How to learn Interpersonal Skills Including Communication Skills for CSAT

How to learn Interpersonal Skills Including Communication Skills? How crucial are interpersonal skills for success in the UPSC CSAT Paper? Read to know more.

Interpersonal Skills is a topic for CSAT (General Studies Paper 2 – Civil Service Prelims Exam).

But candidates who appear for Preliminary Exam, often seem to be unaware of this topic.

Before getting into the details of Interpersonal Skills, let’s analyze the syllabus for Civil Service Prelims Paper 2.

Syllabus for Civil Service Prelims Paper 2

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problem-solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. -Class X level)

How to learn Interpersonal skills including communication skills?

So, it is clear from the UPSC syllabus that there is a separate topic called Interpersonal Skills. Let’s have a quick look at what are the interpersonal skills a person needs to have.

Interpersonal skills:

Interpersonal Skills are also known by the names of soft skills or people skills. These are skills which you need while you deal with people, for better and healthy results. A master of interpersonal skills knows how to deal with different people during different situations.

Basic Interpersonal skills can be briefed below

• Communication Skills
• Listening Skills
• Stress Management
• Assertiveness
• Decision Making
• Problem-Solving
• Verbal Communication
• Non-Verbal Communication

Examples:

Question 1:

You are part of a team working on a critical project, and two of your team members, Arun and Sarah, have been having frequent disagreements that are affecting the project’s progress. How would you approach resolving this conflict?

• A) Avoid intervening and let them sort it out themselves.
• B) Speak to your supervisor and ask them to handle the conflict.
• C) Initiate a private meeting with Arun and Sarah to facilitate open communication and seek a mutually agreeable solution.
• D) Side with one team member to end the conflict quickly.

Correct Answer: C) Initiate a private meeting with Arun and Sarah to facilitate open communication and seek a mutually agreeable solution.

Question 2:

You are attending a professional conference, and you want to expand your network and make meaningful connections. What strategies would you employ to effectively network at the conference?

• A) Avoid engaging in conversations and focus solely on attending sessions.
• B) Share your business card with everyone you meet, whether or not there is a connection.
• C) Set clear networking goals, actively listen to others, exchange contact information, and follow up after the conference.
• D) Attend the conference but keep to yourself and not interact with other attendees.

Correct Answer: C) Set clear networking goals, actively listen to others, exchange contact information, and follow up after the conference.

Question 3:

You are working on a team project, and one of your team members, Maria, has a different approach to problem-solving that often leads to longer discussions and delays. How would you demonstrate tolerance in this situation?

• A) Insist that Maria adopts your approach to problem-solving for the sake of efficiency.
• B) Speak to the team leader and request Maria’s removal from the project.
• C) Practice open and respectful communication with Maria, seek compromise and show patience with differing work styles.
• D) Avoid working with Maria altogether to prevent conflicts.

Correct Answer: C) Practice open and respectful communication with Maria, seek compromise, and show patience with differing work styles.

These multiple-choice questions assess your understanding and application of interpersonal skills in various scenarios, including conflict resolution, networking, and tolerance.