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B.E.G.C.-145
Soft Skills
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Answer any Ten Questions

Q. 1. Elaborate on the Different types of Nonverbal communication with appropriate examples.
Ans. By learning about types of nonverbal communication, you can gain a clearer understanding of what your body might
communicate to others—even without your realization. Here are eight types of nonverbal communication and how they may be
used in the workplace:
Vocalics: Vocalics, also referred to as paralanguage, includes the way you speak, such as your tone of voice. No matter
what you might say, the way you say it can communicate more than the words you choose. Besides tone, vocalics might include
the volume and pitch of your voice. For example, if you feel uncomfortable in a situation, you might naturally speak quietly to
draw less attention to yourself. Conversely, speaking too loudly can make the person you are talking to feel you are trying to
speak over them or overpower their opinion. Sarcasm is also an example of nonverbal communication because it involves
saying words in a tone that conveys the opposite meaning. For example, if you are being sarcastically enthusiastic about a
situation, you might say “Oh, great” in a sarcastic tone. Although the words show a positive response, the way you say it shows
otherwise.
Proximity: How close you choose to stand or sit next to someone is also a form of nonverbal communication. The space
around you is often referred to as your personal space, which generally is between 6-18 inches around your body. For most
people, this space is only for close friends and family to enter. If someone violates that space in a professional setting, you will
probably feel put off by the interaction. Being aware of your proximity to others can help to not violate someone’s personal
space and make them feel uncomfortable. However, it’s also important to stand or sit close enough to someone so you can
communicate effectively and clearly, as being too far away makes it difficult to hear and might even signal that you’re not
interested in the conversation.
Body movements: Body movements, or kinetics, include nodding or gesturing with your hands. These common examples
of body movements can convey your excitement about a conversation or topic. Some body movements can be involuntary, such

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as wringing your hands, shaking when you are nervous or clearing your throat often. Some can also be distracting, especially if
you are in a job interview or giving a professional presentation.
Posture: The way you hold your body can make an impression on those around you. Standing and sitting are common
positions in professional settings, so noticing how you look when you are in either position is important. When you stand with
your head held high and your back straight, you are nonverbally communicating assurance, strength and confidence. A slouched
position with your back curved and your head facing downward often conveys the opposite, causing you to appear indifferent
or uncertain. How you position your upper body and legs can also be impactful. Try to stand with your head raised, arms
uncrossed and legs slightly apart to express a friendly, open demeanor. When you cross your arms, you may subconsciously
show the other person that you feel uninterested in the conversation.
Touch: Touching another person is a key aspect of nonverbal communication. A hug conveys warmth and love, while a pat
on the back can convey a job well done. Unsolicited or unwelcome touch can cause a person to feel uncomfortable, so it’s
important to make sure your touch is always professional in the workplace. Touch also varies between cultures. For example, in
Central America, physical touch is a key part of all different types of relationships. In certain parts of Europe and North
America, kissing on the cheek is a common way to greet another person. In the United States, people engage in less physical
touch outside of personal relationships. The most common form of touch in a professional setting is a handshake, which can
also convey different meanings. A weak or limp handshake may show a lack of confidence, while a firm handshake conveys
strength and respect.
Physiological changes: Physiological changes are most often linked to discomfort and stress in a situation. These types of
changes include blushing, sweating or tearing up. You can’t control the physiological changes your body makes in situations, so
these will often give away how you feel.
Facial expressions: Your face can often reveal your emotions in a situation. The expression you make can change the
meaning of the words you say or show how you feel about what someone else is saying to you. For example, raising an eyebrow
can convey an inquisitive feeling or even a devious one. Rolling your eyes is a way to express displeasure or unhappiness with
a situation. As you speak to others, you can watch their facial expressions to get a better sense of their true reactions to what you
say. Being aware of your own facial expressions is also important, especially in a professional atmosphere.
