One of the most important intangible elements that can lead to your success in the workplace is the art of being friendly. So why is being friendly so important? Employees spend almost a third of their day in the office; almost as much time as they get to spend with their family and friends.

Why is being friendly so effective? It all leads back to the basic concept of relationship building. As the saying goes, people leave supervisors - they don’t leave companies.

Not sure how to “be friendly” in the workplace? Here are seven simple techniques to increase your office “friendliness.”:

1 - Acknowledge other people in the workplace. Try a pleasant hello before you jump into a conversation about work. Say goodbye when you leave for the day. Saying please and thank you are also excellent ways to show that you care and you’re friendly.

2 - Don’t lecture. If you have a point to get across - hold a conversation and refrain from lecturing. People are more receptive to ideas and comments when they feel as if they are part of a conversation instead of being taken to task by receiving a lecture.

3 - Control your outbursts. If you tend to express your negative emotions verbally, try to control your outbursts. Remove yourself and give the situation a chance to diffuse.

4 - Arrive to meetings early or on time. If you arrive late, bring as little attention to yourself as possible. If it’s unavoidable, apologize quickly and let the meeting continue.

5 - Treat people that come into your cubicle as your guest. If you’re too busy to talk, politely ask if you can schedule an appointment to talk later. Requesting another appointment time is friendlier then answering phones, typing on your computer or making them wait because you're too busy to pay attention to the conversation.

6 - Don’t eat or drink in front of people visiting your office unless you have enough for everybody. If it’s lunch time you need to decide if it’s a good time for a meeting or if you need to wait to eat your lunch.

7 - Avoid making sarcastic comments even in the form of a joke. Your sense of humor may not be appreciated by the rest of the staff.

If “being friendly” is difficult to do - practice. Being friendly does not mean that work needs to turn into an endless social hour. It’s also not something that happens just at the beginning and end of the day. Remember that being friendly is not an isolated incident, it is an occurrence which should happen many times throughout the workday.