BEAT OUT THE COMPETITION WITH THESE 5 SOFT SKILLS

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 1 INTRODUCTION Competition is everywhere. From sports to our professions, we are all players in the game. Whether you’re looking for a new job or hoping to land that big promotion, it’s time to step up your game. But how do we increase our odds of winning?

Although technical skills are important to doing a job effectively, employers are looking for professionals who have valuable interpersonal skills, too. But all too often, these “soft skills”—such as listening, and — aren’t talked about in the workplace. And if they are talked about, they may not be an area in which people invest their energy. That is a mistake.

According to research conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center, 85% of job success comes from having soft skills, while 15% of job success comes from hard skills. In 2010, employers spent $171.5 billion on employee training. Guess how much was dedicated to soft skills training? Only $47.3 billion (27.6%) of those training dollars. This “soft skills disconnect,” as the National Soft Skills Association calls it, is a threat to our work environment.

So what soft skills are employers looking for? Based on a study by LinkedIn, we’ve detailed the top five skills you need to impress a client, team members, a potential employer or your current boss. Once you’ve honed these skills, the sky’s the limit!

“There’s not one specific thing or skill people have to have to work for us. But I can tell you why we fire people: soft skills. We hire for hard skills. We fire for soft skills. The ability to interact and communicate with others or behave ethically and take responsibility for things tends to be where people tend to break down.”

—Rick Stephens, former Senior Vice President, The Boeing Corporation

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 2 1. DIFFERENTIATING SKILL:

Considering how much you communicate with clients, colleagues and potential customers, it’s no wonder your employer wants its employees to be good at this skill! Communication skills impact all your interactions in the workplace, arguably making it the number one skill to focus on first.

• Written Communication The first contact you have with a potential client or employer is often made through written communication. Furthermore, your daily work tasks likely include plenty of writing—think reports, presentations or emails.

Your written can make or break a reader’s impression of you. Using incorrect grammar or crafting a message that could be construed as sloppy, informal or downright rude can easily impact the outcome of your interaction. One misspelled word or incorrect punctuation mark could derail a presentation or damage your credibility with a potential customer or employer.

The bottom line? Always double-check written communications for errors before releasing them. It matters. A lot.

• Verbal Communication Speaking up at a meeting, introducing MESSAGE ALIGNMENT — MANAGING yourself to a prospect or sharing a THE FULL IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION new idea with your boss—even if you know what you’re talking about—have NONVERBAL VOCAL the potential to reflect poorly on your ACTIVITIES (55%) INFLECTION (38%) credibility. How? By adding filler words, talking too fast or appearing nervous. These and other verbal communication missteps can make you seem unsure or uninformed—even unbelievable.

Strong verbal communication is equally— if not more—important when you’re on the phone, because the person at the other end of the call can’t pick up on your nonverbal communication. Here, filler words can be distracting and signal hesitancy or inexperience. And if the WORDS (7%) interaction is with a potential customer, Silent Messages a poor phone conversation could reflect Source: Albert Mehrabian, author of badly on your company as a whole. Try this: Keep a script by the phone for your key calls. It will help you stay on message and keep you focused if you draw a blank about what to say next.

Presentations are another scenario in which your verbal communication is on display. Whether it’s a pitch to your boss or a client, edit and practice your message—several times—to make sure you come across both confident and on point.

• Nonverbal Communication NONVERBAL WAYS YOU You’re always communicating, even if you’re COMMUNICATE not saying a word. Nonverbal communication is powerful—and it’s crucial: A first impression can be • Gestures • Body movement buoyed by your sincere eye contact or soured by a • Eye contact • Touches bad handshake. Be aware of what your face and body are doing • Facial expressions • Interpersonal space during an interaction. If your tone is warm and approachable, but your arms are crossed tightly and • Posture your eyes are focused elsewhere, your message will be confusing to the other person.

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 3 Improve your communication skills by studying your mannerisms in a mirror, asking a trusted coworker for feedback or practicing giving your full attention to what is being said to you.

• Active Listening Communication is a two-way street: It’s not all about you talking. Listening to the person you’re interacting with and absorbing what he or she is saying is just as important—maybe even more important.

