Soft Skills: What Are They and How to Teach Them
Muskaan Choudhary
July 17, 2024
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8 min read
"We're all smart. Distinguish yourself by being kind.” ~ Anne Galloway
The education system, unfortunately, has always been more book-centric. As children, we are often encouraged to focus primarily on achieving good grades, joining numerous extracurricular activities to make our college applications look ‘good’, and getting into prestigious universities. The goal is to secure a good job and ‘excel at life’, meaning professors often forget to focus on anything other than a student’s academics. Along the way, essential skills like effective communication, active listening, empathy and time management are often overlooked. And hey, we aren’t pointing fingers.
We understand there is a lot to teach, many students to teach, often with different learning styles, and the curriculum feels never-ending (and online learning can pose other obstacles). However, today's evolving world has made us realize the importance of these critical soft skills and as educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students are equipped with these essential skills to succeed in the real world.
By integrating the teaching of soft skills into our curriculum, we can prepare students who are not only academically proficient but also capable of thriving in diverse environments. So let’s dive into everything about soft skills: from how they differ from hard skills, their importance, types, and most importantly how to teach soft skills.
“Hard skills get you in, soft skills get you far.”
Soft skills and hard skills. Fancy terms, huh? To put it simply, hard skills are the technical abilities and knowledge you acquire through education and training, like coding, accounting, or using specific software. They are measurable and specific competencies. Soft skills, on the other hand, are qualities and talents you can only personify. While hard skills can get you the job, soft skills are what help you excel at the job.
Here are some key differences between hard and soft skills and some examples.
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If a child can do advanced math, speak multiple languages, and get top grades in school, but can't manage their emotions, practice conflict resolution, handle stress, none of that other stuff is really going to matter.
The importance of soft skills in one’s life can be deemed as irreplaceable. These skills, if taught well and in a timely manner, can have a major impact on an individual’s personal and professional life.
In today’s competitive world where everyone prides themselves on holding multiple degrees and accolades, the true missing piece of the puzzle lies not in our achievements, but in the way we communicate, behave, and respond to crises. Employers and leaders are increasingly valuing individuals who can convey their ideas clearly, collaborate effectively with diverse teams, and manage their responsibilities efficiently. In fact, 93% of employers say “soft skills play a critical role in their decision about whom they want to hire.”
The reason for this seems clear. Imagine an employee or a team leader with a perfect academic record and brilliant technical skills, but who cannot work under pressure, work well in a team, or respect their peers. Such a person would be difficult to work with, regardless of their technical expertise.
Moreover, and most importantly, soft skills are hard to automate. In today’s digital world, where AI can code and design and write and perform other complex tasks, the uniquely human abilities to empathize, negotiate, and inspire remain invaluable. As we move forward, cultivating soft skills will be essential for thriving in an increasingly automated and interconnected global economy.
As teachers, it is our job to make sure our students are fit to work in a career of their choice. Developing hard skills is a necessity but soft skills are just as important. When reflected properly on a resume, these can help you get into any career of your choice, provided you also embody the hard skills required for it. Thus, it is safe to say soft skills and hard skills go hand-in-hand.
Employers receive hundreds of resumes in response to a job posting. While many candidates possess the requisite industry-specific skills, employers often seek specific soft skills that make applicants stand out. We've identified four of the most important soft skills and provided effective ways to teach them. We understand that online learning has become the new normal, so we've also included strategies that can be seamlessly integrated into virtual classrooms.
Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.
Communication is an important skill to sustain literally every relationship, whether it’s between friends, partners, parents and children, co-workers, or leaders and their team. Effective communication minimizes room for misunderstandings and thereby reduces conflicts, and if conflicts do arise, it aids in their effective resolution.
Communication is a two-way street. It is only successful if the person on the receiving end interprets the message as it was intended. This requires active listening. Additionally, effective communication also involves body language, which can significantly impact how a message is received.
From an industrial perspective, effective communication is fundamental. If an individual cannot communicate well with coworkers, it can lead to gaps and discrepancies in the workflow. Therefore, the qualities of a good communicator include active listening, clear responding, and ensuring that everyone on the team is on the same page.
