7 critical soft skills for your career

Do you think you are qualified for a job, for leading a team or being eligible for a promotion because you have years of experience and developed skills? Although these qualities are actually important to progress in your career, they are not everything. You must also have social skills, also called "soft skills.”

Soft skills are the qualities about your attitude towards others, your colleagues, your clients or your boss. It is they who determine your capital and sympathy that will make you go to be sociable or withdrawn. Often, they will be more decisive in promoting your executive skills.

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What are soft skills?

                   

Here are 7 critical soft skills for your career (The Soft Skills List):

1. Empathy

The ability to put yourself in the place of others is fundamental in the business world. Show that you understand the other person's point of view. Express empathy in saying, "I understand how you feel." The ability to put yourself in the place of others may simply mean that you respect the opinion of the speaker, even if you do not share it and you let him know you understand his position.

2. Listening

Hearing is not listening. Most people hear the words of their partner and begin to mentally formulate their response before it has finished expressing his idea. Avoid playing the game of second-guessing and allow the speaker to complete his thoughts without adding your interruptions. The goal here is to listen between the lines of the real message that is being communicated.

3. Self-control

If you can stay calm and patient when other get failure due to some stress, you will definitely be noticed positively by your boss. He will appreciate the fact that you keep cool and come up with concrete solutions where your colleagues panic or get angry.

4. Trust

To advance in your career, you have to trust your colleagues and your boss. You will have to work in a team or delegate certain projects. Trust is therefore vital. Similarly, you must inspire trust and credibility. Extend friendliness, warmth, sincere interest in the problems of others, and they will not doubt your credibility when you are extending help to them. Your boss and your colleagues should be then able to count on you.

5. Personal power

Use emphasis in putting yourself directly on the line and asking for exactly what they want. This is key in your relationships in the workplace.

You also should carefully choose precise words to create impressions and to convey force, authority, and leadership. Talking at a slower speed will communicate confidence.

6. Flexibility with criticism

Productive criticism or correction, which leads ,to winning relationships, deals with only the important issues and how to correct mistakes. You should be able to give and receive criticism effectively. Never fight back in response to a criticism. Your message will never be communicated if you attempt to make the other person "wrong" in order to make you look "right." Agree with part of the criticism.

7. Motivation

There are many chances at some point in your career you will be taken to persuade people. You will sell your ideas, services or products. Make the person you wish to motivate uncomfortable or dissatisfied with his current actions or circumstances. Show him a new and better way, and ask him to take actions. Then review the benefits he will gain by completing or continuing the change.

We hope this video was helpful for you. If you want to ask questions or need some extra-tips, just comment below or visit our YouTube Channel I Need Help.