A Complete Guide To Developing Soft Skills
What are soft skills?
There is usually some degree of confusion around what soft skills are. Well, “people skills” or “non-cognitive” skills are commonly referred to as soft skills. These skills cannot be taught right off of a book or cannot be measured directly. But, these are very important for growth, emotional and rational development and future employment opportunities.
What is the importance of soft skills?
The importance of soft skills is massive for students with regards to their studies and future. These skills can help children be motivated towards their studies, make more acquantainces and present themselves better to their peers and teachers. Desirable, approachable and appropriate behaviour can also help them improve their social standings and their chances at success after they grow up. These skills should not be taken lightly and must be inculcated in kids for their brighter futures.
What are some ways to develop soft skills in children?
Children learn many soft skills by examples. These examples can be easily incorporated in your daily life. You are probably doing and teaching some of these things to your children without knowing it.
Play with your words.
Do you often say things like, “Don’t slouch”, “Don’t keep the lights on!”. Kids often tend to leave the negation out. Instead, try saying, “Stand tall”, “Switch off the lights”. The assertion in your tone can take you and your kids a long way ahead.
Teach them good manners.
Kids donot need schools to learn good manners. They can learn that just by seeing you. Always say and encourage saying please and thank you. Open doors for others, give way to others on a crowded street and your kids will just follow the suit.
Teach them the right type of communication.
Tell them to look at the people they are talking with. Donot allow ear buds or cell phones when they are in a group of people and you do the same thing so that they can follow your example. This will help them gain more situational awareness and teach them how to have one on one and group conversations.
Show and practice empathy.
Going to the best schools, getting the best study material and sitting inside the comfort of their homes will not teach them empathy. And empathy is a useful and important quality to have. Expose your children to other people’s lives. Volunteer with them, help them get part-time jobs when they are older. Make them have conversations with people who may not have been very fortunate in life.
Problem solving in the real world.
Problem solving in the actual world can start with very little things like- let them out the GPS on while you’re out for a drive and let them navigate. Wash clothes with them, clean the kitchen together. These little things will not only make them better thinkers, but also teach them equality.
Help them feel good about themselves.
Have some goals that you and your kids can achieve together. Try adventure sports like rock climbing, hiking, trekking, paragliding, etc. This will give them a sense of achievement and widen their horizons. It will also help thme face failures since they will be able to understand that academic excellence is not the end of the world.
Little Genius organises the best analytical reasoning classes that you can think of, we also conduct leadership courses for kids in Ahmedabad and Vadodara and various reading classes for kids which can help them develop soft skills on a regular basis. We believe that our environment can teach kids wonders. We hope this article helps you teach your kids some soft skills.
