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A guide to social skills in the workplace (with examples)

SEEK content team – updated on 28 March, 2024

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Most of us put our social skills to use every day. Speaking to family, messaging friends, and even interacting with strangers online – all of these interactions require you to use social skills.

Social skills also play a vital role at work. Having strong social skills helps you communicate well with colleagues, understand team dynamics and fit into the culture of your workplace, even if your job is fully remote. These skills are essential to building a professional network and getting along with the people you work with, ulltimately helping you build a satisfying career.

In this article we take a closer look at what social skills are and how you can develop and improve them. We’ve also included some social skills examples and some tips to keep in mind if you want to practise being more social.

What are social skills?

Social skills, also known as interpersonal skills, are the skills we use when we interact and communicate with each other. They include verbal communication (like speech and tone) and non-verbal communication (body language). Social skills also include written and visual communication, to a lesser extent.

Some of the most common examples of social skills include:

The ability to communicate well
Teamwork, and being able to cooperate with others
Leadership abilities, like being persuasive and decisive
Being good at building relationships
Feeling and showing empathy
Conflict-resolution skills
Being a good listener

Why do I find interactions difficult?

Everyone is different, so the answer to this varies depending on your circumstances and personality. Some people suffer from social anxiety, while others find it challenging to clearly communicate, whether it’s through lack of practice or because they’re shy.

What does it mean to lack social skills? Generally, it means you’re not able to read situations and communicate with people in a way that brings you the desired results.

Why are social skills important at work?

Social skills are important in all areas of your life, including at work. No matter what industry or role you’re in, these skills help you to build and maintain relationships with teammates, managers, clients and customers.

Good social skills at work also help:

improve team collaboration
facilitate conflict resolution
promote a positive workplace culture
reduce miscommunication

Some roles like those in sales or customer service have goals that depend on having advanced social skills. But even if you aren’t in a customer-facing role, social skills are important because they help maintain a friendly atmosphere at work.

Advantages of developing better social skills at work

Sharpening your social development skills can benefit you in the workplace, helping you communicate more effectively and build relationships with colleagues, which in turn makes your work life easier and more enjoyable. Here are some of the main advantages of developing social skills at work.

Enhanced communication and collaboration

Having strong social skills means you can effectively communicate with others. Good communication helps reduce misunderstandings and helps you collaborate with your teammates. As a result, it can be easier to get your work done, share new ideas and solve any problems.

Stronger relationships and networking

When you’re empathetic and approachable (two important qualities when it comes to social skills), you can build trust and understanding with your colleagues. When you have positive relationships in the workplace it not only makes the days go faster, it can open doors for new opportunities and connections. Having good social skills is also essential to networking – both making new contacts and maintaining your existing ones.

Improved conflict resolution

Good social skills can help you resolve conflicts. By being empathetic, you can avoid conflicts yourself and help mediate any disagreements in your workplace before they become larger issues. Conflict resolution skills are even more important in sales and customer service roles, to build trust with customers.

Increase job satisfaction and career advancement

Having good relationships with your colleagues and creating a positive workplace culture makes for a happier work environment. Having good social skills doesn’t mean making friends with everyone, it means being friendly on a professional level, so that you get along well enough to work together efficiently.

Leadership potential

People generally need good social skills in order to be great leaders. Being able to motivate, build trust with and influence people are all important elements of leading a team or organisation. These types of social skills are important to have if you’re interested in a leadership role.

How to improve social skills at work

You’re not alone if you find yourself asking why do I struggle with social skills? While social skills may seem like they come naturally to some people, as with any other skill set, they take practice. Here are some small things you can do to improve social skills at work.

1. Make an effort to remember people’s names

Remembering someone’s name is the first step in building a positive relationship with them. Tips for remembering someone’s name include:

Repeating their name straight back to them when you meet them (Nice to meet you, Name.)
Trying a mnemonic device like associating their name with a celebrity or an an attribute of theirs
Writing their name down as soon as you can after meeting them
Asking for their email address or name card (if appropriate)

2. Make an effort to get to know people

Being more familiar with the people you work with can help build your social skills, resulting in a more positive work environment. Small talk is one way of practising social skills (Get up to anything fun on the weekend?) without being too familiar. You could also suggest a group lunch if you work together on-site. Start with superficial ‘getting to know you’ questions and go from there.

Part of having good social skills is knowing when other people don’t want to have a conversation, so be receptive to their body language and other cues.

3. Develop your emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to regulate your own emotions as well as understand those of others. This includes being self-aware, showing empathy, and understanding how your emotions impact others. Emotional intelligence impacts your social skills by allowing you to gauge how others are feeling in response to your words and actions.

To improve your emotional intelligence, observe how people react in different situations. This could be when they’re receiving feedback or just having a conversation. Notice their body language, tone of voice and language. You can also reflect on your own interactions and conversations to improve your emotional intelligence.

4. Offer praise and positive feedback

Being kind to people and making them feel comfortable and supported are all part of having good social skills. That’s why offering genuine praise and positive feedback is important in building relationships.

When sharing positive feedback it should be sincere. For an example of how you can practise this social skill in the workplace: if someone handles a difficult customer well, you can give them praise or encouragement. Or if someone comes up with a suggestion in a meeting, tell them you like their idea.

5. Actively listen

People with good social skills are often good listeners. You can become a better listener by practising active listening. Active listening means maintaining eye contact and nodding or reacting to what the other person is saying. Whether one on one, or in a group setting, listen to the speaker without interrupting, and only speak if you can add to the conversation in a meaningful way. Meaningful ways include asking questions to get more information or even throwing the conversation to someone else and asking their opinion.

