Raja Jait Singh Govt. Polytechnic
SOFT SKILLS
PRACTICAL FILE
Prepared For:
Dept. of Computer Engineering
Prepared By:
Name: Rohit Kumar
Roll No. 192590800150
Trade: Computer Science (5th Sem.)
Soft Skills Practical File
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Table of Contents:
Practical 1: Introduction to Soft Skills ............................................................................................................................. 2
Practical 2: Objective of Soft Skills................................................................................................................................... 4
Practical 3: Importance of Soft Skills ............................................................................................................................... 5
Practical 4: Need of Soft Skills in today’s job market ..................................................................................................... 7
Practical 5: Integral Parts of Soft Skills ............................................................................................................................ 9
Practical 6: What is the concept of Team Building? ...................................................................................................... 15
Practical 7: How to Behave in a Team? ......................................................................................................................... 18
Practical 8: How to develop Interpersonal Relations. Like Empathy, Sympathy ......................................................... 19
Practical 9: Importance of Communication Skills.......................................................................................................... 20
Practical 10: How to improve non-verbal communication? ......................................................................................... 22
Practical 11: What is Conflict Management? ................................................................................................................ 23
Practical 12: How to Motivate others and self? ............................................................................................................ 24
Practical 13: Define Leadership. .................................................................................................................................... 26
Practical 14: Qualities of a Good Leader. ...................................................................................................................... 27
Practical 15: What are the professional Ethics and Values........................................................................................... 28
Practical 16: Define Health, Hygiene, Cleanliness and Safety. ..................................................................................... 29
Practical 17: How to manage Time? .............................................................................................................................. 30
Practical 18: How to work under pressure? .................................................................................................................. 31
Practical 19: Presentation Skills ..................................................................................................................................... 32
Practical 20: Role of Soft Skills in Carrier Building. ....................................................................................................... 33
Signature____________________________
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Practical 1: Introduction to Soft Skills
According to researches conducted in Harvard and Stanford Universities only 15% of your
career success is provided by your hard skills, whilst other 85% by so called soft skills. “Soft skills
get little respect but will make or break your career” (Peggy Klaus).
“Soft Skills” correlates with some terms of a very close meaning: “Life Skills”, “Emotional
Intelligence Quotients”, “Social Skills”, and “Interpersonal Skills”.
Soft skills is a term often associated with a person's Emotional Intelligence Quotient, the
cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness,
managing people, leadership, etc. that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills, also
known as people skills, complement hard skills to enhance an individual's relationships, job
performance and career prospects. It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you
need soft skills to get – and keep – the job.
Unlike hard skills, which comprise a person's technical skill set and ability to perform certain
functional tasks, soft skills are interpersonal and broadly applicable across job titles and industries.
Many soft skills are tied to individuals' personalities rather than any formal training, and are thus
considered more difficult to develop than hard skills. Soft skills are often described in terms of
personality traits, such as optimism, integrity and a sense of humour. These skills are also defined
by abilities that can be practiced, such as leadership, empathy, communication and sociability.
Soft skills could be defined as life skills which are behaviours used appropriately and
responsibly in the management of personal affairs. They are a set of human skills acquired via
teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered
in daily human life. The subject varies greatly depending on social norms and community
expectations. Life skills have been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “abilities
for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life”. They represent the psycho-social skills that determine valued behaviour
and include reflective skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, to personal skills such as
self-awareness, and to interpersonal skills. Practicing life skills leads to qualities such as self-esteem,
sociability and tolerance, to action competencies to take action and generate change, and to
capabilities to have the freedom to decide what to do and who to be.
Life Skills-Based Education has a long history of supporting human development. Life
skillsbased education is now recognized as a methodology to address a variety of issues of youth
development and thematic responses including as expressed in World Youth Report (2003), World
Program for Human Rights Education (2004), UN Decade on Education for Sustainable
Development (2005), the World Development Report (2007), and so on. Expected learning
outcomes include a combination of knowledge, values, attitudes and skills with a particular emphasis
on those skills that related to critical thinking and problem solving, self-management and
communication and interpersonal skills.
Social skills are any skills facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social
rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The
process of learning these skills is called socialization.
Interpersonal skills are sometimes also referred to as people skills or communication skills.
Interpersonal skills are the skills a person uses to communicate and interact with others. They include
persuasion, active listening, delegation, and leadership. The term “interpersonal skills” is used often
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Soft Skills Practical File
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in business contexts to refer to the measure of a person's ability to operate within business
organizations through social communication and interactions. Interpersonal skills are how people
relate to one another.
WHY SOFT SKILLS?
Self
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An awareness of the characteristics that define the person one is and wants to become.
Opportunity
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An awareness of the possibilities that exist, the demands they make and the rewards
and satisfactions they offer. Aspirations
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The ability to make realistic choices and plans based on sound information and on
self– opportunity alignment. Results
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The ability to review outcomes, plan and take action to implement decisions and
aspirations, especially at points of transition (Kumar, A., 2007).
In order to SOAR students need two things:
Academic Roots
– Discipline based knowledge and understanding
Academic Wings
– The ability to enhance that knowledge and understanding with awareness (self and
others), critical thinking, reflective practice.
The specificity of Soft Skills
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Discipline specific
Placement / employability preparation
Lifelong learners
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Learning how to learn
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Reflective practitioners
Soft skills focus more on people than processes. Today‟s service economy and ascendance of work
teams in large organizations puts a new premium on people skills and relationship-building (Kocon,
L.).
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Practical 2: Objective of Soft Skills
THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The module content is cantered on students‟ learning and development. It seeks to
motivate students by helping them to be more effective, independent and confident self-directed
learners by improving their capacity to understand what they have learned, how and when they
are learning, and to encourage them to monitor, reflect on, evaluate, plan and take responsibility
for their own learning. The Main tasks of the Soft Skills module are to develop and enhance:
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Critical and reflective thinking;
Self-management and self-awareness skills;
Communication skills, including interpretation and use of feedback;
Team working and peer support strategies.
“What exactly are soft skills?” This basic question is not easy to answer, because the perception
of what is a soft skill differs from context to context. A subject may be considered a soft skill in
one particular area, and may be considered a hard skill in another. On top of it the understanding
of what should be recognized as a soft skill varies widely.
Generally, soft skills may be subdivided into three basic categories:
1. Personal qualities
2. Interpersonal skills
3. Additional skills/knowledge
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Practical 3: Importance of Soft Skills
Most interactions with other people require some level of soft skills. At a company you might be
negotiating to win a new contract, presenting your new idea to colleagues, networking for a new job, and
so on. We use soft skills everyday at work and developing these soft skills will help you win more business
and accelerate your career progression.
On the other hand, a lack of soft skills can limit your potential, or even be the downfall of your business. By
developing strong leadership, delegation, teamwork, and communication abilities, you can run projects
more smoothly, deliver results that please everyone, and even positively influence your personal life by
improving how you interact with others.
Outside of the office, soft skills such as communication are used to build friendship groups and meet
potential partners. You might be negotiating the price of your new house renovation, or mentoring your
neighbours children on the weekend. Soft skills are useful both in our professional and personal lives.
Let’s have a look at some specific examples supporting the importance of soft skills.
