Unit 1 Introduction to Soft Skills and it.pdf

1 Unit 1 Introduction to Soft Skills and it’s Importance. 1. INTRODUCTION The skills that enable you to fit-in at a workplace. They include your personality, emotional intelligence, attitude, flexibility, motivation, and manners. Soft skills are so important th...

1 Unit 1 Introduction to Soft Skills and it’s Importance. 1. INTRODUCTION The skills that enable you to fit-in at a workplace. They include your personality, emotional intelligence, attitude, flexibility, motivation, and manners. Soft skills are so important that they are often the reason employers decide whether to keep or promote an employee. In order to succeed at work, you must get along well with all the people with whom you interact, including managers, co-workers, clients, vendors, customers, and anyone else you communicate with while on the job. Soft skills are different from hard skills (also known as technical skills). Hard skills are part of the skill set that are directly relevant to the job to which you are applying. These are often more quantifiable, and easier to learn than soft skills. They include the expertise necessary for an individual to successfully do the job. They are job-specific and are typically listed in job postings and job descriptions. Hard skills are acquired through formal education and training programs, including college, apprenticeships, short-term training classes, online courses, and certification programs, as well as on-the-job training. 2. Importance of Soft Skills in Communication. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Personality refers to an individual’s characteristics, style, behaviour, mindset, attitude, his own unique way of perceiving things and seeing the world. Genetic factors, family backgrounds, varied cultures, environment, current situations play an imperative role in shaping one’s personality. The way you behave with others reflects your personality. An individual with a pleasing personality is appreciated and respected by all. Personality development is defined as a process of developing and enhancing one’s personality. Personality development helps an individual to gain confidence and high self esteem. Individuals need to have a style of their own for others to follow them. You need to set an example for people around. Personality development not only makes you look good and presentable but also helps you face the world with 1  2 a smile. Personality development helps you develop a positive attitude in life. An individual with a negative attitude finds a problem in every situation. Personality development helps an individual to inculcate positive qualities like punctuality, flexible attitude, willingness to learn, friendly nature, eagerness to help others and so on Tips for enhancing personality There are some tips for enhancing personality. ▪ Smile a lot- Nothing works better than a big smile when it comes to interacting with people around. Do not forget to flash your trillion dollar smile quite often. Believe me, it works! As they say “a smile is a curve that sets everything straight”. A smiling face wins even the toughest soul. Wear your smile while interacting with others. Smile not only helps in enhancing an individual’s personality but also winning other’s heart. ▪ Think positive- It is really essential to think positive. Remember there is light at the end of every dark tunnel. Do not always think negative as it not only acts as a demotivating factor but also makes an individual dull and frustrated. Don’t get upset over minor things. Be a little flexible and always look at the broader perspectives of life. ▪ Dress Sensibly- Dressing sensibly and smartly go a long way in honing one’s personality. One needs to dress according to the occasion. How would a female look if she wears a sari to a discotheque? Obviously ridiculous! No matter how expensive your sari is, you can’t wear it to a night club or a pub where everyone is dressed in smart casuals. Price has nothing to do with smart dressing. An individual who is well dressed is respected and liked by all. No one would take you seriously if you do not wear suitable clothes fitting with occasions. Do take care of the fit of the dress as well. An individual should wear clothes as per his/her body type, height, physique and so on. Someone who is bulky would not look very impressive in body hugging clothes. It is not necessary that something which looks good on your friend would also look good on you. Wear the right make up. You do not have 2  3 to apply loud make up to look good and attractive. Even minimal make up, if applied sensibly can really make you stand apart from the rest. ▪ Be soft-spoken- Do not always find faults in others. Fighting and quarrelling lead to no solution. Be polite with others. Be very careful of what you speak. Avoid being rude and short tempered. ▪ Leave your ego behind- An individual needs to hide his ego everywhere he goes. Be it office or workplace you need to leave your ego behind if you wish to win appreciation from others. An individual who is good from within is loved by all. ▪ Help others- Do not always think of harming others. Share whatever you know. Remember no one can steal your knowledge. Always help others. ▪ Confidence- Confidence is the key to a positive personality. Exude confidence and positive aura wherever you go. ▪ A Patient listener- Be a patient listener. Never interrupt when others are speaking. Try to imbibe good qualities of others. 3. Communication Skills Communication skills are the abilities you use when giving and receiving different kinds of information. Communication skills involve listening, speaking, observing and empathising. It is also helpful to understand the differences in how to communicate through face-to-face interactions, phone conversations and digital communications like email and social media. Types of communication There are four main types of communication you might use on a daily basis, including: 1. Verbal: Communicating by way of a spoken language. 2. Nonverbal: Communicating by way of body language, facial expressions and vocalics. 