A person possesses two kinds of skills, one is HARD SKILLS, and the other is SOFT SKILLS.
Hard skills or Technical skills are those skills which we learn or gain through education or training programs. Hard skills are the knowledge we possess. For example, an IT professional possesses the knowledge of computer software.
Soft skills are non-technical skills, our personal skills, our behavioral skills, our personality traits, our etiquettes, our mannerisms, our communication skills, our ability to make relationships with people, our ability to solve problems, our ability to cope with pressure, our decision making ability, etc. In other words, soft skills are the qualities which help us to deal with different situations and with other people.
Nowadays, we see people fighting or having arguments over petty issues. They have arguments with their neighbors, with their boss or with their colleagues. These are nothing but the lack of soft skills. That is why we say soft skills help you not only in your professional life but also in your personal life. These skills help you to become a good human being.
Hard skills enable us to apply for a job and can help us to get a job easily, but soft skills help us to retain ourselves in that particular job for a long period of time.
We require soft skills to work effectively in our workplace. Nowadays, employers hire people more on the basis of soft skills, and these are not job specific skills. For example, communication skill is useful across various job sectors. If you wish to work as a salesman or a teacher, you need good communication skills. That is why soft skills are also known as transferable skills, portable skills or employability skills.
Soft skill is something which complements your hard skill or technical skill.
Some important soft skills are:
- Communication skills
- Teamwork
- Leadership skills
- Problem solving skills/Conflict resolution
- Time and task management skills
- Stress management skills
- Decision making ability
- Interpersonal skills
- Adaptability
- Integrity
- Emotional Intelligence
We can understand the importance of soft skills with the following example:
Arjuna, a character of the epic Mahabharata, was one of the greatest archers of all time, and archery was his technical skill, something he learned from his Guru, Dronacharya.
Despite having Arjuna on their side, Pandavas were unable to win the battle of Mahabharata on their own. They won the battle under the leadership of Lord Krishna, although Krishna didn't take part in the war as a warrior.
Lord Krishna was a great communicator. As a peacemaker (Shantidoot), he negotiated with Kauravas to avoid war & make peace, where he demonstrated his art of communication. His communication skills and interpersonal skills played a major role when he delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. He boosted Arjuna's morale and cleared all his doubts and confusion by answering all his questions in the battlefield.
He was a great leader and a master strategist. He always had a positive & proactive attitude. He successfully led the Pandava army of 1.5 million warriors and soldiers. His ability to motivate others and ability to take quick & effective decisions helped Pandavas to win the war.
Lord Krishna had innumerable and incomparable qualities. He was a great leader, a master strategist, a great diplomat, a warrior, a great communicator, a philosopher, an ocean of knowledge, a great motivator, an ideal friend, a guru of all gurus, and a master of all soft skills. That is why he is referred to as Purna Purshottam.
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