1. Career progression and promotion
iCIMS Hiring Insights (2017) found that "Ninety-four percent of recruiting professionals believe an
employee with stronger soft skills has a better chance of being promoted to a leadership position than an
employee with more years of experience but weaker soft skills."
It's become vital to develop these skills if you want to progress in your career as they will set you apart
from others at the interview and on the job.
2. The modern workplace is interpersonal
Skills such as active listening, collaboration, presenting ideas and communicating with colleagues are all
highly valued in the modern workplace. Strong soft skills ensure a productive, collaborative and healthy
work environment, all crucial attributes for organisations in an increasingly competitive world.
3. Customers and clients demand soft skills
Consumers these days have a huge number of choices of where to buy from, bought about by the internet
and smartphones. For these consumers, convenience and low prices are easy to come by, so customer
service is often what influences the choice to use a particular business.
The ability to communicate at a human level with customers is therefore a vital factor in an organisation’s
success.
4. The future workplace will rely on soft skills
Automation and artificial intelligence will result in a greater proportion of jobs relying on soft skills.
Advances in technology have caused tasks that require hard skills to decline, making soft skills a key
differentiator in the workplace. A study by Deloitte Access Economics predicts that “Soft skill-intensive
occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030”.
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As the cost of robots decreases and the performance of artificial intelligence improves, jobs such as
manufacturing line workers, will become automated. Traditional skills like teamwork, communication and
critical thinking will be more important than ever.
5. Soft skills are hard to automate
Following on from the previous point, soft skills such as emotional intelligence are hard to automate and
unlikely to become automated anytime soon. This means they're expected to become more desirable in
the near future.
However soft skills can be difficult to teach and track improvements on. Companies such as VirtualSpeech
are tackling this by using VR as a way to improve soft skills.
6. Soft skills are in high demand by recruiters
Soft skills are in high demand in the workforce. According to the 2017 paper by a Harvard student on the
importance of social skills in the labour market, jobs requiring high levels of social interaction grew by
nearly 12 percent as a share of the U.S. labour force.
Most in-demand soft skills (from LinkedIn research):
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Communication
Organisation
Teamwork
Critical thinking
Social skills
Creativity
Interpersonal communication
Adaptability
In the papers conclusion, it reasons that because computers are very poor at simulating human interaction,
social skills are still important. Therefore, individuals should still look to improve their social and soft skills
through activities such as volunteering, leading a team or even by working on an open source project with
other people.
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Practical 4: Need of Soft Skills in today’s job market
You require more than hard skills to be successful in your career. While hard skills are related to specific
technical knowledge, soft skills are personality traits that can build a relationship and solve workplace
problems. Also, soft skills help you use your hard skills to the full extent. While hard skills are measurable,
soft skills showcase the ability to work with others and grow within a company. Because of this reason,
nearly all job role requires candidates to possess excellent soft skills.
Importance of soft skills
Employers often seek candidates with proven soft skills, so it is always a good idea to highlight them in
your job applications. Soft skills are habits and traits that define how you work with others and on your
own. These skills help you succeed in the workplace and in your job role. Here are some reasons you
should use your soft skills when finding a suitable job and growing your career:
Complement your hard skills
Your technical skills alone are not enough to help you get a job or excel in your career. Employers judge
your application partly based on your hard skills and partly on how well you utilise your soft skills to
complement your technical expertise. A business development associate with unrivalled knowledge of
their market and product will find it difficult to win business deals if they lack strong communication skills.
So, it is important to use your soft skills to make your hard or technical skills valuable.
To make your CV stand out, list all soft skills that may complement your hard skills. For example, when you
apply to a manager's role, mention creativity, active listening, leadership and communication skills in the
skills section of your CV.
Measure your teamwork capabilities
Regardless of the job role, you will have to work alongside others and as a part of a team. Working well
with clients, colleagues and team members allows you to complete the task efficiently. Employers seek
employees who can fit well in the team's dynamic. So, they use your soft skills to measure your teamwork
and communication skills. To show that you are a team player, consider including soft skills like active
listening, adaptability and flexibility on your CV.
Showcase your desire to work long term
Employers prefer hiring candidates who want to work for the long term. When an employee shows interest
in working long-term with a company, it reflects in their attitude and how they answer questions during
the interview. Also, soft skills like commitment and motivation show your desire to work with one
employer for years. Often, employers use longevity as a criterion to decide between two candidates with
similar qualification and experience.
Improve your workplace productivity
Most soft skills contribute to increasing your performance and productivity at the workplace. For instance,
with excellent time management and communication skills, you can manage your time effectively and
clearly communicate your ideas to the team members. This ensures the timely completion of work without
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compromising quality. When hiring for a particular position, employers prefer candidates with mastery of
different soft skills as it helps in achieving a common business goal.
Increase your self-confidence
Another notable perk of soft skills is that it boosts your self-confidence. When you are confident, you can
easily wade through workplace issues and conflicts. Additionally, your confidence level may boost the
morale of other team members. When hiring for a position, employers look for candidates who can
present their ideas confidently, which requires excellent communication skills. Using the right soft skills,
you can build confidence in your abilities and become an integral part of any team.
Build professional relationships
Soft skills build your relationship with your team members, clients, stakeholders and business partners.
Skills like communication can help you positively influence how you interact with others. Empathy is
another soft skill that helps build and maintain workplace relationships. Employers prefer candidates who
can show empathy to their peers, understand their perspective and respect their opinions. When you are
empathetic, you show care and respect for others, which strengthens your relationship.
Help you stay organized
Time management, goal setting, the ability to delegate work and attention to detail are important soft
skills that allow you to stay organized at the workplace. Companies want organized employees because
they are reliable and can complete their work on time without compromising quality. Organization and soft
skills like critical thinking help you solve workplace problems, collaborate with other team members and
plan projects. You can show your organizational skills to the employer by reaching the interview venue on
time and presenting a well-formatted CV.
Make you adaptable
When things do not go as expected, employers expect you to find alternate solutions to fix the issues. For
example, a technology change could affect the final deliverables. An employer will hire a candidate who
showcases a zeal to learn the new technology without hesitation. Soft skills like adaptability allow you to
adapt to industry shifts and support team members during the change.
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Practical 5: Integral Parts of Soft Skills
I. Self-Management System consists of Self-motivation, taking responsibility, task
setting/prioritizing, time-management. The structure of Self-Management System is detected in the
Table below.
II. Critical Thinking:
▪
«thinking about thinking» (Raiskums, B. W.)
▪
«this way of thinking, which does not accept the arguments and conclusions
blindly, rather, it examines assumptions, recognize hidden values, evaluates the data and
conclusions» (Mayers, D.)
▪
«reasonable reflective thinking, aimed at deciding what to trust and what to
do» (Ennis, R.)
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“An expert is a man (woman) who has made all of the mistakes which can be made
in a very narrow field” (Bohr, N.)
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“Imagination is more important than knowledge” (Einstein, A.)
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➢
Critical thinking is the ability to question and to cope with uncertainty, without
which none of the above would be possible.
Critical Thinking Characteristics include logic; imagination; risk; “accepting nothing,
questioning everything”, reaching your own conclusion; being prepared to change that
conclusion in the light of emerging evidence; “The world was flat until we discovered it
wasn‟t...at the minute we believe it‟s a sphere...”.
