Social skills: These are the most important examples!

Social skills will not only help you in teamwork, but also in applying for your dream job.

Higher-level social skills

Not all social skills are equally important for every interaction. However, there are some skills that form the basis for social interaction.

1. Communication skills

This skill, as the name suggests, is what makes it possible to communicate successfully with others in the first place. After all, talking alone is not enough. Communication skills are about choosing the right words at the right time to avoid misunderstandings. Moreover, if you want to communicate successfully, you should not only be able to talk, but also to listen.

2. Empathy

In order to understand the actions of your counterpart, you need a certain degree of empathy. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of others. This enables you to understand arguments and also to show consideration for others at the right moments.

3. Tolerance

In addition to empathy and communication skills, tolerance is also part of successful cooperation. Tolerance means that you do not judge your counterpart and his ideas and values, but accept them. Even if they do not agree with your own ideas. Tolerance makes it possible to treat everyone with respect.

4. ability to work in a team

You also need teamwork skills to work with others. Social skills have a lot to do with thinking about others as well as yourself. You are a team player if you can fit into a team with others and represent the interests of the team. You can only function in a team if you respect everyone involved and their ideas and perceptions and discuss with them on an equal footing.

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Social skills in a conflict

Social interaction is marked by conflicts. In these situations, the following social skills are particularly important:

1. Ability to deal with conflict

The ability to deal with conflict is probably the most obvious competence in this context. It enables you to keep a cool head even in difficult situations and to know exactly how to proceed in a conflict. Conflict skills allow you to analyze a problem away from personal emotions and find a solution.

2. Willingness to compromise

In order to find a satisfactory solution for everyone, you also need to be willing to compromise in some conflicts. You don’t always get exactly what you want when working with others. It is often a matter of finding a compromise between different ideas. Whether it’s a sales pitch in sales or a joint presentation with your colleagues. You should be open to changing your demands for a common solution.

3. Assertiveness

But the exact opposite is also important in a conflict: your assertiveness. You can only prevail in a disagreement among colleagues or friends if you can make your case convincingly. Assertiveness does not mean that you override all other opinions. Rather, it is a skill that gets you and your arguments noticed in a conflict. You should state your beliefs and not be intimidated by other opinions.

Other important social skills

Last but not least, there are also social skills that you only need in very specific situations. If you get into these situations, however, the skills are all the more important.

1. Intercultural competence

Through intercultural competence, you can successfully interact with people from other cultures. Different cultures sometimes pose a challenge in interpersonal communication. Even when greeting, habits differ from country to country. If you have a lot to do with people from other cultures in your job, intercultural competence is indispensable.

2. Leadership

Each position in a team requires different competencies. A special task falls to the leadership position. As the leader of a team, you are both a motivator and a controlling authority. Your job is to keep the team together and get the best out of them. This has to be learned and is not necessarily something for everyone. If you want to take on a leadership position, you should have leadership skills.

3. Conversation and negotiation skills

Especially when working with customers, conversation and negotiation skills are among the key qualifications. In a negotiation, different interests collide. You want to achieve the best result for yourself and your company and therefore have to think very carefully about how you proceed in the conversation. Of course, the willingness to compromise also plays a role on this point.