3  4 3. Written: Communicating by way of written language, symbols and numbers. 4. Visual: Communication by way of photography, art, drawings, sketches, charts and graphs. There are different types of communication skills you can learn and practice to help you become an effective communicator. Many of these skills work together making it important to practice communication skills in different contexts whenever possible. Active listening: Active listening means paying close attention to the person who is speaking to you. People who are active listeners are well- regarded by their co-workers because of the attention and respect they offer others. While it seems simple, this is a skill that can be hard to develop and improve. You can be an active listener by focusing on the speaker, avoiding distractions like cell phones, laptops or other projects and by preparing questions, comments or ideas to thoughtfully respond. ▪ Friendliness: In friendships, characteristics such as honesty and kindness often foster trust and understanding. The same characteristics are important in workplace relationships. When you’re working with others, approach your interactions with a positive attitude, keep an open mind and ask questions to help you understand where they’re coming from. Small gestures such as asking someone how they’re doing, smiling as they speak or offering praise for work well done can help you foster productive relationships with both colleagues and managers. ▪ Confidence: In the workplace, people are more likely to respond to ideas that are presented with confidence. There are many ways to appear confident such as making eye contact when you’re addressing someone, sitting up straight with your shoulders open and preparing ahead of time so your thoughts are polished. You’ll find confident communication comes in handy not just on the job but during the job interview process as well. ▪ Giving and receiving feedback: Strong communicators can accept critical feedback and provide constructive input to others. Feedback 4  5 should answer questions, provide solutions or help strengthen the project or topic at hand. ▪ Volume and clarity: When you’re speaking, it’s important to be clear and audible. Adjusting your speaking voice so you can be heard in a variety of settings is a skill and it’s critical to communicating effectively. Speaking too loudly may be disrespectful or awkward in certain settings. If you’re unsure, read the room to see how others are communicating. ▪ Empathy: Empathy means that you can understand and share the emotions of others. This communication skill is important in both team and one-on-one settings. In both cases, you will need to understand other people’s emotions and select an appropriate response. For example, if someone is expressing anger or frustration, empathy can help you acknowledge and diffuse their emotion. At the same time, being able to understand when someone is feeling positive and enthusiastic can help you get support for your ideas and projects. ▪ Respect: A key aspect of respect is knowing when to initiate communication and respond. In a team or group setting, allowing others to speak without interruption is seen as a necessary communication skill. Respectfully communicating also means using your time with someone else wisely—staying on topic, asking clear questions and responding fully to any questions you’ve been asked. ▪ Understanding nonverbal cues: A great deal of communication happens through nonverbal cues such as body language, facial expressions and eye contact. When you’re listening to someone, you should be paying attention to what they’re saying as well as their nonverbal language. By the same measure, you should be conscious of your body language when you’re communicating to ensure you’re sending appropriate cues to others. ▪ Responsiveness: Whether you’re returning a phone call or sending a reply to an email, fast communicators are viewed as more effective than those who are slow to respond. One method is to consider how long your response will take. Is this a request or question you can answer in 5  6 the next five minutes? If so, it may be a good idea to address it as soon as you see it. If it’s a more complex request or question, you can still acknowledge that you’ve received the message and let the other person know you will respond in full later. Non-verbal Communication The Non-Verbal Communication is the process of conveying meaning without the use of words either written or spoken. In other words, any communication made between two or more persons through the use of facial expressions, hand movements, body language, postures, and gestures is called as non-verbal communication. The Non-Verbal Communication, unlike the verbal communication, helps in establishing and maintaining the interpersonal relationships while the verbal only helps in communicating the external events. People use non-verbals to express emotions and interpersonal attitudes, conduct rituals such as greetings and bring forward one’s personality. Types of nonverbal communication are: 1. Eye contact: Eye contact with audiences increases the speaker’s credibility. Teachers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility. 2. Facial expressions: The face is an important communicator. It is commonly said that the face is the index of the mind. It expresses the type of emotions or feelings such as joy, love, interest, sorrow, anger, annoyance, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, hatred surprise, and uncertainty. 3. Movement: The way you move your arms and legs such as walking quickly or slowly, standing, sitting or fidgeting, can all convey different messages to onlookers. 4. Posture: The way you sit or stand can also communicate your comfort level, professionalism and general disposition towards a person or conversation. 6  7 5. Gestures: While gestures vary widely across communities, they are generally used both intentionally and unintentionally to convey information to others. 