Example of Critical Thinking:
• Experimentation (lab / hypothesis testing)
• Social research
• Data interpretation and explanation
• Creative problem solving
• Identify the issue
• Come up with alternative solutions
• Learning to cope with uncertainty and embracing it as a learning tool (Pickard, A.,
2010).
III. Reflection is a form of thinking used to fulfill a purpose or to achieve some
anticipated outcome and is largely based on the further processing of knowledge and
understanding that we already possess.
Reflective Practice is triggered with the help of Self assessment questions:
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What am I trying to do exactly?
Why am I doing it?
What went well and why?
What went less well and why?
How could I do better next time? (Shenton, A., 2012)
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Fig. 6. Reflective Practice (Kolb, 1984; Carr & Kemmis, 1986)
Another scheme of reflective practice consists of 1) the reflective diary; 2) description; 3)
interpretation; 4) outcome which involves hard systematic thinking and soft insight, intuition and
tacit knowledge leading to a plan of action based on critical evaluation of all the available
evidence.
IV. Communication and Interaction
Effective communication provides for high level of presentation skills:
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to increase both skills and confidence levels
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to improve research, design and communication skills
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to develop team working and project management skills
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to strengthen learning and enthusiasm for further knowledge
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to promote critical and analytical thinking academic debates:
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Content and formats of academic debate
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Listening skills
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Giving and receiving feedback
Reacting to grounded criticism and effective writing and listening:
Skillful writing examples:
– Technical Writing
– Script writing / audience analysis / performance / reflection
– Observation (self and others)
– Press release;
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Same incident from multiple stakeholder perspectives
–
Sign language qualifications (Strachan, R., 2010)
Listening to Others
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The examples of effective listening include:
➢ Role play
▪ Sender / receiver
➢ Same audience, same message, how many interpretations?
➢ Constructed conversations
V. Group work is one of the most useful ways of learning about cooperation, shared
responsibility, project planning, and time management. Learning how to work successfully in a
group has a close association with how we participate in the work place and includes:
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Social responsibility
Using logical and rational arguments to persuade others
Identifying the needs of others and building positive relationships
Understanding group dynamics
Understanding yourself in relation to others and how they might perceive you.
Reflection on the image you portray
VI. Assertiveness
Assertiveness means “confident behavior” and “self-confidence”. It is an individual ability
to advance and come true own aims, needs, wishes, claims, interest and feelings. Phenomenon of
assertiveness presupposes an existence of: a) subjective attitude toward Self (self-allowance to
have the own claims); b) social readiness and ability to realize it in adequate manner (to have the
own claims and achieve their realization); c) freedom from social fear and inhibition (ability to
register and reveal own claims).
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Assertiveness training helps to:
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recognise the three main categories of behaviours, advantages and
disadvantages and how to respond to them
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explore strategies for assertiveness and influence
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understand and use the „Assertiveness Model‟ for greater effectiveness
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develop and enhance self confidence and self esteem
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create an action plan to move forward with assertiveness skills In order to
develop assertive behaviour we need to explore how to:
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Create boundaries and say „No‟
Deal with disagreement, conflict and aggressive behaviour
Negotiate win-win solutions
Use assertiveness techniques and strategies in a variety of work settings
VII. Peer-to-Peer is an interaction and learning method (technology) when the source of
knowledge is not a professor but a peer student (peer instructor). It promotes participation and
interaction. Peer-to-Peer activity includes both trainers and trainees into campus life and
promotes a sense of belonging that combats the anonymity and isolation many students
experience at large universities during the first year of study.
Mentoring
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Developed their personal and professional skills such as leadership, team
working, organizing, time management, listening, interpersonal communication,
facilitation and presentation skills
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Enabled them to gain confidence especially in situations when teamwork is
required to attain a goal
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Provided valuable experience to enhance their CVs
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Enabled them to revise and practice their subject, and gain a deeper
understanding of it (Pickard, 2008).
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Not just doing the evaluating but also actively engaged
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Mentoring at point of need • Evidence of strong success rate
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Practical 6: What is the concept of Team Building?
Definition: Team building is a management technique used for improving the efficiency and performance
of the workgroups through various activities. It involves a lot of skills, analysis and observation for forming
a strong and capable team. The whole sole motive here is to achieve the organization vision and objectives.
Now, you must be wondering; How to Build a Great Team?
Forming a great team requires a lot of skills and presence of mind. Usually, some managers specialize in
team-building skills and are hired by the companies on this parameter.
The manager responsible for team building must be able to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the
team members and create the right mix of people with different skill sets. He must focus on developing
strong interpersonal relations and trust among the team members.
The manager must encourage communication and interaction among the team members and also reduce
stress with the help of various team-building activities.
He must clearly define the goals and objectives of the organization to the team members. He must also
specify the role of each member in the team to direct them towards the achievement of the organizational
goals.
Team Building Process
Team building is not a one-time act. It is a step by step process which aims at bringing a desirable change in
the organization. Teams are usually formed for a particular task or project and are mostly for the short
term.
➢ Advantages of Team Building
Team building has radically evolved as a technique to develop and manage effective teams in the
workplace.
The aim to achieve long-term organizational objectives developed the need for carrying out team building
activities frequently.
Let us now discuss the various benefits of team building to an organization:
Identify Strengths and Weaknesses: Through team-building exercises,
the strengths and weaknesses of each member can be identified. In day
to day routine work, such an analysis cannot be done. These
competencies can be used by the managers to form effective teams.
Direct Towards Vision and Mission: Team building activities define the
role and importance of the team for the organization to reach its
vision. It makes the individuals understand the organization’s goals,
objectives, mission and vision very clearly and motivates them to
contribute towards it.
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Develops Communication and Collaboration: Team building activities enhance the interpersonal relations
of the team members. It makes individuals comfortable and familiar with one another. Collaboration
develops trust and understanding among the team members.
Establishes Roles and Responsibilities: It defines and clarifies the role of each member of a team.
Moreover, the members are given individual responsibilities, along with the motivation of performing as a
team.
Initiates Creative Thinking and Problem Solving: In a team, individuals are motivated to give their views,
opinions and solution to a particular problem. It leads to brainstorming and exploring their creative side.
Builds Trust and Morale: By conducting team building activities, the organization makes the employees
feel valued. It encourages them to develop their skills and build strong interpersonal relations, ultimately
boosting the morale and trust of the team members.
Introduces and Manages Change: The technique of team building makes it easier for the managers to
incorporate an organizational change by making the individuals familiar with the change and its necessity.
It also helps in managing such change and its impact over the working and team’s performance.
Facilitates Delegation: The managers find it more suitable to delegate the work to a team rather than an
individual. Therefore, team building helps the managers to efficiently and adequately delegate the task to
the team.
Better Productivity: If the team is wisely formed and all the team members work collaboratively to achieve
the objectives, the productivity of all the individuals improve. Thus, increasing the productivity of the team
and the organization.
➢
Disadvantages of Team Building
Team building is not an easy task. A high-performance team can fulfil the organizational objectives.
However, an inefficient team can lead to wastage of time and resources of the organization.
