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Social intelligence is a skill that can be gained through the day-to-day life experiences of understanding people and navigating one’s behaviour to develop social connections. It is about a person’s ability to communicate effectively and interact with people in an empathetic and assertive manner. Social intelligence is a quality that comes from the awareness of one’s inner self and practising effective emotional management.
The significance of gaining social intelligence as a skill is based on the importance of getting along well with others and cooperating with them. Social intelligence is an important social skill that helps a person to develop their personality and become an active and valuable part of society.Â
Key components of social intelligence
Social intelligence is a valuable skill that enables a person to communicate effectively. There are certain components that constitute social intelligence.
Communication skills and verbal fluencyÂ
One of the most important components of social intelligence is the ability to communicate effectively with great fluency. It is necessary to have smooth communication skills to be able to interact effectively.
Self-efficacy in the social context
Being socially intelligent requires a person to play different social roles. Adapting to one’s surroundings is important in order to get along with all types of people. Due to this quality, socially intelligent people usually have high self-confidence levels.Â
Ability to understand and observe other people
Understanding other people is an important component of social intelligence. Anyone who understands how to interact and communicate with people will likely possess superior social intelligence.
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Impression management skillsÂ
Having effective impression management skills is also an important component of social intelligence. These skills help us present ourselves in a way that lets people easily connect with us without getting deceived by our original personality. The main objective here is to maintain an image that people find relatable and easy to connect with.Â
Strong listening skillsÂ
Listening skills are another component of social intelligence. With good listening skills, a person can understand other people better and connect with what they share with them.
How to develop social intelligence
Social intelligence is an important skill. People can improve their social intelligence in a few ways.
Observation skills
Observation skills are one of the components of social intelligence. To improve observation skills, a person should be an active observer and pay close attention to their environment.
Improving emotional intelligence
The next thing that can help in developing social intelligence is to improve emotional intelligence since the two concepts are closely related. Emotional intelligence involves managing our emotions and helps us empathise with people. Thus, it can significantly help in developing social intelligence.
Practising effective listening
Being an attentive listener is one of the most important qualities of a socially intelligent person. Thus, one must pay attention to what someone is saying before responding or offering advice.
Appreciating the importance of people
Lastly, developing strong relations and deep connections with people requires appreciating their importance. This involves paying close attention to the emotions of the people one interacts with. Thus, appreciating the presence and importance of the other person is an important aspect of developing social intelligence as a personality trait.
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Differences between social intelligence and emotional intelligence
Although closely related, social intelligence and emotional intelligence are two distinct concepts in psychology. Below is a comparative analysis of the two terms, along with the basis of their distinction.
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Basis of comparison | Social intelligence | Emotional intelligence |
|---|---|---|
Meaning | Social intelligence refers to the ability to develop successful and healthy relationships. | Emotional intelligence is concerned with the ability to understand one’s own feelings and emotions. |
Objective | It is a future-oriented approach where people develop relationships for future prospects. | It is mainly concerned with personal understanding and emotion management. |
Skills category | Social intelligence is an interpersonal skill. | Emotional intelligence is an intrapersonal skill. |
Scope | It often becomes a superset of emotional intelligence. | It is a comparatively narrow concept and a subset of social intelligence. |
Conclusion
Social intelligence is a critical skill that can help a person to be successful in any sphere of life. It is a quality that makes a person easy-going and more aware of the people around them. Thus, social intelligence is a vital skill in a person’s life.
