• Also called life skills or people skills
• A combination of interpersonal and social skills
• Allow someone to interact effectively and easily with others
• Hard skills are learned through formal training and education, while the soft skills are obtained throughout daily life, personal experiences and reflections 

Face to face communication has proven more meaningful than online communication.

The “togetherness“ plays an important role.

The body language, facial expressions, the ways of talking (tone of voice,

pauses, different stress on words) etc.

(Dupuis and Ramsey, 2011; O‘Day and Heimberg, 2021; Vasanthakumari, 2019)

Capability in communication has two aspects; skills of enquiry and skills of persuasion.

Skills of enquiry:

1. Paying attention to what is being said
2. Treating the speaker as an equal
3. Cultivating ease and encouragement
4. Asking carefully thought and formulated questions
5. Rationing information
6. Giving positive feedback

Skills of persuasion:

1. Appeal to the audiences reason and emotions
2. Find the appropriate style in language, visuals and other non-verbal communication (considering who your audience are, what they already know, what the setting is and the time of your communication)
3. Identify the core idea, and arrange your ideas logically
4. Deliver your ideas
5. Use tools such as effective eye contact and metaphors

(Barker, 2010)

Assertiveness requires

• self knowledge: get to know your own emotions, values and principles
• confidence: believe in yourself and voice your opinions
• that you regulate your emotions
• you saying no when relevant! But do it respectfully and with arguments
• using I statements, such as: “I feel we should…” instead of “We should…”, or “I think this is…” instead of “This is…”

Respect is crucial when it comes to assertiveness.

You have to respect your own beliefs, but also the other parts standpoint!

For a successful conflict resolution you need all the mentioned social skills:

• communication:
  • active listening along with clear and respectful expression
• empathy:
  • REALLY consider the other parts emotions
• assertiveness:
  • stay true to your own emotions and principles

Don’t be afraid to change your mind and develop compromises.

Aaand remember the IDEAL problem solving model!

It comes in handy in many situations

Low-angle photography of metal structure

Internet users experience increased depression and loneliness, and a dwindling  social network. According to research, online relationships (via games and social media) do not substitute meaningful offline friendships and relationships, in terms of perceived social support. Socially anxious people use online communication to compensate for lacking in-person relationships (Dupuis and Ramsey, 2011; O‘Day and Heimberg, 2021).

Therefore it is important to interact face to face with other individuals, both those you are familiar with and new people.

Five persons standing while talking

On this occasion, you will have to do some active networking with people you don’t necessarily know. Networking as a face to face interaction, is great for the purpose of breaking the ice and practising your social skills.

For this task, you will:

1. Visit this site: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RxGqX8z_vRXOlGraCjx6ddPlcWAuf_Jb/edit  and pick out 5 questions you consider practical and insightful.
2. Stand up and find someone (preferably one you don’t know too well) and get permission to ask a few questions. If you are the first one to stand up, you just wait for the others to stand up too.
3. Use your 5 questions as a guideline in your conversation, but remember to answer if he/she asks you something back (using their chosen 5 questions).
4. Stay curious. If you suddenly have more questions for this individual, ask away.
5. When the conversation is finished, write down all the answers you remember receiving.
6. Draw a circle around the answers you feel you can relate to. Underline the answers you find interesting.
7. After everyone is done analysing their given answers, repeat this activity, as many times as the time frame allows.

Did you find it difficult to socialise with people you don’t know? Know you are not alone with that feeling. This is an unease or anxiety you can overcome with practice.

Now that you know how to network in real life and spot how your ideas fit with other people's ideas, you could take it to the next level and team up with someone from your network to make an idea a reality.

You can also explore online platforms where people network for professional purposes, like for example Linkedin.

Man speaking in front of crowd

You are about to become the president of the world!

