Last Updated on August 19, 2026 by Status.net Editorial Team

• Performance Review Questions: Interpersonal Skills Part 1
• 5 – Outstanding Part 2
• 4 – Exceeds Expectations Part 3
• 3 – Meets Expectations Part 4
• 2 – Needs Improvement Part 5
• 1 – Unacceptable Part 6
• Core Interpersonal Skills Every Employee Brings to the Workplace Part 7
• How to Write Interpersonal Skills Performance Review Comments That Land Part 8
• Performance Review Phrases for Specific Interpersonal Skill Areas Part 9
• Self-Evaluation Phrases for Interpersonal Skills Part 10
• Adapting These Phrases to Your Role and Industry Part 11
• Inspiring Quotes on Interpersonal Skills Part 12

In this article, you will find performance review phrases and paragraphs that can help you effectively evaluate and communicate an employee’s interpersonal abilities.

Interpersonal skills, sometimes called interpersonal effectiveness, human relations skills, or simply the ability to work well with others, sit at the center of nearly every performance review. Whether the review calls it “relationship with others,” “working relationships,” or “communication and interpersonal skills,” the underlying question stays the same: does this person build trust, communicate clearly, and bring out the best in the people around them?

The phrases and paragraph examples in this guide are organized by rating level, so you can move quickly to the language that matches the employee’s actual performance. Further down, you will also find phrases organized by specific skill area, such as empathy, communication, and teamwork, along with guidance on writing your own comments, avoiding common pitfalls, and adapting the language to your industry.

Part 1Performance Review Questions: Interpersonal Skills

These questions will help you gain a better understanding of an employee’s interpersonal skills, allowing you to identify their strengths and areas for improvement.

1. How effectively does the employee communicate with colleagues and clients?
2. Does the employee demonstrate empathy and understanding towards others?
3. How well does the employee handle conflict and difficult situations?
4. Does the employee work well in a team environment and contribute positively to group dynamics?
5. Does the employee demonstrate leadership qualities and inspire others?
6. Is the employee open to feedback and willing to adjust their behavior based on it?
7. How does the employee interact with people at different levels of the organization, from junior staff to senior leadership?
8. Does the employee build and maintain positive relationships with clients, customers, or external partners?
9. How does the employee adapt their communication style to different personalities and situations?
10. Does the employee show tact and diplomacy when addressing sensitive topics?

These questions work well as a starting point for a self-evaluation, a peer review, or a manager’s written assessment. Adjust the wording depending on who is answering them. A manager might focus on how the employee interacts with direct reports, while a peer review might focus more heavily on collaboration and day-to-day communication.

Performance Review Phrases and Paragraphs Examples for Interpersonal Skills

Part 25 – Outstanding

Example Phrases

• Always offers thoughtful feedback and suggestions.
• Demonstrates exceptional empathy and compassion in their interactions with colleagues.
• Effectively mediates conflicts, helping team members navigate difficult conversations and find solutions.
• Goes above and beyond to be approachable, accessible, and receptive to others’ ideas and needs.
• Builds rapport effortlessly with everyone they interact with.
• Exceptional at collaborating and fostering a positive team environment.
• Consistently demonstrates high empathy and understanding of others’ perspectives.
• Proactively seeks to understand and address the needs and concerns of colleagues, fostering strong interpersonal relationships.
• Demonstrates outstanding communication skills, articulating ideas clearly and effectively while ensuring others feel heard and understood.
• Consistently fosters positive team dynamics and contributes to a harmonious work environment.
• Consistently maintains a positive and professional demeanor, even in challenging or high-pressure situations.
• Proactively offers support and guidance to colleagues, helping them navigate challenges and achieve their goals.
• Exhibits exceptional emotional intelligence, skillfully navigating complex social situations and maintaining strong relationships.
• Consistently goes above and beyond to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all team members.
• Demonstrates outstanding leadership in fostering collaboration and cooperation among team members, leading to improved performance and morale.
• Proactively seeks feedback and incorporates it to continuously improve their interpersonal skills and strengthen relationships.
• Consistently demonstrates a keen ability to build trust and establish strong connections with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.
• Exhibits exceptional adaptability in their interpersonal approach, tailoring their communication style to effectively engage with a diverse range of individuals.
• Consistently goes out of their way to recognize and celebrate the successes and contributions of their colleagues, promoting a positive and supportive work environment.
• Demonstrates an outstanding ability to influence and inspire others, leveraging strong interpersonal skills to drive positive change and achieve shared goals.

