How to maintain good relationships with others: 8 tips

When starting a new friendship with someone, things do not always turn out as we imagine. Sometimes interpersonal relationships last less than expected, and part of the causes that lead to this outcome may be poor management of social skills.

In the next article we will see how to maintain good relationships with others, in a natural and quite practical way. The idea is not to stop being who we are to fit into friendships, but it is important to know how to adequately express our positive attitude towards other people.

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Why are social skills important?

It is proven that much of a person's success is based on the ability to relate to others. Technical knowledge, study and talent are important to function in life, but it is thanks to interpersonal relationships that we manage to achieve our objectives. The individual does not exist without the collective.

There are many people who have great talents and impressive abilities, but who despite that are not able to prosper or establish friendly or emotional relationships in a stable way. On the other hand, to know how to maintain good relationships with others it is necessary to also know the importance of social skills; and it is thanks to them that we are able to establish and properly maintain our bonds of friendship or fellowship with others.

By this I do not mean that the only thing that counts for success in life is meeting the right people and taking advantage of their friendship, because if you do not have the preparation and desire to succeed, the ability to relate to the people.

Is about a dialectic between ability and sociability; if we can achieve a proper balance between these two variables, we will be better on our way to a promising future.

Tips for maintaining good relationships with others

The following list shows a series of effective and practical tips to maintain good interpersonal relationships with others.

1. Be true to your principles

One thing we must always keep in mind when relating to others is that our principles cannot be negotiable. That is, it is useless to maintain a friendship in which we are not valued for who we really are.

When we are able to show other people that we are willing to respect their points of view always and When they do the same to ours, we are on the way to developing a more transparent and friendly relationship. sincere.

2. Practice honesty

Whenever we get involved in a friendship relationship it is important to be honest with others, taking into account that honesty It is not about always saying everything we know, but simply not to mislead other people.

Another important aspect of honesty is saying things directly, and avoiding using intermediaries to communicate our opinions. It is common for information to be distorted when it is not told first hand.

• Related article: "Assertiveness: 5 basic habits to improve communication"

3. Show confidence

An essential aspect to strengthen and maintain relationships with others is to be trustworthy, to achieve this we must maintain integrity in our opinions and actions, avoiding constantly changing ideas about what we say or do.

Another thing that works well to create bonds of trust with people is showing a certain level of vulnerability, counting some anecdotes about us where we have seen ourselves in difficult situations makes others empathize with U.S.

4. Practice spontaneity

Hardly anyone could plan exactly how he behaves when he is with his friends, the ideal is to be ourselves, without fear of being judged. Spontaneity refers to behaving freely without the need to use rigid social protocols to fit in with the group.

5. Boost your empathy

Have the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others it is essential to maintain good interpersonal relationships. It is not enough just to talk about ourselves and listen to the anecdotes of others. It is also necessary to understand the situations of others.

6. Learn to listen

To maintain good relationships with others active listening is necessary, which consists of attending to the speech of other people without interrupting and giving signals to attend to what is said.

Remember that hearing is not the same as listening. When we listen we are paying attention and interpreting what the other wants to convey to us with their words, while when we listen we are not making use of our analytical skills.

7. Stay humble

It doesn't matter how successful you are, or how many material resources are at your fingertips, if you manage to maintain humility, it will be more likely that you will be able to maintain real friendships. Good friends do not approach you because of the things you have, but because of your virtues as a human being.

Be polite, be polite, and avoid showy behaviors so that the people around you feel better being with you. And do not do it just to please, do it because you know it is the right thing to do, practice humility as something natural.

8. Keep in touch

Something important to get along with other people is to take the time to see how others are doing. Although it seems a fairly obvious question, sometimes the days go by and we do not hear from any of our colleagues, neighbors, friends... You can make a call, write them some messages, or go visit them to check that they are well, if the deal is close.

Bibliographic references:

• Aronson, Elliot (2008). The Social Animal. Worth.
• Tajfel, H. & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.