6. Space: Creating or closing distance between yourself and the people around you can also convey messages about your comfort level, the importance of the conversation, your desire to support or connect with others and more. 7. Paralanguage: Paralanguage includes the non-language elements of speech, such as your talking speed, pitch, intonation, volume and more. 8. Facial expressions: One of the most common forms of nonverbal communication is facial expressions. Using the eyebrows, mouth, eyes and facial muscles to convey can be very effective when communicating both emotion and information. 9. Eye contact: Strategically using eye content (or lack of eye contact) is an extremely effective way to communicate your attention and interest. 10. Touch: Some people also use touch as a form of communication. Most commonly, it is used to communicate support or comfort. This form of communication should be used sparingly and only when you know the receiving party is okay with it. It should never be used to convey anger, frustration or any other negative emotions. 4. Power of listening One of the main virtues of a true leader is listening. Listening, not hearing, gives the advantage of analysing and of ensuring that one addresses issues and matters in an appropriate manner and with that level of importance they may or may not warrant. One would also be in a better position to address matters in the appropriate language, thus ensuring one is heading in the right direction. Shutting down, pretending to listen and pretending to address others' interest is far from looking ahead long term. No leader with a vision can ever ignore the messages people are transmitting, particularly if they come with a certain level of enthusiasm and/or concern. Failing to listen means there 7  8 is either a defective structure or that, alternatively, there is no true leader but an administrator. Fundamentals of Good Listening The Five Fundamentals of Effective Listening 1. Attending to Nonverbal Behaviours – Your nonverbal behaviours tell the speaker you are either interested and comprehending what is being said or you are disinterested and would rather be somewhere else. Are you smiling and nodding in understanding or are you yawning, scowling, or staring the person down? Is your body position leaning in to the conversation to show you are engaged or are you leaning back with your arms folded indicating you’re feeling defensive? Your body language should communicate “Go ahead, I care, I’m listening.” 2. Asking Questions – The best leaders ask questions – lots of them. But not all questions are created equal and different types of questions serve different purposes. Open-ended questions encourage the speaker to share more information and go deeper in the conversation. Clarifying questions help you understand the full context of what is being shared whereas prompting questions encourage the speaker to reflect deeper on their own thoughts. Close-ended questions allow you to limit the conversation or find out specific information and leading questions allow you to bring the conversation to a close. 3. Reflecting Feelings – Reflecting feelings is the skill of capturing the speaker’s feelings and restating them in non-judgemental terms. It demonstrates to the speaker that you are aware of the emotion behind the content of what is being shared. Using phrases such as “It sounds like you’re really _______” (frustrated, angry, sad, etc.) or “I can sense your _______ (apprehension, anxiety, pride, etc.)” indicates you are empathizing with the speaker which allows him/her to trust you more and share more information. 4. Paraphrasing – Paraphrasing demonstrates that you heard and understand what was being shared. The basics of paraphrasing include restating key words or phrases, following the speaker’s sequence, 8  9 listening to understand, and showing empathy. You don’t want to robotically repeat what the speaker said verbatim, twist the speaker’s words, or prejudge the situation. 5. Summarizing – Summarizing is the skill of being able to concisely recap what the speaker said over a longer period of time. The exact words aren’t as important as capturing the key ideas, feelings, or action items that were shared. It can help to take notes, summarize periodically throughout the conversation, and to follow the order and sequence of information shared by the speaker. Don’t act like a parrot and repeat the exact words shared or add your own conclusions to the summary. These five fundamentals may seem like no-brainers, but the truth is that most leaders don’t do them very well, or even at all. Just like a professional athlete continuously practices the fundamentals of his/her sport, leaders should continually practice these fundamentals of listening. When to Speak and How? Total Communication Process Writing Speaking 9% 30% Reading 16% Listening 45% LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION VERBAL ◼ Intra verbal: intonation of word and sound 9  10 ◼ Extra verbal verbal: implication of words and phrases, semantics NON-VERBAL ◼ Gestures ◼ Postures ◼ Movements SYMBOLIC Barriers in Communication (That have to do with the COMMUNICATOR) ◼ Unwillingness to say things differently ◼ Unwillingness to relate to others differently ◼ Unwillingness to learn new approaches ◼ Lack of Self-Confidence ◼ Lack of Enthusiasm ◼ Voice quality ◼ Prejudice ◼ Disagreement between verbal and non-verbal messages ◼ Negative Self Image ◼ Lack of Feedback ◼ Lack of Motivation and Training ◼ Language and Vocabulary Level ◼ Lack of Self Awareness 10  11 Barriers in Communication (That have to do with the RECEIVER) ◼ Selective Perception ◼ Unwillingness to Change ◼ Lack of Interest in the Topic/Subject ◼ Prejudice & Belief System ◼ Rebuttal Instincts ◼ Personal Value System ◼ Here-and-Now internal & external factors Communication Contain: 7% WORDS ◼ Words are only labels and the listeners put their own interpretation on speakers words ◼ 38% PARALINGUISTIC ◼ The way in which something is said - the accent, tone and voice modulation is important to the listener. ◼ 55% BODY LANGUAGE ◼ What a speaker looks like while delivering a message affects the listener’s understanding most. ********************************************** 11