INTERPERSONAL AND INTRAPERSONAL SKILLS

Interpersonal Skills:

The skills used by a person to properly interact with others. In the business domain, the term generally refers to an employee’s ability to get along with others while getting the job done. Interpersonal skills include everything from communication and listening skills to attitude and deportment. Good interpersonal skills are a prerequisite for many positions in an organization.

The term “interpersonal skills” is somewhat of a misnomer, because it refers to character traits possessed by an individual rather than skills that can be taught in a classroom. Within an organization, employees with good interpersonal skills are likely be more productive than those with poor interpersonal skills, because of their propensity to project a positive attitude and look for solutions to problems.

Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to communicate and interact with other people, both individually and in groups.  People who have worked on developing strong interpersonal skills are usually more successful in both their professional and personal lives. Employers often seek to hire staff with ‘strong interpersonal skills‘ – they want people who will work well in a team and are able to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers and clients.

Interpersonal Skills become so natural that we may take them for granted, never thinking about how we communicate with other people. With a little time and effort you can develop these skills. Good interpersonal skills can improve many aspects of your life – professionally and socially – they lead to better understanding and relationships.

Interpersonal skills are also sometimes referred to as: social skills, people skills, soft skills, communication skills or life skills. Although these terms can include interpersonal skills they tend to be broader and therefore may also refer other types of skills.

Intrapersonal Skills:

Though the terms intrapersonal and interpersonal are used interchangeably by people, there is a distinct difference between the two. Intrapersonal deals with the emotions, feelings, thoughts that are stirred upon within an individual which the person next to them might not even be aware of. This is quite different from interpersonal skills, which is immediately visible to an external audience. There does however, exist a very strong relationship between them; good intrapersonal skills will go a long way in producing good interpersonal relationships.

What constitutes intrapersonal relationship skills?

Intrapersonal skills as mentioned earlier are those values, personality traits that reside deep within an individual. It becomes so much a part of the individual that most of us are not even aware of their impact on our daily lives. The various intrapersonal facets that play a significant role in our personal and professional lives are such as:

• Self Esteem
• Self Confidence
• Assertiveness
• Dealing with
• Negative emotions

Interpersonal Skills:

I don’t care what your problems are, get this job done by the end of the day. ”

Wouldn’t this kind of a message make you feel that you were being treated as an object, rather than as a person with real feelings? By contrast, when you empathize with your listener, you show concern for his opinions and assure him that he is valued. Now look at the same message rephrased:

“1 hope it will not be too difficult for you to complete this job today.”

While the first message conveys indifference, the second message shows greater sensitivity to the feelings and thoughts of the listener.

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