Mastering good listening skills involves paying attention, maintaining eye contact and giving verbal cues—such as nodding your head or offering an affirming “yes” or “OK” response—to verify you’re listening. While you’re listening to a colleague, be present in the moment, not planning what you’ll say when it’s your turn to speak or thinking about what you’re going to have for lunch.

Giving someone your time and attention and actually listening to what they have to say is an invaluable soft skill—and one that your employer, colleagues and customers will appreciate.

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”

—Brian Tracy, sales training pro and author of Eat That Frog! and other titles

2. DIFFERENTIATING SKILL: ORGANIZATION Organization in the workplace can be demonstrated in many ways. Maybe it’s creating to-do lists for yourself, consistently meeting your deadlines or typing up an agenda for a meeting you’re leading. But while good organizational skills typically don’t draw attention to themselves, poor organizational skills can be glaringly apparent.

Remember: Your employer may not dictate how you organize your tasks, but he or she will certainly take notice if what you’re doing—or not doing—is impacting your performance. And that makes organization in the workplace an essential soft skill to master.

• Time Management Managing your time is a skill that goes hand in hand with staying organized. Because you can’t be everywhere at once, build a calendar of events, projects, due dates and other commitments—then prioritize your commitments by making a to-do list and rating the tasks.

Ironically, time management does take an investment of your time upfront. But it also gives you a clearer picture of your responsibilities, improving your organization and efficiency on the job.

"Communication must be HOT. Honest, Open, and Two-way."

— Dan Oswald, , CEO of Simplify Compliance and editor of The Oswald Letter.

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 4 • Goal Setting Setting goals for your career can help you clarify your priorities, Use the SMART organize your work and provide structure to your daily activities. As goal-setting method a skill, goal setting shows your employer that you’re motivated to better yourself—and in turn, the company. MAKE YOUR GOALS: SPECIFIC Goals can be short term, such as getting a report done the day before a deadline, or long term, such as getting a promotion within MEASURABLE the next two years. The practice of setting goals and working to ATTAINABLE achieve them is an organizational skill that employers want every employee to develop. REALISTIC Try this: Initiate a quarterly meeting with your supervisor to discuss TIME-BOUND your goals and your progress towards those goals. This lets your boss know how you’re approaching your work—and allows him or SMART example: “I’m her to witness your progress. going to create connections with five people in my • Good Habits industry by the end of the Cultivating good organizational habits takes time and effort—but it can be done. year. I will do this by going to more networking events In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg outlined how and reaching out to people to notice and change habits. He found that all habits have three through email.” parts: a cue, a routine and a reward. To start a new, good habit, he suggests picking a trigger cue such as making your morning coffee. Not-so-SMART example: “I After making your coffee, your routine might be to create a to-do will network eventually.” list for the day. The reward for this effort might then be to spend a few minutes catching up on social media.

Practice making good habits the norm in your work life. It doesn’t matter how subtle or understated your habits are, they will lead to achieve greater efficiency and competence—and those are things your employerwill notice.

• Planning A goal is only achieved when there’s a plan in place for achieving it. And that takes organizational skills.

Being able to make an efficient plan, gather the resources and people necessary to make that plan a reality and then carry it out is a hallmark of leadership in the workplace. An equally important skill is knowing how and when to re-group if things go off course.

The ability to turn a plan into a reality is a skill that today’s employers are seeking in their hires. Keep in mind: Your planning capabilities could have lasting effects on not only the project at hand—but on the long- term success of your company.

“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.”

—Benjamin Franklin

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 5 3. DIFFERENTIATING SKILL: TEAMWORK Being a good team player is an essential skill to develop, whether you’re working with colleagues or clients. Even though you may perform most of your work autonomously, there will be times when you have to collaborate with others—even those you don’t always see eye to eye with.

Don’t downplay the importance of teamwork: Your employer is looking for people who know how to work together for the good of the entire organization.

