Many students ask me about Soft-skills and where can they learn these
skill? Basically, Soft-skills are skills that determine a person's
ability to “fit-in” and excel in a particular environment such as a
company or a project team.
There are a lot of “Hypes” about soft-skills but in fact they are mostly common sense. There is a book called “How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, published in 1936. This book has been translated into many languages and I recommend that students read it, not one time but many times. I read this book when I was in high school and I am still reading it today. If you can apply most things that this book mentioned, you have all the “soft-skills” that you need to succeed in life.
There are schools, classes, seminars that teach Soft-skills. Many are designed to train professional people but as students, you should develop your soft-skills when you are still in school because you need them after graduate. The list of soft-skills can be long but college students need to develop at least five essential skills: Communication, Presentation, Teamwork, Conflict resolution and Leadership.
Communication is the dialogue that occurs between two or more persons. The skill is the ability to speak in a clear manner so that other people will understand. Students often asked me: “I talk to my friends all the time, why do I need this skill?” My answer is “Communication is knowing when to talk and when to listen.” Some students talk a lot but never listen. Some students do not think before they talk, they just make a lot of noise. These students do not have communication skill.
Listening is the most important skill of communication processes. Students must learn how to listen attentively and avoid disruption when other is talking. This skill is difficult to develop because it must be part of your character. Being a good listener means you must have patience and empathy. You must have an open mind and a desire to understand others.
Speaking is an important skill. Good speakers always think before they speak. They speak clearly and get to the main point quickly so listeners can respond. Many students believe to be good speaker, they must use fancy words. On the contrary, good speakers always use simple words to get their views easy to understand. Students need to know that wrong words can hurt somebody or create a negative image of the speaker. Good speakers choose their words carefully to create a positive language; their message is always polite, pleasant, and practical to create an impressive positive impact on the listeners. Students must learn to avoid using technical terms in daily conversation. For example, IT students often use technical terms without knowing that the listener may not understand it. The term “Back-box testing” is common among testers. The term “Unit test” is common between tester and developers but others may not understand. It is important to know this and avoid using technical terms in your daily communication. Some students use text messages with short word and it becomes a habit in their conversation with friends. When they go to job interview or working in the industry, these terms are not acceptable because it implies an attitude of disrespect.
There is another important communication skill called “non-verbal communication” or the expression of body language such as facial expressions, eye contact, and gestures which are also part of the communication process. According to a study about communication, Professor A. Mehrabian found that 55% of meaning in a conversation comes from facial and body language and only 38% come from vocal inflection.
To westerner, during the conversation, you must look into each other and have eye contact. If you look down or avoid eye contact, it is a symbol of weakness or not honest. On the contrary, most Asian cultures consider look straight into somebody face and eyes contact is a symbol of disrespect and challenging. You must understand this difference and act accordingly. When people communicate and standing, the position is also important. Most Asians do not like to talk when standing unless for short conversation. Westerners do carry serious conversation when standing and the position of your feet is important. If you are standing with their feet very widely apart, then it shows that you are very aggressive and want to dominate the conversation. If you are standing with both feet almost tied together it means you are weak, submissive and afraid. The best position is stand with your feet have the same width with your shoulder. Asian culture does not pay attention to these details but western culture considers body language important and they often judge you on your posture.
Effectively communication means choosing the right words, delivery them in a positive manner and correct body language. A recent industry research on job applicants found that for every hundred candidates, only fifteen are hired. The other eighty five candidates are not selected because they do not have proper communication skills. All candidates have technical skills and qualification and they are selected from the list of thousand applications for interviews. They do not impress the hiring managers because their poor communication skills. The research revealed that 30% of them come unprepared to answer questions not related to their field of study; many have no idea about technological trends or what is happening in the world. It is an indication that they do not have the broad knowledge to function well in the industry. 67% do not speak clearly or answer questions properly; many are nervous and not confident of themselves. 58% have improper body languages and incorrect gestures during the conversation, such as not maintain eyes contact, scratching excessively, do not sit erect but slouching in the chair. The research concludes that most students have good technical skills but are not able to express themselves correctly. Some speak fluently, but cannot listen well. Many have problems with their expression and body language or use inappropriate gestures.
Beside speaking and listening, reading, writing and group communication are also part of communication skills. Most colleges require students to read a lot. Without a good reading skill students will struggle when they enter college and often overwhelm by the amount of reading materials. I have found that reading and writing help improve speaking and listening. Most good readers are usually good speakers because they have a vast amount of knowledge that they can use. I always advise students to improve their communication skills by give sufficient time to reading. They should read on a daily basis so that their memory gets refreshed with the knowledge. Many IT students believe that they only have to read technical books. That is a mistake. They should read whatever they like and make reading a key activity in their lives. Reading opens the mind to many things when they read news, magazines, blogs, and articles of their interest to update their knowledge. They should also read history, world news, economic and business news, to keep themselves updated with current events.
Group Discussion is about communicating with a group of people. In a group discussion, people are brought together to express their opinion and exchange of views on a subject. In group discussion students learn about group dynamic, content collection and leadership attributes. In college class discussion, professors judge students on who are well prepared, who have better speaking skill and who have the leadership skills. Students must learn to speak clearly and politely to the group. They need to know that this is a discussion not an argument and control their thought to stay with the discussion topic not to speak irrelevant information. They should also control their emotion and avoid unnecessary gestures.
Communication skills are essential for getting good job in the industry. Students should develop their communication skills when they are still in school by participating in class discussion; learn to choose their words carefully to create an impressive impact on the listeners. They should develop good reading habit to enrich their vocabulary, expand their knowledge beyond technical area to understand the changing world that they are living in.
