Get People Savvy!

Working effectively with others requires people skills. Every goal you want to accomplish in life is determined by your ability to communicate well, build collaborative relationships, and influence others. Why? Because, like it or not, everything you do involves other people.
Knowing how to get the best results out of people in any situation takes skill. Here are five tips to help you maximize the potential of your relationships and move you ahead in your career.
Stop talking. Listening is 45% of communication. And if you're talking... you can't be listening. People are bias towards good listeners. When people feel you have truly listened to their ideas and concerns, they are more likely to listen to yours. Good listeners build solid relationships. To let the other person know you're listening, look at them, lean slightly towards them, and occasionally nod to show attentiveness, not necessarily agreement.
Tune up your attitude. Just as your car needs routine maintenance, your attitude could use a check up every now and then. When it comes to your attitude, you have all the power. You choose whether you will respond positively or negatively. No person and no situation determines your attitude. You do.
Show a genuine interest in others. People are interested in people who are smart enough to be interested in them. Next to physical survival, our second greatest need is to be valued -- to know that we matter. Demonstrating acceptance and interest in others is an excellent way to communicate value.
Don't stew. When you sit on your emotions, resentment towards others builds. Resolve conflicts quickly. Otherwise you risk having an emotional outburst that you will probably regret once you cool off.
Communicate assertively. We are born either passive communicators or aggressive communicators. We must learn to be assertive communicators. Assertive communicators get the best results out of people. They are neither mean nor weak. To communicate assertively, you are tough and tender, positive and firm, confident and direct. The ability to communicate well is ranked the number one key to success. Experts say that 15% of your success comes from your know-how, while 85% comes from your ability to connect with people and create trust and respect. If you don't have a clear idea what to work on, make developing your people skills a priority. Excellent people skills are the most powerful career and personal skills you can possess.
"No one needs a smile as much as the person who fails to give one." -- Unknown