As a business owner you have to have a certain level of people skills in order to deal with customers as well as with your employees. Too many times, people will put on their resume the blanket skills that they are a people person while having no idea what that means. It is a catch phrase often used in recruiting advertising looking for managers with excellent people skills and not only the people hiring for the job, but also the people applying for the position have no clue what a people person is all about.
One of the first steps needed to be a true people person is the ability to understand people. Everyone is going to be different, regardless of their appearance, education and abilities. It is nearly impossible to sit down with a stranger and instantly begin a conversation on any subject. However, after spending a few minutes with someone getting to know them will make talking to them easier and build a free flow of ideas. More than just names and general interests, you have to understand their body language, the speed at which they talk as well as their gestures.
Another trait of a good people person is being able to express their thoughts clearly and in a concise manner. However, you also have to understand the capabilities of the other person to understand what you are saying. Not to insinuate you should talk down to people, they may actually be smarter than you are. Rather, you should speak to them in term they understand and once you have expressed your point, you need to ask not only if they heard what you were trying to convey, but that they understood what you had to say.
Asking for feedback from the other person, and responding to that feedback is another sign of having people skills. Listening intently to what they are saying and asking questions if you do not understand their point let them know you are listening to them and appreciate what they are trying to communicate. On the other hand, too many supervisors are unable to tell people the truth for fear of hurting someones feelings. A real people person will be able to offer constructive criticism without being aggressive and causing hurt feelings.
Some of the best people skills are conveyed when the business owner or supervisor addresses a specific behavior and the not person. When expressing a negative behavior the sentence should never begin with you as it makes the other person believe the attack is personal. Instead of berating someone for a mistake, it can be addressed by asking what actions can be taken to assure the same mistake does not happen again.
A true people person will be able to train people to do their job, which is important for any business owner. Not the ownership part, but the basic operations. Once the owner trains others to run the daily business, they can be out looking for more work or finding new ways to do things.
