Social skills are an essential part of life, but not always easy to perfect. Improving them takes time and some trial and error. As a Leadership Team member, these skills are an essential part of your role. With that said, it takes a true leader to constantly pursue the perfection of good social skills.

Here are some tips on how to have good social interaction skills:

• Avoid being mean to other people. How you treat others, both those you like and those you do not like, is a direct reflection of your leadership capabilities. If you are nice to people that you like, but then mean to people you don’t like, then you will not be respected as a leader. A true leader will treat people the same regardless of how they feel about them.
• Use positive verbal feedback when correcting others. Avoid say negative things like “you are doing it wrong!” or “you’re not being loud enough!” Instead, say things like “let me help you do this better!” or “can you be even louder for me?”
• Take notice of people with good social skills and try and mock their vocabulary. There are plenty of great leaders that you can study. Once you pick up on the specific words and manners that they use to motivate people, then try and apply them next chance you get.
• Recognize your strengths and your weaknesses. Sometimes it may seem like you don’t have any weaknesses because you only focus on your strengths. The problem is that good social skills take time to perfect, but only if you notice where you can improve. If you are struggling to identify your weaknesses as it relates to social skills, then ask someone you trust to give you some constructive criticism.
• Don’t underestimate your body language. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it that makes a difference. Looking people in the eye, smiling, and having great posture when speaking to others makes those people feel more accepted and appreciated.

Leadership Activity – Lead a group through a drill. Work on your social skills throughout the drill. At the end of the drill, ask the group to provide feedback on the leader’s strengths and weaknesses as it relates to their social skills.

Conclusion
Having good social skills should be an ongoing goal for you. There is constantly room for improvement. As your social skills build, you will find yourself feeling more confident. You will also notice that you have more friends in the process. At the same time, these skills will open up a wide range of opportunities in your life.