Growing up, throughout my school life and even during 1.5 years of my college life till I appeared for my CA-Intermediate examinations, the only thing that mattered to me in life was my studies. I led the life based on sole belief that scoring highest would be sufficient enough for life. And well after my intermediate, when I got ample of free time to look around the society, I was literally caught off-guard 19-year-old girl who never read any novel, never tried a hand at deep diving into Photoshop/other-tech works and yoga/meditation, don’t even say it, it was a big No!
And this was when I realised the importance of developing soft skills in my own life. Realisation of the fact there is much more in life (rather then just textbooks) which can actually shape your living style and make your daily life even more pleasant and productive! And developing these soft skills can groom you for all arenas of life. It’s important to realise that during social interactions the way we express our thoughts, the way we respond in discussions or even the politeness with which we speak matters as much as the technical content.
Hoping that I would be successful by now in explaining you the importance of soft skills in our personal lives, I would really like to skip to the tips and tricks which help me in improving my skills-
1.Keep a positive attitude-
Every day we get thousands of reasons to crib about. Ranting and playing the victim card have become a new normal despite of focussing your time and efforts find a solution to tackle the issue. Say you had a meeting at 4 pm, but the other attendee got stuck in some urgent work and informed you that he would get a little late in joining the meeting. Well now you have two options either to vent over the issue that you lost some of your precious time because of his delay and then being all rude and irritated during the meeting or finding out means how can you make the most out of that delayed period. May be you can read an article which you had bookmarked on your device since long and weren’t really getting a time window for this or just catchup on your mails waiting since long in your inbox and then being all fresh and enthusiastic during your meeting because ultimately you hadn’t wasted a single minute on overthinking or anxiety. So next time you get stuck in a moment when you feel sad or agitated by any incident, make sure you take a deep breathe, recollect your thoughts and try finding out the positive side to it.
Positive attitude always helps to stay motivated and maintain a healthy work life. Positive attitude always helps to make your vibe more appealable, a company which everyone enjoys!
Try to get a control over your emotions, restrain from being worried over uncontrollable issues, avoid getting panicked in difficult situations, just breathe and believe.
2.Communication skills-
I feel having the power to express your thoughts in the most consized yet clear manner is the most powerful sword one could possess. Though it’s really important to be frequent in English language as the same is used globally in professions but it is equally important that one should really have a firm command over whatever language the person speaks. Make sure that you always have confidence in whatever you are saying along with ample amount of politeness and respect expressed for the other person in your thoughts.
To improve my frequency of English, I personally felt that watching English movies and listening to podcasts really helped me a lot. Well, it’s awesome if you like to stay away from TV, in that case you might give a try to documentaries. Networking with new people on a regularly is also a healthy technique which could really help to improve the communication skills. As mentioned by the famous Entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo in one of his videos, every week he tries to connect to a new person, which really helps him explore and get introduced to different types of viewpoints.
3.Start Listening more
We all always have a lot to say, so much that at times, we even forget to pay attention to what others are saying and definitely that’s not a good thing. Listening to what others are saying by being present in the moment both physically and mentally is extremely important. It helps to build better relations and enhance retention rate. Each and every person you meet is a learning opportunity in itself, so don’t miss on any opportunity and pay attention to what everyone speaks.
4.Critical thinking
Don’t follow the herd mentality and become an individual thinker. Ever been through this experience when your teachers used to explain the concepts in class and when asked from the students that whether they were able to understand it then everyone used to just say a yes mam, but there always used to be two -three students who used to cross question about deeper explanation or real-life application of theoretical concepts. And I am pretty sure they were teachers’ favourites too.
Well, it’s not about being favourite but the importance of being a critical thinker yourself, being the person who just doesn’t accept everything served on a platter as it is but involving your own thinking and wits and building up your own view point and perspective to everything.
And one healthy habit to adopt for this is to read as many non-fictions catering to variety of genres. (Do let me know what’s your next read 😉 )
5. Leadership
Never be afraid of taking leadership positions whenever offered. Don’t undermine yourself and always volunteer to be in the lead, it boosts your confidence and helps you come out of that protected shield which your seniors/elders always provide.
6.Be a Tech savvy
It is extremely important to stay updated with the upcoming technology. With the help of paramount amount of free content available on YouTube, it is now extremely feasible to become proficient in basic softwares like Ms-office, photoshop, Canva, Zoom, Google Meet and much more. Designing a decent LinkedIn profile is equally important in professional world. Gone are the days when being tech-savvy was taken up negatively and a waste of resources, but in this digitalised world it’s extremely important to stay technologically updated otherwise you’ll be left behind.
7.Time management
Having endless wishes and desires to achieve within this terminable life? And what if I say that you can actually achieve all of them just being becoming conscious of each every second you spend. And when talking about time management then scheduling becomes extremely important. (But I am not going to explain it here as I am sure you have read our last second article too, and if you haven’t then it should be your next read)
Though there is no end when we come to discussing about soft skills, but through this article we have tried to throw a light on few of them and make your living style even more organised and productive.
Today’s world is highly competitive hence it is of supreme importance to have an edge over peers. Degrees might be attained by passing a single examination but life takes countless tests and there is no way you can abort any of them, so it’s time to grow and develop to face and succeed them with flying colours.
-Pragati Agrawal