Therefore, we can say that there are multiple adverse effects of team building too, which are as follows:
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Develops Conflict: Sometimes, the team lacks coordination and understanding among its members. This
leads to conflict and clashes within the team and hence decreases the efficiency and productivity. A lot of
time is wasted in such conflict management.
Unproductive or Freeride Team Members: At times, some of the team members do not contribute much
to team performance. Such individuals are considered to be freeriding team members. They prove to be
inefficient and less productive for the team.
May Lead to Non-Cooperation: Every individual is different from one another. The team members
sometimes lack cooperation and unity. This non-cooperation among the team members leads to wastage
of efforts and hinders the performance of the team as a whole.
Difficult to Evaluate Individual Performance: Whatever the result or the outcome the organization gets by
team building is the team’s achievement or failure. Usually, the organization overlooks the contribution of
each member individually while rewarding the efforts of the whole team.
Involves Cost: Team building activities require time and money. Moreover, a lot of time, cost and
resources are consumed in ensuring coordination, balance, feedback, decision making and conflict
management within the teams formed.
Accountability and Credibility Issues: In case of failure, it becomes difficult to find out the reason. The
team members sometimes do take up the accountability of their work, holding the other members to be
responsible for the unfavorable outcome.
In case of success, the team members get busy in taking up the credit themselves, ignoring the efforts of
the whole team together.
➢
Example
Let us take the case of Google;
Google once conducted a study on; How to build a perfect team? To find out the psychology behind
effective team building.
On conducting various experiments, it found that the concept of putting those people in a team who are
comfortable working with each other does affect the performance much. Neither creating a mix of
extroverts and introverts was very helpful.
It noticed that people with like minds giving a fair chance to one another for putting forward their views
and equally listening to the ideas of one another tend to form a high-performance team together.
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Practical 7: How to Behave in a Team?
Teams are made up of different characters and personalities hence it makes the whole situation of working
in a team dynamic.
Things are always in a flux and throw in the occasional ego trips; it can make working in a team very stressful.
But there are behaviours you can adhere to lessen the stress and get the best out of the team.
1. Collaborate
This means to cooperate with one another. It can even mean co-creating solutions. There is no need to hoard
credit. Or try to hide information in order to stand out from the crowd. When you collaborate with the others
and the team shines, you shine too. You will be known as the guy from the losing team.
2. Constructive Criticism
Perhaps one of the most difficult to do when working in a team is being able to voice your opinion without
being too judgmental. How do you give comments without offending someone else? How can you raise
things that are good for the team as a whole? Being able to give constructive criticism is an important
element. Learn to point out work that needs improvement and refer to the work rather than the person.
Equally important is being able to take constructive criticism yourself.
3. Park Ego Outside
Amongst the behaviours for teamwork, being able to park your ego outside the door is important. There is
no room for ego in an environment where teamwork is important. When ego comes into play, there will be
too much disruption as people will focus on selfish gains and forget about the team & goals.
4. Energetic And Enthusiastic
You may not be the leader but never mind, you need to bring fire into the team. You must show energy and
enthusiasm. You must be willing and daring to implement plans that have been devised. It can motivate
others to also bring their positive behaviours for teamwork to the forefront.
5. Empathy
In learning the behaviours for teamwork, make sure you learn to connect with fellow team members. This
means being able to empathise with what others are going through. There may be other parts of a project
that is not doing too well, you need to be able to understand what other team members go through. Being
connected builds respect and effective relationships. When you do that you can connect others together to
get other parts of a project done well.
6. Integrity
You must have high professional and personal standard as part of your behaviour for teamwork. When you
have high integrity, no one will doubt your action. You must be sincere in your opinions and dealing with
other team members. The trust that is forged also means it will lessen all the back stabbing and gossips in
the team.
7. Balances The Role Of Leading And Following
This is one aspect of behaviours for teamwork that many people miss. To be in a team does not always need
you to be the leader or follower. One must know when to step up to the plate and when to be the quiet
follower. For example, if you know there is a certain level of expertise that can be of use in a situation, stand
up and take the team through the challenge. It does not mean you tell yourself you are not the leader hence
you stay quiet.
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Practical 8: How to develop Interpersonal Relations. Like Empathy, Sympathy
What Is Empathy? Why Is It So Important?
Empathy is the ability to accurately put yourself “in someone else’s shoes”– to understand the other’s
situation, perceptions and feelings from their point of view – and to be able to communicate that
understanding back to the other person. Empathy is a critical skill for you to have as a leader.
It contributes to an accurate understanding of your employees, their perceptions and concerns. It also
enhances your communication skills because you can sense what others want to know and if they are
getting it from you or not. Ideally, your employees can learn skills in empathy from you, thereby helping
them to become more effective leaders, managers and supervisors themselves.
Empathy is sometimes confused with sympathy. Sympathy involves actually being affected by the other
person’s perceptions, opinions and feelings. For example, if an employee is frustrated and sad, the
sympathetic leader would experience the same emotions, resulting in the leader many times struggling
with the same issues as the employee. Thus, sympathy can actually get in the way of effective leading.
Guidelines to Develop Empathy
1. Experience the major differences among people.
One of the best examples of strong skills in empathy is people who have traveled or worked in
multicultural environments. They have learned that the way they see and experience things is often
different from others. People with little or no skills in empathy might have an intellectual awareness of
these differences. However, until they actually experience these differences, their skills in empathy will
probably remain quite limited.
2. Learn to identify your own feelings – develop some emotional intelligence.
Many of us are so “processed” and “sophisticated” about feelings that we cannot readily identify them in
ourselves, much less in others. For example, we might perceive thoughts to be the same as feelings. So
when someone asks you how you feel about a project, you might respond, “I think we have a lot to do.”
Or, we might not distinguish between related emotions, for example, between frustration and irritability or
happiness and excitement.
3. Regularly ask others for their perspectives and/or feelings regarding a situation.
Silently compare their responses to what you might have thought they would be. This approach not only
helps you to sharpen your own empathic skills, but also helps you to learn more about your employees.
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Practical 9: Importance of Communication Skills
Communication is defined as transferring information to produce greater understanding. It can be done
vocally (through verbal exchanges), through written media (books, websites, and magazines), visually
(using graphs, charts, and maps) or non-verbally (body language, gestures, pitch of voice, and tone). All of
these means of communication are essential Soft Skills that are vital for a successful Career.
1. Importance of Communication Skills in Life
Good communication skills in life will ensure everyone around you understands you and you understand
them. You will be confident and assertive. There will be less misunderstanding and you will rarely have to
face issues that come with poor communication.
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•
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It will be easy for you to make and keep friends.
You will have a good relationship with your spouse, kids, family members, and friends.
Your daily functioning will be at its optimal best.
Your daily chores and errands will also happen at their optimal best.
You will have less stress because poor communication also leads to a lot of mental stress.
2. Importance of Communication Skills for Students:
One of the biggest reasons why many students suffer is because of poor communication skills. It affects
their functioning in schools and colleges and also affects their ability to understand what the teacher is
teaching. Hence, as a student, you need to develop your communication skills because:•
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It will help you communicate with teachers on things you have a tough time understanding.
It will help you build relationships with your fellow students.
Your grades will improve as these skills help with studying and revision.