• Conflict Resolution Not everyone has the same ideas, the same ways How to Play Devil’s Advocate of thinking or the same processes to reach a goal. 1. KEEP CRITICISM CONSTRUCTIVE. This is a good thing! So, when a team of individuals There’s a difference between playing comes together, there’s the potential for conflict to devil’s advocate to find a solution and arise. Knowing how to navigate conflicts with poise is being a “Negative Nelly” who just wants a must-have skill, particularly as you work on a team to complain. Verbalize that you are taking project. Don’t let conflicts spiral out of control; try a devil’s advocate position to pressure-test to quickly diffuse and resolve them. Ask questions the idea. to clarify points you don’t understand or agree with. And, as much as possible, maintain a calm and 2. ASK THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS. professional demeanor: It will get you farther than The point of discourse is to see how arguing or pointing fingers. airtight the idea is, not simply to question everything your team says and does. • Respect 3. KEEP AN OPEN MIND. Showing respect is the key to effective teamwork. It’s possible your team members have a Each team member has his or her own idea of how solution you haven’t thought of. Discard the project should turn out, and it’s the team’s preconceived ideas and listen objectively. job to listen to each member and merge the best visions into one. Actively listening to the ideas that 4. RECOGNIZE WHEN TO MOVE ON. are broached, championing potential solutions If your team successfully navigates its way and carefully reframing ideas that are off-goal through your questions, celebrate it! Your demonstrate your respect for others in a group team probably has a great idea in the works. setting.

• Challenge Each Other Agreeing with your team members is important—but so is disagreeing. Settling on the first idea you hear typically won’t result in the best outcome. Challenge each other to come up with additional ideas that may be even better. Play “devil’s advocate,” and think of reasons why an idea might not work. If you find that the idea passes these tests, you may have found your winner!

• Delegate Tasks Every member of your team will have strengths and weaknesses. If you’re leading the team, try to delegate tasks based who’s best at the work, not according to who’s “always done it”—and be sure every team member has a role. Keep the team accountable for the various tasks with a schedule of specific due dates.

“Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

–Vince Lombardi, Pro Football Hall of Famer and former coach of the Green Bay Packers

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 6 4. DIFFERENTIATING SKILL: PUNCTUALITY Being punctual doesn’t just mean being on time, though that is important. It also encompasses being conscientious and showing respect for others. It may seem like a small matter, but it’s vital: When you demonstrate that you can be counted on, your employer learns to trust you—and that may lead to other opportunities in the workplace.

• Be on Time Being on time is extremely important in any business setting. And while that may seem obvious, consider how many of your coworkers treat punctuality casually. In a busy office setting, time is a valuable commodity—and your punctuality shows your respect for others. If someone agrees to meet with you, show them that you appreciate their investment in your relationship by showing up on time.

• Be Prepared Being on time is a good start—but it’s only the beginning. As much as possible, strive to be prepared for meetings, especially if they’re with a supervisor or a client. Review what the meeting is about before you arrive. Make a list of questions or suggestions for the discussion. And bring a tablet or a notebook and pen and any notes you have on the topic. When you’re prepared, you can get to work as soon as you arrive—something your boss will appreciate.

• Be Alert Simply showing up at work is not enough. Punctuality encompasses showing up mentally as well as physically. Before a big meeting or presentation, skip the after work happy hour with colleagues and get a good night’s sleep. Rise a little earlier and wake up your brain with meditation or a workout. You’ll be mentally prepared for the task at hand and better able to make a contribution right from the start.

WHAT TO DO THE NIGHT BEFORE A PRESENTATION 1. Find your way. If you’re not familiar with the meeting venue, get the directions and program them into your phone or your car’s navigation system. 2. Look things over. Read through your notes or your presentation to keep the key points top of mind. If you’re going to a job interview, review the company’s information, the job description and your key qualifications. 3. Pack your bag. The day of an important business event shouldn’t be chaotic. Pack your briefcase or bag the night before, and double-check everything so you don’t second-guess yourself in the morning. 4. Lighten the morning rush. Choose your attire the night before, and make sure your clothes are steamed and hanging in your closet, ready to go. Also, prepare or plan your breakfast for the next morning: Forgetting to eat before a big event can have consequences—like an ill-timed energy slump halfway through your meeting. 5. Brush up on current events. Being able to discuss what’s going on in the world helps when it’s time for small talk. Knowledge of current events also can accentuate how bright you are.

