5 Ways to Improve Social Awareness, a Key Component of Emotional Intelligence

Most of us recognize the importance of self-awareness. If you’ve ever worked with someone who lacked it, you know very well that such people act impulsively, communicate poorly, and are completely unaware of their blind spots.

Social awareness, on the other hand, involves the ability to read and understand others, to have compassion and empathy. People with high social awareness can recognize, process, and adapt to emotional information shifts. Without it, leaders would struggle to motivate their people and would end up with employees who feel unsupported and unheard.

American leadership coach Amy Kan, in an article for Fast Company, shared that she once had a manager who would constantly look at her phone during meetings and frequently text, even when someone was speaking directly to her. Her behavior affected everyone in the team, regardless of who she was dealing with at the time. It made them feel unimportant and as if the discussions they were having weren’t valued. This kind of inattentiveness, inability to listen, or engage in a conversation is a sign of low social awareness, which needs to be developed.

Here are a few ways to improve it:

1. Identify the Signals

Do you often find yourself finishing an interaction with a colleague, employee, or boss asking yourself, “What just happened?” This may mean that you misinterpreted the situation or, worse, that you missed the signals entirely.

Make a conscious effort to pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues people give during meetings or conversations with you. Get into the habit of actively looking for hints in body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and behavior, and make a mental note of what they might mean. For example, “I’m doing fine” can have different meanings depending on how it’s said. Learn to decipher these cues, and if you identify an expression or tone with unclear meaning, consider asking the person how they feel and test your perception.

2. Learn More About Others

How well do you know the members of your team? Can you name their partners or children? Do you know where they’re from and what they enjoy doing outside of work? Ask them these questions and listen to what they say. Look for common ground or places where your interests might align. To be a successful leader, you must be able to build relationships and develop quality connections with the people you work with.

3. Give as Much as You Take

Socially aware leaders think about opportunities they can provide to team members and look for ways to teach, coach, and develop people. Instead of observing from above, step down and get involved. Think about ways to collaborate with colleagues and employees. Where can you actively contribute? Where can you offer personal attention and care? Provide value to others through your words and actions. Learn to think about how you can help them, not how they can help you.

4. Look for Strengths and Contributions

Do you focus on the best in others, or do you mostly see their flaws? Socially aware people recognize the possibilities and potential in others. Instead of judging people by mistakes, faults, and things that went wrong, actively look for what they’re doing well, where they’ve contributed, and where they show strong skills. Let them know you see it.

5. Just Listen

If you’re not listening to all the voices around you, you’re missing out on a lot of information that affects your teams and your company. Instead of listening to others, we often get caught up in planning what we’ll say next. Train yourself to actively listen when people are speaking to you. Take in what they’re saying without judgment or the need to respond with your own story. After they’ve finished, repeat what they said. You’ll truly let them know that they’ve been heard.

^{Taken from ManagementNews, 18.12.2025}