Writing and delivering your own election speech will allow you to develop your empowerment, goal setting AND social skills, all in one go. Overcoming your fears and doing a public speech on topics that matter to you, can be incredibly empowering. What would you do if you were the most powerful individual in the world for a year? What are your principles and goals in life (or what do you want them to be)? How will you convince the public that your way is THE WAY?

Person writing on white paper

In this quest you will have to look inward and consider what goal you would choose as the most powerful political person in the world. What are your passions, interests and values? How would you want to change the world?

1. You have 5 minutes to point down an idea to change the world that aligns with your values.
2. You have 15 minutes to write a short speech about your (imagined) political aspirations; what you want to do, how you want to do it and why it would be beneficial to the people listening. You can use the template provided in the resources section as a guide (Election Speech Template).

Take turns to deliver your short speeches.

After choosing your goal as the president of the world, you lay it out in a speech. You might want to open the Election Speech Template (under Resources, here below). There you will be guided through the process. You should meet the following requirements in your speech text:

1. Make a strong introduction
2. Define your imagined political goal with the SMART model.
3. Illustrate the benefits of your plan.
4. Convince the public of your qualities and moral values.
5. End on an assertive note (not aggressive)

Deliver your short speech in front of the group. As a candidate/speaker, try to be convincing, and as an audience, remember to clap!

Writing and delivering a speech is no easy task, so if you've made it this far: congratulations!

This process teaches you that clear goal setting and ideology is crucial to the success of a speech. By writing your own speech, you will have a document that will allow you to revisit and use, in other circumstances of public speaking. You will realise how important communication techniques are when it comes to persuasion and introducing your ideas and goals. You will hopefully go home with a feeling of empowerment, which comes with overcoming your insecurities and fears that come with public speaking.

Remember to explore the resources section to learn more!

The term problem usually connotes a negative complication, a hassle or a headache. A utopian world would surely be free from all problems and conflicts… or would it? Problems and conflicts are an inevitable and natural part of human interaction, and can be great opportunities for reframing, innovative thinking and to gain insight into diverse issues. Overcoming a problem/conflict is an opportunity for growth. Let’s solve some complications with quality tools and get wiser with every step!

3x3 rubik's cube

This quest invites you to sharpen your problem solving skills. When moving towards a certain goal, chances are you will hit some kind of a barrier on the way. In this activity you will be given several problems/conflicts to work through in a purposeful (but respectful) way.

When all the groups/pairs have selected some solutions to these problems, you select one spokesperson for each group/pair, who introduces their solutions to the rest of the group and teacher.

You will be divided into groups of 2-3 participants.

You will be given several problems/conflicts to solve together, and use the IDEAL model as a helping tool. Because the problem is hypothetical, you might have to list more than one suggestion for every step of the IDEAL model.

You will find a short guide to the IDEAL model under Resources (The IDEAL model).

Remember that while solving a conflict in a team, other conflicts might occur when you don’t agree on a solution. That is a normal part of the process, and a great opportunity for further practice.

The given conflicts/problems:

1. Your team owns and operates an art gallery together. A rich person was going to buy your most expensive piece as a wedding present. This expensive art piece was stolen last night .The wedding is tomorrow.
2. You are the bosses at a programming startup business. One of your employees is deaf and has a hard time following discussions at meetings.
3. You are working at a hotel reception and have heard rumours that the business needs to reduce costs and that you are therefore going to be fired.
4. You are producing and selling woollen clothes in three different stores. Suddenly your sales drop dramatically in one of the stores (not the others).

Write your (I)DEAL solution down. Select a spokesperson for the pair/group, who will tell the rest of the group about your thoughts.

Time of activity: 40 min

Solving a problem/conflict is never an easy task, even if we do see them as opportunities in disguise!

By solving these problems, along with a team, you have had a valuable lesson in problem solving and conflict resolution. You have hopefully realised that problems are there for us to solve them, and if you put your mind to it, you can. Furthermore you have worked on these cases in a team setting, and that in itself is a great exercise in communication.

Feel free to explore the resources section to learn more!