“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”

—William Shakespeare

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 7 5. DIFFERENTIATING SKILL: Critical thinking involves taking a problem or idea and evaluating it to find the best possible solution. Employers seek out people with critical thinking skills because they don’t need to be told how to draw conclusions from a set of criteria or how to identify solutions to a problem.

If critical thinking doesn’t come naturally to you, there’s good news: With practice, you can master this valuable skill!

• Analytical Thinking Analytical thinking means using logic 5 Ways to Improve Your Critical Thinking to see patterns or to identify cause and effect. Develop this skill by 1. ASK MORE QUESTIONS. looking beyond the face value of a Don’t take everything at face value—ask who, what, why, topic, questioning the meaning and where and when to get more of the story. purpose of something rather than simply accepting it on face value. 2. DO PUZZLES. Whether they’re jigsaws, logic, Sudoku or crosswords, Test yourself: On your way to work, puzzles sharpen your ability to think critically and take a look at the billboards around analytically. you. Ask yourself why they may have chosen the colors and props used in 3. READ EVERYTHING. the ad, how the message could have Reading—including those topics you may not agree with— been more succinct and what makes opens your mind, broadens your viewpoint and helps you them stand out opposed to the rest of learn new skills for your work and personal life. the billboards. Simple tests like these can help you hone your analytical 4. CHECK YOUR BIASES. skills. Think about all of the factors that could be influencing your opinions. Acknowledging your biases can help you think • Creativity more broadly and make informed decisions. Critical thinking involves creativity; your goal is to examine projects or 5. THINK AHEAD. problems and come up with solutions Don’t think of a solution as the end of the journey. Instead, no one else has thought of before. take it a step further. Think about the effects your solution New ideas and fresh perspectives can may cause and if you can do anything to promote—or help your company innovate—and negate—those effects on the outcome. potentially edge out competitors who are stuck in old ways of thinking.

One way to spark your creativity is to practice by asking “What if…?” about each project. Try to come up with three new approaches to answer the question. Another idea: Think about putting together two aspects of a project that normally don’t go with one another. Creativity is often the process of combining existing ideas in a new way.

• Open-Mindedness Being open-minded is an extremely important— and often challenging—component of critical thinking. It’s also one of the characteristics employers most want to see in their team members. Setting your personal biases aside and looking at things from a different perspective allows you to adjust to changing circumstances, situations and people.

Listen to others for their perspectives, and be flexible enough to consider new ideas. ouY may just see a solution you hadn’t thought of before.

dardiscommunications.com Beat Out The Competition With These 5 Soft Skills | 8 • Curiosity Curiosity is one of the hallmarks of a critical thinker. Asking questions about something can help you better understand—and respond—to it. Curious people often are dissatisfied with the status quo: They want to know the “hows” and “whys” behind things and like discovering more about the project in front of them. Even better, employers value employees who are lifelong learners because their curiosity can lead to innovation.

“The number one thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not I.Q. It’s learning ability. It’s the ability to process on the fly.”

—Lazlo Bock, former Senior Vice President of People Operations, Google

SUCCEEDING WITH SOFT SKILLS Whether or not they come naturally to you, soft skills can be learned and developed. Choose one to work on and make a conscious effort every day to do something that moves you toward your goal—then work on another, and another as your skill set grows.

There’s always more to learn when it comes to improving your soft skills, so enjoy your successes—and remain humble enough to recognize where you could improve. Your employer is sure to take notice!

KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING 1. Read! Dive into informative books and free online resources, and read as much as you can. There’s plenty of solid information out there that can help you improve your communication, critical thinking and other soft skills.

2. Sign up for a program. Receive expert coaching through programs that help you hone your skill set. Dardis Communications holds professional programs that address many of these topics and offers one-on- one coaching for specific skills you’d like to develop.

3. Practice, practice, practice! If you want to be a better writer, write more. If you want to be a better communicator, attend networking events. If you want to be a better leader, volunteer for a leadership position on a project. The only way you’re going to get better at something: practice.

Dardis Communication is the leading professional training company in the Midwest. Founded in 2002, Dardis offers seminars, workshops and personal coaching to help participants improve their communication, professional image, and sales skills. Learn more at dardiscommunications.com.

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