Paragraph Example 1

“Jane has an outstanding ability to connect and communicate with her colleagues. She consistently creates a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere that fosters collaboration and teamwork. Her empathy and ability to read nonverbal cues are exceptional and greatly appreciated by her teammates.”

Paragraph Example 2

“John is a role model when it comes to interpersonal skills. He fosters a positive work environment by continuously encouraging open communication and maintains strong relationships with his colleagues. His ability to actively listen and provide constructive feedback has significantly improved the flow of ideas within the team. John’s exceptional empathy and understanding have also made him the go-to person for resolving any conflicts that may arise.”

Paragraph Example 3

“Sarah’s interpersonal skills are truly outstanding. She has successfully created a culture within her team where everyone feels valued and heard. In addition to her strong communication and active listening abilities, Sarah excels at resolving conflicts quickly and efficiently, which has greatly contributed to the team’s cohesion and productivity. Her empathetic nature and genuine concern for the well-being of her colleagues have made her an invaluable asset to the company.”

Part 34 – Exceeds Expectations

An employee with a rating of 4 for exceeding expectations in interpersonal skills displays a consistently high level of empathy and understanding in their interactions with colleagues. They listen attentively to others and communicate their thoughts with clarity, ensuring that misunderstandings are minimized.

Example Phrases

• Consistently demonstrates empathy and understanding in interactions with others.
• Regularly engages in active listening and clear communication.
• Effectively navigates conflicts and resolves issues in a respectful manner.
• Builds strong relationships with colleagues and fosters teamwork.
• Serves as a positive role model for others in regards to interpersonal skills.
• Exhibits strong active listening skills in group settings.
• Supports teammates with constructive criticism and guidance.
• Proactively shares ideas and solutions to enhance team productivity.
• Frequently goes above and beyond to support and assist colleagues, fostering a collaborative work environment.
• Demonstrates a keen ability to adapt communication style to effectively engage with a diverse range of individuals.
• Consistently maintains a professional and approachable demeanor, making others feel comfortable and valued.
• Proactively seeks to understand and address the needs and concerns of colleagues, strengthening interpersonal relationships.
• Exhibits strong emotional intelligence, effectively navigating complex social situations and maintaining positive relationships.
• Consistently contributes to a positive team dynamic, promoting cooperation and collaboration among colleagues.
• Frequently provides thoughtful and constructive feedback to help others grow and develop their skills.
• Demonstrates a strong ability to build trust and establish rapport with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.
• Consistently goes above and beyond to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all team members.
• Exhibits strong leadership skills in fostering open communication and encouraging others to share their ideas and perspectives.
• Frequently takes initiative to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of colleagues, boosting morale and motivation.
• Demonstrates a strong ability to influence and persuade others, leveraging interpersonal skills to drive positive outcomes and achieve shared objectives.

Paragraph Example

“John frequently exceeds expectations in his interpersonal skills by actively listening to his teammates and providing well-thought-out feedback. His dedication to supporting others’ growth and proactively addressing potential issues demonstrates his commitment to the team’s success.”

Paragraph Example 2

“Maria consistently exceeds expectations in how she works with others. She adapts her communication style depending on who she is speaking with, whether that is a new hire who needs extra context or a senior stakeholder who wants a quick summary. Colleagues regularly seek her out for advice because she listens without judgment and follows through on what she says she will do.”

Part 43 – Meets Expectations

An employee with a Rating 3 in interpersonal skills exhibits a satisfactory level of competence in working with others. They tend to communicate in a clear and concise manner, which keeps their relationships with colleagues and clients strong, while avoiding misunderstandings and miscommunications. This employee is generally seen to be open to cooperative efforts, willingly seeking common ground within the team in order to achieve mutual objectives. Their willingness to hear others out and allow adequate space for the expression of thoughts and opinions contributes to a more balanced and inclusive environment.

