SUBSTANTIATING SOFT SKILLS AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AS PREREQUISITE AT WORKPLACE

Soft Skills are those attributes that enhance the employability of the individual and also enable success and
satisfaction in personal and professional life. While studying the term ‘soft skills’, one actually studies and
understands about personality traits, communication skills, manners, ethics and social attributes. Hard skills
and soft skills go hand-in-hand and ought to be inculcated together especially when one is a student. Although
knowledge and the technical skills to acquire a job can be gained, the challenge thereafter before that individual
is to maintain the job and climb upward towards success at workplace. Here, the significance of soft skills is
realised and therefore, it is certainly not wise to neglect it but attempt to teach or make aware of the necessity to
imbibe soft skills to those who are unaware of it. This research paper is an attempt in this direction, focusing on
the meaning of soft skills, definition, different traits and attributes that are included under this term, significance
and some consequences of lacking these skills. The paper would have been incomplete without the mention of
communication skills. So, there are references made to communication skills, its four main types- verbal, nonverbal,
written and visual, the need to understand and work on one’s communication skills. In recent times,
these soft skills are also considered in selection-testing, mainly helping the employers to identify the individuals
likely to succeed in training as well as in job. Therefore, it is believed that the academic period ought to be the
period to inculcate these skills in students through the curriculum or even through workshops or courses. This
will prepare them for good and effective performance in their respective educational institutions and later in
their workplaces. Additionally, it would assist students in self-evaluation and help them pinpoint areas of their
learning programmes where and how they may actively work to enhance these skills.