P 2 Essay, Research Paper

The Importance of Interpersonal Skills

By Andrew Boyer

Andrew Boyer

Portfolio Essay #1

10-8-00

In order to understand the importance of interpersonal skills, you have to know the definition of it. The definition of interpersonal skills is the ability to communicate, and relate well with others. I think that good interpersonal skills are one of the most necessary skills needed to pursue a successful career and a happy life. I personally have a good example of the using good interpersonal skills. Two years ago a group of residents and I started the Rhinelander Skatepark Project. The group and I went to various meetings and other local political gatherings. It was at these meetings, that we were able to voice our opinions, and because of this communication between our committee and the city officials of Rhinelander, we were able to successfully get their permission to build a Skatepark in Rhinelander. Because of this I think that interpersonal skills are important because if you have good interpersonal skills you are able to sell yourself, you can communicate well with employees and employers, and you are able to establish strong relationships with others.

One of the best things about having good interpersonal skills is having the ability to sell yourself. Having the ability to sell yourself is basically, being able to let people know who you are through taking action. This means that if you are able to sell yourself, you don t have to be an expert on a subject in order get heard. This is very important because it is impossible to be an expert on every subject matter. Employers are always looking for people who can sell themselves well. Most employers don t even base hiring strictly on merit alone, most of them hire on how well the person that they considering and interviewing projects themselves. In the professional world, it also doesn t just stop with hiring, since competition is so fierce in this day and age, the ability to sell yourself is a necessity if you ever want to be considered for a promotion of any sort. A personal example of me being able to sell myself, was when I was trying to get approval for the Skatepark. In order to do that I had to get up and speak in front of many older and well educated people, and convince them that a Skatepark would benefit the city. If I just wrote letters and never went to meetings, the Skatepark would never have been approved.

Another reason it is necessary to possess good interpersonal skills is you can communicate well with employers and co-workers. This is very important in the professional world because the only way to ever be able to get anything accomplished on the job is through communication. If this skill is lacking not only will it be hard to perform the normal tasks of a job, but it will also be hard to even get considered for a promotion. Since most jobs and careers are team based, it is very important to not only have good communication with the employer, but to also have good communication with co-workers. The only way a team is able to function, is if there is good communication between every member of the team. If a workplace can be considered a team, then it would fall apart if the employees couldn t communicate well with each other. A personal example of this for me was again with the skatepark project. If all the members of the committee hadn t communicated with each other, then the whole project would have fallen apart because the workload wouldn t have been evenly distributed.

By having good interpersonal skills you have the ability to build strong personal Relationships with others. This not only helps in a good professional lifestyle, but it also helps in establishing a good personal lifestyle. It helps in the professional lifestyle by providing for a good working environment that allows for social interaction. The working environment improves when it is filled with people who are friends opposed to people who are enemy s. Believe it or not, the working environment might actually be fun. Building strong personal relationships also gives references for the future. Those references can stick with a person forever. Another good thing about building strong personal relationships is that it improves your personal lifestyle. It is said that life is not as great if it is lived alone. If you have the ability to build strong personal relationships, the relationships that you build will always be there forever, and that is one of the best things about life in general. Because of friends and family we aren t living in an uncivilized society. An example of a personal experience where I built a strong personal relationship was again, volunteering with the skatepark. I met lots of new people that will always be my friend, and support me in what I do, but I also built up strong references that will help me in the future.

Knowing that interpersonal skills are the ability to communicate, and relate well with others, it is clear that it is very important to possess these skills in order to have a good professional and personal life. Interpersonal skills are also very important because if you possess them you have the ability to sell yourself, you can communicate well with employees and employers, and you are able to build strong relationships with others. I personally think that interpersonal skills are the start of success and happiness. I think that if I didn t have the interpersonal skills that I have, I wouldn t be even anywhere near where I am today.