Example Phrases

• Demonstrates a satisfactory aptitude for communicating with colleagues and clients.
• Actively seeks common ground when working in a team environment.
• Typically listens well, allowing others to express their opinions and thoughts.
• Shows politeness and respect toward peers, superiors, and subordinates.
• Occasionally offers insightful input and proposes ideas during group discussions.
• Maintains professional relationships with peers and co-workers.
• Effectively communicates thoughts and ideas to the team.
• Open to receiving feedback and shows willingness to improve.
• Generally demonstrates empathy and understanding in interactions with others.
• Engages in active listening and clear communication in most situations.
• Navigates conflicts and resolves issues in a respectful manner, with occasional guidance.
• Builds and maintains satisfactory relationships with colleagues and contributes to teamwork.
• Serves as a generally positive role model for others in regards to interpersonal skills.
• Exhibits adequate active listening skills in group settings, allowing others to share their perspectives.
• Provides support and guidance to teammates when requested or necessary.
• Shares ideas and solutions to contribute to team productivity and success.
• Maintains a professional and approachable demeanor in most interactions with colleagues.
• Seeks to understand and address the needs and concerns of colleagues, maintaining satisfactory interpersonal relationships.
• Demonstrates an adequate level of emotional intelligence, navigating social situations and maintaining appropriate relationships.
• Contributes to a generally positive team dynamic, promoting cooperation and collaboration among colleagues.

Paragraph Example

“Sarah meets the expected level of interpersonal skills in her role. She maintains a professional demeanor with her peers, effectively communicates her thoughts, and is open to receiving feedback. Although there is room for growth, Sarah’s performance is consistent with the expectations for her role.”

Paragraph Example 2

“David meets expectations when it comes to working with his team. He communicates clearly in meetings, responds to messages in a timely manner, and generally gets along well with his coworkers. There are occasional moments where he could be more proactive about resolving small disagreements before they affect the team, but overall his interpersonal skills support his day-to-day performance.”

Part 52 – Needs Improvement

Example Phrases

• Struggles with active listening during meetings.
• Has difficulty expressing thoughts clearly and concisely.
• Fails to recognize non-verbal cues from coworkers.
• Tends to dominate conversations without allowing input from others.
• Often expresses negative emotions, creating a tense work environment.
• Struggles to maintain positive, constructive communication with peers.
• Occasionally seems disengaged during team interactions.
• Reluctant to provide or accept feedback from colleagues.
• Inconsistently demonstrates empathy and understanding in interactions with others.
• Occasionally fails to engage in active listening or clear communication, leading to misunderstandings.
• Has difficulty navigating conflicts and resolving issues in a respectful manner, sometimes escalating situations.
• Struggles to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues, hindering teamwork and collaboration.
• Occasionally serves as a negative role model for others in regards to interpersonal skills.
• Inconsistently exhibits active listening skills in group settings, sometimes dominating conversations or disregarding others’ perspectives.
• Provides limited support and guidance to teammates, even when requested or necessary.
• Rarely shares ideas or solutions to contribute to team productivity and success.
• Occasionally displays an unprofessional or unapproachable demeanor in interactions with colleagues.
• Inconsistently seeks to understand and address the needs and concerns of colleagues, leading to strained interpersonal relationships.
• Demonstrates a limited level of emotional intelligence, sometimes struggling to navigate social situations and maintain appropriate relationships.
• Occasionally contributes to a negative team dynamic, hindering cooperation and collaboration among colleagues.

Paragraph Example 1

“James exhibits interpersonal skills that need improvement. He has difficulty maintaining positive and productive communication with his peers, and he sometimes appears disengaged during team interactions. James should work on being more receptive to feedback and actively participating in discussions to enhance his performance.

Paragraph Example 2

“Anna’s interpersonal skills need attention. She often responds to feedback defensively, which makes it difficult for her manager and teammates to raise concerns. She has strong technical skills, and her working relationships would improve if she practiced active listening and approached feedback as an opportunity to grow.”

