5

Whenever people talk about interpersonal goings-on, at least in books and whatnot, it tends to be easily divided into two categories, though it's hard to name them offhand. Essentially, it can either be about proper etiquette and the rules of social conduct ("remember to cover yourself when sneezing", "start with the silverware furthest from the plate and work your way inwards", "Hold the door open for people behind you so that it doesn't slam on their face", etc.) or the more intimate side ("How to approach the topic of sex in a relationship", "How to make friends", "The reason why your significant other is yelling at you is because [blank]", etc.).

Basically, what I'm wondering is which of the two this SE would be for, or if it would be for both.

Proposal: Interpersonal Skills

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
10

"Interpersonal Skills" is the latest attempt to expand on failed proposals by include areas ranging from dating skills to relationship advice to navigating social situations. The example questions would seem to bear that out.

But you'll notice that a lot of questions ask how to do {x} "without offending anyone...", and that's where you get into the subject of general etiquette. Whether your wondering if/when to send a thank-you card or which fork goes on the left, it's all about navigating social mores, so I think it would be difficult to find a well-defined line between navigating interpersonal relationships and sussing out general socio-cultural norms.

It's not like we're going to create a string of sites for various interpretations of "interpersonal skills", so I think this community should try to be inclusive of all areas in this topic space, until a particular subject either seems wildly out of place or becomes disruptive in actual practice.

1
  • 1
    That's why I think it should be compulsory to include locality, or at least country, for the question to be not too broad.
    – Vylix
    Jun 20, 2017 at 15:19
4

It seems to me you are talking about manners vs emotional intelligence. I would consider both to be interpersonal skills and subject to this SE.

There are a few more areas I would lump into interpersonal skills that are not mentioned in your question.

  1. Conflict Resolution
  2. Relationship Building
  3. Soft Skills Building

This is obviously not a full list, but it is a start for what I imagine this SE would be used for.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .