Here at Conover, we are passionate about emotional intelligence and soft skills. This is the first of what will be a recurring series where we take a look at some interesting articles that highlight soft skills or their absence in news, media, etc…
For the final month of Summer, we’ll be looking at five big examples which we think shine a light on how important understanding and developing soft skills can be.
1. Movie – *Inside Out*
Of course, number one is a film that is really all about developing emotional intelligence. We love this movie because it uses fun characters to illustrate the inner workings of human consciousness.
It also serves as a great way to get kids to talk more about how they feel, which is an important step in developing soft skills.
2. News – “Covering Greece: When It’s Not Just a Story, It’s Personal“
NPR ran a great piece written by a Greek reporter who describes her return to Greece and the events that have thrust the nation into the news. The piece discusses individual stories that may be overlooked without a personal connection to their subjects.
It is a great study in Attitude and Communication as well as discussing Media Rules and the temptation of bias for journalism professionals.
3. Article – “Inside the Empathy Machine: VR, Neuroscience, Race and Journalism“
Another journalism-centered piece, in this MediaShift article, Joel Beeson discusses how Virtual Reality technology could expand our own limited perspective and allow us to see life from somebody else’s.
The article emphasizes what a leap such technology could be for empathy, a crucial soft skill. It would especially be useful for improving race relations in America, in much the same way 1951’s “Black Like Me” was.
4. Article – “The 4 Ways CEOs Accidentally Mess Up Company Culture“
We couldn’t pass up sharing this great business article from FastCompany which talks about four ways that CEOs can negatively impact the workplace they are entrusted to manage.
The article finds fault primarily in the soft skills department, calling out issues that would be resolved by a better attention to professionalism, attitude, communication and critical thinking. It certainly reveals how valuable learning soft skills are to any workplace environment.
5. Tips – “Staying Clean and Organized While Traveling“
As frequent travelers, ourselves, we had to applaud this list for helping shed some light on the ever-important soft skill of Planning and Organizing. You can be a rockstar at this skill and still find traveling to be a test of your talent or abilities.
The article goes into basics of packing, stain removal and even fixing those frustrated wrinkles. The subtext throughout the piece higlights the importance of planning before doing anything, which we know to be a make-or-break skill in social, personal and professional settings.
6. Video – “Chuck Jones – The Evolution of an Artist“
This mini-documentary from “Every Frame a Painting” on Youtube discusses the rise of Chuck Jones who is synonymous with Looney Tunes cartoons. At only eight minutes, the video is digestible and covers a lot of soft skills ground primarily in the way of “communication,” and critical thinking
Be sure to stay tuned-in for the next roundup. There are stories happening every day that highlight how important these soft skills are. Once you know about them, they’re hard to miss.