Part 61 – Unacceptable

Example Phrases

• Consistently dismissive or unresponsive to colleagues’ input.
• Causes friction within the team due to uncooperative behavior.
• Fails to demonstrate basic empathy or understanding of others’ needs.
• Regularly engages in negative or unprofessional communication with coworkers.
• Consistently dominates conversations, not allowing others to contribute or express their thoughts.
• Frequently expresses negative emotions or criticism, creating a hostile work environment.
• Consistently fails to maintain positive, constructive communication with peers.
• Often appears disengaged or uninterested during team interactions.
• Refuses to provide or accept feedback from colleagues, hindering personal and team growth.
• Consistently fails to demonstrate empathy or understanding in interactions with others.
• Regularly fails to engage in active listening or clear communication, leading to significant misunderstandings and conflicts.
• Consistently escalates conflicts and fails to resolve issues in a respectful manner, damaging team morale and productivity.
• Fails to build and maintain any positive relationships with colleagues, significantly hindering teamwork and collaboration.
• Consistently serves as a negative role model for others in regards to interpersonal skills.
• Exhibits poor active listening skills in group settings, regularly dominating conversations and disregarding others’ perspectives.
• Provides no support or guidance to teammates, even when explicitly requested.
• Consistently withholds ideas and solutions that could contribute to team productivity and success.
• Regularly displays an unprofessional, unapproachable, or hostile demeanor in interactions with colleagues.
• Fails to seek understanding of or address the needs and concerns of colleagues, leading to severely strained interpersonal relationships.
• Demonstrates a significant lack of emotional intelligence, consistently struggling to navigate social situations and maintain appropriate relationships.
• Actively contributes to a negative team dynamic, significantly hindering cooperation and collaboration among colleagues.

Paragraph Example

“Jane’s interpersonal skills are currently at an unacceptable level. She frequently dismisses or ignores input from her colleagues, causing significant friction within the team. Her lack of empathy and unwillingness to cooperate hinder the team’s overall performance. Immediate improvement is necessary to ensure the team’s success.”

Paragraph Example 2

“Mark’s interpersonal skills are unacceptable in their current state. He regularly speaks over colleagues in meetings, dismisses feedback without consideration, and has been the subject of multiple complaints from teammates about his tone in written communication. A formal improvement plan with clear, measurable goals is needed to address these behaviors.”

Part 7Core Interpersonal Skills Every Employee Brings to the Workplace

Before rating someone’s interpersonal skills, it helps to have a shared understanding of what those skills actually include. Interpersonal skills cover the full range of behaviors a person uses to interact, communicate, and build relationships with others at work.

The most common interpersonal skills that show up in performance reviews include:

• Communication: expressing ideas clearly, listening actively, and adjusting tone and language for the audience.
• Empathy: recognizing and responding to the emotions, needs, and perspectives of others.
• Teamwork and collaboration: working productively with others toward a shared goal.
• Conflict resolution: addressing disagreements calmly and finding solutions that work for everyone involved.
• Emotional intelligence: managing personal emotions while reading and responding appropriately to the emotions of others.
• Adaptability: adjusting behavior and communication style to fit different people and situations.
• Professionalism: maintaining respectful, courteous behavior even under pressure.
• Relationship building: establishing trust and rapport with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders over time.
• Openness to feedback: receiving input from others without becoming defensive, and using it to improve.
• Negotiation and diplomacy: finding common ground and managing sensitive conversations with tact.

Most performance reviews touch on several of these areas at once, since they tend to reinforce one another. An employee with strong emotional intelligence, for example, often shows up as more empathetic in conversations and more effective at resolving conflict.

Part 8How to Write Interpersonal Skills Performance Review Comments That Land

Interpersonal skills are harder to measure than a sales number or a project deadline, which makes review comments about them easy to write in vague, generic language. A few habits separate feedback that actually helps an employee grow from feedback that gets skimmed and forgotten.

• Anchor every comment to a specific, observable behavior. Instead of writing “has good people skills,” describe what that looks like: “regularly checks in with teammates after a stressful project to see how they are doing.”
• Include a recent example whenever possible. A specific meeting, project, or interaction makes the feedback concrete and harder to dismiss.
• Balance strengths with areas for growth, even for high performers. Very few people’s interpersonal skills are flawless in every situation, and naming a growth area gives the employee something to work toward.
• Connect the behavior to its impact. Explain how the employee’s communication style or approach to conflict affected the team, a project outcome, or a client relationship.
• Keep the tone constructive, even when the rating is low. The goal of the comment is to help the employee improve going forward.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Evaluating Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills reviews tend to run into a few recurring problems:

• Relying on personality instead of behavior. Describing someone as reserved or abrasive says more about their personality than their performance. Focus on what they do: how they communicate in meetings, how they respond to disagreement, how they support teammates.
• Letting recency bias take over. A single tense interaction from last week should carry less weight than the full pattern of behavior across the review period. Look back across the whole cycle before settling on a rating.
• Using the same phrase for every employee. Copy-pasted language is easy to spot and tends to feel impersonal. Use the phrase lists in this guide as a starting point, then tailor them with specific details.
• Confusing likability with effectiveness. A well-liked employee may still need to develop stronger conflict resolution or direct feedback skills, so evaluate the actual skill alongside how pleasant someone is to work with.
• Skipping the reasoning behind the rating. Always explain what led to the score so the employee knows what to repeat and what to change.

