Social skills include not only what we say, but all forms of communication including body language.

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The skills we use to communicate and interact with others are referred to as social skills. They can be verbal in the form of talking and they can be nonverbal in the form of body language, appearance, and demeanor. What we say is just as important as how we say it. We often forget this, but paying attention to how you output your thoughts helps you grow as a communicator. The best communicators worry about what they say and how a person will perceive it equally. Like any skill, social skills improve with constant and repeated use of them. This is why people from large families tend to be better communicators than those from smaller families. The larger the family, the more communication that is required on a daily basis, in effect, more practice.

People that have highly developed social skills have certain advantages that others do not. This includes the ability to form more frequent and better relationships with others. People with good social skills are more approachable and seen as more fun. Other people gravitate towards these types of people. Individuals that can communicate better usually advance further in their careers at a quicker rate. This is because middle to upper management positions require a great deal of inter-personal interaction. These worksheets will help students learn about positive social skills and how to improve their own skills in that department. These sheets encourage students to maintain healthy relationships and social tones that will help them adjust to just about any situation. When it comes to improving social skills, although you may not subscribe to Malcolm Gladwell’s rule of ten-thousand hours for social aspects, from my experience I have to say it applies. I feel deeply that social skills are developed through consistent positive social situations. When I have a student who is socially meek, I look to find constant opportunities for them to interact with others with minimal consequences. By the end of the school year I have yet to have a student not feel comfortable in their own skin and looking forward to meeting new people.



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Printable Social Skills Worksheets

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Actions Have Consequences

Every choice that we make has consequences. Taking the time to think through the possible consequences of something before you do it is a good way to make sure that you are making the best possible decisions.

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Friendship

Is it important to you that you and your friends be alike? How much alike? Explain.

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Body Language

When we communicate how we are feeling by our posture, gestures, or facial expression, it's called body language. How good are you at understanding body language? Look at the pictures and answer the questions.

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Expressing Anger

Everybody gets angry sometimes. There are many ways to express and deal with anger, and some ways are much better than others. Take a look at the choices for expressing anger below. Circle the ones that you think are okay.

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Using Body Language

Just like with your words and your actions, body language is something that you need to be able to control, so that you can act in a way that is appropriate to the situation. Read each scenario below. Is the body language appropriate to the situation? Write yes or no on the line.

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Being a Good Sport

Good sportsmanship means being more focused on enjoying what you are doing than on winning or losing. You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you are honest, fair, respectful, and a team player.

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Hospitality

Showing someone hospitality means making them feel welcome and wanted. Hospitality is often associated with offering people food, something to drink, or a place to stay. You can show hospitality in your own home, at school, or anywhere out in public where there is an opportunity to make someone feel comfortable.

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Being Flexible

Being flexible means being willing to change your plans or ideas as a situation changes. People who are flexible are able to cope with change and compromise. Flexibility is also the ability to view change as a challenge or a new opportunity rather than as a setback.

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Tolerance

Tolerance means accepting and respecting something or someone who is different than you or that you do not necessarily understand or agree with. You can show tolerance to people or to situations. Read each scenario. Then write down how you might show tolerance in that situation.

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Bragging and Humility

Bragging means being overly proud about one's achievements or possessions and boasting about them. Bragging is not the same as having confidence in yourself or being proud of yourself. When you brag, you make a point of telling people how great you think you or your possessions are. Most people do not like to be around people who brag for very long.

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Body Language

What is each person feeling? What clues did you use?

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How Am I Feeling?

List 3 or 4 possible feelings to go along with each facial expression.

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Compromise

Compromise is a way to settle a disagreement. In a compromise, both people get some of what they want and agree to not get everything that they want. Another way to think of compromise is that instead of one person coming over to another’s point of view, the two meet somewhere in the middle. Many conflicts can be settled using compromise.

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Respect

Describe a recent situation in which you showed someone respect.

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Showing Respect

Does the behavior show respect? Write yes or no.

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