ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the concept of emotional intelligence and how Safety and Health Practitioners can develop their capability to persuade and influence decision making in their organisation. It explains what are interpersonal skills and their importance to Safety and Health Practitioners career progression. The chapter discusses the key interpersonal skills, including communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, networking and curiosity. It explores how to communicate impactful Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) messages, focusing on the key elements of compelling presentations and shows that the value of creating a strong and meaningful professional network. The chapter investigates power in organisations and the importance of defining their path to power as an OSH practitioner. In relation to interpersonal skills, the subject of public speaking and presenting has been extensively researched and the amount of published literature in this area is overwhelming. A common practice for many OSH professionals is to focus OSH communication on loss events and other failures in OSH management arrangements.
