Have you ever come across someone with an excellent school grade who could barely communicate what he knows?

Or maybe you’ve worked with someone who doesn’t know how to collaborate with others. I’m sure you can admit how difficult it can be working side by side with such people.

Do you know what set you apart as an employee or a job seeker? It is the set of soft skills you are able to develop.

In this post, I will be sharing; what is soft skill? Why are soft skills so important and 8 soft skills you need to attain success in life

Let’s get started!

What are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are often called people skills, they are defined as the ability to interact amicably with others. They are personal attributes that can affect relationships, communication, and interaction with others.

Soft skills also mean how you approach others or handle your professional life about people. They are critical for professional success and are often the most distinguishing factor between people.

They are your ability to work well with others. They help in capitalising on your potential and help you stand out. But why are they so important? 

Why Are Soft Skills So Important?

Soft skills are gaining so much importance in the workplace. Those seeking employment have to develop soft skills because employers have made it a necessity for employment. Those who are already in the workforce also need to develop soft skills to be able to remain relevant in their places of work.

The reason why soft skills have become indispensable is that they are highly transferable and can be applied to a whole lot of situation.

According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 89 percent of HR professionals say when a hire doesn’t work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills.

The more you develop soft skills the more chance it is for you to qualify for a job or rise in a company ranks. Developing strong abilities in these skills and emotional intelligence will serve you well no matter where you are working.

8 Types of Soft Skills You Need to Be Successful in Life

1. Listening Skill

The best communicators are not just those who are good in public speaking but those who are excellent listeners. The easiest way to build trust with someone is by showing interest in him or her, you can accomplish this by listening more than just talking.

To be an active listener, you would need to maintain eye contact, nod your head to show you understand and respond when necessary.

2. Problem-Solving

What do you do when you confront a problem in your workplace? Do you just sit and lament about it or do you look for a solution? 

Finding solutions to problems is what get you noticed and make you an asset in an organisation. To be a problem solver always think of solutions and not the problem.

3. Teamwork

The success of an organisation depends on the hard work of all of its employees. Every employee is different and each of them has his or her own set of strengths. 

It is in the best interest of an organisation when all the employees collaborate and capitalise on their talents and work together towards achieving a common goal. 

Office cultures also depend on team players, it is important to be able to collaborate with your co-workers because it helps to strengthen your work quality. To be a good team player, always extend a helping hand to your colleagues.

4. Communication Skill

Communication is the process of sharing and exchange of information from one person to another. Written and verbal communication is so important. 

Being a good communicator is crucial in any workplace. Having strong communication will boost your chances of building healthy relationships with your co-workers. 

You can also be a great communicator by learning to monitor your body language which means developing the ability to communicate non-verbally. You can enhance your communication skills by joining various public speaking workshops.

5. Adaptability

It is important to always remember that your work might not go as planned which means you need to be flexible and adaptable to accommodate new changes and find alternate solutions. 

To be adaptable you need to be an adaptor for change and keep up with the pace the world runs at. Employers are in constant search of professionals who are capable of meeting new challenges and who create new benchmarks.

6. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an important skill you need to bring new perspectives and well throughout solutions to help the company progress. 

To be a good critical thinker, learn to analyse and critically observe every situation

7. Time Management

Every job has tight deadlines and pressure. Employers are constantly in search of candidates who can deliver good results within a stipulated time. Nobody wants to have an employee who doesn’t meet deadlines. 

It is important to do your work well and at the same time meet deadlines. You must be able to manage your time well and at the same time provide fruitful results. Time management can help when you work under pressure. 

To be a good time manager, you would need to efficiently organise and prioritise your tasks.

8. Conflict Management

To be good at conflict management you have to be a person that does not create conflicts. Nobody wants to employ someone that would always cause conflict in the work environment. 

To be good at conflict management, you need to learn to deal with issues appropriately and productively. This would mean looking for common ground, finding ways to get everybody’s interests met and also using disagreement to make things better in the end.

Conclusion

Soft skills help to build a reputation, open more doors to opportunities that you can think of, so don’t just rely on your educational certificates to grow your business or career instead develop those soft skills and see how far you would go in life. Soft skills are hard to measure but they make you a better human to work with.