Eye contact: Maintaining eye contact shows your interest and engagement with the person speaking to you. If the person
you’re talking to is looking away, this nonverbal form of communication shows distraction or unease. When a person is being
untruthful, they often have trouble making eye contact, which is another nonverbal cue. To maintain strong, effective
communication, try to focus on what the other person is saying and look into their eyes as they speak.
Q. 2. “Soft skills can also be defined as a collection of positive attributes and competencies that can improve work
performance and productivity, enhance relationships, and make an individual more marketable in the workplace.”
Discuss with suitable examples
Ans. Soft skills are linked to emotional intelligence, but also include skills such as communication and listening, conflict
resolution, positive relationships, collaboration and cooperation, likeability, civility and openness to feedback. In contrast,
“hard skills” are such things as technical analysis and various machine operations, specific task competencies, administrative
details and trainable ability to perform the job successfully. Employers are constantly stressing the need for workers who
possess emotional intelligence and who can collaborate and communicate on teams. While hard skills are relatively easy to
quantify and measure, soft skills are far more difficult, but no less important.
Hiring employees with advanced soft skills can have a significant impact on an organization's ability to function effectively,
within its own structure and as part of their industry. While hard skills” such as technical knowledge and computational skills

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used to be the prime requirements for jobs, the possession of soft skills are now considered essential, and in some cases even
more important than technical knowledge.
The look and feel of our workplaces has dramatically changed over the last few decades. We see a variety of workspaces
including breakout spaces, remote offices, social areas, and quiet spaces. Computers, smart phones, and virtual meeting
applications have revolutionized the world and enabled us to achieve balance and flexibility within our personal and professional
lives.
However, to achieve success in this flexible workplace, more sophisticated communication skills, collaborating with others,
and interacting with others in more social way are all highly valued and necessary Technical skills aren't necessarily hard to
acquire. With time, they can be easily taught and perfected. Soft skills, however, are more challenging to develop and learn
since they have little to do with traditional education and training and more to do with character, relationships and personality.
Business schools are increasingly becoming aware of the need for soft skills for today's workplace. For example, the Yale
School of Management recently introduced “Global Virtual Teams” to teach the fostering of relationships across different time
zones and cultures. At Stanford University, the Graduate School of Business offers a course called Interpersonal Dynamics,
which students affectionately call the “touchy-feely” course. Don't shy away from courses or personal development networking
because it feels squishy; these can potentially make your resume stick out amongst the rest. And companies like Google have as
their centerpiece of training programs such as “Search Inside Yourself” which focuses on training people to become more aware
of their emotions, more compassionate toward others, more able to build sustainable relationships, and, ultimately, able to
contribute to world peace.
With the introduction of Artificial Intelligence, the job market landscape is changing, and job seekers need to be aware of
the shift. While A.I. will continue pushing forward with automating tasks that humans once did, these machines are incapable of
replacing soft skills. It is important for candidates to invest in the skill sets such as creativity, empathy, and conflict resolution
should they wish to land in a secure, lucrative position. Companies know they cannot replicate these skills with technology and
are looking for viable candidates to fill these leadership positions.
Q. 3. Write an extended note on the importance of Personality development and how can SWOC be useful?
Ans. Personal development is an essential step for making yourself more appealing to employers and customers. It also
helps boost your self-image. People apply many different tactics to stand apart in this sea of candidates. They want to secure the
top position, but it not as easy as it sounds. Individuals often conduct the SWOT analysis.
SWOT is seen as an analytical framework which can help companies facing great challenges. It helps to find the most
promising new markets. The analysis was created by business gurus Edmund P. Learned, Kenneth Andrews, C. Roland Christensen
and William D. in the 1960s. They wrote about it in their book “Business Policy, Text, and Cases.”
Even though SWOT was originally used for business, it can help assess a person's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats too. This kind of simple analysis structure will provide guidance. It looks at internal and external factors. Do not
take the SWOT analysis light.
Self-analysis is perhaps one of the most complicated things. But, it plays a very significant role in personal progress. The
personal skills SWOT analysis will help you to learn more about you. Carrying out a personal SWOT analysis is an important
step towards finding life and career direction.
