2 . How to communicate better with other people

As people who live in society we need to communicate daily with other people——friends, families, co-workers, our partners and so on, regardless of whether we like social relationships.    1    There are five tips to help you.

Adapt your language. It is necessary that you know how to adapt your language to the training and educational level of the person you are speaking with and to the context where the conversation takes place.

    2    Sometimes, when trying to generate a conversation, people say things without really thinking about them. These expressions can give us a wrong idea of what a person really is like. Give yourself a little more time to continue the conversation, so you can get to know the other person better.

Look into the eyes. If you do not look directly into the eyes when you speak, it can give the feeling that you would like to be somewhere else or that the conversation ends as soon as possible. But looking very fixedly without looking away can make the other person uncomfortable.    3    

Make people feel comfortable when talking to you.    4    If you detect these types of signals, it is best to make people feel relaxed by making a joke, adapting your oral and gestural language or showing that you care about the person and what they tell you.

Practice active listening. Looking into the eyes, nodding or adding small comments is what is known as active listening. During the conversation, it is necessary to remain silent.    5    Do not have a passive attitude with the subject, which shows symptoms of interest in what they tell you.

You really have two different questions here, so we’ll discuss them one at a time. Your problems at school may be a result of a number of things. You don’t say much about how these classmates get along with each other. It’s possible that all the students are feeling a little cautious (谨慎的) in the first term.

It’s also possible that the others are unkind. If this is so, you have to find out why you are the class “outsider”.

In your letter you say you often offer to help others with their work. Is it possible that your classmates don’t understand your offers? Could it seem that you were trying to “buy” friends with these offers?

Is it possible that you took no notice of your classmates when you had your good friend near you? They may have felt hurt at that time. It may take a time for them to believe in you if so. Try to ask one classmate directly what the problem is. If you hear a negative (负面的) answer, at least you’ll know what to do.

Yours truly,

Shelia

4 . Lying to friends and family members may seem like a way to lose their trust.     1    Researchers found that lying for the right reasons can actually strengthen some social bonds (联系).

    2     That depends on the situation. Lying to cover up a misdeed (不端行为), known as anti-social lying, isn’t likely to improve your relationships.     3     On the other hand, lies told to help another person are good for relationships. It is commonly known as telling a white lie.

To study how these two types of lies affect relationships within social groups, researchers created a hypothetical (假定的) mathematical model. The model showed that individuals who tell anti-social lies become isolated (孤立的) within their social networks sometimes.     4     In fact, these individuals are likely to form strong links with other individuals within their social networks.

While the researchers created a hypothetical model, it could be used to understand how lying affects groups of friends in the real world.     5    

5 . How to Build Trust?

Trust in the workplace is important to aid in communication, teamwork, and progress. Keep reading to learn how you can build trust in the workplace.

Be truthful.     1     The more you can be transparent (透明的) about your work, the more people around you will trust you. Share things like financial results, performance rewards, or notes from the last board meeting to keep your employees and coworkers together.

    2    . If they come in 30 minutes late to drop off their kids in the morning, that’s okay. If someone requests to work from home for half of the week, do your best to honor that. The more you listen to your employees, the harder they’ll work.

Pay your employees fairly. When employees feel less paid, they feel undervalued. Have an honest conversation with your employees about their pay and what the people around them are getting paid.     3    , hear them out and do your best to solve the problem.

Praise people for their efforts. Make sure you callout the good stuff, not just the bad.     4    , and let them know you appreciate it. You can talk to them one on one, or you can praise them in front of a group to make it a little more public.

Keep the promises you make. Try not to go back on a promise unless it’s completely unavoidable, or you could end up losing people’s trust.     5    .

6 . Group discussions are a way of expressing your thoughts and opinions with other people. It is an opportunity to learn more about other people and develop your own personality. You become better at group discussions because it will help you throughout your whole life.     1     then this blog is the right place for you. Here, we will share some things you can do to excel at group discussions.

    2     You cannot just walk into a group discussion without having any idea what it is about. So, make sure that you do your research before stepping into the discussion.

The best way to make your discussion go well is by being confident. When someone else is speaking, make sure that you consider their opinion and not simply wait for your turn to speak.     3     people are more interested in listening to you, and they’ll respect you more as a person.

One of the most important aspects of group discussions is to be a good listener. Active listening is one of the most important skills in life, which is why you need to practice using it.

Group discussions are a way of expressing yourself. It is not just about talking; it is more about putting your thoughts in front of other people.     5    , but people prefer to bear your opinions in order to open their minds.

7 . How to Become a More Social Person

Socializing is generally considered a pleasant and leisurely activity.     1     Here are some ways to help you become a more social person over all.

Smile. Everybody wants to be around people who are happy and excited about life.     2     Not only will it instantly make you feel better, but it will also make other people want to be around you, talk to you, and get to know you. A study shows that smiling can help improve your mood and make it easier for you to interact with others.

    3     If you are at a party or other social gatherings, make sure your body language says that you want to be approached. Make eye contact with people, give them a nod, and look straight ahead instead of at your feet or the floor, which will make other people more likely to come up to you.

Be genuine.     4     Being fully engaged not only shows that you are friendly, but it also makes for more stimulating and fulfilling interactions with others. Avoid texting or talking on the phone when you are in the middle of a conversation, especially if the subject matter is important.

Ask people questions about themselves. Let’s face it. People love talking about themselves. And if you want to be more social and start talking to people more, then show your interest in people by asking how their day is going, how they’re feeling, and what they have coming up.     5    

8 . For ten years, I have spent my Monday evenings attending rehearsals (排练) for my amateur (业余的) choir. Mondays are not my favorite day, and I often arrive feeling bad, but by the end of the rehearsal, I usually feel energized. The singing does me good. So do the people. I wouldn’t describe my choir members as close friends. We exchange brief chats, smiles and jokes but that is enough for me to feel better about the world.

There is no choir practice now. I miss it. In lockdown, I do not feel short on emotional support, but I do feel short of friendly faces and casual (随便的) conversations. Another way of putting this is that I miss my “weak ties”.

One way to think about any person’s social world is that you have an inner circle of people whom you often talk to and feel close with, and an outer circle of people whom you see sometimes. Mark Granovetter, a sociology professor at Stanford University, named these categories (种类) “strong ties” and “weak ties”.

Experts had thought that a person’s happiness depended mainly on the quality of their relationships with their close friends and family. Granovetter showed that quantity (数量) mattered, too. He found that for new information and ideas, weak ties are more important to us than strong ones. Granovetter surveyed 282 Boston-based workers and found that most of them got their jobs through someone they knew. But only a few got the job through a close friend; 84% got their job through those weak-tie relationships. As Granvetter pointed out, the people whom you spend much time with swim in the same pool of information as you do. We depend on friendly outsiders to bring us news of opportunities.

So we should continue to find ways to develop weak-tie relationships in lockdown. We can use social media to reach out to people we don’t know well for light, but meaningful communications. We can also make more weak-tie-style conversations with our strong ties. The goal is to let others know you are thinking of them without asking for a great deal of time or energy.