BLOGS
Why do Body language and similar soft skills training fail and how can we use them for maximum benefits?
by Deepti Kamal, August 16, 2021
There are many reasons for failure of such programs which are supposed to enhance the performance of human beings in terms of intangible traits. In order to make any such program successful, we must evaluate and understand the reasons for failure of program meant for improving Body language, Communication skills, Presentation Skills, Psychometric tests, Leadership Skills, Group Discussion Skills, Interview skills and Cultural Awareness. The most common reasons are listed here:
1. Lack of Conviction: Most people join the program but lack the determination to succeed, so when the initial enthusiasm ends, after a period of time, the time devoted decreases significantly and the results seem far away. People lose hope and the journey ends.
2. I-know-it-all syndrome: Many people think I know it, just because they have heard about some common terms from various sources. Learning and practicing goes beyond knowing the keywords. It is more related to continuous practice and correction by friends and family or at least a self-help group/study group.
3. The superiority complex: Many people cannot shun the attitude of ‘Why would I learn from him, I can do it myself, I don’t need anyone’s help.’ This is the very emphasis in the famous book by Steven covey named ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’
4. Lack of Self-awareness: Before a student faces the world, there is minimal chance of getting self-assessment regarding behavioral improvements and current status. Most students just sail the boat, while those who excel, take charge of their career.
5. Joining the wrong program/group: This is the result of lack of self-assessment, where people follow their friends and join programs randomly, even if they don’t need them. In fact such participants are draggers and demotivate others also, subconsciously.
6. Failure to understand the purpose of a program: Each program has a specific purpose and possible applications. Learning body language may help in presentation skills, interviews, group discussions of improving communications skills, but it may not help in improving your knowledge about MS Word or Excel.
7. This is impractical: People believe these ideas are just inventions of some people to create a market. True it is a huge market and corporate pay average of INR 20,000-200,000 per person per year for making their staff better by engaging corporate trainers. The other side of the story is, there has been significant performance boost after such sessions or workshops, which justifies the existence of such modules. The sooner we realize this, better would be our headstart from our competition.
The way out is to have a positive outlook, build a set of people who would like to progress and develop, create learning groups to share and practice course contents and get reviewed by peers.
Role of soft skills in Marketing management
by Asif Ahmad, July 29, 2021
Soft skills can be defined as the individual competencies and capabilities that help a marketing manager flourish in their industry. Marketing managers require both hard and soft skills to accomplish their jobs well. Soft skills are usually understood to be associated with interaction between people. Soft skills aid marketers in managing and leading their professional team.
Leadership skill is expected in every industry in people who are are responsible for leading a team and motivating them to achieve a certain goal, setting strategic goals, motivating employees to perform well. Some amount of technical expertise and experience and added sharpness with required soft skills can create wonders. Marketing employees use specialized software, tools and techniques to design strategies and promotion methods, but key to success lies in execution. Here is the role of proficiency in soft skills which provide a decisive advantage to any marketing executive or team. Organizational skills are beneficial to anyone who manages multiple tasks or projects at the same time, communicate with a range of people, including their coworkers, their team members and their company’s customer base. Marketing managers should be able to clearly and effectively communicate their ideas, requests and expectations.
Most valued soft skill can boost your personal attributes as well including, your focus, ambition, common sense ,situational awareness, time management and confidence levels. Organizing the team definitely demonstrate and develops your organizational skills- another soft skill that is often considered in interview.
To summarize, it is a good idea to identify which soft skill gaps you may have and work on them. Many of these skills can be taught- even the best public speakers have openly admitted that it was not an innate love of the stage, but indeed their years and years of practice which made them influential speakers. For freshers who wish to make a career in marketing, when appearing for an interview, it becomes important to consider what is the culture of the organization. They should specifically work towards expected soft skills required to gel well with their potential team, a trait keenly observed by hiring managers. If you fail to identify with their culture then it is not the right place for you, and you should look for places you fit in, unless you plan to work of your craft. Assuming a new role involves much more than just the job specifications and roles and doing this analysis will have dual benefits, helping you in your preparation for interview as well as identifying more suitable organizations in which you would like to advance your career.
Soft skills in workplace: Do they really matter?
by Deepti Kamal, July 22,2021
Skills such as active listening, collaboration Problem-solving, Decision-making, Stress management, Persuasion, Active listening, Empathy, Interpersonal skills, presenting ideas and communicating with colleagues are all highly valued in the modern workplace. Strong soft skills ensure a productive, collaborative and healthy work environment in this competitive world.
