If you are consultant like me, then it is very important to understand “magic” of communication.
I found one nice place to read about interpersonal skills: http://sourcesofinsight.com/2009/05/25/top-10-lessons-learned-in-interpersonal-skills/
What I would like to stress is one topic: LISTEN
For myself I noted that often I think that I understood the problem and start talking (yeap, the next day I understand how I …) about my understanding, which is sometimes absolutely wrong.
The general idea is - if you listen, then you probably may hear something beyond just facts. You may hear frustration, uncertainty, fear, questions, etc. These things are often related to what is called “Emotional Intelligence” or EQ. Being a good consultant requires you to balance well between IQ (our subject competence) and EQ (our ability to hear, understand and feel).
Thinking about the same subject with Aikido in mind - the ability to listen translates to feel and be able to adjust.
Not only patterns of the movements are important, but also the behaviour and stance of the partner you are practicing with.
If you don’t “listen” to a partner, who moves slower than you want to perform the technique, then probably you’re trying to drag, push, etc.
And even if you would be doing that technically correct from the angles and stance position, the result will be far from what it is supposed to be.