SOFT SKILLS
Skills to succeed in personal and professional life
Hard skills
A person’s ability to perform a task is called hard skills. These are job-specific skills attained through education, training, internships, job experiences etc. Hard skills are learned abilities acquired and enhanced through education, training, internships, job experiences, practice, repetition etc. Hard skills are essential because they increase employee productivity and efficiency and subsequently improve employee satisfaction. These are job-specific skills.
Soft Skills
These are not job-specific skills. It is the USP (unique selling point) of an individual which helps to a competitive edge over the others in life and at the workplace.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The way a person communicates is an important aspect of judging his/her personality. Communication creates an aura on those people whom you connect with and has the power to impact your personality. It is the broad category of soft skills. It includes speaking, listening, presenting, negotiating, assertiveness, delivering, non-verbal communication etc.,
TEAM MANAGEMENT
The success of any organisation relies on teamwork. The requirements of every job vary from position to position, some jobs require constant communication and coordination with other team members. When people rely on each other’s skills and knowledge, better output and practical solutions can be created. Working with the team helps us to reduce the blind spot as we get constant feedback from each other. The individual should be empathetic, influential, have good interpersonal skills, understand different personalities and have good social, networking and excellent listening skills. The success of any organisation relies on teamwork. The requirements of every job vary from position to position, some jobs require constant communication and coordination with other team members. When people rely on each other’s skills and knowledge, better output and practical solutions can be created. Working with the team helps us to reduce the blind spot as we get constant feedback from each other. The individual should be empathetic, influential, have good interpersonal skills, understand different personalities and have good social, networking and excellent listening skills.
TIME MANAGEMENT
Almost all organisation prefers their employees to have proper time management skills. It benefits in increasing the organisations’ productivity and brings huge monetary benefits. As we are in an era where limited time is available to complete limitless tasks, it is vital to make optimal use of time and deliver the best out of it. To manage time efficiently planning, controlling, delegating, prioritising, critical thinking, and adaptability play a major role.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise emotions and understand how to handle, harness and manage these emotions. EI helps to shape the way we look at situations. It is vital because we cannot go back in time and change what is done or said. However, the good news is EI helps to prevent any further mess. It plays a major role in many aspects of work and EI is very critical for many positions in the workplace. A person with good emotional intelligence will have great self-awareness, empathy, self-regulation, motivation, social skills, communication skills, positive attitude, and will be productive and supportive.
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
The communication exchange between people is called Transactional Analysis. It is a concept that helps in understanding the ego state of an individual. TA is a sense of awareness that an individual should possess about how we think, behave and feel during the interactions. It helps to intervene and improve the quality of communication, as people are transacting from one state to the other transactional sequences. TA is another important factor that can decrease conflict, improve relationship qualities, enhance individuals’ self-esteem and aids effective communication in the workplace. A person in leadership roles needs to understand human transactions. It serves as a mediator in the educational arena, where principals, teachers or tutors can incorporate it into the daily lives of students for their good.
IPB(INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOUR)
Interaction between two or more people is called interpersonal behaviour. There are 3 different types of interpersonal behaviour one needs to understand. In a personal and professional arena, the time spent interacting with each other is huge. Interaction is the key connecting tissue that holds the relationship together in personal and professional areas. One of the challenging and complex concepts is understanding an individual’s behaviour. IPB encounters few barriers, which harm professional life. However, by understanding and analysing the different personality types that exist, the challenges and barriers can be fixed. The major attributes that shape an individual’s behaviour are EI, learning & listening abilities, perception, values, communication and understanding of the psychology of human transactions.
BODY LANGUAGE
Body language is an important part of communication. We get constant clues about what people are feeling and thinking through body language. It involves facial expressions, body movements, tone of voice and gestures ( handshake, eye contact etc.,). Body language plays a huge role in understanding and decoding a person. it improves our knowledge of what to say and how to say based on the reactions of the opponent. Having the ability to improve the non-verbal cues helps to improve self-confidence, self -esteem as it helps in better communication. It is an important part of public speaking and plays a crucial role in creating first impressions. In the professional arena, one must maintain proper body language and understand the importance of it, as a simple bad gesture gets you what/where you want to be or simply pullsyou down the ladder.
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
People with good leadership skills are self-reliant and would work for the benefit of the organisation while keeping aside the biases, personal viewpoints and conflicts. They Includes delegating, decision making, conflict resolution, effective communication, understanding people, ability to work together with the subordinates etc. The skills mentioned above are sought-after skills required for professional success. Leadership is the amalgamation of different skills. When the receiver accepts it with the right spirit, a “Great Leader” is emerged.