I would say that the soft skills that fall under the "people skills" part of the equation are the ones that are harder to teach, since the students may or may not really believe that they need them-- and if they choose not to believe, one's approaches to others are a core part of one's identity, and that makes them pretty hard to change from the outside.
I think that this is because many of my students feel like they wanted to work within a very technical field specifically because they do not enjoy or really see the need for people skills or customer service. They want to work behind the scenes, and be evaluated on the mastery of their craft only.
This makes workplace behaviors easier to discuss, since they are easily connected to the ideas of professionalism, and opportunities for advancement.
I found it interesting that the training made explicit a strategy that I have been using based on intuition: I have to connect the concept of people skills to dealing with others in the workplace, working with internal customers, and being viewed as professional before I can get some students to acknowledge that it will matter to them how they speak with others, and the types of relationships that they develop and maintain with their bosses, peers, and subordinates.
I believe one of the hardest soft skills to teach our students is communication. We know that they are going to have personal issues, and that life gets in the way. But, it’s really important to be able to communicate about what is going on. We try to show them how important this skill is by emphasizing communication on our side. We should be emailing the students when they are absent; making sure they know what their grades are on a regular basis; fully explaining what our expectations are for assignments and class outcomes.
Although we really try to make these things happen, there are still some students who do not reciprocate. It is very tough to experience this, especially when we want our students to be successful in a world where no, matter what the profession, one must be able to communicate effectively.
I think the most difficult soft skill in my class is communication. I work with a diverse group of students going into a variety of careers. It seems like the students are only thinking about the mechanical aspects of their career. My class focus is on the people side but some are not convinced even at the end of class that communication is essential in any type of career. They don't seem to realize that sometimes you don't even get an interview if that communication piece is not in place.
Tammy,
Communication is always tough no matter what population you work with. Keep up the good work and continue to model good communication.
Philip Campbell
I work with medical assistants and it is just as important that they learn soft skills to work with doctors ,peers, and patients as learning medical procedures. I have to continually point out that they should treat patients as though they are family members or treat them the way you would want to be treated when sick or in pain. They tend to focus only on the treatment and forget the human element.
I think good communication skills are the most difficult soft skills to teach students.
Students must learn to develop good communication skills to best interact with fellow students, coworkers, clients, vendors, and supervisors.
These skills are difficult to teach as they must be modeled and emphasized in the classroom for students to understand their importance.
I think it is difficult to teach empathy. It does seem to be something that some people have naturally more than others.
As always, it depends on the school and the teaching topics, but I've noticed in a career-focused school, conflict resolution tends to sometimes be the most difficult. The students have their own lives (work, school, personal, etc.) and the conflict created by all these happening at once sometimes becomes too much. Finding solutions, depending on the case, can be easy, but it might also be hard (as I've found out working with my students).
Accepting responsibility. My students tend to blame others when problems occur. They seldom accept personal responsibilities. Controlling emotions is also part of responsibility.
One of the most difficult soft skill to reach is dependency and reliability. I explain to my students that it is very important to hand in their homework on time. This will prepare the students for the work force by being dependable and reliable. Homework demonstrates timeliness, organization, and time management.
Kathy,
I agree with you that accepting responsibility is a hard skill to teach. Taking ownership is hard and some students never want to take ownership for their mistakes. We try very hard to teach this as an employer will respect them more if they own up to something they have done wrong rather than blame everyone else in the facility.
Common sense cannot be taught either a person was born with it or not so I would have to say understanding and respecting others. Some students really struggle with this because they have not had anyone around them to make them stop and step back from even a simple situation and think about what steps to take next while considering the consequences of their actions prior to them reacting.
Socrates,
Good job, many see homework as a task instead of an assessment. Great way to use it.
Philip Campbell
Ambition can't be taught. You have to want it to be truly motivated to go get it. You can succeed without ambition but you likely won't be happy with your success. Doing what you love and loving what you do, starts off by deciding what your ambitious about. That can't be taught it is only felt by he/she who has it.
I think conflict resolution. We are in the medical field, and trying to make students understand that they will not be able to choose their patients and the people that they will work with is very difficult.
Laura,
Good point. Everyone needs to be able to deal with stressful situations and understand that sometimes things are directed at situations and not individuals.
Philip Campbell
Just practice and be aware that what is being said is meant to be constructive not insulting.
Controlling emotions is the most difficult soft skill to teach students. I have worked with many students who do not properly manage their time and then become very upset when a deadline approaches.
Patricia,
That is hard for some students to accept. Keep working with them on that.
Philip Campbell
It has been difficult for me to teach attention to detail. It could be partly to due to a comprehension issue because I have noticed that many dont have the ability to follow the details of written homework. I have read specific homework instructions to my studenst in class, highlighted with examples of what they are expected to submit and will still recceive something different.