There are a lot of “Hypes” about soft-skills but in fact they are mostly common sense. There is a book called “How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, published in 1936. This book has been translated into many languages and I recommend that students read it, not one time but many times. I read this book when I was in high school and I am still reading it today. If you can apply most things that this book mentioned, you have all the “soft-skills” that you need to succeed in life.
There are schools, classes, seminars that teach Soft-skills. Many are designed to train professional people but as students, you should develop your soft-skills when you are still in school because you need them after graduate. The list of soft-skills can be long but college students need to develop at least five essential skills: Communication, Presentation, Teamwork, Conflict resolution and Leadership.
Communication is the dialogue that occurs between two or more persons. The skill is the ability to speak in a clear manner so that other people will understand. Students often asked me: “I talk to my friends all the time, why do I need this skill?” My answer is “Communication is knowing when to talk and when to listen.” Some students talk a lot but never listen. Some students do not think before they talk, they just make a lot of noise. These students do not have communication skill.
Listening is the most important skill of communication processes. Students must learn how to listen attentively and avoid disruption when other is talking. This skill is difficult to develop because it must be part of your character. Being a good listener means you must have patience and empathy. You must have an open mind and a desire to understand others.
Speaking is an important skill. Good speakers always think before they speak. They speak clearly and get to the main point quickly so listeners can respond. Many students believe to be good speaker, they must use fancy words. On the contrary, good speakers always use simple words to get their views easy to understand. Students need to know that wrong words can hurt somebody or create a negative image of the speaker. Good speakers choose their words carefully to create a positive language; their message is always polite, pleasant, and practical to create an impressive positive impact on the listeners. Students must learn to avoid using technical terms in daily conversation. For example, IT students often use technical terms without knowing that the listener may not understand it. The term “Back-box testing” is common among testers. The term “Unit test” is common between tester and developers but others may not understand. It is important to know this and avoid using technical terms in your daily communication. Some students use text messages with short word and it becomes a habit in their conversation with friends. When they go to job interview or working in the industry, these terms are not acceptable because it implies an attitude of disrespect.
There is another important communication skill called “non-verbal communication” or the expression of body language such as facial expressions, eye contact, and gestures which are also part of the communication process. According to a study about communication, Professor A. Mehrabian found that 55% of meaning in a conversation comes from facial and body language and only 38% come from vocal inflection.
To westerner, during the conversation, you must look into each other and have eye contact. If you look down or avoid eye contact, it is a symbol of weakness or not honest. On the contrary, most Asian cultures consider look straight into somebody face and eyes contact is a symbol of disrespect and challenging. You must understand this difference and act accordingly. When people communicate and standing, the position is also important. Most Asians do not like to talk when standing unless for short conversation. Westerners do carry serious conversation when standing and the position of your feet is important. If you are standing with their feet very widely apart, then it shows that you are very aggressive and want to dominate the conversation. If you are standing with both feet almost tied together it means you are weak, submissive and afraid. The best position is stand with your feet have the same width with your shoulder. Asian culture does not pay attention to these details but western culture considers body language important and they often judge you on your posture.
Effectively communication means choosing the right words, delivery them in a positive manner and correct body language. A recent industry research on job applicants found that for every hundred candidates, only fifteen are hired. The other eighty five candidates are not selected because they do not have proper communication skills. All candidates have technical skills and qualification and they are selected from the list of thousand applications for interviews. They do not impress the hiring managers because their poor communication skills. The research revealed that 30% of them come unprepared to answer questions not related to their field of study; many have no idea about technological trends or what is happening in the world. It is an indication that they do not have the broad knowledge to function well in the industry. 67% do not speak clearly or answer questions properly; many are nervous and not confident of themselves. 58% have improper body languages and incorrect gestures during the conversation, such as not maintain eyes contact, scratching excessively, do not sit erect but slouching in the chair. The research concludes that most students have good technical skills but are not able to express themselves correctly. Some speak fluently, but cannot listen well. Many have problems with their expression and body language or use inappropriate gestures.
Beside speaking and listening, reading, writing and group communication are also part of communication skills. Most colleges require students to read a lot. Without a good reading skill students will struggle when they enter college and often overwhelm by the amount of reading materials. I have found that reading and writing help improve speaking and listening. Most good readers are usually good speakers because they have a vast amount of knowledge that they can use. I always advise students to improve their communication skills by give sufficient time to reading. They should read on a daily basis so that their memory gets refreshed with the knowledge. Many IT students believe that they only have to read technical books. That is a mistake. They should read whatever they like and make reading a key activity in their lives. Reading opens the mind to many things when they read news, magazines, blogs, and articles of their interest to update their knowledge. They should also read history, world news, economic and business news, to keep themselves updated with current events.
Group Discussion is about communicating with a group of people. In a group discussion, people are brought together to express their opinion and exchange of views on a subject. In group discussion students learn about group dynamic, content collection and leadership attributes. In college class discussion, professors judge students on who are well prepared, who have better speaking skill and who have the leadership skills. Students must learn to speak clearly and politely to the group. They need to know that this is a discussion not an argument and control their thought to stay with the discussion topic not to speak irrelevant information. They should also control their emotion and avoid unnecessary gestures.
Communication skills are essential for getting good job in the industry. Students should develop their communication skills when they are still in school by participating in class discussion; learn to choose their words carefully to create an impressive impact on the listeners. They should develop good reading habit to enrich their vocabulary, expand their knowledge beyond technical area to understand the changing world that they are living in.
Prof John Vu
Carnegie Mellon UniversityOriginal source: http://www.segvn.org/forum/mvnforum/viewthread_thread,1407
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