Interpersonal skills are the most important qualification an employee can have in my opinion. We all came from an academic background and have certainly encountered many individuals whos interpersonal skills have inspired us. For example, I remember as a freshman in my undergrad, a professor’s response to my question about losing some points in an exam for a simple long division was a rude question by him; where are you from? clearly being an international student and away from home and family, a rude questioning of my intelligence based on the country of origin that I came from was unnecessary and disappointing that a professor would do that. It didn’t matter how knowledgable that professor was if he/she doesn’t have the decency to be polite and respectful of other people’s culture. He would fail at his profession.
I would emphasize that interpersonal skills are not only important in a job or in a research lab, but it is also essential for building mutual respect between people in their everyday activities.