You will be able to study subjects you like by convincing your parents to let you study for the career
you want.
You will have much less mental stress compared to other students only because you are a better
communicator.
3. Importance of Communication Skills for Professionals
The workplace is the most commonplace for miscommunication, and it could have serious repercussions
on your career. Therefore, as a professional, you need to have excellent communication skills. They will
also help you in:•
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Doing your job well. Good communication skills have a direct impact on how well you perform.
Develop yourself as a leader in the workplace which will bring in opportunities to grow and move
up.
Build good relations and camaraderie with all your fellow employees.
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Naturally, command respect from your colleagues and even your bosses
Improved body language.
Zero to minimal professional life stress as you will be doing well.
4. Importance of Communication Skills for Teachers
Teaching is one of the most responsible professions in the world. A country with good teachers will always
be on the fast track of development, as teachers are the ones who hone talent. Therefore, if you are in this
noble profession, or are thinking of getting into this profession, you need to have excellent communication
skills for the following reasons.
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To communicate with the students better. Students, who connect with their teachers well,
understand them better and do well in the subjects they teach.
Command respect of your students. Teachers who are excellent communicators are well-respected
by the students.
Youll have the ability to get through students who have learning issues. Each student is different, so
sometimes, there are students with whom you have to communicate differently for them to be
able to learn from you.
Make a difference to the lives of students as in most cultures, teachers hold the position of mentors
and parent-like figures.
Do well in your profession with many opportunities for promotions and a high salary.
5. Importance of Communication Skills in Business & Organization
Businesses and organizations are places where communication skills are required the most. In a business or
organization, there are so many departments that have to function like a well-oiled machine.
Communication is the key. There are many other reasons as well as to why communication skills are
required in a business and organization.
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Marketing, advertising, and sales are the departments that have to be excellent in communication.
Their success will ensure products and services are sold resulting in profits.
Excellent communication helps not just get new customers but also helps you retain them and
make them loyal customers. A majority of the profits come from retained customers.
Building your business or organizations brand also requires good communication skills. Only then
will be able to build a brand that has reputation and value.
Another advantage of good communication skills is being able to create communication for
businesses or organizations. Many businesses have trouble with this and end spending money on
professional communication creators.
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Practical 10: How to improve non-verbal communication?
A lot can be said without words in a face-to-face conversation. Often, our non-verbal communication—our
facial expressions, body posture, eye contact, etc.—speaks loudest. These non-verbal cues play a huge role
in how our words and intentions are interpreted. Good non-verbal skills can help show your support by
expressing you genuinely care and are truly hearing what someone has to say.
To show support for someone we’re talking to, it’s important to not only be aware of their nonverbal cues,
but also our own. During your next face-to-face conversation about mental health, keep these tips in mind:
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Facial expression: The human face uses a number of expressions on daily basis to express various
feelings and emotions, like happiness, stress, sadness, fear, surprise and so on.
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Body postures: It includes communication through your posture, attitude and delicate movements.
People get affected and influenced; by the way one sits, walks, and stands and uses various parts of
the body to convey a message.
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Pay close attention to what the person says. Really listening to what the person is telling you is
crucial to being a helpful listener. When you reply, it can be helpful to repeat some of what they
told you, using the same language. This attention to detail demonstrates that you care.
•
Maintain comfortable eye contact. Don’t avoid eye contact, but do avoid staring. It’s important to
meet someone’s gaze. It shows you are interested and that your focus is on them – quite literally!
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Maintain an open body position. Avoid crossing your arms over your body – it may appear
defensive. When your body position is open, it conveys that you are open to listening.
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Sit down, even if the person is standing. Being on the same level as someone appears less
threatening and can make them feel more comfortable, while avoiding feelings of tension or
nervousness when having personal conversations.
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Sit alongside and angled toward the person rather than directly opposite them. This allows the
conversation to feel friendly and nonconfrontational. No one wants to feel like they’re being
interviewed.
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Avoid fidgeting. During a sensitive conversation, it may be tempting to fidget, but it can be
distracting to the person who is talking. It could also make it appear that you are uncomfortable,
nervous or bored.
When used together, these non-verbal behaviors can improve your communication skills. Sometimes it’s
not about what you say, but what you do. By being an effective listener, you are showing your support,
which in turn will help a friend, family member or someone in your community who may be living with a
mental health or substance use challenge.
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Practical 11: What is Conflict Management?
Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and
efficiently. Since conflicts in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is important that there are
people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them. This is important in today's market more
than ever. Everyone is striving to show how valuable they are to the company they work for and at times,
this can lead to disputes with other members of the team.
Types of Conflict Management
1. Collaborating conflict management style:
A combination of being assertive and cooperative, those who collaborate attempt to work with others to
identify a solution that fully satisfies everyone’s concerns. In this style, which is the opposite of avoiding,
both sides can get what they want and negative feelings are minimized. “Collaborating works best when
the long-term relationship and outcome are important—for example, planning for integrating two
departments into one, where you want the best of both in the newly formed department,” Dr Benoliel
says.
2. Competing conflict management style:
Those who compete are assertive and uncooperative and willing to pursue one’s own concerns at another
person’s expense. Dr Benoliel explains using this style works when you don’t care about the relationship
but the outcome is important, such as when competing with another company for a new client. But, she
cautions, “Don’t use competing inside your organization; it doesn’t build relationships.”
3. Avoiding conflict management style:
Those who avoid conflict tend to be unassertive and uncooperative while diplomatically sidestepping an
issue or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation. “Use this when it is safer to postpone dealing
with the situation or you don’t have as great concern about the outcome, such as if you have a conflict
with a co-worker about their ethics of using FaceTime on the job.”
4. Accommodating conflict management style:
The opposite of competing, there is an element of self-sacrifice when accommodating to satisfy the other
person. While it may seem generous, it could take advantage of the weak and cause resentment. “You can
use accommodating when you really don’t care a lot about the outcome but do want to preserve or build
the relationship,” Dr. Benoliel says, “such as going out for lunch with the boss and agreeing, ‘If you want to
go for Thai food for lunch, that’s OK with me.’”
5. Compromising conflict management style:
This style aims to find an expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties in the
conflict while maintaining some assertiveness and cooperativeness. “This style is best to use when the
outcome is not crucial and you are losing time; for example, when you want to just make a decision and
move on to more important things and are willing to give a little to get the decision made,” Dr Benoliel
says. “However,” she adds, “be aware that no one is really satisfied.”
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Practical 12: How to Motivate others and self?
1. Connect to your values.
This is the ultimate secret. If you can connect the work you do to your values, even in small ways, you can
change your game.
One of my values is learning and growth.
I find ways to grow my skills in any situation. For example, I don’t just “call back a customer.” I “win a
raving fan.” I don’t just “do a task.” I “master my craft.” I don’t just “get something done.” I “learn
something new.”
2. Find your WHY.
Figure out a compelling purpose. Turn this into a one-liner.
For example, when I fall off the horse, I remind myself I’m here to “make others great.” This gets me back
on track, sharing the best of what I know.
3. Change your WHY.
Sometimes you’re doing things for the wrong reason. Are you doing that task to get it done, or to learn
something new? Just shifting your why can light your fire.
4. Change your HOW.
You can instantly find your tasks more enjoyable by shifting from getting them done, to doing them right.