Delivering Feedback on Interpersonal Skills With Tact

Interpersonal skills feedback can feel personal, since it touches on how someone shows up in a room rather than how well they hit a quota. A few approaches make these conversations land better:

• Frame feedback around impact. “When you interrupt in meetings, it makes it harder for quieter team members to contribute” tends to land better than “you’re not a team player.”
• Ask questions before offering conclusions. Someone who seems disengaged in meetings might be dealing with a heavy workload or unclear expectations. Understanding the cause helps you give feedback that actually addresses the issue.
• Give the employee a chance to respond. A two-way conversation, in addition to a one-way delivery of the rating, tends to produce more buy-in and follow-through.
• Set a follow-up point. If interpersonal skills are flagged as an area for improvement, agree on what progress will look like and when you will check back in.

Part 9Performance Review Phrases for Specific Interpersonal Skill Areas

Sometimes you need language for a specific dimension of interpersonal skill rather than an overall rating. The phrases below are grouped by skill area and can be mixed into any of the rating levels above.

Communication Skills

• Communicates clearly and concisely in both written and verbal formats.
• Adjusts communication style effectively depending on the audience, whether a peer, a client, or senior leadership.
• Actively listens and asks clarifying questions to ensure mutual understanding.
• Struggles to convey complex ideas in a way that others can easily follow.
• Needs to work on summarizing key points rather than including unnecessary detail.

Empathy and Compassion

• Shows genuine concern for colleagues’ well-being, both professionally and personally.
• Recognizes when a teammate is struggling and offers support without being asked.
• Approaches difficult conversations with sensitivity and compassion.
• Could benefit from pausing to consider a colleague’s perspective before responding.
• Occasionally overlooks the emotional impact of decisions on the wider team.

Teamwork and Collaboration

• Contributes actively to group projects and shares credit generously with teammates.
• Steps in to help colleagues meet deadlines, even when it falls outside their own responsibilities.
• Builds consensus effectively when the team is divided on an approach.
• Tends to work in isolation rather than looping in teammates on shared projects.
• Would benefit from involving others earlier in the decision-making process.

Conflict Resolution and Diplomacy

• Addresses disagreements directly and respectfully, without letting issues fester.
• Finds solutions that balance the needs of multiple stakeholders during a dispute.
• Remains calm and professional when conversations become tense.
• Tends to avoid conflict altogether, which allows small issues to grow larger over time.
• Could use more tact when delivering critical feedback to peers.

Customer and Client Relationships

• Builds long-term trust with clients through consistent, responsive communication.
• Handles client complaints with patience and a solution-oriented mindset.
• Represents the company professionally in every customer interaction.
• Needs to follow up with clients more promptly to maintain strong relationships.
• Could improve at managing customer expectations during high-pressure situations.

Openness to Feedback

• Welcomes feedback from managers and peers, and applies it visibly in future work.
• Asks for input proactively rather than waiting for a formal review cycle.
• Responds to constructive criticism with curiosity rather than defensiveness.
• Tends to become defensive when receiving feedback, which discourages others from offering it.
• Would benefit from viewing feedback as a tool for ongoing growth.

Part 10Self-Evaluation Phrases for Interpersonal Skills

Writing about your own interpersonal skills can feel awkward. It helps to focus on specific situations rather than general self-praise, and to be honest about areas you are still developing. The phrases below can be adapted for a self-assessment.

• “I make an effort to listen fully before responding, especially during disagreements.”
• “I have worked on giving feedback more directly, while still being mindful of tone.”
• “I try to check in with teammates regularly, not only when a deadline is approaching.”
• “I am still developing my ability to stay calm during high-pressure conversations.”
• “I have made progress in adapting how I communicate depending on who I am speaking with.”
• “I ask for feedback from my manager and peers so I can keep improving how I work with others.”
• “An area I want to keep developing is speaking up more in group settings.”

When writing a self-evaluation, pair each strength with a specific example, and pair each growth area with a plan. A reviewer responds better to a statement like “I want to improve X, and here is how I plan to work on it” than to a vague admission without a next step.

