Oprah Winfrey personifies the definition of people skills as she relates to her audience and her guests. People with great people skills, like Winfrey, listen with empathy, show compassion, and read subtle signs from body language and tone of voice.

What Employers Want

People skills often top the list of qualities employers are looking for, according to Katharine Hansen and Randall S. Hansen of Quintessential Careers. If you are looking at job descriptions, people skills terms include interpersonal communication, socio-emotional competency, emotional intelligence, a soft skill or human relations.

Lacking Skill Sets

In a 2006 Conference Board survey of over 400 human resources professionals, many younger workers are missing necessary interpersonal skills to do a job. Improving workforce readiness requires efforts on the part of educational institutions, hiring employers and workers.

Upgrade Your Workforce

Companies interested in improving their employees' interpersonal relations can use many methods, including cooperative learning teams. These are small groups of people who work together and support each other during learned social skills sessions led by a trainer.

Cultural Awareness

People skills are not just limited to communication and team building exercises. Being aware of cultural differences in the workplace is also important, says Karen Schmidt of Positive Path Network. There are specific cultural awareness programs for businesses to take advantage of that teach people how to interact with people from other countries.

Observation

Learning to listen and being aware of body language are also aspects of good people skills. Being able to listen to another person without interrupting is what makes master communicators, according to Schmidt. Also, pay attention to folded arms (a sign that the person is not open to the conversation).

Source:

"Oxford English Dictionary;" Oxford University Press; 2009

"People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others and Resolve Conflicts;" Robert Bolton; 1986

"People Skills: Using the Cooperative Learning Model to Teach Students "People Skills;"" Jack W. Fellers; 1996

More Information:

Quintessential Careers: What Do Employers Really Want?

Green River Regional Educational Cooperative: Are They Really Ready to Work?

Teaching Resources: Teaching Social Skills