Empathy for the customer! Many times service providers have never "walked a mile" in the client's shoes. Customer service would no doubt improve if this soft skill was more often learned and practiced. It is much more costly to get a new customer than it is to keep a current customer!
I have found that teaching students how to effectively LISTEN is often difficult. This skills requires a mutitude of soft skills: empathy, an open mind, dealing with a personal bias and not thinking of what they are going to say next. I believe effective listening skills are the hallmark for success on the job and in life. If we learn to effectively listen we can often prevent a problematic situation from ever happening.
Tom,
Great examples. Keep up the good work.
Philip Campbell
I think one of the most difficult soft skills to teach is maintaining a positive attitude. I always try to keep my students positive and explain to them that their mood and their attitude will affect their experiences.
I find one of the hardest soft skills to teach in the classroom and simple respect, especially this generation. Students feel as if they can't sit through a lecture without getting on their phone to look at updates or texting someone. Many students don't even understand the power in a handshake and smile anymore. I try to practice common respect in every class I teach to, hopefully, make them more valuable employees.
I believe that one of the most difficult soft skills to teach is regarding taking and giving criticism. Constructive feedback is necessary to improve performance, but is easy to take personally. It's easier to expect others to give criticism to us in a tactful manner while it may be more difficutl to give it in an easily acceptable manner.
i believe all soft skills are taught by example. i believe it is important to understand where your students are and how to reach them. as with all things in life that we want/need to learn, attitude is the most important component. having a cooperative and open attitude toward students helps them have the same open and cooperative attitude with others.
"Positive Attitude" is a difficult soft skill to teach. Many students haved faced so much adversity in their respective lives, that it is often difficult for them to see hope.
Our career development course does an excellent job at providing alternative thinking. I find it very encouraging to teach that class and to experience the transformation of our students from negative or apathetic to positive.
I feel that Self-awareness is something that sometimes is missing in my recent student population( ages 18-20, as well as, having empathy for others. So I spend the first few weeks teaching basic (how to get along with others).
Sometimes one of the most difficult things to teach students is teamwork and helping out their fellow classmates. At the end of a clinic session, some students want to leave early if they finish ahead of other students. In order to get them to stick around and help fellow students also get out of clinic on time, they receive a few extra points in professionalism. It's their choice to leave early but they lose a few points off their daily grade if they do. I'm hoping it lets them know that team work is also important, not just good time management.
I have to agree that manners, punctuality, and personal discipline as well as respect for others seem to have declined recently especially with the advent and increased use of texting and other forms of impersonal communication now widely used by the student population.
I agree that teaching students to remain objective is a challenge. My students are going into the healthcare field, so this is something that they need to understand/learn because it will be important in their future careers. Often times, my students find it difficult to remain objective in their writing (reports) and during oral presentations.
Communication is a challenging soft skill for me to teach to some students... such as effective ways to communicate to resolve conflicts, and the importance of being professional when communicating in healthcare (just to name a couple). I tell my students that they may decide to speak a certain way with their friends, but it may not be appropriate in a healthcare setting.
In my classroom I feel common sense/empathy is the most difficult. I teach Medical Assisting and the problem that reoccurs most often is the student that makes an inappropriate comment to a "patient". I make sure to do a lot of group excercises involving different patient scenarios and the appropriate way to handle the situation.
I think integrity is difficult to teach, because it starts when they are young. If they dont see it with in their family it may not be understod when adults.
Hilary,
Overcoming obstacles is hard to teach. Sometimes these student have only ever given up or walked away because it was the easiest thing to do. Modeling is a great way to show this. Keep up the good work.
Philip Campbell
The most difficult soft skill to teach seems to be that of chosing a positive attitude. Many of my students have had a difficult life - some have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and some have even lost family members - so the idea of having a positive attitude seems impossible given their background. I try to show them that having a positive attitude is directly related to resiliency, that is, overcoming obstacles and pushing through to achieve their goals. I attempt to teach this soft skill the only way I know how: through modeling a positive behavior every day that they step into my classroom. Sometimes my positivity is contagious, and sometimes it is not, but I really feel that while this is the most difficult soft skill to teach, it is also one of the most important.
leigh ,
Unfortunately they do not learn those until after something happens as you say in trial and error. The bad part is that sometimes the damage is done. That is why we need to try to do more while training with the hard skills as well.
Philip Campbell
i find that the hard skills most students have no problem with however when it comes to work place manners, punctuality, tact and delivery its much harder for the students to grasp the importance of it, most of them learn by trial and error, they learn to conform down the road
Jill,
Goo dpoint, but how do we teach that? Is it something that can be taught? Adult learners in general are usually more self aware than adolescents, but the goal is to get them to be more self aware.
Philip Campbell
