Humans are Social Being. Social bonding is inherited in our DNA. Just like we need food, we also need social support. Social interaction and social causes helped creating the advanced civilized world as we see it in modern time. Social skills are necessary not only to live a happy and healthy life, but also to advance in our career and personal objectives.

If we don’t carry appropriate social skills, we will lack a very important interpersonal skill which is obligatory in our lives to live a happy and successful life. Suppose, you are a talented and dedicated employee, if you don’t showcase your works to your superior through the means of your social interaction. Your efforts may go unnoticed. So, it is must to have social skills in your life. 10 must social skills a person should acquire collectively. These are described below:

Authenticity

Authenticity means something which is genuine and true to its nature.

Authenticity in our personality is a great tool. People respect and attracted to an authentic person. Authenticity means being true and genuine to your values, and personality.

When you are in social scenario, be yourself. Be the person who you are. Talk in your own style and fashion. Carry your own communication conduct. Although this personality trait alone won’t make you super charismatic. It is a big step to enhance your social skills. There are multiple steps to acquire true charisma in communication. But authenticity is a first step. To become authentic, just be yourself.

Eye Contact

We underappreciate the power of Eye Contact. Eye contact can indicate our engagement in a conversation. It can also attract other people. You can just initiate conversation just through eye contact. Eye contact is a symbol of confidence, communication, engagement and attractiveness. When you delve into a communication or a conversation in real life, make eye contact with the other person. Make sure to smile and stay engaged through the power of eye contact in proper fashion. Also make sure you don’t make them nervous. The goal is to communicate openly and express ideas.

There are many other social skills you should carry with the habit of proper eye contact. These are discussed below thoroughly.

Gesture

Gesture means movement of one or more of your body parts, specially your hands or head to express a meaning. Communication doesn’t only involve usage of vocal cord or sound. It also involves body language. Body language is a powerful technique to persuade people and appear more attractive.

When you meet someone, you can engage in a conversation through moving your eyebrows, your palm to convey a meaning related to the communication.

Spread Positive Energy in your communication

People likes to feel positive vibes. People are also drawn to positive social interactions. Imagine you are a positive person who transfers positive vibes and energy to people in social settings. People will like you more, compared to someone who doesn’t transfer positive energy or someone who carry negative energy. Positive energy involves smiling, using positive sentences, making other people laugh, giving people good vibes etc.

Touch

Touch is a form of intimacy. We love to touch our closed ones. Touch is also sensitive. You shouldn’t touch anyone or any stranger without their consent. But when used appropriately, touch is a great tool to enhance social bond and increase your standard to the other people’s eye. For example, when you meet a friend or a colleague, you can perform a strong handshake, give them a hug or bump them in an appropriate manner. These types of touch are effective method of enhancing social bonds.

Because touch can also be sensitive. Make sure to do this appropriately. Use your own knowledge and instinct to make sure where you should apply this method.

Smile

A good smile can indicate genuine attractiveness. It doesn’t mean we should laugh hysterically when we meet someone. Just a simple smiley face can contribute to attractiveness in social situation. If you appear more attractive, more people would be willing to listen to you. Even research has proved that, smiling face indicates attractiveness. [1]

But there are many orthodontic related insecurities faced by many people when the case of smile comes. Whatever the case is, it is better to align your face in happy mood than in a neutral, sad or angry mood. When you align your face in happy mode you will notice you are naturally becoming more attractive to people.

Listening

Listening helps us understand other people more. Because most of us just hear, we don’t listen effectively. Effective listening is effective in understanding people, object, topic or problems. It helps you identify problems and navigate solutions.

People also feel valuable, and respect you more the more efficiently you listen to them. Effective listening also help you provide feedback to other people. So, listening is a great tool. It is especially true in case of leaders, managers and CEO. They have to deal with a lot of people. So, they carry the trait of effective listening to navigate problem solving formulas.

Sense of Humor

People wants to laugh and smile. Because it produces happy hormones in brain, and it makes us feel better. People who are able to deliver jokes effortlessly and make people smile or laugh, they are more attractive. Just like mentioned above, sense of humor helps you provide positive energy to other people.

Open communication

Open communication means the ability to transfer and exchange ideas and communication with each other. In open communication you express your ideas, raise your concerns and voice your opinion effectively with other people. Closed communication is a case when only one person is actively communicating, such as a lecturer delivering speech in a seminar or classroom.

Socially skilled people voice their opinions and express their ideas effectively. They don’t just listen, they also share their thoughts and feelings.

Proactive communication

Proactive communication means communicating in a manner which resolves problems or avoid any future problems or conflicts. In proactive communication a person uses language or sentences and express his concerns which is effective in navigating problems in communicating. They use phrases such as “You could have performed the task better if you put more effort” instead of “You can’t do any job effectively”. Proactive communication deals with problems. It is very necessary in workplaces. Especially in HRM managers, managers and leaders.

References

[1]	J. Godinho, R. P. Gonçalves and L. Jardim, Contribution of facial components to the attractiveness of the smiling face in male and female patients: A cross-sectional correlation study, January 2020.