Social intelligence training enhances your people skills and builds trust
Our training can be delivered as in-house workshops or one on one coaching wherever you are in New Zealand.
Move over, emotional intelligence! Put simply, social intelligence is the ability to get along with people. Not just pretending to get along or getting along just to keep the peace or get stuff done but really getting along. It’s people skills and emotional intelligence all rolled into one. While us kiwis are pretty good at getting along with each other, there will always be some people that we fail to ‘click’ with. Our social intelligence training – Social StyleTM – helps you and your employees to win allies and influence people for greater business success.
Social intelligence training makes an excellent addition to any leadership development program.
We are one of very few businesses in Aotearoa NZ that are certified to deliver Tracom SOCIAL STYLE workshops.
This course is run with teams in-house. Contact us for pricing.
SOCIAL STYLE is a world-leading social intelligence training program.
If you manage people, run a business, sell things or are responsible for customer relationships, then you need people skills. You need social intelligence training. Enter, Social Style(R).
The skills are easy to learn, easy to remember, and easy to apply. With SOCIAL STYLE social intelligence training, you can become more Versatile, that is, more effective at navigating workplace relationships. You will gain trust and respect, build lasting connections with customers and close more deals. Find out more about Social Style on the Tracom website.
Social Style is easy to understand.
The SOCIAL STYLE model is simple and effective. The four Styles each have some basic principles that underly them. Once you know others’ Styles, and apply the basic principles, you’ll build the trust and respect needed for effective working relationships.
Social Style is powerful.
Applying your knowledge of SOCIAL STYLE demonstrates in a subtle but powerful way, that you get them. You’ve got their back. When you meet their underlying needs, you put them at ease, you earn their trust, and everyone flourishes.
Improve employee engagement, close more deals, and retain more customers, by uncovering the basic needs of people with the SOCIAL STYLE model.
FAQ's about social intelligence training
What is social intelligence?
Put simply, social intelligence is the ability to get along with people. It’s “people skills” and emotional intelligence all rolled into one.
While emotional intelligence (EQ) is often about looking inward to manage your own feelings, social intelligence is focused outward. It is the ability to perceive, understand, and navigate the complexities of human interaction. At Epic People, we define it through three key pillars:
- Reading social cues: It’s the ability to observe “say and do” behaviors—like voice volume, hand gestures, and eye contact—to understand what makes someone else tick and what their basic needs are at work.
- Predicting behaviour: Once you understand someone’s “Social Style,” you can anticipate how they will react in certain situations. This removes the guesswork from your interactions.
- Adaptability (versatility): This is the most practical part. Social intelligence isn’t just about understanding others; it’s about adjusting your own behavior to meet them where they are. It’s not about being “fake”—it’s about being effective.
At its core, social intelligence is the science of building trust and respect. It ensures that when you interact with a colleague or customer, they feel “got,” which is the foundation of every successful business relationship.
Why is social intelligence important for or leaders?
In the workplace, most people are promoted into leadership because they are excellent at their technical jobs—they are the “best mechanics,” so to speak. However, leading a team requires an entirely different toolkit.
Social intelligence is the “engine” of effective leadership for several reasons:
- It builds trust and psychological safety: Leadership isn’t just about giving orders; it’s about creating an environment where people feel “got.” When a leader uses social intelligence to meet the underlying needs of their team members (whether that’s providing data for an Analytical style or results for a Driving style), they earn immediate respect and trust.
- It increases “Versatility”: On our leadership development page, we talk about the gap between intent and impact. Social intelligence allows a leader to move past their own preferred style and adapt their behavior to suit others. This “Versatility” is what makes a leader effective across different teams, departments, and high-stakes situations.
- It de-escalates conflict: Most workplace tension comes from “style clashes”—simple misunderstandings in how we communicate. A socially intelligent leader can spot these patterns early and adjust their approach to keep the team harmonious and focused on goals.
- It drives engagement and retention: People don’t leave companies; they leave managers. A leader who understands what makes their people tick can influence and motivate them more effectively, leading to higher engagement and lower staff turnover.
As Edward Thorndike famously noted back in 1920, a lack of social intelligence is often the single reason a great technical expert fails as a foreman. Our training ensures your managers have the people skills to match their professional expertise.
What is Social Style?
Social Style(R) is a model for understanding people’s behavioural styles and using this information to interact more effectively with others. SOCIAL STYLE is determined by observable “say and do” behaviours that represent a theme or pattern of typical behaviours. Once you know how a person typically behaves, you can predict how that person will probably behaviour in future situations. Being able to anticipate their behaviour pattern enables you to build relationships more effectively because you can work with others in the ways that they prefer. The end result is your earning their trust and respect, and you do it in a very subtle way. That person will perceive that you “get them”. That’s social intelligence in action.
