What Are Interpersonal Skills? Definition With Examples

Have you heard of interpersonal skills? Maybe someone from HR mentioned that term, or you saw that in a job ad? These skills are all the rage now. But what are they, exactly? Who needs them, and why is that so?

Learn the importance of strong interpersonal skills now.

This article will show you:

• What interpersonal skills are and why they’re important.
• A list of interpersonal skills examples that you can add to your resume.
• How to list interpersonal skills on a resume to impress your future employer.

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Want to learn about other types of professional skills? Check the guides below:

• Technical Skills 
• Computer Skills
• Microsoft Office Skills 
• Writing Skills 
• Language Skills
• Nursing Skills 
• Cashier Skills
• Conceptual Skills 

Now, let’s master those interpersonal skills together:

What Are Interpersonal Skills?

People's interpersonal skills are their abilities and strategies for interacting with others. They can help you build personal and professional relationships, as well as communicate and work with others effectively. Interpersonal skills combine personality traits and various social skills.

Many people refer to interpersonal skills as soft skills, people skills, emotional intelligence, or employability skills. 

Why Are Interpersonal Skills Important in the Workplace? 

Many jobs involve a degree of teamwork and collaboration. If employees can’t communicate effectively, are unable to find common ground, or are unwilling to help each other, it can result in an increase in upsetting situations at work, decreased productivity, and an overall toxic atmosphere.

And it’s more than that. According to the Future of Jobs report for 2020–2025, there’s a growing demand for interpersonal skills, such as negotiation and emotional intelligence.

Want to learn more about the differences between soft skills and hard skills? Check here: Hard Skills and Soft Skills on a Resume

List of Key Interpersonal Skills

Here’s a list of interpersonal skills that are most valued in the 21st century: 

1. Communication
2. Leadership
3. Decision-making
4. Problem-solving
5. Organization
6. Social skills
7. Collaboration
8. Emotional intelligence
9. Adaptability
10. Stress management

1. Communication Skills

It’s no accident that communication skills top the list. There’s so much more to effective interpersonal communication than speaking coherently. It’s also about listening, understanding what the other person is saying, and reading non-verbal cues.

Examples of interpersonal communication skills include: 

• Verbal and nonverbal communication
• Body language
• Public speaking
• Presentation skills
• Negotiation
• Mediation
• Persuasion
• Active listening
• Conflict resolution
• Assertiveness
• Diplomacy
• Giving and receiving feedback

Improving communication skills can be difficult, especially for job-seeking introverts and neurodivergent individuals. If you’d like to try it, you might want to enroll in online courses, such as Communication Skills Master Class from Udemy. 

2. Leadership

Being a leader has nothing to do with corporate seniority levels. It's an interpersonal skill that helps inspire others to work on the things you’re passionate about. Leadership skills can be learned, but they’re highly correlated with your character traits. That’s why certain people become natural leaders, even if they don’t start meetings with an icebreaker. If you wish to improve your ability to lead others, you can try online courses such as Leading People and Teams from Coursera.

Samples of interpersonal skills in leadership include:

• Management skills
• Mentoring
• Motivation
• Inspiring others
• Reliability
• Dependability
• Responsibility

3. Decision-Making

Decision-making skills are essential for managers. Do you empathize with others enough to see the implications of your decisions? Can you communicate an unpopular decision in a way that will make people see your point? Or if a decision is to be made by a group, can you weigh all the pros and cons? And finally, are you mature enough to be held accountable for your decisions?

Decision-making requires interpersonal skills, such as:

• Problem analysis
• Making evidence-based decisions
• Executive decision-making
• Brainstorming
• Consensus-building

4. Problem-Solving

Employers don’t want workers who give up when faced with an issue. They want people who exhibit problem-solving skills and fix an issue themselves or know when and how to find people who can do that at hand.

Some examples of interpersonal skills in problem-solving include:

• Drawing conclusions
• Insight
• Experimenting
• Creative thinking
• Persistence
• Questioning

5. Organization

Organizing your work is even more important in the era of remote jobs and flexible work arrangements. Employers look for particular traits and want reliable workers who can keep deadlines, prioritize tasks, and perform their jobs efficiently.

