SOCIAL SKILLS AS AN ADULT

10 WAYS TO IMPROVE SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Have you ever heard of social intelligence? It is about the ability to build good interpersonal relationships in different situations in our daily lives. People with this ability tend to stand out throughout their lives. Be it at school, college, work, etc. Today we’ve put together some tips on how to develop your social intelligence to improve your interaction with other people.

HOW TO IMPROVE SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE?

Observation is an essential step in adequately developing one’s social intelligence. Indeed, when you know the objectives, the motivations, and the needs of the different people, you will be able to adapt yourself as best as possible to exchange effectively with them.

If you want to find out more about what Social Intelligence is and get TIPS on how to improve it, keep reading this article and find out more!

What is Social Intelligence?

Social intelligence is the ability to understand how we are viewed, interact with others, and know what they think and feel. 

Social intelligence # 1: Improve your interpersonal relationships

One of the first aspects of social intelligence is relating to a person to facilitate discussion and communication. We need this ability every day, both personally and professionally.

1. CLEAR YOUR MIND 

Take a step back, breath, and remember that prejudice is a barrier to learning. 

If you think you already know everything – about a person, a place, an event – before you even begin, not only are you closing yourself off from all forms of surprise and discovery, but preventing your senses from collecting any potentially meaningful information.

2. BE MORE OBSERVANT AND AWARE

Be aware of your influence; measure the room you are in. Look closely at the people around you, gather information. 

Are people in a good mood? Is the atmosphere tense? Don’t say anything, watch.

Do not interrupt if those present are sitting in a circle on the floor. No need to jump right into a recital of jokes. Even if they are funny.

3. LEARN TO BE QUIET

If you wait long enough, most of your questions will be answered without you having to say a word.

This advice is beneficial, for example, during negotiations, where the goal is to learn as much as possible without revealing your game.

Read between the lines. Pay attention to the context, what is said and what is not said. People don’t always say what they think, which is their right. Non-verbal language is also critical.

4. LISTENING SKILLS 

Listening is one of the fundamental pillars of interpersonal communication. People who know how to listen can ask the right questions, really understand the people they are talking to, and have rich, in-depth discussions.

  • When a person speaks, let’s not think about the answer we will give.
  •  Let’s focus on what he’s saying. There are times and places when it’s more or less easy to listen. Let’s pay attention to the context.

A mastery of calmness is essential to connect to your environment and genuinely active listening. Develop your skills to be a better listener by being present, practicing mindfulness, and truly focusing on the person speaking to you.

5. BUILD TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS 

Why were the Spartans known to have been one of the most powerful armies of their time? It was because they had managed to create a mighty chain of trust between each member.

 The army’s strength was more significant than the sum of the individual forces. How to create relationships of trust? Here are the four pillars:

  1. Be reliable when you commit. 
  2. Be competent if you want to talk with someone else about their work ethic; for example, you  need to check up your also ;
  3. Pay attention to others, someone you may focus too much on yourself and forget about people that surround you ;
  4. Be empathetically honest, do not be afraid to give critical feedback as long as it is constructive. It’s hard to take, but we will be appreciated.
Importance of Interpersonal Skills at Work 

Social intelligence # 2: Developing your charisma, presence, and social awareness 

To develop your social intelligence, it is vital to be aware of how others perceive us and to find the means to act on this perception.

6. MAKE A FIRST GOOD IMPRESSION 

The first impression is a matter of seconds. We haven’t said a word yet that others have already made up their minds about us. 

So it’s mainly about mastering your non-verbal language from the first few seconds and paying attention to details:

  • Understand the context and social codes ;
  •  Take care of your appearance 
  • Stand up straight to inspire confidence ;
  •  Smile ;
  •  Remember first names ;
  •  Be in the right frame of mind from the start ;

7. BE CHARISMATIC 

Charismatic people have a pretty incredible aura that commands admiration and respect. Charisma may be innate in some people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t act on it. 

A charismatic person strikes a balance between a competent and a caring person. If she is too benevolent, the person will be seen as too kind. 

If she is only competent, she will be seen as cold and arrogant. The mystery: the more you know a person, the less you perceive them as charismatic.

The mystery is both attractive and seductive (you want to know more), and it also helps to hide flaws and imperfections.

8. BE SELF-CONFIDENT

Self-confidence is the heart of social intelligence. It allows us to engage in conversation with strangers, speak in public, inspire confidence in our speeches, develop genuine relationships, and make it easy to network.

  • Surround yourself with inspiring people ;
  •  Eliminate your limiting beliefs by going to places you never thought of before ;
  • Trust your intuition.

If you are going to be sure that people notice and positively remember your presence, we’re going to have to get captivating (without monopolizing all the attention, either).

9. EMPATHY 

To adapt to others, you need empathy, put yourself in people’s shoes, and understand how they feel and what they need. Possible social influence.

Then there is a difference between being a natural emotional sponge, which interferes with your development, and not understanding what other people are feeling, which leads to selfishness. Socially intelligent people fall in between.

10. IDENTIFYING DEALING WITH TOXIC PEOPLE

First, realize that some people are toxic. We have all dealt with unhealthy and toxic people before. It’s not that easy to get rid of it.

 Second, you have to know how to manage them or, better, how to get rid of them (unfortunately, this is not always possible). All this requires solid social intelligence. How do we deal with toxic people?

  • Learn to say no ;
  •  Find support from healthy people ;
  • Set limits Build your self-confidence ;
  •  Please don’t get tired of wanting to change them.

Conclusion

To understand what social intelligence is in your ability to get along with others, understand them, relate to them, and influence them.

A socially intelligent person can react, get along well, and influence others.

 Social Intelligence can be developed by learning to react and speak adequately, by understanding the social mechanisms that govern us, and by developing the capacity to observe and feel social situations with understanding.

Reference and Further Reading 

6 Ways to Improve Social Skills and Increase Social Intelligence. Health Hub.

How to Increase Your Social Intelligence. VeryWellMind.

5 Options to develop Social Skills. AcethePresentation.

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