From a Teen’s Perspective: Five soft skills to master
Achieving success requires numerous skills. Some of them are technical, like math, finance, or writing, while many others relate to interpersonal communication and are considered “soft.” However, these “soft skills” are often as important — if not more important— to your success than “hard skills.”
The development of soft skills is frequently overlooked, particularly for us teens when often the emphasis is placed on learning academic subjects. As a result, it’s easy for teenagers to lack these capabilities.
That being said, we should all strive to master a handful of key soft skills as we enter the next chapter of our lives. We need to work hard and utilize a wide array of mental tools to succeed academically, professionally, and personally. And learning how to communicate clearly and favorably with others can smooth and streamline the path to success.
1. Using small talk: I’m a big fan of small talk (I even wrote this article about it). It’s sometimes tedious but can be valuable. Knowing how to maintain adequate conversations with strangers and acquaintances will help you in college and the workforce. It’s an easy way to build connections, integrate yourself within a social environment, and politely bolster your reputation.
2. Handling awkward conversations: Sometimes we have to have conversations that make us extremely uncomfortable. Whether you’re asking for a raise, bringing up an issue at school or work, or requesting a deadline extension from a teacher, tough conversations are easy to avoid, but typically the longer you avoid them, the bigger they get. Learn how to have those awkward discussions and you’ll gain greater confidence, peace of mind, and respect.
3. Networking: Similar to skill #1, networking is a broader technique of widening your circle and leveraging your personal connections to your advantage. Understanding how to tactfully form professional or academic relationships (i.e. how to politely get someone’s contact information) and ethically use them to pursue your goals will greatly expand your resources for success. This is especially important to practice in high school because the people in your class could end up in your same industry or field one day, and you’ll be glad to know them.
4. Coordinating with others: Teamwork makes the dreamwork — when you know how to work on a team. Collaboration can be jet fuel for projects, but only with the right dynamics and direction. Knowing yourself (strengths, weaknesses, communication style, etc.) will help you contribute to your teams as efficiently as you can. Recognizing others’ strengths and practicing patience and group organization will also enhance your work and success on teams.
5. Giving and receiving feedback: As a writer, I receive feedback on my work a lot. And as an editor, I give feedback on others’ work, too. It’s understandable to feel hurt when receiving feedback, and guilty when giving feedback. But feedback is not inherently bad or good — it’s all about the way it’s presented and applied. Therefore, you can learn to make feedback a positive experience. And once you can do that, you can reap all the benefits that feedback has to offer.
Both hard skills and soft skills are extremely important. However, soft skills often lack the same attention as their counterparts. I hope my fellow teens (and anyone else, for that matter) thoughtfully develop these skills in preparation for their bright futures.
Got any topics you want me to cover? Email dylanclarklanier@gmail.com with your requests!
Dylan Lanier is a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School. His column appears weekly.
Image by freepik
