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Programmers are usually considered as socially awkward people who don’t know much about dealing with people. Programmers spend most of their time sitting on a chair and looking at a glaring screen for countless hours but social skills are important whether you are working in an office or as a freelancer because in every project you will have to deal with non-technical people.
Our colleagues are like our families because we spend more hours of the day with them than with our families and once you realize this, you will realize the importance of having good relationships with your coworkers. If you are someone who lacks the basic social skills then the following discussion will be of great use to you:
1. Always Be Kind and Nice
You can be the smartest and most hard-working person on your team but if you lack basic manners and kindness then people around you in your workplace and on your team might not like collaborating with you. People won’t generally like you because you don’t have the skills required but you lack the basic manners of dealing with people.
Always try to be kind and nice to people who are around you since winning or yelling at your colleagues or coworkers won’t be able to solve the problems and these bad manners will only harm your professional relationships and it will be difficult for you to get on the track later on.
When you are kind and nice to others then it will leave a positive impact and people will start to like you as a human being. Plus, if you lack skills but you have good manners then people around you will be happy to help you with your tasks. Plus, your kindness will also force other people to show basic human decency.
2. Be There For Your Colleagues
When you are working in an office then all of you are like a team and you should always look out for each other. See if anyone in the office needs your help or you need someone to help you with something. When you find your colleagues and coworkers to be stressed, anxious, and going through tough times then you should be there for them, be genuinely interested in your colleagues, and be there for them.
Even if you cannot help to solve their problem, you can always help them by taking interest in what they have to say, try to encourage them, and emotionally uplift them. Sometimes, your words alone can do wonders that you had never expected.
3. Say ‘Thank You’ and ‘Please’ a lot
Using the words ‘Thank You’ and ‘Please’ is very important if you want to have a good relationship with your colleagues. People appreciate it when you are being polite and grateful. No matter how small a favor is, when someone does something for you then you shouldn’t hesitate to say Thank You because this will not only make your colleagues feel better but it will also portray a positive image of yours in front of others.
You should also frequently be using the word Please in your communication with your colleagues because when you are using the word please then you are not forcing them to do something but asking them as a favor that it would be nice and kind of you if you help me out with something and when you use the word please then the other person most likely won’t turn down helping you.
Although Thank You and Please are two simple words, these words can make a huge difference if you start using them in your daily communication.
4. Make Efforts to Mend Your Relationships with Colleagues
If you find yourself struggling to get along with a colleague or coworker then you should be a big man and make efforts to build a healthy working relationship. If your colleague has some kind of problem with you or the way you do things around then you should sit down and talk about it.
You can also try to see if you both have got something in common, for instance, see if both of you like watching football or both of you are interested in an ongoing TV series, etc. These things will make a huge difference and once you are set on the right foot, you will see both of you working together in cooperation instead of opposing each other.
The colleague that you weren’t getting along with will now become your friend and both of you will be sharing different things, catching up on each other, and playing games like Words With Friends with each other just to see who has got the best brain and who knows either one of you will be taking help from the Scrabble Word Finder just to have bragging rights over the other.
5. Recognize and Praise the Efforts of Others
When you praise people then it can have a lot of boost on the self-confidence of people. You should be aware of other people’s accomplishments and praise them whether their accomplishment is large or small because it will have a boost on their self-confidence and the individual will feel good about himself.
Praising others isn’t as complicated as you might think. If you can’t do much then you can use Common phrases like “Great job,” “Well done,” or “You did great” to praise others.
When you are praising others for their accomplishment then you are making them feel important and recognizing their efforts that grabbed your attention.