6. Ask open-ended questions

Asking open-ended questions is a technique good communicators use to engage others and get a conversation flowing naturally. If you ask someone a question they can only answer yes or no to, it doesn’t encourage a longer conversation. Open-ended questions call for more in-depth answers than yes or no questions. For example, instead of asking someone if they like something, you might ask, What are your thoughts about xyz? or How do you feel about xyz?

7. Take a genuine interest in your co-worker’s life

If you find it hard to have conversations with people, it helps to try and develop a genuine curiosity about them. While you don’t want to ask anything too personal, taking an interest in their hobbies or life outside of work can help form a connection with them. Asking what their plans are on the weekend or where they grew up can help you get to know them and find common ground to build on.

8. Be observant of others

Being perceptive is essential when learning how to improve social skills. By noticing people’s body language, their tone of voice and their facial expressions, you can learn to interpet how they feel about different interactions. Pay attention to how people react to different situations at work, to become more intuitive about how you should interact with them.

9. Socialise in neutral environments

Your environment has a big impact on your social interactions. It’s always easier to socialise in a place where everyone feels comfortable or ‘equal’. A neutral space might be the pantry at work or a networking event. A non-neutral environment is one where you have more control, like if you are leading a training session or an onboarding meeting and the other person feels obligated to respond rather than being equally engaged in a conversation.

10. Get to social gatherings early

If you don’t feel comfortable socialising with large groups of people, get to events early for the chance to engage with people one-on-one or in smaller groups. Later on at the event you will already have spoken to most attendees and feel more comfortable socialising around the room.

11. Have a ‘script’

Having a script can be a great safety net for social interactions. Feel more prepared and confident by practising your responses to questions you may be asked. You could also prepare conversation starters that are appropriate to the event. Have you tried any of the canapés here? What’s your recommendation? While it helps to have questions or conversation starters ready, it’s important not to sound rehearsed.

12. Understand established norms and rules

With any interaction, it’s important to take note of cultural norms and rules. In a workplace, there may be an established culture or expectations. Taking the time to learn workplace etiquette is one of the most important things you can do to hone your social skills at work.

Observe well-liked people and those who have been at your organisation the longest, and notice the way they engage with people, for clues on what’s expected at your workplace.

13. Bring other people into the conversation

If you’re a more extroverted person in social settings, it’s important to remember being inclusive of others. Having good social skills means sharing the spotlight and not dominating the conversation. Even if you’re leading a conversation or meeting, you can practise good interpersonal skills by asking Do you have any ideas for how we could do that? or What do you think, Name?

14. Be aware of your energy levels

Your energy levels have a big impact on your social interactions, so it’s best to make efforts to socialise when you’re feeling completely charged. When you’re tired, you may not have the energy to interact much with others, so avoid planning any socialising during those times.

You may find that improving your social skills at work drains a lot of energy, and being aware of its effect on you will keep you from feeling burned out or exhausted at the end of the day.

15. Avoid controversial topics

Having good social skills means avoiding interactions that could offend others. Good conversations with colleagues involve keeping discussions light and enjoyable. In the workplace, it’s always best to avoid sensitive topics, such as politics or religion. Repeatedly bringing up topics like this can go against organisational policies.

When engaging in a conversation, stick to hobbies, leisure, family and entertainment. You can also keep it specific to work, talking about a project or industry news.

16. Keep things light and positive

Charismatic people have an ability to draw others to them. In many cases it’s because they have a positive outlook and contribute to making others feel good about themselves. Good social skills involve being optimistic and sharing positive messages, rather than spreading negativity or always venting frustrations.

17. Seek feedback

For a clearer picture of how others see you and what social skills you might need to work on, ask for genuine feedback, whether it’s from your peers or your manager. This feedback can help you understand how others perceive you and identify if your social skills can be improved.

18. Set goals

Once you have a good understanding of how others perceive you, you can set social goals as a way to measure the development of your social skills. Examples of social goals could be:

Not interrupting others in conversations
Practising empathy by placing yourself in the other person’s shoes
Striking up conversations at work rather than relying on other people
Asking a teammate a ‘get to know you’ question
Learning the names of everyone in your department

19. Practise, practise, practise!

As they say, practice makes perfect. The best way to hone your social skills is to have conversations and interactions with people. The more experience you have, the more natural you will become at effortlessly interacting with others.

Our social skills affect all areas of our lives. They help us form relationships with those around us, whether it’s family, friends or colleagues, influencing our happiness at home and at work. Social skills don’t come naturally to everyone, but the good news is that they’re relatively easy to practice and improve upon.

FAQs

What are the key social skills in the workplace?

Fundamental social skills in the workplace include:

communication,
cooperation,
leadership,
respect,
active listening,
relationship-building, and
empathy.

How can I assess and improve my social skills?

Speaking and interacting with others is a good way to assess and improve your social skills. You can also get feedback from trusted colleagues, friends and family. Ask them their opinions on how you speak and act in social situations to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Are social skills more important than technical skills in a job?

Technical and social skills are equally as important in a job. Technical skills are the specific skills you need to carry out your work. Social skills, which overlap with soft skills, can impact how successful you are in that role.

Can poor social skills hinder career advancement?

Poor social skills can hinder career advancement in a range of ways. When people can’t relate to you or feel uncomfortable interacting with you, you might not get the same career opportunities as someone with better soft skills. Employees with strong social skills tend to build better relationships with colleagues and clients, leading to increased collaboration, better teamwork and more opportunities for advancement.

What are some effective exercises for developing social skills?

Role-playing scenarios, being self-aware and setting social goals are all effective exercises for developing social skills. By role-playing scenarios with friends or family, you can practise different aspects of social skills, while being observant and reflective will help you know how to act in real-life situations. Setting goals to help you achieve specific targets will also help you improve your social skills.