In teaching it is motivation. Todays students are to quick to give up and quit when something is hard or requires practice to understand. Truly the generation of instant gradification.
Gail,
Teamwork is big and is valued by many.
Philip Campbell
The most important soft skill is getting along with people, displaying teamwork.That includes your workplace behavior, your family behavior, your community behavior, and your classroom behavior.
I tell my students that when they go for their interview most, if not all, employers want to see a positive mental attitude. In a shop all it takes is one person with a negative attitude to bring down the whole team. After that would be common sense and being dependable. With theese three and a willingness to be the 'go to' person you have what it takes to land that first job.
Don,
I think that any soft skills that has some spotlight put on them are important. They may also change from business to business. What is important for one may not be for another.
Philip Campbell
They may not be the two most important soft skills needed today, are extremely important in today's world. They are attention to detail especially during the need for conflict resolution because of explosive behavior. Sometime explosive situations develop between two students,where if paying close attention to details you may head off what might become a violent and require more extreme handling.
There is no substitute for integrity, if your coworkers don't trust you, you can't function well as a unit. They have to believe that you care about them and what they are doing. They need to know you have their best interest at heart. I would also agree with another response that common sense is important, but common sense doesn't seem to be very common these days. Of course, what is considered common sense depends entirely on what you are doing or discussing. Somethings I consider common sense in my field is foreign to someone in another profession. So going back to my original statement, people have to trust and believe you when you tell them something. You also have to treat them fairly and never let your personal feelings, whether good or bad, influence any decision you may need to make. Especially when it comes to their job and the performance of it.
Someone once told me that it is rare that an instructor is terminated due to lack of knowledge of the subject matter but rather other things----soft skills!
I agree with all the comments! Attitude is everything, however there must be more. Common sense, EQ,and having a high awareness level of how students are reacting to the teaching, and each other, play a role in teaching and learning.
edward,
Positive attitudes also rubs off on others. It is great for an entire class.
Philip Campbell
Inmy opinion Positive attitude, encourages the students and harbors good learning experience and is one of the most important soft skills.
Thomas,
Guest Speakers often give great examples of soft skills.
Philip Campbell
I believe that common sense goes a long way in helping to manage your classroom. With the variety of personalities involved it take a grounded approach to keep all in check and maintain a positive environment so that effective learning can take place.
A guest speaker could also give examples of how these soft skills are applied in the workplace.
We must have technical knowlege,but without exhibiting,caring,understanding,and enthusiasim,we will not have motivated students.
Frank,
Giving them some of those skills from the onset is the best thing we can do as instructors. That is the hardest part of being more independent. Most times they cannot figure that out and fail. We need to step in sooner.
Philip Campbell
Soft skills are very important because attitude and positive actions will set the tone and mood for the day.
When it comes to being a teacher, I think that the most important soft skills are common sense and customer service. Most of the student just entering collages from high schools are not used to the way college courses are run, compared to high school class where things are more guided. The students need help with time management and self-discipline.
Mark,
Great point. It is talked about and preached about but we often forget to put them into practice.
Philip Campbell
As you point out Soft skills have been around for centuries, more than likely before the writen word. It is interesting that we find soft skills in religion, but we sometimes forget them in business.
