Soft skills are the personal and positive competencies and attributes that can improve one’s job performance, relationships, and value to the market. These include the ability to demonstrate good manners, be likable, work under pressure, accept criticism, manage time effectively, work well with others, build trust, show respect, accept responsibility, handle conflict, be positive, communicate effectively, and listen well. They are important in my future career in the field of education as my chosen career would entail a lot of interaction with other people, such as the students, my fellow teachers, the school administrators, the students’ parents, and even the community in general. As such, it is important that I be able to effectively build a good relationship with them. This would allow me to be able to influence them in a way that a good educator should and would allow me to gain their respect such that they will take to heart the things that I will teach them.
The soft skills which would seem to be prioritized the highest in my profession would include listening well, verbal communication, and taking care of my appearance. It is important for an educator to be able to listen well as this will foster a good relationship between a teacher and a student where the student will feel that they are being heard, that they are respected, and that they are important. Verbal communication is also important as the primary mode of instruction is through face-to-face communication, and it’s important for the student to clearly understand the lesson being imparted by a teacher. In addition, physical appearance is important as this would serve as an example to the students on how they should conduct themselves and would enable the teacher to gain the students’ respect. That said, employers value these skills highly as most of these skills are innate in a person and are not things that can be developed and learned overnight. However, they are essential in ensuring the employee’s performance and are instrumental in ensuring a pleasant and productive work environment.
