Interaction, Research-Based Soft Skills Learning

Strong interaction skills enhance collaboration quality

Course Specifications

Course Number: AOB76–008_rev1.0

Course Length: 2h 30min

We Spend the Majority of Our Work Time on Interaction

Interaction is a central part of working life. Throughout the workday, we engage in numerous interactions in various situations—whether with colleagues, different departments, or customers. A study by Microsoft, which analyzed massive amounts of Microsoft 365 application data, highlights the significance of interaction: the average employee spends 57% of their time in meetings, emails, and conversations, while 43% is dedicated to creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. In addition to Office tools, we engage in informal interactions both in the office and remotely, utilizing various communication and collaboration tools. In essence, the majority of work time is spent on interaction—making our interaction skills highly important!

Interaction skills improve collaboration quality

How should facilitation skills be developed? Improving facilitation skills requires training, practice, and encouragement.

Strong interaction skills enhance the quality of collaboration and, in turn, boost human productivity.

Several interaction skills and competencies can improve collaboration quality:

• Recognizing the personality of a collaboration partner
• Being more present
• Valuing diversity
• Learning to build trust online
• Engaging in respectful conversations
• Creating psychological safety
• Managing emotions in challenging situations
• Approaching situations with empathy
• Actively listening
• Engaging in prosocial interaction
• Giving proper feedback
• Using a coaching approach
• Receiving feedback effectively
• Maintaining a constructive interaction style that fosters a positive atmosphere
• Developing conflict management skills.

Why invest in collaboration quality?

Research shows that improving collaboration quality adds value to customers, organizations, and colleagues alike:

• Better problem-solving: Utilizing diverse perspectives leads to more comprehensive solutions to complex problems. Collaboration allows for a well-rounded approach to challenges.
• More innovation: High-quality collaboration fosters higher levels of innovation by encouraging idea-sharing. Individual strengths merge into new solutions.
• Increased employee engagement and satisfaction: Better collaboration boosts job satisfaction and reduces employee turnover. Employees feel valued and supported, increasing their engagement and commitment.
• Enhanced agility and adaptability: Stronger collaboration improves adaptability, which is crucial in a rapidly changing business environment.
• Higher customer engagement and satisfaction: Improved collaboration leads to better outcomes, increased satisfaction, and reduced customer turnover. Customers feel valued and supported, strengthening their engagement and loyalty.
• Organizational agility: Developing collaboration fosters a culture of continuous learning and mutual support among employees.
• Financial benefits: Investing in collaboration results in economic gains, such as improved profitability and accelerated growth.

How we achieve real change in collaboration quality

We develop collaboration quality through research-based content, microlearning, and reflection:

Research-Based Content: Rest assured, the training is impactful because it is grounded in research.

Microlearning: The content is designed to fit into even the busiest schedules.

Reflection: Reflection ensures the learning translates into practice. Through self-reflection and shared reflection, employees explore what emotions the training evokes, what the skills mean to them, where they could be used, and how to successfully apply these skills in their work.

This approach creates real change—enhancing employees’ interaction skills and improving collaboration quality!

The Interaction Tutorial Package enhances collaboration quality

The Interaction Tutorial Package provides professionals and managers with a broad range of interaction tools and skills. These tutorials offer valuable insights into improving interaction, teamwork skills, and organizational collaboration culture.

Interaction Tutorial package includes the following tutorials

Understanding Personality Types at Work, Smart-Tutorial (1h)

Diversity is an asset and a strength, once understood correctly. Understanding diversity improves your self-awareness, appreciation towards differences and develops your ability to evaluate tasks that are suitable for you. Understanding personalities helps you succeed in modern working life. This course dives into the best-known personality theory, the Big Five.

Present in Interaction, Smart-Tutorial (45 min)

Working life is becoming more and more interactive. It is important to learn to be present in interaction. It requires conscious actions for constructive and good communication. This mini-tutorial gives you a practical set of tools: we present to you the Five Key model for being present in interactions. The keys are: concreteness, listening, assertiveness, positivity and shared goals.