Follow all steps seriously and create your Personal SWOT analysis. Before you allot precious time in the process, make
sure that you are ready to provide honest answers to yourself. While we easily scrutinize companies, jobs, employers and
colleagues, criticizing ourselves is the first step here.
Dig deep and identify what your own contributions really are. The analysis entails finding out what you are good at and
what you are terrible at SWOT is a tool for you. After you learn all the necessary details about yourself, you can try to make

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positive changes which will lead to new opportunities. Basically, SWOT analysis provides a better picture of all pros and cons
you have.
The outcome will depend on how you react to the findings. For example, you can react in two ways after you list all your
weaknesses. You can either understand how they can be threating to not only your career but also your personal life, or you can
work to overcome the weakness. It is always wise to think positively. Act proactively to turn the weakness into strength. Also,
try to eliminate all threats. Give importance to your strengths and take advantage of the opportunities.
Q. 4. What are the benefits of Self Reflection? Illustrate Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.
Ans. Simply put, self-reflection (also known as “personal reflection”) is taking the time to think about, meditate on,
evaluate, and give serious thought to your behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and desires. It's the process of diving
deep into your thoughts and emotions and motivations and determining the great, “Why?” behind them. Personal reflection
allows you to analyze your life from both a macro and micro level. At a macro level, you can evaluate the overall trajectory of
your life. You can see where you're headed, determine whether you're happy with the direction, and make adjustments as
necessary.
Without self-reflection, we simply go through life without thinking, moving from one thing to the next without making time
to evaluate whether things are actually going well. We don't pause to think. To analyze. To determine what is going well and
what isn't working. The unfortunate result is that we often get stuck. For example, a lack of personal reflection may lead us to
stay in a job we don't like or a relationship that isn't going well. A lack of reflection causes us to simply keep running, trying to
keep up with things even if things aren't going well. We feel like we're simply trying to keep our heads above water. We end up
doing the same things over and over again, even if those things aren't producing the results we had hoped for.
Gibbs' Reflective Cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 to give structure to learning from experiences. It offers
a framework for examining experiences, and given its cyclic nature lends itself particularly well to repeated experiences,
allowing you to learn and plan from things that either went well or didn't go well. It covers 6 stages:
Description of the experience
Feelings and thoughts about the experience
Evaluation of the experience, both good and bad
Analysis to make sense of the situation
Conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently
Action plan for how you would deal with similar situations in the future, or general changes you might find appropriate.
Q. 5. What is adaptability? What are the consequences of lack of Adaptability and why some people find it very
hard to adapt.
Ans. Adaptability in the workplace means being flexible and able to change in order to become successful. Adaptability is
a soft skill that employers seek when hiring candidates. Employees in a leadership role often have to manage unusual circumstances
where there are no explicit instructions. They must learn how to rest upon their own judgment and have the confidence to make
difficult decisions. If you are a person who learns quickly, it is because you know how to adapt. You can further nurture your
adaptability skills by trying new things and challenging your ability to problem solve in various circumstances. As a soft skill,
adaptability requires a number of other soft skills in order to be applied successfully. You must be able to learn quickly and put
that learning into practice. Additionally, you must be able to recollect what you've discovered, so you can identify trends and
make decisions accordingly. People with adaptability skills are never discouraged by failure they are open to both positive and
negative change. For them, failure is just a part of learning. These leaders are always learning and willing to take risks, as long
as it means that they can develop personally and professionally.
Several argued that, up to a point, adaptability is a strength. Ravindra Edirisooriya asserted that "Adaptability is good in
the short term since it will allow the use of existing labor, materials, machinery and technology and it is not disruptive. However,

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there is a limit to adaptability (if it precludes longer-term investment, for example)." As C.J. Cullinane put it, "we have to be
adaptable and flexible, but … Too much adaptability can lead to … lack of direction…" RT said that there is "No shame in
revising ideas --publicly and to ourselves."