I think of it as mastering your craft. Make it artful.
Sometimes slower is better. Other times, the key is to make it a game and actually speed it up. You can set
time limits and race against the clock. Changing your how can get you out of ruts and find new ways to
escape the mundane.
5. Remember the feeling.
Flipping through your head movies and scenes is one of the fastest ways to change how you feel.
Remember the feeling. How did you feel during your first kiss? What about laying on the grass on a sunny
day?
When you feel good, you find your motivation faster.
6. Shift to past, present or the future.
Sometimes you need to be here, now. Sometimes, the right here, right now sucks. The beauty of shifting
tense is you can visualize a more compelling future, or remember a more enjoyable past.
At the same time, if you catch yourself dwelling on a painful past, get back to right here, right now, and
find the joy in the moment.
You’ll improve your temporal skills with practice.
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7. Find a meaningful metaphor.
Find a metaphor that fuels you. Maybe you’re the “Little Engine that Could.” Maybe you’re “in your
element.”
The most powerful thing you can do is find a metaphor that connects to your values. This is why I turn my
projects into “epic adventures.”
8. Take action.
Here’s a secret that once you know it, can change your life. Action often comes before motivation.
You simply start doing an activity and then your motivation kicks in. Nike was right with “Just do it.” For
example, I don’t always look forward to my workout, but once I start, I find my flow.
9. Link it to good feelings.
Find a way to link things to good feelings. For example, play your favorite song when you’re doing
something you don’t like to do.
It has to be a song that makes you feel so great that it overshadows the pain of the task. It’s hard to tell
yourself you don’t like something when it feels so good.
A similar approach is to find your theme song.
10. Impress yourself first.
This is how people like Peter Jackson or James Cameron or Stephenie Meyer inspire themselves. They
make the movies or write the books that impress themselves first. They connect their passion to the work
and they don’t depend on other people setting the bar. Their internal bar becomes their drive.
11. “CHOOSE” to.
If you tell yourself you “HAVE” to do this or you “MUST” do that or you “SHOULD” do this, you can weaken
your motivation.
The power of choice and simply reframing your language to “CHOOSE” to can be incredibly empowering
and exactly the motivating language you need to hear. Choose your words carefully and make them work
for you.
12. Pair up.
This is one of my favorite ways to make something fun. One person’s painful task, is another’s pleasure.
Pair up with somebody who complements your skill or who can mentor you and get you over the humps.
13. Change your question.
Sometimes you need to change your focus. To change your focus, change the question.
If you ask yourself what’s wrong with this situation, of course you’ll find things to complain about. Ask
yourself what’s right about the situation and you can quickly find the positives and get your groove on.
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Practical 13: Define Leadership.
Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other
members of an organization.
Leadership involves making sound -- and sometimes difficult -- decisions, creating and articulating a clear
vision, establishing achievable goals and providing followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to
achieve those goals.
Leaders are found and required in most aspects of society, from business to politics to region to
community-based organizations.
An effective leader possess the following characteristics: self-confidence, strong communication and
management skills, creative and innovative thinking, perseverance in the face of failure, willingness to take
risks, openness to change, and levelheadedness and reactiveness in times of crisis.
In business, individuals who exhibit these leadership qualities can ascend to executive management or Clevel positions, such as CEO, CIO or president. Noteworthy individuals who have exhibited strong
leadership in the technology industry include Apple founder Steve Jobs, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
What makes a great leader?
Multiple definitions of leadership exist, although the different definitions generally converge in the theory
that great leaders have the ability to make strategic and visionary decisions and convince others to follow
those decisions. The consensus is leaders create a vision and can successfully get others to work toward
achieving that goal. They do this by setting direction and inspiring others to want to succeed in achieving
the end result. Moreover, they are capable of getting people excited and motivated to work toward the
vision.
In other words, great leaders know how to both inspire people and get followers to complete the tasks
that achieve the leader's goal.
Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower articulated this idea when he said, "Leadership is the art of
getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
Leadership styles
Similarly, leadership experts believe there are different types of leadership styles and that some leaders
have a dominant single style, while other leaders use different styles in different situations or with
different followers.
Commonly identified leadership styles include affiliative, authoritative, coaching, coercive, charismatic,
democratic, innovative, command and control (or bureaucratic), laissez-faire, pacesetter (or transactional),
servant, situational and transformational.
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Practical 14: Qualities of a Good Leader.
1. Vision
Perhaps the greatest quality any leader can have is vision - the ability to see the big picture of where the
organization or team they are working within is headed, what it's capable of, and what it will take to get
there.
2. Inspiration
Equally as important as having a vision is the ability to convey that vision to others, and get them excited
about it. This means maintaining a positive yet realistic presence within the organization helping team
members stay motivated and engaged, and remember what it is that they are working for.
3. Strategic & Critical Thinking
A good leader will be able to think critically about the organization or team they work within, and develop
a clear understanding of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (and how they as an
individual can work to support or overcome these). They'll be able to course-correct when necessary, and
be able to assess the work they do to determine how it fits into overall organizational strategy and goals.
4. Interpersonal Communication
Good leaders must be able to interact with other people in a way that feels genuine. This does not mean
you have to be an extrovert or a people-person to be a leader - there are many excellent leaders who selfidentify as introverts! Rather, it means being able to demonstrate empathy, engaging in active listening,
and building meaningful working relationships with those around you, whether they are a peer or a direct
report.
5. Authenticity & Self-Awareness
One of the key ways to become a great leader is to be self-aware enough to understand your strengths and
your flaws, and to build an authentic leadership style that's true to who you are and how you do your best
work. You want to be the best possible leader you can be, not try to fit into a mold set by someone else.
6. Open-Mindedness & Creativity
Being a good leader means being open to new ideas, possibilities, and perspectives, and understanding
that there's no "right" way to do things. Leadership involves the knowledge that success comes with a
willingness to change how things are done and to bring in fresh eyes to inspire new ideas, in addition to
trying to think outside the box as much as possible.
7. Flexibility
Leadership also means being adaptable and nimble when the situation calls for it. Nothing ever goes
according to plan - whether you encounter minor roadblocks or large obstacles, you will need to be
prepared to stop, reassess, and determine a new course of action.
8. Responsibility & Dependability
One of the most important qualities a leader can have is a sense of responsibility and dependability. This
means displaying those traits in your individual work, but also demonstrating them in your interactions
with others. Your team members need to know that they can depend on you to take on your fair share of
work and follow through, support them through tough times, and help them meet both shared and
individual goals.
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Practical 15: What are the professional Ethics and Values.
The business world is going through rapid and profound changes due to globalization, the advancement of
technology, social innovation and concerns about sustainability. Against this backdrop, customers are
increasingly demanding that businesses act responsibly and improve their relationships with the world
around them. Ethics education is central to this process, as it strives to instill the highest standards of
honesty and integrity across the workforce.
What Are Workplace Ethics?
Essentially, workplace ethics are the acceptable standards of behavior on the job – a set of rules that are
important to the organization and its customers. They exist to guide employees toward the right way to act
in a situation in order to protect the integrity of the business. Examples include:
• loyalty
• trustworthiness
• respect
• fairness
• responsibility
• accountability
What Are Workplace Values?
