Which one of the following is not a relevant factor in interpersonal skill?

Interpersonal skill is about how you deal with other people at work: building trust, communicating clearly, handling conflict and cooperating. Option B is the odd one out because doubting colleagues' intentions is a suspicious, trust-breaking attitude, the opposite of what interpersonal effectiveness needs.

• A (Positive attitude): Relevant. It makes you approachable and keeps teams cooperative.
• C (Preparedness to listen): Relevant. Active listening is the base of good communication and is a standard component of emotional intelligence frameworks.
• D (Ability to manage emotions): Relevant. Self-regulation and handling others' emotions is central to Goleman's model of emotional intelligence, which is often linked to interpersonal skill.

Core concept: interpersonal skill and emotional intelligence overlap. For Mains (GS4, ethics), this links to empathy, trust and team leadership in administration.

Trap: candidates sometimes treat healthy skepticism as a managerial virtue and pick A or C by elimination. Remember the question asks for the factor that is not relevant, and assuming bad intent in others damages working relationships.