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Knowledge, know-how, interpersonal skills (savoir / savoir-faire / savoir-être in French): scientific definitions, comparison table, business examples and how to develop each of the three dimensions in 2026.
In the world of vocational training and competency management in France, one triptych comes up again and again: savoir, savoir-faire, savoir-être, or in English, knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills. This is the reference framework used by HR directors, training bodies, France Travail (the French public employment service), the RNCP (the national register of professional certifications) and most schools.
But what do these three terms actually mean? What is the difference between know-how and interpersonal skills? Where do soft skills fit into this framework? And most importantly, how do you assess each dimension objectively?
At Rising Up, our scientific team in cognitive sciences (CNRS, ENS-PSL, EHESS) has spent more than 10 years bringing rigorous definitions to these widely used but often blurry concepts. This article gives you:
The savoir / savoir-faire / savoir-être triptych comes from French vocational training, popularised in the 1970s by the education researcher Bertrand Schwartz as part of his work on lifelong adult learning.
The framework was picked up by France Travail, ANFA (the national association for automotive training), CGT-Formation, AFPA, and later formalised in the professional certification frameworks of the RNCP. It is now an implicit standard in French HR practice.
In the English-speaking world, the equivalent triptych is knowledge / skills / attitudes (KSA), used in particular in international HR competency models.
Knowledge refers to the theoretical understanding a person holds on a given subject. It is what they know, what they have learned, what they can explain or recall.
Examples of professional knowledge:
Knowledge is mainly acquired through formal training (school, university, continuing education), reading and professional monitoring. It is relatively easy to transmit and assess (exams, certifications, testing).
Know-how refers to the technical and practical skills a person holds: their ability to actually apply what they know. It is what they can do.
Examples of professional know-how:
Know-how is acquired through repeated practice, experience, on-the-job training and mentoring. It largely corresponds to what the international vocabulary calls hard skills.
Interpersonal skills, or the "way of being at work", refer to the behavioural and relational competencies of a person: how they interact with their professional environment. It is who they are, or more precisely how they behave in context.
Examples of professional interpersonal skills:
Interpersonal skills are mainly acquired through contextual experience, learning models (managers, mentors, peers), feedback, and reflection on one's own behaviour. This dimension largely corresponds to what the international vocabulary calls soft skills.
Below is a summary of the 3 dimensions, compared on the key criteria used in competency management.
| Criterion | Knowledge (savoir) | Know-how (savoir-faire) | Interpersonal skills (savoir-être) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Theoretical understanding | Technical competencies | Behavioural competencies |
| What is measured | What you know | What you can do | How you behave |
| Main acquisition mode | Formal training | Practice + experience | Contextual experience + feedback |
| Standard assessment mode | Exam, certification | Applied task, portfolio | Interview, situational exercise |
| International equivalent | Knowledge | Skills / Hard skills | Attitudes / Soft skills |
| Concrete example | Knowing employment law | Drafting a compliant contract | Staying composed during a dispute |
| Typical training format | Lecture | Workshop, internship, apprenticeship | Coaching, role play, feedback |
| Contextualisation | Often generic | Often generic | Always contextual |
| Stability over time | Can fade (forgetting) | Fades without practice | Continuously adjustable |
Soft skills (behavioural competencies) mainly correspond to savoir-être (interpersonal skills), but with important nuances.
In its classic French meaning, savoir-être covers broad behavioural dimensions: politeness, punctuality, appearance, deference to authority. Some parts of savoir-être therefore relate more to "workplace conduct" than to complex cognitive competencies.
Soft skills are more precise. They correspond to trainable cognitive and behavioural competencies that produce observable performance: emotional regulation, reasoning under uncertainty, mental flexibility, assertive influence, and so on.
In contemporary cognitive sciences, researchers now prefer the term core skills over savoir-être, to underline how central they are to professional performance and how firmly they are grounded in science.
Our scientific team has formalised a framework of 18 core skills organised into 3 families (see our full article on the 18 core skills to master in 2026).
Each of these 18 core skills is precisely defined (see the framework article), measurable in context, and trainable. That is what distinguishes them from the "personality traits" measured by classic psychometric tests (PAPI, 16PF, DISC, MBTI, Hogan).
Each dimension of the triptych calls for different assessment methods.
The standard methods are well known and well established:
These methods have strong validity: they measure what they claim to measure (knowledge). The main risk is that they only capture recall, not deep understanding.
The standard methods:
Validity is moderate to strong, provided the exercise is representative enough of the actual role.
This is the dimension that is hardest to assess objectively. The standard methods all come with significant limits:
The modern scientific approach relies on contextual behavioural measurement, which observes what a person actually does when facing concrete situations, rather than what they claim to be.
The Soft Skill Scan by Rising Up, recognised as a breakthrough innovation by the European Innovation Council, offers an objective assessment of professional interpersonal skills in 20 minutes.
Its methodology combines two complementary dimensions:
The output: a behavioural profile across the 18 core skills, presented as strengths and points of attention, with a role-compatibility score on a simple scale: Compatible / To explore further in interview / Not compatible.
It is a decision-support tool for the manager, not an oracle. The final decision always belongs to the manager, after reviewing the Scan and conducting the interview.
Yes, provided you use contextual behavioural methods rather than declarative self-assessment. The Soft Skill Scan by Rising Up is an example of a method that measures what people do, not what they say about themselves.
No. They build up throughout life through experience, role models and feedback. Some elements are acquired very early (family, school), but everything can be adjusted over time with the right training framework.
Interpersonal skills are contextual and trainable. Personality traits (extraversion, openness, and so on) are assumed to be stable and generic. The same person can display different interpersonal skills across contexts (calm with family, tense at work, for example).
Three main levers: repeated exposure to training situations, structured qualitative feedback, and regular objective measurement to make progress visible. See our article on defining soft skills for more detail.
Yes, with some variations. RNCP frameworks generally separate competencies (savoir + savoir-faire) from capacities and attitudes (savoir-être). The vocabulary is gradually aligning with international standards (knowledge / skills / attitudes).
If you are looking to better measure and develop the interpersonal skills (soft skills, behavioural competencies) of your employees or candidates, discover the Rising Up recruitment pilot programme:
🎯 150 behavioural assessments over 8 weeks, on candidates for your 5 target roles
🎯 CoreSkills AI analysis of your 5 job postings (kept for life, even if the pilot is stopped mid-way)
🎯 €3,000 excl. VAT paid in one instalment on signature, valid until 30 September 2026 (€4,500 excl. VAT afterwards)
🎯 Limited to 5 companies per month
Send us a message 📩 at hello@risinguparis.com and we will arrange a 15-minute demo for you within the week.
From recruitment At development skills, Rising Up provides reliable behavioral data to guide your HR and educational choices.
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