Among interpersonal abilities, organization skills could mean:

• Time management
• Administrative skills
• Planning
• Strategizing
• Goal-setting
• Working with deadlines

6. Social Skills

Humans are social creatures. Even if you enjoy solitude, you must have some basic social skills to be successful at work. Sitcom characters like Sheldon Cooper can be adorable, but in real life, saying improper things to others is not cute. It’s worth learning how to start a conversation or how to introduce yourself casually—they’re basic things that can make work life more manageable.

Interpersonal skills include social abilities, such as:

• Relationship building
• Developing rapport
• Networking skills
• Social awareness

7. Collaboration 

Most 21st-century companies require their employees to collaborate effectively, form cross-functional teams, share knowledge, and help one another. It doesn’t matter if you’re a software engineer or a cashier at McDonald’s—your boss will expect you to work with others at some point.

Interpersonal skills in collaboration mean:

• Teamwork skills
• Team building
• Delegation of duties

8. Emotional Intelligence

You might be the smartest person in the room. Still, if you say hurtful remarks about your colleagues and dismiss other people’s ideas without consideration, you won’t take another step on your career ladder.

Interpersonal skills associated with emotional intelligence include:

• Self-awareness
• Empathy
• Cultural sensitivity
• Open-mindedness
• Tolerance
• Patience

9. Adaptability

Workplaces change. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that businesses and employees must be able to adapt to various work conditions. Accepting changes and overcoming challenges can make you more resilient, successful at work, and more relaxed in the long run.

Aspects of adaptability related to interpersonal skills include:

• Flexibility
• Resilience
• Positive attitude
• Humor

10. Stress Management

Everyone feels tense sometimes. However, being unable to work because of stress is a serious issue, not only for the employer but also for you. Too much stress can lead to burnout and depression. Nowadays, it’s very important to know how to handle stress productively. 

Examples of stress management as an interpersonal skill include:

• Reacting to stress
• Staying calm under pressure
• Deescalation techniques
• Relaxation techniques

As you see, you can’t underestimate the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.

Communication and interpersonal skills are important for successful project management, building team dynamics, and effective and efficient cross-departmental collaboration.

Would you like to learn about other necessary skills? Check here: 99+ Examples of Key Skills for Various Jobs

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How to Add Interpersonal Skills to Your Resume

First off, if you’re looking for a job where people skills play first fiddle, such as a school teacher, administrative assistant, or customer service specialist, chances are you can quickly identify the interpersonal skills employers are looking for by examining the job ad itself.

See a sample job advertisement for a Public Relations Coordinator below:

If that job description seems almost entirely spun around strong interpersonal skills, it’s because this is exactly the case. PR jobs require candidates to have nothing short of outstanding people skills. So what can you learn from that?

When applying for a job, ensure your resume is tailored to the job posting. Scan the job ad seeking keywords (like the ones marked in yellow above) and later use relevant strengths on your resume to show off your the desired qualities and traits. According to our HR statistics report, ATS systems screen over 250 resumes on average for each job posting. The more keywords they find, the better match you must be.

Now check the below sample work experience section to see how a potential PR Coordinator could use it to showcase the required skills from the job ad:

Interpersonal Skills Examples in a Work Experience Section

The rule of thumb is to describe your experience using the language from the job ad. This way, you can be sure that all the relevant keywords aren't missing from your resume. Remember to describe your interpersonal skills as career achievements.

But you know what? There’s more. You can give your people skills more prominence on your resume by adding them to your skill section:

Interpersonal Skills Examples in a Skills Section

Good right? The best part is that they’re not just random interpersonal skills. They’ve been fished out of your very own experience section.

But there’s still room on your resume to put your great interpersonal skills in the limelight! Where? In your resume objective or resume summary.

Here’s how the opening statement of your resume could read:

Interpersonal Skills Examples in a Resume Introduction

What you see in yellow highlights are the skills and character traits sprinkled here and there in the job ad and used in your opening statement. 

