How are your social skills? Read to find out.

 Socializing with other people may be tough, especially if your skills in socialization are below par with the expectations of society. 

More often than not, many people with poor social skills make other people uncomfortable without knowing it. 

Now, these people do not deliberately do it, but oftentimes, they do so because of not becoming aware of social cues and interpersonal strategies that are essential for social beings to possess. 

But the good thing is, it is still possible for people who struggle with social skills to improve on them. 

In this article, we will explore the different behaviors that demonstrate weak social skills. So, if you want to know if you have good or poor social skills, read below! 

1. No eye contact

Eye contact is a basic and essential aspect of communication. It is a social cue that, though non-verbal, shows how interested and attentive you are with the person you are speaking with. Moreover, people who communicate with proper eye contact demonstrates a certain level of respect for the person they are talking to. 

However, there are people who struggle with communicating while maintaining proper eye contact. People with poor social skills have the tendency to avoid eye contact, which may make the other person feel disrespected. Also, the other person may feel that they are not interesting and that they are not engaging conversationalists.

On the other hand, there are people who stare too much to the point of making the other person feel uncomfortable. This also shows poor social skills because they may come across as too aggressive or too intense. 

But the good thing is, communicating with appropriate eye contact can be learned. In your next conversation, make sure that you look at the eyes of the person you’re communicating with, but not too long as to make them uncomfortable. 

2) Interrupting others

Interrupting others during conversations is also a sign that a person has poor social skills. More often than not, interrupting others while they are talking shows disrespect. It also implies that you are not that interested in what the other person is saying, thus interrupting them and sharing your own thoughts, instead. 

If you find yourself in the habit of interrupting others mid-conversation, please control yourself more. Most of the time, people who interrupt are not aware that they are doing it, but now that you are reading this, you might be more introspective about how much you interrupt others during conversations. 

And hey, practice makes permanent. The more you practice listening actively and waiting for your turn to speak, the more natural it will become to not interrupt others during conversations. 

3) Negative body language

Communication does not only happen through spoken words. In fact, studies showed that facial expressions, body posture, and gestures are as important as words that are used through speaking to someone. 

This means that body language is crucial to daily human interactions. The way we use our hands, the manner we position our shoulders, and the way we express with our eyes are all silent ways of communicating with others - which speak volumes even without saying a single word.

Showing a negative body language makes people feel unwelcome. This is shown through slouching, crossing your arms, or frowning your face while talking to someone. 

If you suddenly become aware of how your body language has been negative around people, don’t fuss. There is a way to improve this. 

To keep a positive body language during conversations, stand tall or sit up straight, smile, and use your hands openly when talking. When you do this, you will come across as more inviting and welcoming. People will naturally become more comfortable with you. 

4) Talking too much about yourself

People with poor social skills love monopolizing conversations and talking about themselves a lot. They would tend to share their own opinions and stories without allowing other people to share theirs. I know we all love to share our experiences and our accomplishments, but you should do it without dominating conversations. 

Talking excessively about yourself will make others see you as self-centered. They may also view you as someone who is not interested in others, which is a natural turn-off. 

Instead, remember that conversations entail an equal amount of speaking and listening. Talk about yourself, but do not forget to listen to the other person, show interest by asking questions, and respond to their stories the way you want them to respond to yours. 

5) Not responding to non-verbal cues

You know how the cliche ‘Actions speak louder than words’ goes? Same is with non-verbal cues. People with weak social skills tend to disregard the facial expression and body language of the person they are speaking with. They fail to consider that the tone of voice of the other person already signifies discontent, frustration, or anxiety. Worse, people who lack good social skills may not understand that a person’s silence means that they want to be left alone or that they do not want to converse any further. 

When we miss out the non-verbal cues of others, other people may see us as insensitive. They may also feel that we do not care about others’ feelings as we go on rambling about something despite the non-verbal cues displayed by the person in front of us. 

But it is never too late to improve on this! Try to start paying attention to the silent ways other people communicate. Are they pulling away from you? This means they are not engaged with the conversation. Are they frowning? They may be negatively affected by what you are saying. 

Conclusion

Social skills are learned skills. We are not born with good social skills right away. We learn them from our experiences and with the way we socialized in the past. 

If, after reading this article, you feel that you are struggling with your social skills, become encouraged with the fact that everything can be improved. It is good that there is a level of awareness that is within you now. Next come practice and be patient with yourself as you work on self-improvement. 

Just remember that your goal is to improve your social skills and connect more meaningfully with others.