Strength in Diversity, Quick-Tutorial (4 min)

With this short video, you will learn to understand the diversity of your team´s members and identify how you complement each other as a team. There are at least two benefits when understanding diversity – take a look what they are!

Building trust online, Quick-Tutorial (4 min)

This short video gives you a view how to build trust online. While building trust among team members is important in general, in virtual teams it is essential: individuals typically have fewer points of contact, and need to be able to rely on one another’s work ethic and communication skills.

Respectful Interaction, Quick-Tutorial (6 min)

This short video tells you how to create a respectful environment through interaction. Learn ways to improve the team's atmosphere! To promote a good mood as a team member, you need to be motivated for good quality interaction and make conscious choices while working with other people. Focus on the positives and stay curious and interested in others.

Psychological safety, Quick-Tutorial (5 min)

Have you ever wondered why some teams perform better than others, learning and creating something new? The community´s atmosphere plays a crucial role: psychological safety is strongly linked to better knowledge sharing, learning, job satisfaction, performance and creativity. This short video discusses how to create psychological safety!

Emotions in Difficult Situations, Quick-Tutorial (8 min)

Would you like to learn how to handle emotions even in difficult situations? Emotions are natural to people, but we often avoid expressing them. With this short video, you can tune in to emotional conversations in a variety of situations. It is essential to accept that your own and others’ feelings are equally valuable.

Prosocial Behavior and Listening, Quick-Tutorial (5 min)

This short video will help you to understand what prosocial behavior and second-level listening are, and to improve your interpersonal skills. Prosocial behavior refers to consciously choosing to interact in ways that have benefits to your and other people's well-being. Research indicates that this is extremely healthy and beneficial for us.

Giving and Receiving Feedback, Quick-Tutorial (3 min)

This short video focuses on feedback! Feedback is not about one person telling others how they should do their work. The goal is to recognize together what you have done so far and how you could develop your actions further. There are three simple quick-fixes for you to begin with. Watch this video to hear what they are!

Five Ways to Influence with Coaching, Quick-Tutorial (8 min)

Influencing another’s thinking and emotional world can seem difficult, unfair, or even manipulative. However, this is not the case with coaching. With this short video, you will understand how you can help others to influence their mind and actions by coaching.

Role of Interaction in Setting the Mood, Quick-Tutorial (4 min)

With this short video, you'll get tips on how to create a positive atmosphere through creative interaction. Such interaction includes the following actions: ask open-ended questions to understand and highlight positive aspects, raise key points from the other person's message, and focus on what is being discussed.

First Aid Kit for Difficult Conversations, Quick-Tutorial (4 min)

The workplace is full of challenging situations, discussions, and conflicts. However, these should not be feared – one can change their perspective from a problem to a learning experience. This short video boldly delves into difficult conversations. We introduce to you the first aid kit for conflict resolution – grab the bag for the journey!

The Five Quick-Fixes of Navigating Conflicts, Quick-Tutorial (4min)

Would you like to acquire practical methods for resolving challenging situations? We can be participants, mediators, or bystanders in difficult situations. Regardless of your role in any of these, you can implement the five quick wins presented in this short video to help facilitate the resolution of the situation.

Digital Interaction and Virtual Teams, Quick-Tutorial (4 min)

This short video gives you a glimpse how to interact in virtual work environment. The workplace – and the way teams work together – is undergoing significant transformation. More and more work is done remotely, and the amount of virtual teams is increasing. Watch the video to get practical tips on working in a digital environment!

Learn to Ask for Feedback, Quick-Tutorial (4min)

What if the best way to grow at work isn’t waiting for feedback – but asking for it? In this quick tutorial, you’ll learn how to invite feedback as naturally as any conversation – just honest exchanges that help you improve.