Growing up and experiencing varying scenarios of making friends, having interviews and working with different people, has all taught me that everyone needs people skills.
No matter what, we always need to maintain great friendships and improve futures!
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The beginning made me smile. Love the inbetweeners!
This is such an important part of developing yourself as a young person that people fail to understand sometimes! I got my first job three months back and I had to push myself out of my comfort zone in that interview, and I told myself I was faking confidence, even though inwardly I was probably feeling confident in myself and how I could apply my skills to the job. It all boils down to belief, and then you can exercise the people skills that get you working. Lovely article!