Is SOCIAL STYLE a personality profiling tool?
SOCIAL STYLE is not a personality profiling tool. And unlike things like DISC and MBTI, it’s not all about you. OK well it’s a little bit about you.
While it’s important to understand your behaviour and how others perceive you, SOCIAL STYLE emphasises your understanding of other people. You get the tools to uncover what makes other people tick, specifically what their basic needs at work are. You can then use this information to build relationships and influence people in a positive way.
How is SOCIAL STYLE taught?
You start by completing a self-assessment, and having three other people completing a short assessment of their observations of your behaviour. In your SOCIAL STYLE social intelligence training workshop, you will learn:
- About the four Styles
- What your assessment of your Style is, and others’ assessment of your Style
- How to profile other people
- What your assessment of your Versatility is, and others’ assessment of your Versatility
- How to increase your Versatility – using your knowledge of others’ Styles and focussing on their needs. This builds trust and respect.
What is Versatility?
Versatility is a measure of workplace behaviours that lead to interpersonal effectiveness. TRACOM, the developer of SOCIAL STYLE, and this social intelligence training, has identified four areas that are essential for workplace effectiveness. These are: image, presentation, competence and feedback. You apply your knowledge of Style in each of these four areas, in different ways for people of different Styles. By focusing on their preferences rather than your own, you display high Versatility.
Why is SOCIAL STYLE so easy to apply?
The beauty of SOCIAL STYLE is that there isn’t much to remember. And It’s small changes in your communication behaviour according to others’ Styles, that makes the difference.
Once you uncover peoples’ basic needs, it provides you with strong clues about what drives their behaviour. You can predict how they will react in certain situations … and most importantly, what they need from you. Here are some examples:
- someone who is Driving Style needs you to help them move towards results and goals and be on board with what they want to achieve.
- someone who is Expressive Style needs you to acknowledge their achievements and contributions.
- someone who is Amiable Style needs you to build a personal connection with them and reassure them that your relationship is harmonious.
- someone who is Analytical Style needs you to provide them with facts and data and give them time to make decisions.
Is SOCIAL STYLE based in science?
Yes it is! The work to create the SOCIAL STYLE and Versatility model started in the 1960’s. It was created using robust scientific research and validation. Since it was created, the SOCIAL STYLE and Versatility model has continuously evolved. It has been studied and validated numerous times and remains one of the leading social intelligence training programs available today.
Can my Style change over time?
Generally, your Style stays as it is. This training is about improving your Versatility – what you do with your knowledge of Style. Your Versatility can improve over time, through conscious changes in your behaviour. While these behaviour adjustments will need thought and planning, over time they will become more natural. So you can change your behaviour, resulting in improved Versatility, while retaining your Style.
What support is available after SOCIAL STYLE training?
After your workshop, we can provide:
- one on one or small group coaching for specific queries
- refresher training in groups – tailor-made if needed.
Our team leader and new manager training can be combined with SOCIAL STYLE. We can build SOCIAL STYLE concepts into each workshop. Note you can only join workshops that have SOCIAL STYLE content if you have attended a SOCIAL STYLE workshop.
Can I apply SOCIAL STYLE concepts outside of work with friends and family?
Social Style has been developed specifically for the workplace. That said, having knowledge of Social Style, and with your skills in observing people’s behaviour, you might notice some Style traits of your friends and family. This might reveal some behaviour changes you can make when around these people, to “win friends and influence people”.
How is the training delivered? Do I need to travel or get to a classroom?
Our SOCIAL STYLE social intelligence training workshops can be delivered virtually or in-person. We’re happy to come to your workplace if you have eight or more people to undertake social intelligence training. We can deliver workshops at your workplace all the main centres: Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. If you’re elsewhere in New Zealand, we may still be able to come to you; just give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do.
What equipment do I need for a virtual classroom?
You will need to have a laptop or computer with webcam and microphone. In our social intelligence training workshops, we like to simulate the classroom as much as we can. By being able to see each other and talk to each other, the learning process is enriched. You may also need to download software that allows you to connect to the classroom. We recommend that you sort this before the workshop, so you are up and running on the day.
Ready to create an epic workplace?
Behind every epic workplace, is Epic People
Talk to us about social intelligence training.
Social intelligence isn’t just for leaders, it’s for anyone who works with people – staff, customers, clients, partners and suppliers.
Contact us for a chat about bringing this training in-house at your organisation.
