Tutor pack
LEARNING BYTE 1
Introduction to Soft Skills
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WHAT ARE SOFT SKILLS?
Welcome to this Soft Skills Study unit.
As we have already mentioned soft skills are your interpersonal skills that determine
your capability to stand out or fit into a particular situation/organisation. They can
also make or break your career, and mean different things to different people.
Soft Skills are those skills which don’t come with a formal qualification but are either
a natural talent or taught through practical experience.
The activities in this pack will help you gain an understanding of what soft skills are
and the different meaning they have to people.
ACTIVITY 1
From your group discussion please list the soft skills that you are aware of.
Examples:Contribute as a member of a team
Desire to learn, be trained and find out something
Considerate behaviour towards others, polite, respectful
The ability to change according to circumstances (work late)
Show loyalty to your employer
Good practical judgement
Form friendly associations with others
Rapport - a sense of mutual understanding and empathy with others
Communication skills, verbal, non verbal (body language), listening
Good personal appearance, clean and smartly dressed
Learn from mistakes and take positive action
Avoid gossip
Be open to constructive criticism and feedback
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ACTIVITY 2 WORD SEARCH
Please complete the word search for the following words associated with soft skills
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manners
respect
planning
motivation
conduct
commitment
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M
L
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P
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B
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J
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answers
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Below is the basic description of each soft skills
Take time to discuss each heading and the descriptions in more detail
Soft Skill
Manners
Other words that mean
the same thing
Politeness, consideration,
courtesy
Ownership of tasks
Responsibility, duty,
dependability
Attendance
Turning up, coming in,
appearing
Motivation
Incentive, inspiration,
drive, impulse
Professionalism
Competent, skilful,
dedicated
Work output
Conduct in
workplace
Timekeeping
Activity, productivity,
production
Behaviour, attitude,
maturity
On time, not late
Verbal
Communication
Organisation/
planning
Talking, Consulting,
meetings, discussing
Preparation, scheduling,
arranging
Team-working/
Respect
Esteem, valuing others,
helping others,
consideration
Helping others
Supporting, offering,
training
Conscientiousness
Careful, meticulous,
thorough, hard working
Ability to ask
for help
Admitting own limitations,
confidence, courage
Adaptability/
Flexibility
Compliance, accepting
change
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Examples of when this soft skill is
used
Saying thank you, holding doors open for
others, asking permission to do things
etc
Making sure tasks are done properly,
turning up on time for meetings, working
in partnership with others and doing your
role so they can do theirs etc
Arriving on time for meetings and for
work. Making sure you keep people
informed regarding your attendance or
availability.
Taking on new challenges, working hard
to achieve goals, thinking of new ways to
do things
Working to a high standard, being
consistent in attitude (not allowing
emotions or personalities to influence
you)
Meeting deadlines and standards for
work. Producing products to target.
Respecting others, not playing games
when you should be working etc
Arriving for work or meetings on time,
leaving at the right time
Using the right tone of voice and words
when speaking with colleagues etc
Having all required resources to hand,
thinking jobs through, arriving on time,
meeting deadlines etc
Working well together on a task, making
best use of your skills and the skills of
others. Acknowledge the status of others
and act accordingly
Giving up some of your time to support
those who are struggling or need help to
meet a deadline
Paying attention to detail, accurate work,
making sure you do what you are paid to
do
Asking colleagues to show you how to do
something or to help you complete a task
on time etc
Taking on new challenges, accepting
changes to rules and conditions, staying
late to finish urgent tasks etc
1ACTIVITY
3- SOFT SKILLS QUIZ
Measure how good your soft skills by answering the following:
1) A colleague is very negative about your idea in front of your boss. Do you...
a.
b.
c.
d.
Remind your colleague of their last flawed idea.
Say nothing. You’ll see your colleague later.
Get angry and ask why they are being so pessimistic.
Thank your colleague and promise to consider their feedback
2) Your boss has been less talkative and friendly lately. Do you...
a.
b.
c.
d.
Avoid her.
Ask her feedback on your work performance.
Ask others if she has personal problems
Look for another job, you would rather quit than be fired.
3) You’ve found out that you are the target of a nasty rumour at work. Do you...
a.
b.
c.
d.
Do nothing; rumours blow over eventually.
Find out who started the rumour and confront them.
Start a rumour about someone else to take the spotlight off yourself.
Become depressed and distracted.
