Dealing with People - Interpersonal Skills

If managing relationships is the key to success in consulting, then it is the behaviour and interpersonal skills of the consultant that make that happen. All really skilled consultants have excellent interpersonal skills. They need them in order to:

• read situations

• build empathy with clients and others

• gain the trust and respect of those they are working with

• facilitate meetings

• influence others

• tailor communications to suit the audience

• predict peoples' reactions

• avoid or get out of difficult situations

These skills - listening, observing, questioning, challenging, influencing, negotiating - are fundamental to good consulting and can all be developed through training and experience. They form a key element of our consultancy skills training.