Course Description
Soft skills, unlike hard skills that are technical, tangible, measureable, quantifiable and assessable, are practical, imperceptible and subtle qualitative traits that determine the efficacy of human communication at professional and personal levels. While hard skills acquisition can be correlated with one’s intelligence quotient (IQ), soft skills development are intricately linked with one’s emotional quotient (EQ) and spiritual quotient (SQ). Hard skills can aid an individual secure a position, yet soft skills help the person retain it, achieve excellence and fulfil self-actualisation needs. Using academic as well as popular books, the course offers soft skills by integrating them at personal, professional, interpersonal and management levels.
Course Content
Personal Skills
Self-Assessment; Identifying Strength & Limitations; Habits, Will-Power and Drives; Developing Self-Esteem and Building Self-Confidence, Significance of Self-Discipline
Understanding Perceptions, Attitudes, and Personality Types
Mind-Set: Growth and Fixed; Values and Beliefs
Motivation and Achieving Excellence; Self-Actualisation Need
Goal Setting, Life and Career Planning; Constructive Thinking
Professional Skills
Communicating Clearly: Understanding and Overcoming barriers; Cross gender/Cross Cultural communication, Strategic Communication.
Active Listening
Persuasive Speaking and Presentation Skills
Conducting Meetings, Writing Minutes, Sending Memos and Notices
Netiquette: Effective E-mail Communication; Telephone Etiquette
Body Language in Group Discussion and Interview
Interpersonal Skills
Enhancing Empathy, Showing Sympathy and Dealing with Antipathy; Gaining Trust and Developing Emotional Bonding
Ethics and Etiquettes (Social and Official Settings); Respecting Privacy; Civic Sense and Care for the Environment
Negotiating, Decision-Making, Conflict-Resolution, Five Styles
Emotional Literacy; Assertiveness versus Aggressiveness; Learning to Say “No.”; Learning to Appreciate and Give Praise; Presenting Bad News
Humour, Jokes and Anecdotes in Effective Communication
Management Skills
Managing Time and Beating Procrastination
Managing People: Leading and Working with Team (Co-ordination and Co-operation); Developing Accountability, Commitment and Responsibility; Behaving Conscientiously
Managing Stress and Maintaining Positive Outlook
Managing Health, Boosting Memory, Enhancing Study Skills
Managing Money and Love; Balancing Personal and Professional Life
Course Audience
UG Students of IIT Kanpur
Outcomes of this Course
Fully awareness of major role soft skills play in professional and inter-personal communications, the students, through experiential learning, develop an all-round development of personality.