4) A less-talented colleague is promoted to a position you hoped for. Do you...
a.
b.
c.
d.
Start looking for another job— it’s obvious you are not appreciated.
Make life difficult for your colleague.
Ask the manager how you could be a stronger candidate next time.
Pout, and hope someone notices your hurt feelings.
5) Your pay raise was much less than expected this year. Do you...
a.
b.
c.
d.
Take a few extra sick days to even the score.
Ask your colleague how much they got to see if yours was fair.
Go to your bosses’ boss with your disappointment.
Ask your boss what actions would warrant a reassessment in six months.
6) You made a mistake that will cost the company a lot of money. Do you...
a. Tell your boss immediately and ask for advice on minimizing the damage.
b. Resign as quickly as possible.
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http://www.black-collegian.com/career/eqquiz200.shtml
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c. Try to cover up the error, hoping nobody finds out.
d. Blame others for their part; you won’t take the heat alone!
7) A colleague often gossips about management, and it’s hard not to listen! Do you...
a.
b.
c.
d.
Listen eagerly, but never repeat what you hear.
Tell her what you think of her lack of loyalty.
Let your boss know she is gossiping.
Tell her you are not interested, and change the subject quickly.
Correct answers to the 7 questions:
1a, 2b, 3a, 4c, 5d, 6a, 7d
7 correct answers: Your soft skills are very good. You always display maturity when
it comes to coping with conflicts and disappointments that arise at work.
5-6 correct answers: Most of the time your soft skills are good, but there are times
when you fail to behave professionally. Watch your tendencies to retaliate or take
things personally.
4 or less correct answers: You have a lack of soft skills. To reach success you
need to raise your awareness in areas of emotional intelligence.
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What is acceptable behaviour to one person might not be acceptable to another; it
can be very easy to offend someone without knowing you have done so. You may
find that people from other cultures display odd behaviour, even when it has been
explained to you; you cannot see or understand why. But remember and respect that
these are the customs that bind the culture together.
For example
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Western culture allows for a fair amount of informality, while other cultures
formality is the custom.
Western cultures are often uncomfortable with silence, while other cultures
honour silence.
Western cultures are often comfortable talking openly about personal issues,
while other cultures would prefer to talk about such issues with very close
friend
How people eat - working lunch - Some religious cultures fast at certain times of the
year or don’t eat red meat,
A "thumbs up" in some Islamic countries is a rude sexual sign
In some cultures it is a mark of respect not to look an elder directly in the eye
In some African cultures it is normal to arrive half an hour late for dinner
In Russia it is deemed rude to keep your hands in your pockets while negotiating
In Persia It is seen as polite to not accept an offer of food, drink or a gift immediately
on being offered it, instead you should refuse a few times before accepting
ACTIVITY 4
Ask 2 colleagues to write 5 words they feel best describes you; you also write 5
words that you truthfully feel describes yourself.
Evaluate the results;
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Were you surprised by the findings?
Did your colleagues pick the same traits as you?
Did your colleagues have different descriptions of you?
Did you think your colleagues were being truthful?
Why did you think your colleagues choose the words?
How did this activity make you feel?
Go to next page to write your evaluation
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The 5 words used to describe me were:
1
2
3
4
5
Colleague one
honest
reliable
patient
conscientious
dependable
1
2
3
4
5
Colleague two
respectful
considerable
hardworking
enthusiastic
organised
1
2
3
4
5
Myself
hardworking
polite
emotional
disorganised
temperamental
I was/wasn’t surprised by the findings because....
My two colleague were being very nice and I thought they would only comment on
my positive traits
My colleagues did/didn’t pick the same traits as me because...
They were looking for good things to say about me, I agree with most of the words
they picked, but I was being more honest or critical of myself
My colleagues did/didn’t have different descriptions of me because...
They only though of positive traits, perhaps if they had taken more time they might
have came up with a couple of negative ones
I thought my colleagues were/weren’t being truthful because...
They only came up with positive traits; I think they did not want to hurt my feelings
and were concerned that if they had picked negative words it might affect our
working relationships.
I think my colleagues choose the words because...
In general I am most probably what they said, but it would have been more beneficial
for me if they had picked up on negative traits that I have
This activity made me feel...
It made me think more about my soft skills, perhaps I would have got a more honest
grading if the activity had been done anonymously by colleagues.
Try this activity by asking a few of your close friends (they might be more honest)
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