There are times when commitment more clearly takes precedence over adaptability. Tom Dolembo pointed out that "Lincoln
'triangulated' … But he never waivered on the issue of union." Yadeed Lobo stated that adaptability may not be the best
approach in dealing with "inappropriate behavior" or harassment at work. David Physick commented that "Where I believe we
need more than ever to be strident and more fixed is in our intolerance of unacceptable behavior by our leaders."
Both commitment and adaptability have their place. Jeffrey Cufaude reminded us that Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, as a
result of the research leading to their book, Built to Last, advised us to "Preserve the core but stimulate progress." Phil Clark
argued that commitment, embodied for him in habit, "gives us time to pay attention and think about what is happening around
us. It allows us the chance to adapt to the changing world."
Q. 7. Why is Learn-ability important and how can we develop that?
Ans. The skill of learn ability confers a future value on you by making you agile. It's a currency that is rewarded with better
employability and high growth prospects. Learn why learn ability has gained in prominence -and how to develop a flair for it.
Learning no longer ends with school or college. Quite the contrary. The motto has shifted from learn, work, retire to live longer,
work longer. Ever-increasing numbers of adults today are returning to universities to learn new skills. They are working beyond
retirement and in different jobs.
The desire or ability to grow and adapt your skills to remain employable is learn ability. It is more complex than it sounds
as it entails going from periodically doing and learning something new to adopting learning as a way of life. It's about seeking
new skills to learn on a continual basis. Eventually, the skill of learn ability trains the mind to become agile and makes one
better decked with a rich spectrum of skill sets. As technological innovations accelerate, and individuals (learners and professionals
likewise) face a future with scarce knowledge of new professions, embracing learn ability as a foundational skill becomes
crucial. “Learn ability” has become a priority for individuals as well as corporate. Manpower, a human-resources consultancy
shows that the attribute of continuous learning is directly related to well-paid jobs.
Q. 8. Emotional awareness is recognizing our emotions and their effects. Explain with suitable examples.
Ans. Renowned psychologist Daniel Goleman defines emotional or self-awareness as the ability to recognize your internal
states, preferences, emotions and their effects. When you shine the light of awareness to an emotion, you gain powerful control.
Emotional awareness gives you control even when external situations are out of your control and helps you to know which
emotions you are feeling and why. It also helps you to realize the links between your feelings and what you think, do and say.
Self-awareness is a skill that requires focus and concentration. Being self-aware means that you can wire your emotions
into an internal dashboard, using it to guide and control your actions. Without it, you are at the mercy of your emotions.
Awareness also helps you to have a guiding understanding and clarity of what your values and goals are and how you can
act accordingly to get there. In the example from the prejudiced customer, my goal was to provide great customer experience
and get paid for good work. Being dragged into unproductive conflict was not going to bring me any closer to the latter.
Instead of exploding, I took a deep breath and calmly expressed that her comment was offensive and unfair for something
that was out of anyone's control. I told her that my crew would be back to fix the washout in a few hours, and walked away. My
team fixed the job and we got paid.
Also, awareness gives you a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. It helps you to examine yourself honestly to
get to the root of your problems. For example, maybe people don't like to talk to you. If you are not self-aware, you may just get
frustrated or accept it, or worse, not even notice that people are annoyed by you. Self-awareness helps you to examine your
reality, and maybe admit that you ramble too much, don't listen enough, aren't as engaging or present in conversations. This will
help you to find ways to correct or change your habits and be a better communicator.

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 This awareness of how your emotion and thought patterns affect what you are doing is the foundation of emotional
competence. If you lack self-awareness, you are vulnerable to being sidetracked by emotions run amok. Awareness helps you to
adjust and continually make improvements to improve performance in your life and career.
The benefits of achieving competence in this skill include the capacity to manage your impulsive feelings, stay motivated,
have an understanding of how people around you are feeling and grow social skills including those that are essential for
leadership and teamwork.
Q. 9. What are the key principles of coordination and why is it referred to as the essence of management?
Ans. Coordination is the very important aspect in any Organization. It brings unity of action and integrates different
activities of organization. Coordination is the most important function of an organization. It refers to bringing together the
activities of an organization to achieve the objectives and goals of the business. Coordination is the essence of management
because of the following reasons:
Co-ordination is needed to perform all the functions of management:
(a) In Planning, coordination is required between main plan and supportive plans of different departments.
