Dynamic Professional Development
Though we’re more connected than ever our interpersonal communication skills have reached an all-time low. While no doubt e-mail, text messaging, the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace have made connecting with each other faster and easier, we still have a long way to go when it comes to mastering one of the most important soft skills of all: being an effective communicator.
“Soft skills” refer to a person’s EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, habits, and attitudes that make someone a good employee and compatible with which to work. More and more corporations around the world recognize that, in order to gain a competitive edge, they also need to make sure their people know how to handle themselves better at work and how to relate to and with their customers and peers.
These soft skills may even become more important over the long term than technical skills. Whether you are addressing one or one thousand people — face-to-face, on the phone, or through the internet — your communication skills or lack thereof can make or break your career.
Soft skills are the underlying principles that trademark a company for professionalism and excellent customer service. They provide differentiation between all the cookie-cutter look-alikes and play a vital role in customer loyalty.
Says Carole Nicolaides in her article A Leadership Wake-Up Call. In today’s working environment, instilling the use of soft skills in students, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals is something they simply will not be able to survive without in a global marketplace.
Unfortunately, most schools and business do not teach or give training sessions on how to cultivate soft skills. It seems we have laid them aside and opted to emphasize too much on expertise and credentials. Too often we focus on what students and employees need to “know” when evaluating them instead of on “Who they really are.” I have yet to see a course entitled, “The Effective Art of Active Listening with Compassion for Entrepreneurs”.
Self-awareness is a critical component to becoming a more effective communicator.
When you know who you are, you are better able to articulate your uniqueness as well as your shortcomings. By developing self-awareness, you become more open, connected, and confident, which increases your creativity, passion, imagination, direction, and focus.
What employer wouldn’t give their right arm for a passionate, inspired, motivated employee?
No matter what field people are in they need to know who they are, what they have to offer the world, and how to authentically articulate both. They will need to learn and capitalize on their soft skills.
An increasingly diverse workplace demands mastery of a whole slew of soft skills from emotional self-control, to empathy, to finding the best in every person, to keeping ourselves in check when it comes to stereotyping.
Too often I’ve come across people who are unable to look me in the eye when shaking my hand and they aren’t even aware they are doing so. The essence of any business is its people. We need to make soft-skill development a priority just as much as the ‘hard skills’ of their particular field.
We could all use a healthy dose of the art of self-promotion. If we are to stand out, we will need to be ever mindful of cultivating our own personal brand and promoting ourselves.
We will not be able to do so if we are not aware of who we are, what we are passionate about, and what makes us unique. Once we can embrace and express our own uniqueness, know and authentically articulate our strengths and weaknesses, we can more effectively connect those around us.
It’s time to focus on soft-skills training as a tool to improve performance, leadership potential, and bottom line success. All of the seminars listed on this page are all geared towards just that: bringing awareness to our interpersonal communication skills using the principles of Acting Awareness.
The Spotlight's On You : Transforming Stage Fright into Presence & Poise
will help you to develop concrete, practical tools to be at ease in front of others for public speaking, presenting, at job interviews, and speaking in groups or meetings.
Soar Like an Eagle : Peak Leadership Essentials for Success
will help you develop strategies to improve processes, deepen team interaction, and create fresh, inspired solutions to business challenges.
Opposites Attract: How to Resolve Conflict
will help you discover what opposing forces are at play in your life, your relationships, your career, even your finances and health and how to come into harmony with ourselves and each other.
Speak Up! So You Can Stand Out!
will help you authentically articulate who you are, what you are passionate about, and what you uniquely have to offer the world, so you can command a room, get the job, and move forward confidently in your life.
There are more workshops on the Personal Growth page that you might also want to read about.
I am also available for Private Coaching on these and any other program on this site. Some times people just need that one-on-one attention to really move forward in their lives.