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ~Stephen Covey
Active listening is the most important aspect of communication. To cultivate good listening habits in your students, engage them in interactive activities. One simple method is to pair them off or create small groups (break-out rooms) and assign them a presentation on a given topic. After each presentation, encourage the other students to ask follow-up questions.
The act of asking follow-up questions is crucial as it demonstrates active listening and ensures engagement. To maintain their attention, choose topics that are both relevant and interesting to the students.
Another activity where students learn the importance of communicating correctly as well as listening intently is Communication Origami, where all participants are given a sheet of paper, and are asked to follow origami instructions with their eyes closed and without asking any questions. Here are some other interesting activities to enhance communication.
From Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King, and Barack Obama to Malala Yousafzai, history has shown us that words have the power to inspire people and change the world. Powerful public speakers have the power to motivate their listeners and drive action. Though public speaking is a broader domain that includes effective communication, they are both not completely the same. Since public speaking requires you to speak in front of a group, or sometimes even a crowd, of people, it requires a whole other skill set.
Public speaking demands confidence, thorough preparation, and logical coherence. A good public speaker must present their content confidently, using clear language (including body language) and effectively conveying their message to resonate with the audience's level of understanding. While some people are gifted public speakers, some may require help honing these skills.
Since public speaking can be difficult for many students, especially those who are rather shy or have introverted tendencies, it is crucial to begin with small steps.
For beginners, start by giving them a topic to discuss in front of their friends. Once they feel comfortable, gradually increase the audience size by having them speak in front of the class, and eventually larger groups. The most crucial part is helping them overcome the fear of public speaking and becoming comfortable with being the center of attention.
In a virtual setting, public speaking can be more challenging, but it becomes an even more vital soft skill. Teachers can begin with one-on-one sessions and gradually increase the difficulty by including more participants in the video call.
One-minute off-the-cuff activities, where students are given a random topic and must speak about whatever comes to mind for a full minute, are great ways to break the ice, encourage spontaneous thinking and build confidence. More activities can be found here.
Time is money. In an age where attention is at a premium and being productive is a constant challenge, time management proves to be an invaluable life skill. As we juggle multiple responsibilities, the ability to prioritize and schedule tasks becomes essential. Mastering this skill not only enhances efficiency but also fosters independence and responsibility. Further, effective time management helps you establish a daily routine, inculcating discipline and a structured approach to life.
For teaching time management, the teacher can simply challenge the students to complete a number of given tasks within a set time limit. These tasks can be as simple as completing a quick write up, surfing the internet for some information, or as elaborate as preparing a model. Students could be incentivized for completing the tasks within the time to encourage them to adhere to the timelines. The activity can further be made interesting by assigning a value to each task. This will make the students prioritize certain activities in order to gain the maximum points in the given time.
Find more fun time management activities here.
Lastly, teamwork. Arguably the most important and inclusive skill of all. I can’t help noticing how Wimbledon champions always rush to celebrate with their teams upon winning the title, or how so many award winners never fail to mention the contribution their teams have played in their success. It’s true - teamwork makes the dream work.
Most of us work towards common goals in team settings at various stages in our life - be it collaborating with classmates on a group project, playing a team sport, or working on a team project with our office colleagues. Thus, fostering team spirit at a young age becomes crucial.
By working towards building teamwork skills, we also ultimately end up developing other soft skills like:
Stick to the basics - scavenger hunts, human knots, two truths and a lie. These simple and evergreen yet entertaining activities are guaranteed to boost team morale among kids and adults alike. However, if you’d like to up the ante, here are some additional activities to improve camaderie.
“You will not always be the smartest person in the room, and you will not always be the strongest or the funniest or the most talented. But you can always be brave and you can always be kind, and these are the things you should be every minute of every day for the rest of your life. Because yes, those other things, they’re great things. But these things are better.”
While the significance of hard skills will remain foundational, soft skills will continue to grow in importance, shaping how effectively we interact, collaborate, and adapt in an ever-changing world.
If you are a teaching and learning academy dedicated to boosting your students’ skills and preparing them for the outside world, Classcard is here to make your life easier! With its easy-to-use class management software, Classcard allows you to schedule classes, manage bookings and payments, streamline communication and much more so you can focus on what you do best - nurture bright learners for the future!