(b) In Organizing, coordination is required between different resources of an organization and also between authority,
responsibility and accountability.
(c) In Staffing, coordination is required between skill of a person and job assigned to him, between efficiency and
compensation etc.
(d) In Directing, coordination is required between superior and subordinates, between orders, instructions, guidelines and
suggestions etc.
(e) In Controlling, coordination is required between standards and the actual performance of the organization.
Co-ordination is required at all levels of Management:
(a) Top Level: It requires coordination to integrate all the activities of organization and lead the efforts of all the individuals
in one common direction.
(b) Middle Level: It requires coordination to balance the activities of different departments so that these can work as a part
of one organization only.
(c) Lower Level: It requires coordination to integrate the activities of workers towards achievement of organizational
objectives.
Co-ordination is the most important function of an Organization: Any company which fails to coordinate its activities
cannot survive and run successfully for a long period of time. For example: Allwyn Company established in 1942, was the first
company to produce a double-decker bus. It was running successfully as a leading electronic industry, especially in refrigeration
industry. By the end of 1980 the company faced the problem of coordination. There was lack of balance and integration of
different activities; as a result the company started facing huge losses and by 1993 company had an accumulated loss of Rs.168
crores. Company failed to balance its departmental activities and product folios.
Q. 10. Explain what assistive technology is. How can it help students with disability?
Ans. The role of Assistive Technology for differently abled students is that it compensates for the skill that the student is
lacking in or for their area of disability. These may act in assisting the student with the task but cannot be considered long term
remedial solutions for the student's disability. For example: A brail to text software that converts the brail for a blind student,
into readable text. The function it performs is in an assistive measure, to improve the skill deficit, and not a solution to cure the
disability. Currently, various different types of Assistive Technology are available for differently-abled students based on their
disability. As mentioned before, the kind of assistive technology to be used, or a combination of a few, will depend on firstly the
need of the student, and second how best it would suit them. Some of the few, commonly used assistive technologies used to

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help differently abled students are: Recognition Software, Conversion Software, Assistive Listening Software, Visual/Audio
Aids, Physical Mobility Aid etc.
Assistive technology devices and services from such high-tech innovations as computer screen -- readers for people with
visual impairments to lower-tech products, such as head pointers or pencil grips --have aided learning for many students with
physical impairments. Positioning devices have enabled students with physical disabilities to join their classmates at tables;
auditory trainers have helped those with hearing impairments comprehend instruction in the regular classroom; and portable
text-reading devices have enabled learners with sight problems to access information from libraries (Bauche and Hasselbring,
2005). With all these measures in place, there are still factors that pose as challenges for the differently-abled learners that
technology is yet to catch up to.
Q. 11. Do you think creativity is a soft skill? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. Creativity is one of the soft skills and is supposed to help develop innovative solutions to problems. It requires
openness to innovation and mental flexibility. Creativity is a valuable workplace skill because it can be a useful tool for
developing new ideas, increasing efficiency and devising solutions to complex problems. While you may have natural creativity
skills in certain forms, it is a skill that can be learned and developed over time. In this article, we discuss what creativity is and
how you can take advantage of creativity skills in your day-to-day tasks.
Creativity is the ability to think about a task or a problem in a new or different way, or the ability to use the imagination to
generate new ideas. Creativity enables you to solve complex problems or find interesting ways to approach tasks. If you are
creative, you look at things from a unique perspective. You can find patterns and make connections to find opportunities. There
is some risk involved with being creative, but you can show you are self-motivated to try things that have not been done before.
When you are creative, you find connections between different ideas and use those connections to solve problems. Often
these connections happen when you aren't actively thinking about the problem or task. Something you read or something
someone says connects with the problem and you see it in a new way. Being in a different environment or experiencing something
for the first time can also create connections that help you view tasks differently.