A person's values are the things for which he stands – the beliefs and principles that guide his behavior as
he goes about his daily life. Organizations can also have values. These set the tone of the company and
help to focus the company's efforts on the things that are most important. Examples include being
accountable, delivering quality, keeping promises, meeting deadlines, helping others, showing tolerance
and making a difference.
Is there a difference between ethics and values? Yes and no. In the simplest form, ethics describe the
company's standards of conduct, which are based around issues of morality. Values are more fundamental,
as they describe the core principles and ideals that underpin the company's code of ethics.
In reality, though, an ethical violation almost certainly will conflict with the company's value system and
vice versa. For example, if someone is spreading malicious rumors about co-workers, this will violate the
ethical standard of respect and the values of helping others and showing tolerance.
How to Teach Professional Ethics and Values
There are many types of value education and many ways to deliver ethics training. The important thing is
that you do it. Most companies have an employee handbook or code of conduct that employees should
follow, which contains the standards for ethical behavior in the workplace.
Beyond that, other ways to teach workplace ethics include presentations, case studies, role playing ethical
dilemmas – whether real or fabricated – and round-table discussions of some real-life situations where
people have struggled to know how to behave. It's useful to recognize that there is no one "right" way to
behave ethically and that situations can be managed with a variety of fair solutions.
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Practical 16: Define Health, Hygiene, Cleanliness and Safety.
Health: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity.”
This means that health is a resource to support an individual’s function in wider society, rather than an end
in itself. A healthful lifestyle provides the means to lead a full life with meaning and purpose.
In 2009, researchers publishing in The Lancet defined health as the ability of a body to adapt to new
threats and infirmities.
They base this definition on the idea that the past few decades have seen modern science take significant
strides in the awareness of diseases by understanding how they work, discovering new ways to slow or
stop them, and acknowledging that an absence of pathology may not be possible.
Hygiene: Hygiene is any practice or activity that you do to keep things healthy and clean. Washing hands,
coughing into your elbow, and regular house cleaning are all part of good hygiene.
Hygieia was the Greek goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation, so it's not hard to see where the word
hygiene comes from. Good oral hygiene includes brushing and flossing your teeth, and working in a clean
kitchen helps promote food hygiene. You have a better chance of staying healthy during flu season -and
any other time- if you practice good personal hygiene, such as washing your hands frequently.
Cleanliness: The definition of cleanliness means the state of being free from dirt or unwanted matter.
Safety: Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger.
Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
There are two slightly different meanings of safety. For example, home safety may indicate a building's
ability to protect against external harm events (such as weather, home invasion, etc.), or may indicate that
its internal installations (such as appliances, stairs, etc.) are safe (not dangerous or harmful) for its
inhabitants.
Discussions of safety often include mention of related terms. Security is such a term. With time the
definitions between these two have often become interchanged, equated, and frequently appear
juxtaposed in the same sentence. Readers unfortunately are left to conclude whether they comprise a
redundancy. This confuses the uniqueness that should be reserved for each by itself. When seen as unique,
as we intend here, each term will assume its rightful place in influencing and being influenced by the other.
Safety is the condition of a “steady state” of an organization or place doing what it is supposed to do.
“What it is supposed to do” is defined in terms of public codes and standards, associated architectural and
engineering designs, corporate vision and mission statements, and operational plans and personnel
policies. For any organization, place, or function, large or small, safety is a normative concept.
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Practical 17: How to manage Time?
1. Set goals correctly
Set goals that are achievable and measurable. Use the SMART method when setting goals. In essence,
make sure the goals you set are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
2. Prioritize wisely
Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. For example, look at your daily tasks and determine
which are:
• Important and urgent: Do these tasks right away.
• Important but not urgent: Decide when to do these tasks.
• Urgent but not important: Delegate these tasks if possible.
• Not urgent and not important: Set these aside to do later.
3. Set a time limit to complete a task
Setting time constraints for completing tasks helps you be more focused and efficient. Making the small
extra effort to decide on how much time you need to allot for each task can also help you recognize
potential problems before they arise. That way you can make plans for dealing with them.
For example, assume you need to write up five reviews in time for a meeting. However, you realize that
you’ll only be able to get four of them done in the time remaining before the meeting. If you become
aware of this fact well in advance, you may be able to easily delegate writing up one of the reviews to
someone else. However, if you hadn’t bothered to do a time check on your tasks beforehand, you might
have ended up not realizing your time problem until just an hour before the meeting. At that point, it
might be considerably more difficult to find someone to delegate one of the reviews to, and more difficult
for them to fit the task into their day, too.
4. Take a break between tasks
When doing a lot of tasks without a break, it is harder to stay focused and motivated. Allow some
downtime between tasks to clear your head and refresh yourself. Consider grabbing a brief nap, going for a
short walk, or meditating.
5. Organize yourself
Utilize your calendar for more long-term time management. Write down the deadlines for projects, or for
tasks that are part of completing the overall project. Think about which days might be best to dedicate to
specific tasks. For example, you might need to plan a meeting to discuss cash flow on a day when you know
the company CFO is available.
6. Remove non-essential tasks/activities
It is important to remove excess activities or tasks. Determine what is significant and what deserves your
time. Removing non-essential tasks/activities frees up more of your time to be spent on genuinely
important things.
7. Plan ahead
Make sure you start every day with a clear idea of what you need to do – what needs to get done THAT
DAY. Consider making it a habit to, at the end of each workday, go ahead and write out your “to-do” list for
the next workday. That way you can hit the ground running the next morning.
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Practical 18: How to work under pressure?
1. Think of how you handle stress
While working under pressure, you need ways to lower your stress levels. When crafting your response,
think of what strategies you use to stay calm in high-pressure situations. For instance, you could share
relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing. Likewise, you could discuss how your time
management skills help you avoid stress.
2. Share a specific example
Think of a time you worked well under pressure. Perhaps it was when you had a tight deadline or an
unexpected change to a project. Share how you managed to thrive under such circumstances and stay
focused on your work. Use this example to prove that you can handle stressful situations.
3. Show how stress is a motivator
Employers ask you this interview question to learn how you work in stressful conditions. In your answer,
you could take a positive spin and share how a little stress is actually motivating to you. Explain that when
the stakes are high, you feel more driven and motivated to do a good job.
Tips for staying calm under pressure
If you find that your stress levels soar while you’re under pressure, then you need to find some ways to
calm yourself. In order to be honest in your interview, try these strategies the next time you’re feeling
stressed:
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Prioritize your work: If multiple deadlines are approaching at once, there is only so much you can
do. Take a moment to get organized and decide which tasks are the most important to tackle. By
taking on one thing at a time, you can feel less overwhelmed and have more time to actually work
instead of worrying.
Practice healthy habits: When you feel your best, you can have the energy to do your best work. By
getting enough sleep and exercise, you’ll feel ready to take on the most hectic day. Eating healthy
can also give you the nutrition you need to stay focused.
Work on positive thinking: Negative thoughts make situations seem worse than they actually are.
While working under pressure, reframe the situation as an opportunity to prove yourself. Visualize
a happy outcome and actively work toward it.
