Interpersonal skills performance review phrases

Exceeds expectations

• Builds easy rapport with new joiners, so they ask for help early instead of struggling in silence.
• Reads when a colleague is under strain and adjusts the ask, keeping the relationship and the work intact.
• Stays respectful and warm with a difficult customer, so the person leaves calmer than they arrived.
• Is the colleague others go to for a fair hearing, because they listen without judging.
• Gives a hard message kindly, so the person hears the point without feeling attacked.
• Notices a quiet team member being talked over and draws them back into the conversation.
• Keeps working relationships steady across departments, so requests are met with goodwill, not friction.
• Remembers what matters to people and asks after it, which builds trust over time.

Meets expectations

• Treats colleagues and customers with consistent courtesy and respect.
• Listens properly rather than waiting for a turn to speak.
• Stays approachable, so people feel able to raise things.
• Reads the room and adjusts tone to the situation.
• Handles a tense exchange calmly without taking it personally.
• Builds steady working relationships that make daily coordination easier.
• Shows genuine interest in colleagues beyond the immediate task.
• Gives and receives feedback without letting the relationship sour.

Needs improvement

• Comes across as curt under pressure, which strains working relationships.
• Talks more than listens, so colleagues often feel unheard.
• Reads situations poorly, pressing a point when a colleague is clearly stretched.
• Takes disagreement personally, which makes colleagues tread carefully around them.
• Keeps interactions purely transactional, so trust stays thin over time.
• Is approachable with some people but dismissive with juniors.
• Lets a bad mood show in dealings, so colleagues avoid the desk that day.

Self-review phrases

• I read when a colleague is stretched now and adjust the ask rather than pushing.
• I stay warm with difficult customers, and they often leave calmer than they arrived.
• I want to listen more and talk less so colleagues feel heard.
• I draw quieter team members back in when they are talked over.

Tips for writing this feedback

• Judge interpersonal skills by how people are treated and how relationships hold, not by how outgoing someone is.
• Gather signals from peers and juniors, since how a person treats those with less power is telling.
• Separate interpersonal skill from communication; one is about the relationship, the other about the message landing.
• Watch for warmth to seniors but curtness to juniors, which is an interpersonal gap, not a strength.
• Value steady courtesy under pressure, since anyone can be pleasant on an easy day.

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