Want to learn how to make a job-winning resume that highlights all your assets? Here’s our guide: How to Make a Great Resume for Any Job 

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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Key Takeaways 

Here’s a quick summary of all you need to remember about interpersonal skills: 

• Interpersonal skills refer to your ability to interact with other people.
• All employers value candidates and employees with excellent interpersonal skills.
• You can show off your interpersonal skills on a resume by sprinkling them in the work experience, skill list, and resume summary or resume objective.
• If you feel like your interpersonal skills need a boost, there are a lot of resources available online for you to test and improve them.

Do you have any questions about interpersonal skills? Maybe you’d like to share some tips on how to develop them? Give us a shout-out in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you!

About Zety’s Editorial Process

This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.

Sources

• Weforum.org, "The Future of Jobs Report 2020"
• University of Michigan, "Leading People and Teams Specialization"

Frequently Asked Questions About Interpersonal Skills

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills are the behaviors, strategies, and abilities that help interact with others effectively. These skills are often called personal skills or people skills. Since a significant part of interacting with others is based on communication, they are connected to communication skills.

Interpersonal skills are a must-have when creating a list of skills for a resume. They can be a real dealbreaker for a hiring manager, as they help maximize productivity.

Why are interpersonal skills important?

Being able to interact with others is important for several reasons. It can boost your client's satisfaction, help you build trust, make your communication more effective, and even help you expand your career opportunities, as you develop leadership skills and empathy along the way.

Many positions require efficient teamwork skills and collaboration skills. And these are only some interpersonal skills you’d need for a workspace. Effective communication can help you find common language with your co-workers. 

Having great interpersonal skills will also help you create strong, meaningful, and healthy relations with your co-workers. That will lead to creating better bonds between employees and, finally—working better as a team.

What are examples of interpersonal skills?

Here’s a list of interpersonal skills examples:

1. Communication Skills

2. Leadership Skills or Management Skills

3. Decision-Making Skills

4. Problem-Solving Skills

5. Organization Skills

6. Networking Skills

7. Collaboration Skills or Teamwork Skills

8. Emotional Intelligence Skills

9. Adaptability

10. Stress Management

How to list interpersonal skills on a resume?

There are two ways of listing interpersonal skills on your resume:

1. You can list your interpersonal skills in your skills section. Grouping your technical skills together and creating a list of bullet points will work best.

2. You can implement your interpersonal skills within different sections, such as your work experience, resume summary, or resume objective. That approach will work great, especially if you have other impressive hard and technical skills you want to show in your skills section.

How to improve interpersonal skills?

There are several ways of improving your interpersonal skills:

1. Work on your active listening skills. Having great interpersonal skills doesn't only mean you can communicate your thoughts correctly. You also need to listen and understand what others are telling you.

2. Practice your presentation skills. How you speak, choose words, keeping eye contact with others, and your body language can make a real difference.

3. Stay positive and open-minded. Keeping a positive attitude towards the person you collaborate with will make you more likeable. Remaining open-minded will help you better understand others and position you as empathetic. And that will boost your chances of creating better bonds with your colleagues.

4. Control your emotions. Staying calm in good or bad situations will help you avoid any misconceptions.

5. Identify areas of improvement. That way you’ll know exactly what specific interpersonal skill you need to work more on.

6. Find a mentor. Asking for genuine feedback regarding your interpersonal skills will only make them better if you ask the right person.

7. Remain empathetic. Dealing with some people can be harder than with others, but being empathetic will only help you get along with them. Plus, you’ll boost your patience, and that’s always very valuable.

8. Communicate. Verbal and non-verbal communication are both bases of every interpersonal skill. Communicating well will help you in your day-to-day tasks and in different relationships.

9. Reflect on your interactions. Having a journal of your conversations will help you analyze them and prepare for the next interactions.

10. Promote a positive work environment. Improving your interpersonal skills will send a positive message to the people you work with. They will notice your actions, and they might try to follow them.