How Soft are your Skills?

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Research shows that the changing way we work – collaboratively, with complexity, agility and adaptability – demands people develop and use soft-skills to best apply technical skills and knowledge.

It will make the difference between someone who is competent and someone who is adaptable, innovative, and able to embrace rapid rates of change faced in their working environment.

We know, through advances in neuroscience, that people can develop these qualities with the right culture, support and systems within which to work. They can be fast-tracked with communication training, mentoring and coaching.

So, let’s re-think what soft skills are and break them down into visible qualities.

What are the top seven soft-skills for success? *

  • Communication
  • Collaborative teamwork
  • Flexible adaptability
  • Future-focussed problem solving
  • Critical observation
  • Conflict resolution
  • Leadership

For the first article, let’s consider the essential qualities of great communication:

  • Listening – do you listen well, ensure you understand what is required and respond with confidence?
  • Personalising – do you meaningfully draw on personal experience and provide examples that demonstrate your understanding?
  • Articulate – do you speak clearly and thoughtfully in structured sentences that address the listener and form a simple narrative?
  • Empathy – do you show empathy with the other person, helping them to achieve what they need and to feel at ease?
  • Openness – do you show you are open to the other person, encouraging a more relaxed atmosphere that supports the nature of the conversation taking place?
  • Relaxed confidence – is your presence natural under the circumstances and encouraging a sense of authenticity?

It is these qualities that will set you apart from someone who is less well able to communicate ideas and gain engagement under stress.

Using professional roleplayers to create situations that replicate communication challenges provides valuable insights and techniques to build individuals and teams’ communication skills.

For a stress-free discussion about how using roleplayers can fast-track communication skills, contact Roleplay Australia.

* D Bortz, 2019