How to Improve Your Social Skills: 3 Tips for Everyone

A person who needs to learn how to improve social skills, standing alone at a party full of poeple

Do want to know how to improve your social skills? Do you sometimes center the conversation back on yourself? As we practice learning to know others, we often have to work to counter some of our natural tendencies. These include the tendency to see things in a self-centered way, to be impatient rather than empathetic, or to shy away from the messy parts of others’ lives. Let’s take a look at how you can work on these tendencies by improving your social skills.

How to Stop Thinking About Yourself When Socializing

A woman who needs to stop thinking about herself, with a person in a thought bubble crossed out by a red X

Do you catch yourself thinking only about you while someone else is talking? How can you steer the conversation back to the other person? We’re all at the center of our own worlds, and we naturally center ourselves in our thoughts and our conversations. David Brooks explains that by stepping back from your ego and how it wants you to see the world, you can make more room for other people. Keep reading to learn how to stop thinking about yourself during conversations.

The Top How to Know a Person Quotes About Social Situations

A woman reading a book outside in the woods

What are the best How to Know a Person quotes? What happens when you’re too absorbed in your own life? In How to Know a Person (2023), David Brooks argues that our relationships are in decline—and the morality of our society with them—because many of us have lost touch with our ability to know other people well. Brooks writes that knowing others enables us to see across political divides, racial lines, and geographic distances, allowing us to truly understand one another. Keep reading to discover four How to Know a Person quotes to get the main ideas from the book.

Ask for Feedback at Work—It’s More Valuable Than Praise

A professional man and woman having a serious discussion in a conference room illustrates asking for feedback at work

Why do some professionals avoid asking for feedback? What’s the difference between seeking validation and pursuing genuine improvement? Getting better at your job requires more than just collecting compliments. Asking for feedback at work—and actually using it—can transform your career growth. Impact players understand this distinction and actively seek constructive criticism to enhance their performance. Keep reading to discover practical strategies for requesting, receiving, and implementing feedback that will accelerate your professional development.

Shameless Behavior Is an Attempt to Rid Ourselves of Shame

A man with curly brown hair and glasses talking loudly in a restaurant illustrates shameless behavior

Why do people who feel deep shame often act shamelessly? What drives someone to develop behaviors that seem to contradict their inner feelings? Understanding shameless behavior helps unlock the complex relationship between shame and our coping mechanisms. When we feel ashamed, we might develop strategies to either fix perceived flaws or shift our uncomfortable feelings onto others. Keep reading to discover how perfectionism, power-seeking, and blame-shifting all connect to our deeper struggles with shame.

How to Change Employee Behavior: 3 Factors to Target

A manager attempting to change employee behavior by talking to her with a clipboard of notes in her hand

How can you change unwanted employee behavior? What types of behaviors should managers target? The first step of Aubrey C. Daniels’s management approach is to identify the desired behavior by clearly defining your objective. The objective may be to solve a problem, like frequently missed deadlines, or achieve a goal, like heightened productivity. Keep reading to learn how to change employees’s behavior by identifying what you want out of them first.

Why Hiding Your Emotions Will Hurt Your Relationships

A cartoon image of a father, daughter, and mother at a dinner table. The father has a bland expression because he's hiding his emotions

Do you often hide your emotions and feelings from others? Why should you start opening up to your loved ones? One of the top regrets of the dying is that they weren’t more open about their feelings. When you try to hide your emotions from others, you’re not allowing them to know the true you. Here’s why you should be more open with your friends and family, from the book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

How to Encourage Employees With Consequences

A manager who knows how to encourage employees by clapping for them

Do you need new motivational techniques for employees? Is positive or negative reinforcement better for encouragement? According to Aubrey C. Daniels, people tend to repeat behaviors that lead to positive consequences while avoiding those that have negative consequences. This means you can leverage consequences to reinforce desired behaviors and deter undesired behaviors. Here’s how to encourage employees with two types of behavioral consequences.

You Should Make an Effort Not to Lose Touch With Friends

A middle aged woman on her couch looking through an old photo album because she has lost touch with her childhood friends

Have you lost touch with your friends? Why should you try to maintain your friendships? In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, one common deathbed regret that patients expressed was that they didn’t make an effort to maintain their friendships. While family feel obligated to visit you, real friends are invaluable in life. Here’s why you should put in effort to keep your friends.

Cues: Book Overview & Key Takeaways (Vanessa Van Edwards)

A woman with long red hair and a buttoned chambray shirt reading a book

Is charisma something you’re born with, or can it be learned? What’s the secret to becoming more influential and respected in your personal and professional lives? Cues, a book by Vanessa Van Edwards, contends that anyone can boost their charisma by understanding and strategically using verbal and nonverbal cues. She explains that charisma is a balance of warmth and competence, which we can project through our words, body language, and personal branding. Continue reading for an overview of this practical book.