Soft skill will influence how well a person can work or interact with others. It covers a wide range of skills like teamwork, time management empathy and dedication. The organizations seem to expect people know how to behave on the job and the importance of skills such as communicating efficiently and listening which often is not the case. These are the personal attributes that influence how well you can work or interact with others. These skills make it easier to form relationships with people, create rest and dependability and lead teams. In other words we can say that soft skills are essential for your success in the workplace and it is also important for the success of your company as well as your personal life.
We use soft skills every day at work and developing these soft skills will help us win more business and accelerate your career progression. On the other hand, lack of soft skills can limit your potential or even be the reason for downfall of your business/career. By developing strong leadership quality, teamwork and communication abilities you can run projects more smoothly. By improving how you interact with others may deliver results that please everyone and will definitely create positive influence on your personal life as well.
Social media: An effective mode of communication.
by Sushmita Suman, July 15, 2021
Social media is one of the most general ways of communication and it is growing very quickly. As everything has some good and bad impact these social media applications and site too have fair share of both, especially the influence on children and young adults. Some people argue that these social media has depressing affects on the brain and personality of a person and While there are others who believe that it has a more positive effect on them than a negative one.
We all know that world is huge and most people want to know and communicate with others. Social Media is essentially the new way of keeping in touch with everything and everyone and of even strengthening bonds between each other to communicate easily .Before the rise of applications and websites like orkut, facebook, whatsapp, instagram, telegram etc, people used to communicate through writing letters and having them sent through the mail which would take a lot of time and still the essence of communication was cherished, and people waited for those pieces of happiness. Now social media offers the same communication but fast enough and constant touch with friends and family also relieves people stress free.
Now, communication is essentially done through social communication network on a daily basis using the internet like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat ,Instagram etc. This also has some commercial value, as social media marketing itself is becoming new posterboy among marketing sector tools. In social media the truth and reality come together. An important contribution of social media is that it has given the power to bring truth at the forefront and spread it as fast as possible. News which are shared on social media can also be verified for accuracy spread among millions of people within hours.. This authority to give information through social media has challenge the ability of the establishment bodies who claim to the absolute custodian of truth. Technology has given people the ability to digitally document real time events and share them on social media. This development has been possible only because of the surge in information communication technologies.
Why do we need admission counselling?
by Deepti Kamal, July 29, 2021
In years of interaction with parents and students, pre and post admission, what we have learnt is that people are looking for right source of information, preferable from people in the field and need an external college admission counsellor although they may have access to school counsellors. Taking admission in a college or university is a matter of many choices and opportunities, both missed and achieved. People look for various aspects like distance from home, fee, living conditions, languages spoken, campus placement opportunities and overall environment in the campus. It is impossible for a parent to find all of these for one college, imagine doing so for a list of 50 or 100(or still more!!) colleges and universities. I will be a herculean task, and still would be based on information based on university or institute websites or some first-hand experiences.
The Admission counsellor can step in to fulfil an important role, as an advisor armed with knowledge about various universities and institutes, their comparative situation, fee structures, facilities available and overall academic and extracurricular scenario. Such a counsellor can help people zero in and decide about shortlisting and choosing a college for better prospects in education and career.
A short review about benefits of availing facilities of an admission consultant/counsellor is:
1. Source of Information
Such people are knowledgeable about couse eligibility criteria, skills required to master a course(called prerequisites), previous education level required, possible career avenues according to latest trends and industry demand, academic and campus environment of various institutions etc.
2. Timing
As dates are an important aspect of admission process, and applicant need to track the latest dates for start and end of application process of different universities and colleges, various documents required, whether admission test or competition is involved and where to submit the application, such information is compiled and collected by admission counsellor/consultants to serve anxious parents and students.
3. Cost implications
The education is becoming costlier, despite lot of competition among old, new and emerging institutions. Besides course fee, hostel fee and living expenses have also increased causing extra burden on parent. In such a scenario an admission consultant can be of significant use who would suggest a good college under our budget, and also suggest ways to gain scholarship opportunities, stipend/fellowship and save costs in various circumstances in case to case as an added advantage.
4. Personalization
Such people work with you in 1-2 session to understand your requirements and answer the questions confusing you. They lead to an informed decision making and also help you zero in your career choices and right career path for you, to some extent.
5. Prioritization
While taking admission is one complicated process, preparing for competitions and higher studies itself is an exhaustive activity, students can focus more on the latter and can reduce effort in former using help of admission counsellor and consultants