My greatest skill may be my social skills. It is ironical because I consider myself more of an introvert than an extrovert. At the same time, I have always been fascinated by people because I believe every person can teach us something. The desire to learn from other people and expand my thinking horizon was a major factor in my decision to pursue an active social lifestyle.

My confidence in my social skills always gets a boost when total strangers open up to me rather quickly. They tell me I am easy to talk to and I am not judgmental. I believe my social skills could not have improved significantly over a short period of time if it were not for some of the strategies I pursue. First of all, I show a genuine interest in the other person. I ask lot of questions and am always curious about the background and life experiences of the other person. It is my observation that most people like it when they are given the opportunity to talk about themselves.

My communication skills have always played an important role in improving my social skills. While I am opinionated, I also believe in the importance of listening. Many people do not realize listening is as important in the communication process as speaking if not more. I also have strong cross-cultural skills that allow me to adapt to different cultural communication styles. Similarly, I do pay attention to the communication style of the other person and try to adapt as much as I can. In short, the key to improving social skills is to pay attention to other people and take every measure to make them comfortable.

While I take pride in my social skills, I also believe there is always a room for improvement. I often seek feedback from my friends and loved ones to identify potential violations of social etiquette I might have committed but did not realize at the moment. Similarly, I always welcome opportunities to further improve my social skills such as embracing new activities.