Effective Principals 2020 | Mrs. Susheela Santosh, Director of Vishwa Vidyapeeth

Q: Since most jobs require more than just technical and subject-matter skills, how can students develop soft skills.

As we all know, the children of today are the citizens of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.

So it is our responsibility to teach them the values of life, discipline and culture which can make them grow into future citizens with harmonious development of personality.

Soft skills play a major role in every child’s future.

Soft skills are personal attributes that prove or show how well you can work or interact with others.

Soft skills include the ability to communicate & also follow instructions to get the work done.

Hard skills are measurable & usually obtained through formal education.

So, how can students develop “Soft skills”?

Here is a list of the top soft skills that students need to work on:

Effective Communication: Being a good listener is the best way to be a good communicator.

Mother Tongue Influence: Biggest hindrance in communicating effectively is Mother Tongue influence. 

We need to think and speak in the same language, for example if you are speaking in English and thinking in your mother tongue the outcome will not be effective.

So, start thinking and speaking in the same language.

Make the dictionary your friend: Choose 5 new words from the dictionary daily and make a couple of sentences with each of the words.

Start using it in your daily communication.

Become a voracious reader: To improve your language, reading is very important. This will help you to get the flow right.

Start reading the newspapers or other books. Always read aloud and pay attention to commas &full stop.

Read aloud with correct pronunciation and ask someone at home to hear you, so that they can correct you. Alternatively, you can also record it and hear how you are speaking.

Practice Writing: Take a simple topic like “Describe yourself” or “your favourite sport” and write a small paragraph on the topic.

Use words that you have learnt from the dictionary, be crisp in the language and do not use long sentences.

Use paragraphs to differentiate whatever you write about. Write on the same topic for about a week and you will soon see the improvement for yourself.

Work on your pronunciation: Watching movies and listening to the news on the TV can effectively help you to improve your language and pronunciation. Observe and learn. 

With a little bit of practice, you can make wonders happen. As M Scott says, “What people get admired for in community are their soft skills: their sense of humour and timing, their ability to listen, their courage and honesty, their capacity for empathy.”

Students should pick these skills during their study time as it will help them later on to handle interpersonal skills and they will always be in a better position to turn the tide in their favour.

I wish all the students good luck in their future endeavours!

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