Soft Skills and Effective Communication Skills

1. Soft Skills and Effective Communication Skills

2. Workshop Contents Workshop Objectives • Introduction to ‘Soft Skills’ • Effective Communication Skills.

3. What do companies look for in candidates?

4. What do recruiters look for in a candidate? • Technical Skills • Soft Skills

5. What are Technical Skills?

6. Technical Skills • Technical skills teach one how to meet the expectations of the job. • It is not possible to survive in a job without sound technical skills.

7. What are ‘Soft Skills’?

8. Soft Skills ‘Soft Skills’ are essentially people skills -the non-technical, intangible, personality-specific skills. ‘Hard skills’, on the other hand, are more along the lines of what might appear on your resume - your education, experience and level of expertise.

9. What skills qualify as ‘Soft Skills’?

10. Skills that qualify as soft skills Communication Skills – Oral & Written Problem Solving Skills Leadership Skills Time Management Assertiveness Analytical Thinking Interpersonal Skills Ability to work under pressure Team work Conflict Resolution Personal Grooming Self Awareness Initiative Flexibility Integrity Listening Skills Creativity Work Ethics Risk Taking Skills Commitment Diplomacy

11. Soft skills are The hardest to acquire Impossible to practice Unlessthese become habits

12. Importance of Soft Skills

13. Importance of soft skills When it comes to skills other than technical, the unanimous response from the industry is communication skills and good personality (Manpower requirement findings)

14. Soft Skills Vs. Technical Skills Which is more important?

15. Technical skills Vs. Soft Skills Both technical and soft skills complement each other and the balance between these two is what makes a complete professional

16. Now let’s look at one of the most important soft skill……

17. Effective Communication Skills

18. You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere Lee Iacocca

19. Definition of Communication

20. Communication • Communication is a two way process • Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another

21. Barriers of Communication

22. Barriers of Communication • Physical factors • Psychological factors • Other factors

23. 3 rules of Effective Communication

24. 3 Rules of Effective Communication • Be clear in you own mind about what you want to communicate • Deliver the message clearly • Ensure that the message has been clearly and correctly understood

25. Types of Communication

26. Types of Communication 1) Verbal 2) Non-verbal

27. Golden rules of verbal communication

28. Golden Rules of Verbal Communication • Think before you talk • Know your message • Get to the point quickly • Know the outcome you want from the conversation • Practice the art of persuasion • Plan in advance what you want to say • Know something about the people you will be talking to

29. How to communicate effectively?

30. How to communicate effectively? • Control fear • Establish eye contact with the listener • Find out what your listener wants • Listen carefully • Think before you talk • Have belief in your message • Use gestures effectively • Pause at the right place • Reiterate the major points • Avoid acronyms and jargon • Handle objections • Ask for feedback

31. Now let’s look at each one of them in detail….

32. How to control fear • Take a deep breath, relax and be yourself • Focus on the • Listener (not yourself) • Message (not words) • Success (not alternatives) • Visualize a positive outcome • Do your homework, know what you want to say • Keep negative thoughts under control

33. Establish eye contact with the listener • Very important to get feedback for non verbal cues • Helps you to adjust your conversation according to the visual feedback you get • For example, if you get a quizzical look, you can clarify or ask questions to ensure properunderstanding by the listener

34. Find out what your listener wants • Ask questions and listen to the responses • Use open-ended questions • Rephrase questions to ensure better understanding • Offer suggestions/alternatives for the listener to evaluate • Define terms to avoid misunderstanding

35. How to listen effectively • The real art of verbal communication is talking while listening • Allow the other person to speak • Respect the other person’s point of view • Listen actively instead of only hearing

36. Think before you talk • Improves the chance of persuading the other person to your point of view • Pause, think and consider what you want to say • Choose appropriate words to communicate the meaning clearly • Decide the tone of your voice • Decide the outcome of the conversation • If possible, learn about your audience in advance

37. Have belief in your message • The crux of successful communication • Speak with conviction and passion • Be as natural as you can be with your feelings, body language and tone • Show enthusiasm • Avoid faking or putting on an act

38. Use gestures effectively • Gestures are facial expressions, hand and body movements used in communication • They make the communication process livelier • They can be used to support or emphazie a point

39. Reiterate major points • Reinforces your main points and enables information retention by the listener • Know what you want to emphazise • Reiterate it during the conversation in different ways • Ask the listener for feedback tactfully • Frame questions to ensure that the listener has understood your main points

40. Avoid acronyms and jargon • Use acronyms sparingly as they might not be understood by everybody • If it has to be used, then define it and proceed • Avoid jargon to ensure that you don’t exclude your listener from the communication process • If you have to use jargon, slow down speech and look for visual feedback to ensure understanding • Be sensitive to your listener’s ability to understand your message

41. Handle objections • To avoid future barriers in the communication process • Avoid quick judgements. Put yourself in the other’s shoes. • Be fair in handling objections. • Understand that objections are not personal attacks and are against a point being made • Do not get emotional • You can pre-empt an objection and support it with your points

42. Ask for feedback • To ensure that there is no confusion • Ask general questions like “Am I making myself clear?” • Ask specific questions like “From what I understand from our conversation….is that right?” • Give further explanation if there is any misunderstanding

43. Implementing Effective Communication

44. Implementing Effective Communication • Choosing the right environment • Using language appropriate to your audience • Being balanced in your thinking • Curtailing excessive use of humour • Avoiding the usage of controversial language

45. Implementing Effective Communication (Contd…) • Being empathetic • Being a good listener • Not indulging in cross conversation • Not arguing • Not letting ego come in the way

46. How to be a better communicator?

47. What you can do to be a better communicator • Increase your vocabulary • Read – no shortcuts here • Keep up-to-date with current events • Read inspirational books • Avoid audible pauses like “ah”, “er”, “um” • Practice pronouncing words properly • Speak neither too slowly nor too fast • Watch the tone of your voice

48. What you can do to be a better communicator (Contd…) • Adjust the volume of your voice according to the situation • Get to the point quickly • Use gender neutral language • Illustrate with personal examples • Be concise and simple

49. Simple tips that you can follow….

50. Simple tips to improve your English communication skills • Watch an English news channel everyday – NDTV, Headlines Today, etc • Pay attention to the way words are pronounced • Helps to increase your general knowledge indirectly • Read an English newspaper everyday • if possible read loudly by locking yourself in a room • Helps you to hear and understand how you pronounce words • Make it a point to speak to your friends/siblings in English at home/college. • Begin reading light fiction if you do not have the habit of reading books.