Sociability
The ability to be comfortable in people’s company, to meet people easily, to mingle freely.
is knowledgeable on a wide range of topics
finds pleasure in meeting new people
does not suffer from shyness
connects easily with other people
does not hesitate to approach people with a question or request
approaches other people and starts conversations easily at parties or receptions
is good at 'small talk' and never wanders off a subject
joins in easily in ongoing conversations
keeps conversations going easily
makes contacts that can be useful for him/her or the organization
is active in maintaining contacts by regularly approaching other people
brings people who may be useful for each other into contact
does presentations in order to position him/herself and the organization
is informed about people and networks that are relevant to the organization and approaches them
participates in committees, boards, unions that can be useful for his/her organization or personal career
is well informed about a wide range of social topics and applies it to easily converse with people who may be useful to the organization
is able to associate with people from different social and academic backgrounds and levels and adjusts his/her style to them
shows initiative in meetings and other business events and takes the floor easily, even when unprepared
Sociability can be easily developed if the candidate has a more than average score (7,8,9) on the drives Extroversion and Sociability & contact.
What do you do in your spare time?
Are you a sociable person? Could you give examples that show you are sociable?
When did you last make contact with someone you did not know?
Have you recently been to a reception or another social event? How did you spend your time there?
Were you ever in a situation in which it was difficult for you to keep a conversation going?
Go to receptions, anniversaries or other social gatherings.
Try and observe other people’s natural ways of communicating; see if there is anything you could copy from them.
Adjust your use of language and pace of speech to the person you talk to.
Focus your attention on the other person’s words and body language.
If your candidate regards himself to be a loner, explain how that could be a disadvantage both to the person and the organization.
Ask your candidate to write down what it costs him to help others, share knowledge, or ask others for help and what he gains from doing so.
Advice your candidate to go to places where people meet, look at their behavior and try and imitate such behavior.
Encourage your candidate to take notice not only of what another person says but also of what he signals with body language, facial expressions and attitude. How do the words and signals diverge in a conflict situation?
Encourage your candidate to ask ‘open questions’: questions that cannot be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ (and often begin with ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘which’, or ‘how’).
FAQs
The ability to be comfortable in people’s company, to meet people easily, to mingle freely.
- What do you do in your spare time?
- Are you a sociable person? Could you give examples that show you are sociable?
- When did you last make contact with someone you did not know?
- Have you recently been to a reception or another social event? How did you spend your time there?
- Were you ever in a situation in which it was difficult for you to keep a conversation going?
- is knowledgeable on a wide range of topics
- finds pleasure in meeting new people
- does not suffer from shyness
- connects easily with other people
