Soft skills

Soft skills is a term often associated with a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), which is the cluster of personality traits that characterize one's relationships with other people. These skills can include social graces, communication abilities, language skills, personal habits, cognitive or emotional empathy, and leadership traits. Soft skills contrast with hard skills, which are generally easily quantifiable and measurable (such as software knowledge or basic plumbing skills).

A person's soft skill EQ is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an organization. Organizations which deal with customers face-to-face are generally more successful if they train their staff to use these skills. Screening or training for personal habits or traits such as dependability and conscientiousness can yield significant return on investment for an organization. For this reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications.

See also

• Basic interpersonal communicative skills
• Critical thinking
• DISCO - European Dictionary of Skills and Competences
• Emotional literacy
• Empathy
• Life skills
• Life skills-based education
• People skills
• Social intelligence
• Social skills
• Theory of multiple intelligences
• 21st century skills
• Vocational skills

References

External links

• Symmonds, A. etc. 2009. "Smart English through Success Secrets"[ISBN 978-81-909849-6-6] & other 'Smart English Series'
• The People Skills Revolution: A Step-by-Step Approach to Developing Sophisticated People Skills, Pamela Milne, Global Professional Publishing ISBN 978-1-906403-72-0
• Giusti, Giuseppe (2008), Soft Skills for Lawyers, Chelsea Publishing (), ISBN 978-0-9558926-0-8 External link in |publisher= (help)

• U.S. Department of Labor - Employment & Training Administration
• Carnegie, Dale (1998), How to Win Friends & Influence People, Pocket, ISBN 978-0-671-02703-2