Learn more: 26 Interpersonal Skills Self-Evaluation Comments Examples

How to Write a Perfect Self-Evaluation: The Complete Guide

Part 11Adapting These Phrases to Your Role and Industry

Interpersonal skills look a little different depending on the job. A relationship manager’s interpersonal effectiveness shows up in client retention and trust. A healthcare worker’s interpersonal skills show up in how they communicate with patients and families during stressful moments. A customer support representative’s interpersonal skills show up in tone, patience, and the ability to de-escalate frustration.

A few ways to tailor the general phrases in this guide to a specific role:

• Client-facing and relationship management roles: emphasize trust-building, responsiveness, and the ability to manage expectations over the life of an account.
• Healthcare and caregiving roles: emphasize compassion, active listening, and the ability to communicate clearly with patients, families, and colleagues under pressure.
• Technical and individual-contributor roles: emphasize how the employee communicates progress, asks for help, and collaborates with cross-functional partners, since these roles sometimes involve less day-to-day people interaction than others.
• Management and leadership roles: emphasize how the person builds relationships across levels of the organization, from direct reports to senior stakeholders, and how they handle difficult personnel conversations.

Whatever the role, keep the language grounded in specific, observable actions rather than general traits. That approach holds up across every industry and every level of seniority.

Part 12Inspiring Quotes on Interpersonal Skills

A short quote can be a useful way to open a training session, a review conversation, or a team discussion about working well together. A few worth keeping on hand:

• “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
• “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” – Stephen Covey
• “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie
• “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins

These quotes work well as a reminder that interpersonal skills shape how trust, collaboration, and performance show up across a team, day after day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How would you describe someone’s interpersonal skills in a performance review?

Focus on specific behaviors rather than general traits. Instead of saying someone “has great people skills,” describe what that looks like in practice: how they listen during meetings, how they handle disagreement, or how they support teammates under pressure. A strong description might read: “She communicates clearly and effectively, listens actively, and collaborates well with others, which strengthens overall team cohesion.”

What are some examples of good interpersonal skills to mention in a review?

Common examples include active listening, clear communication, empathy, conflict resolution, adaptability, teamwork, professionalism, and openness to feedback. The strongest reviews pick two or three of these that are most relevant to the employee’s role and back each one with a specific example.

How do you write a review comment for an employee whose interpersonal skills need improvement?

Describe the specific behavior you have observed, explain its impact on the team or project, and offer a clear path forward. For example: “James has difficulty maintaining positive communication with his peers, which has affected morale on his team. Focusing on active listening and reducing defensiveness during feedback conversations would help him improve.” Pairing the concern with a concrete next step makes the feedback more actionable.

What is the difference between interpersonal skills and communication skills?

Communication skills are one part of the broader category of interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills also include empathy, conflict resolution, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and relationship building. An employee can communicate clearly and still have room to grow in areas like patience or diplomacy, so it helps to evaluate the two areas separately even though they overlap.

How do you evaluate interpersonal effectiveness in an employee?

Look at how the employee interacts with colleagues, clients, and leadership over the full review period rather than in a single moment. Consider whether they build trust, communicate clearly, handle conflict constructively, and adapt their approach to different people and situations. Gathering input from peers, in addition to your own observations, often gives a fuller picture than a single manager’s perspective alone.

What are signs of poor interpersonal skills at work?

Common signs include dominating conversations without letting others contribute, becoming defensive when receiving feedback, struggling to read social cues, avoiding collaboration, and escalating conflict rather than resolving it. These behaviors tend to show up consistently across multiple situations rather than appearing just once.

How can an employee improve their interpersonal skills after receiving feedback?

Progress tends to come from practicing specific, small changes rather than trying to overhaul an entire communication style at once. Encourage the employee to pick one behavior, such as pausing before responding in tense conversations or asking a clarifying question before reacting to feedback, and to check in regularly on how it is going. Ongoing coaching and follow-up conversations tend to produce better results than a single comment left in an annual review.

How do you describe interpersonal skills in one sentence for a resume or performance summary?

Keep it specific and grounded in behavior. For example: “Builds strong working relationships through clear communication, active listening, and a collaborative approach to problem-solving.” A one-sentence summary works best when it reflects an actual pattern of behavior rather than a generic claim.