Find a work-life balance: Although your work-life balance may suffer during busy times at work, it’s
important to spend a portion of your day doing what you enjoy. Hanging out with family, cooking a
delicious meal, or simply turning off your phone and email notifications are all ways you can
disconnect from work and unwind.
Discover your motivators: When feeling the pressure, you may be inclined to avoid the situation
and procrastinate. This can lead to a vicious cycle of more stress as your work piles on. That’s why
it’s so important to find ways to motivate yourself. You can do this by creating a personalized
reward system, setting goals, or making a friendly competition with another coworker.
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Practical 19: Presentation Skills
Presentation skills can be defined as a set of abilities that enable an individual to: interact with the
audience; transmit the messages with clarity; engage the audience in the presentation; and interpret and
understand the mindsets of the listeners. These skills refine the way you put forward your messages and
enhance your persuasive powers.
The present era places great emphasis on good presentation skills. This is because they play an important
role in convincing the clients and customers. Internally, management with good presentation skills is better
able to communicate the mission and vision of the organization to the employees.
Importance of Presentation Skills
Interaction with others is a routine job of businesses in today’s world. The importance of good
presentation skills is established on the basis of following points:
• They help an individual in enhancing his own growth opportunities. In addition, it also grooms the
personality of the presenter and elevates his levels of confidence.
• In case of striking deals and gaining clients, it is essential for the business professionals to
understand the audience. Good presentation skills enable an individual to mold his message
according to the traits of the audience. This increases the probability of successful transmission of
messages.
• Lastly, business professionals have to arrange seminars and give presentations almost every day.
Having good presentation skills not only increases an individual’s chances of success, but also
enable him to add greatly to the organization.
How to Improve Presentation Skills
Development of good presentation skills requires efforts and hard work. To improve your presentation
skills, you must:
• Research the Audience before Presenting: This will enable you to better understand the traits of
the audience. You can then develop messages that can be better understood by your target
audience. For instance, in case of an analytical audience, you can add more facts and figures in your
presentation.
• Structure your Presentation Effectively: The best way to do this is to start with telling the
audience, in the introduction, what you are going to present. Follow this by presenting the idea,
and finish off the presentation by repeating the main points.
• Do a lot of Practice: Rehearse but do not go for memorizing the presentation. Rehearsals reduce
your anxiety and enable you to look confident on the presentation day. Make sure you practice out
loud, as it enables you to identify and eliminate errors more efficiently. Do not memorize anything
as it will make your presentation look mechanical. This can reduce the degree of audience
engagement.
• Take a Workshop: Most medium and large businesses allow their employees to take employee
development courses and workshops, as well-trained employees are essential to the success of any
company. You can use that opportunity to take a workshop on professional presentation skills such
as those offered by Langevin Learning Services, which are useful for all business professionals, from
employees to business trainers and managers.
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Soft Skills Practical File
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Practical 20: Role of Soft Skills in Carrier Building.
You’ve got a reputation for being the best coder or editor or mechanic or whatever, but it amounts to little
if you don’t work well with others. Some of the most important professional skills for workers and
employers alike simply can’t be taught in a classroom or measured on paper. These traits are called soft
skills and they’re more crucial to your job search and overall career than you think.
One reason soft skills are so revered is that they help facilitate human connections. According to the
Monster Future of Work: 2021 Outlook survey, recruiters chose soft skills—topped by dependability,
teamwork/ collaboration, and problem solving/critical thinking—as the most important skills they're
seeking in new hires. Recruiters also anticipate this is the area where they’ll see the biggest skills gaps in
candidates.
What Are Soft Skills?
Unlike hard skills, which can be proven and measured, soft skills are intangible and difficult to quantify.
Some examples of soft skills include analytical thinking, verbal and written communication, and leadership.
Research from the Society for Human Resource Management found that technical abilities like reading
comprehension and mathematics aren't prized as much as soft skills, meaning you have to bring more to
the table than, say, great sales numbers, coding languages, or test scores.
Basically, you can be the best at what you do, but if your soft skills aren’t cutting it, you’re limiting your
chances of career success. Read on to learn which soft skills are critical to have firmly under your belt and
what steps you can take to acquire them.
Soft Skills Examples
1. Communication
Why you need it: Both written and verbal communication skills are of utmost importance in the workplace
because they set the tone for how people perceive you. They also improve your chances of building
relationships with co-workers. Communication skills boost your performance because they help you to
extract clear expectations from your manager so that you can deliver excellent work.
Why employers look for it: Workers are more productive when they know how to communicate with their
peers. If you can clearly express the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a project, you’ll be a hot
ticket.
How to gain it: One way to hone your communication and presentation skills is to join Toastmasters, a
national organization that offers public speaking workshops.
2. Teamwork
Why you need it: A company’s success is rarely dependent on one person doing something all by
him/herself. Success is the result of many people working toward a common goal. When employees can
synthesize their varied talents, everyone wins. (Bonus: Having friends at work can also boost your job
satisfaction, a Gallup poll found.)
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Soft Skills Practical File
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Why employers look for it: Employers look to team players to help build a friendly office culture, which
helps retain employees and, in turn attracts top talent. Furthermore, being able to collaborate well with
your co-workers strengthens the quality of your work.
How to gain it: To generate goodwill, lend a hand when you see a co-worker in need. (“Hey, I know you
have a ton on your plate. How can I help?”) Another way to build rapport is to cover for a colleague while
she’s on vacation.
3. Adaptability
Why you need it: Soft skills help you manage reality. And the reality is, things don’t always go as planned.
Successful leaders know how and when to be flexible, so instead of digging in your heels, you need to be
able to pivot and find alternate solutions.
Why employers look for it: Change in the workplace is one of the only constants. Consequently, employers
need workers who can adapt to industry shifts and keep the company current.
How to gain it: Push yourself to be an early adopter of change and someone who is able to meet new
challenges. Inquire about training sessions and offer to teach your co-workers what you learn.
4. Problem solving
Why you need it: When something goes wrong, you can either complain or take action. Tip: It’s the latter
that will get you noticed. Knowing how to think on your feet can make you indispensable to an employer.
Why employers look for it: Nothing is a given. Companies rely on problem solvers—a.k.a. their top
performers—to navigate unexpected challenges.
How to gain it: Never bring your boss a problem without also bringing a solution. So when an issue crops
up, sit down and think through how you’re going to address it before bringing it to your boss’ attention.
5. Critical observation
Why you need it: Data doesn’t mean much if you don’t know how to interpret it. Is there a pattern
emerging? What else should you be looking for? Being a critical observer can help make you a better
worker all around.
Why employers look for it: Companies need critical thinkers—people who bring a fresh perspective and
offer intuitive solutions and ideas to help the company get a leg up on the competition or improve internal
processes.
How to gain it: To be a critical observer, you need to be able to analyze information and put it to use. One
tactic is to try to identify patterns of behavior at work. For example, does your boss actually read the
weekly sales reports? What was her reaction to bad news in the staff meeting? What’s the best time of day
to approach your manager with a question? By observing how people respond to the constant flow of
information you can better understand the critical aspects of improving business operations.
6. Conflict resolution
Why you need it: Any time there's more than one employee in a business, there is going to be conflict.
Therefore, being able to resolve issues with co-workers will help you maintain relationships with peers and
work more effectively.
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