The lack or poor development of social and emotional skills can be painful for people. We must strive to understand how to deal with people and their emotions as this is essential for an emotionally healthy life. This has a direct impact on other areas of life such as our relationships, employment and finances. It really comes down to how we respond in a tough situation that will determine our success in life. Will our reactions be positive or negative?
What are the basic social skills you need to develop?
- Attachment: ability to establish emotional ties with other people.
- Empathy: the ability to put oneself in the place of the other and understand him.
- Assertiveness: ability to defend one’s rights and opinions without harming others.
- Cooperation: ability to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal.
- Communication: The ability to express and listen — feelings, emotions, ideas, etc.
- Self-control: ability to interpret one’s beliefs and feelings and control impulses.
- Understanding situations: ability to understand social situations and not take them as personal, or blame themselves for certain things.
- Conflict resolution: ability to interpret conflict and work on alternative solutions.
How to develop social skills in children?
- Direct experience: Children are surrounded by people, and from a very young age, they begin to rehearse social behaviors. There are specific experiences that children interpret and incorporate these interpretations into their way of thinking and acting.
- Imitation: The little ones learn from what they see of the people who are important to them. They will imitate those social behaviors that they observe in the closest adults, but not only the behaviors. They will also learn from them how to interpret situations and even feel at certain times.
- Reinforcements: Social reinforcements will make children develop certain behaviors and others.
- Problems of self – esteem: Children with few social skills will have difficulties to develop in their social environment. This will lead them to think that it is for them and their self-esteem will go down. The image of themselves will be negative. In turn, it makes their social skills scarce. The influence is mutual.
- Difficulty expressing wishes and opinions: People who do not have excellent social skills will have trouble knowing and showing what they want and expressing what they think.
- Difficulties in relating to others: The lack of social skills can lead to excessive shyness and anxiety making friends and connecting. In our society, it is essential to relate to others.
- School problems: This type of problem can also occur due to social maladjustment, even causing school failure.
- Emotional distress: People need interaction and connection to have day to day emotional balance. The absence of social and interpersonal relationships can lead to associated psychological distress.
Derek Clark knows firsthand on regulating emotions through social emotional learning. His childhood was horrific. As a child, he was abused, abandoned and placed in the foster care system for 13 years. Derek is now a 7 time author and a top motivational keynote speaker on childhood trauma, trauma informed care for educators, early childhood development, social emotional learning, adverse childhood experiences, child welfare and foster care.
If you are looking for an inspiring keynote speaker for your next conference or event, please reserve Derek Clark by clicking here .
