Soft Skills

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are personal attributes and behaviors that help individuals interact well with others. These interpersonal skills are crucial for building successful relationships. Examples of soft skills include critical thinking, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and leadership skills. 

Example: In the job interview, her strong soft skills—particularly her public speaking abilities—made her a top candidate for the manager role.  

Unlike “hard skills” like fluency in a language, coding abilities, or proficiency in certain technical skills like operating machinery, soft skills can be more challenging to measure in concrete ways. However, both hard and soft skills are crucial for success in the workplace, classroom, and beyond. Just like hard skills, strengthening and developing soft skills is possible with the right tools and training. 

Why are soft skills important?  

Soft skills revolve around successful interactions with others, making them a key part of many workplace roles. To develop soft skills across your organization, consider launching an essential soft skills program that allows employees to interact with each other, practice their people skills in small groups, and learn strategies for working more collaboratively with others. 

When employers incorporate soft skills training into opportunities for ongoing learning, they set both their employees and their overall organization up for professional success.