COURSE OVERVIEW:

Soft skills are the personal character traits or qualities each of us has. They make us who we are, generally encompassing our attitudes, habits and how we interact with other people. They refer to abilities that make people better employees and open doors for many opportunities that are not directly related to the subject matter of their jobs. In other words, soft skills refer to a person’s ability to relate to others, to get him/her and others organised, to communicate in written, spoken or other forms.

Soft skills include psycho-social abilities and interpersonal skills that help people take decisions, solve problems, think critically, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, demonstrate qualities of leadership and team building, manage time effectively, and cope with the stress and strain of life in a healthy and productive manner.

Most organisations require that those who work in them have certain abilities that allow them to do their jobs effectively. For example, photographers must understand how different camera settings and lighting affect the picture they are taking, and computer programmers need to know how to use Programming languages. These abilities are known as hard or technical skills and to learn them one usually enrols in some sort of educational program i.e. where they receive classroom instruction and often practical training as well.

However, to work in any occupation you also need what are referred to as ‘soft skills’ (often referred to as ‘life skills’). Soft skills as opposed to hard skills greatly impact the personality development of employees. Organisations today recognise that the professional development of their employees plays an important part in maintaining relationships with their customers, clients, suppliers, co-workers and developing a successful business. However, soft skills are not a replacement for hard or technical skills. In fact, they are complementary to them and serve to unlock the potential of people equipped with hard skills.

Sometimes lack of soft skills becomes the chief reason projects don’t succeed. When people fail to show social graces, communicate with clarity, listen seriously and negotiate clearly, business don’t move ahead – or worse, they fall behind.

This course will help you develop 10 essential soft skills. When you learn them, they will open the door for success in your career and also improve your personality in daily life.

This course begins by explaining what soft skills are and why we need them. Then discusses how to develop and improve many soft skills including: personal development skills, communication skills, interpersonal relationship skills, time management skills, presentation skills, stress management skills, thinking skills, problem solving skills, workplace etiquette skills and team building skills.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

·       What are soft skills?

·       Why we need soft skills at work?

·       What is personality development?

·       The importance of personality development

·       The elements of personality development

·       How to conduct a SWOT Analysis on yourself?

·       How to develop goal setting skills?

·       The process and barriers of creativity

·       The steps to stimulate creativity

·       The types of people and categories of human values

·       How to become a role model?

·       How to develop effective communication skills?

·       The purpose and process of communication

·       The key elements of communication

·       The characteristics of effective communication

·       How to develop listening and speaking skills?

·       The importance of non-verbal communication skills

·       How to deal with conflict?

·       How to develop negotiation, persuasion and mediation skills?

·       How to control anger?

·       The barriers to communication and how to overcome them?

·       The barriers to effective listening and how to overcome them?

·       The barriers to resolving conflict and how to overcome them?

·       How to develop interpersonal relationship skills?

·       The types and uses of interpersonal relationships

·       The factors affecting interpersonal relationships

·       How to accommodate different styles?

·       The consequences of interpersonal relationships

·       How to develop time management skills?

·       How to identify and manage your priorities?

·       How to develop presentation skills?

·       How to plan, prepare, practice and present your presentation?

·       How to develop stress management skills?

·       How to recognise, acknowledge and manage stress?

·       The common signs of stress

·       How to develop thinking skills?

·       The core thinking skills

·       The categories of thinking

·       How to develop analytical and problem solving skills?

·       The stages of problem solving

·       The methods of problem solving

·       How to develop workplace etiquette skills?

·       How to behave at work?

·       How to develop team building skills?

·       Why do teams work better?

·       How to build an effective team?

·       The ways to involve team members

·       The characteristics and attributes of high performance teams

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 3-4 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.

COURSE DELIVERY:

Purchase and download course content.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.