SOFT SKILLS III Yr. Degree Classes - Bharathidasan University SYLLABUS UNIT1: Introduction - Soft Skills - Know Thyself - Understanding Self - Selfdiscovery - Positive Attitude - Perception - Values. UNIT2: Interpersonal Skills - Understanding Others - Developing Interpersonal Relationships - Team Building - Group Dynamics - Networking - Improved Work Relationships. UNIT 3; Communication Skills - Comm. With Others - Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing (LSRW). UNIT 4: Corporate Skills - Work With Others - Body Language - Etiquette - Manners - Time Management - Stress Management. UNIT 5: Selling Self - Job Hunting - Writing a Resume - Interview Skills - Group Discussion - Mock Interview - Career Planning - Goal Setting. Books Consulted: 1. Soft Skills -K.Alex (St.Joseph’s College, Trichy) 2. Success thro’ Soft Skills - GRavindran, B.Ilango and L.Arockiam (St.Joseph’s College, Trichy)UNIT1 1. Definition - Hard Skills and Soft Skills : ___ Hard Skills” are skills that are essential for any job - educa- tional Qualifications, technical training, work experience and so on. Without “hard skills” you cannot get a job. “Soft Skills” are different from “hard skills”. Soft Skills refer to your personal characteristics, friendliness, ability to move rectly with others and in society, communication skills and the ic. 2. Attributes regarded as soft skills: (Aspects of soft skills) There are six aspects of soft skills. a. Interpersonal Skills: Interpersonal relationship means your ability to move with others, to help, guide and motivate your colleagues to do good work. b. Team Working: Esprit de corps is a French term. It means “team spirit”. All the members of an organization should have a sense of loyalty (faithfulness, sincerity) and work together for the success of the organization. So, you must have the skill to co-operate with other members of your team and encourage them. c. Negotiation Skills: Negotiation means formal discussion between people in order to reach an agreement. Therefore, one of the soft skills is your ability to discuss with members of your organization or members of other organizations or Government Officials and come to a conclusion. d. Communication Skills: The ability to convey your ideas and suggestions to others is an important skill - either in speech or in writing. You must learn two or three languages (local language and Hindi and English) thoroughly, according to the rules of pronunciation and megrammar in order to communicate with others. You shoul also understand what others say (or write), so that you can reply (react) properly. e. Time Management: You should plan all your work carefully and finish any work within the given time. All busy men in various fields have different types of responsibilities. But they do everything success- fully in time. f. Stress Management: “Stress” means “worry” or “anxiety” caused by too much of work or too many responsibilities. You must overcome stress and keep your physical health and mental stability in good shape. This is Stress Management. g. Conclusion: The above six aspects of soft skills are essential for get- ting a job and achieving success at work. 3. Importance of Soft Skills: a. Introduction: Soft Skills are a person’s ability to build good relation- ships with other people, communication skills, ability to develop team spirit and lead the organization to success. b. The Importance of Soft Skills: Of course, hard skills are essential for any worker in any organization. Hard skills refer to educational qualifications and technical skill and experience. But, this is not enough. Now, the boss of an organization wants people who possess soft skills in addition to hard skills. Soft skills are important for an individual's personal success and also for the prosperity (success, growth) of the organization. -3-¢. Conclusion: Therefore graduates who search for a job should possess both hard skills and soft skills, 4. “Know Thyself” Importance of knowing yourself a. Introduction: Know thyself is a term given by the Greek Philosopher Socrates. (Sth century B.C) It means “know yourself”. You should try to understand your own good qualities and bad qualities. You should know your strong points and weak points and then try to improve yourself. b. Control emotions : If you know yourself then you can easily control your emotions (feelings). When you control your emotions you remain calm and you do not offend others. c. Achieve your goal (aim) You should know your strong points, develop them, build on them. Then you can easily achieve your aim. d. Improve relationships : When you realize your strong points and when you control your emotions, naturally your relationships with others will be good. e. Realize your potential: “Potential” means ability to do something, ability to achieve success. If you know yourself, then you can develop your potential fully. You can build on your strong aspects and avoid weaknesses. f. Experience happiness : If you realize your potential fully, you will feel happy. You will have a sense of achievement and satisfaction. -4-g- Conclusion : Therefore, Know Thyself is a very meaningful concept (idea). What Socrates said nearly 2,500 yrs. 880 @PP ies a body in today’s world. Self-discovery is important to every one of us. 5. Process of knowing yourself a. Introduction: Self discovery is important for evel building upon one’s strength and achieving several ways of knowing yourself. b. Friends and Relatives: ‘As soon as a student comes off the stage after singing a song, he (she) asks his (her) friends: “Did I sing well?” This is quite natural. So, one way of self-assessment is asking your friends and relatives for their opioins on your strength or weakness. c. Gandhiji maintained a diary: Gandhiji would examine himself every day and ask himself what he had done right and what wrong. In the same way you can maintain a diary and know your strengths & weaknesses. d. Relaxation & meditation: Meditation usually means thinking about religious and spiritual matters. But it does not always mean it. You can forget your worries and problems and think about something different. e. Exercise, Outing, Walking: Physical exercises, jogging, walking, going out - -all these will help a person in self-discovery. : f. Hobbies, New interests: iis eens some hobbies will enable you to find your Particular activity --photography, gardening, music and stamp-collecting are such hobbies, ° -5- ry person. It leads to the goals. There areg. Reading: Reading for business is different from reading for pleasure. Reading stories, poems and plays will make a person feel relaxed and refreshed. h. Conclusion: Thus one can adopt various ways of self discovery and self knowledge. Self discovery keeps a person’s mental equilibrium. 6. SWOT Analysis : a. Introduction : SWOT = Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats One can assess all the four elements & plan for further development b. Internal &External: Strengths and weaknesses are internal aspects. That is, they are within a person. On the other hand opportunities and threats are external. They come from outside sources. c. Positive and Negative: It is also clear that strengths and opportunities are positive and weaknesses and threats are negative in their influence upon a person. d. Approach to the Four Aspects: One should use the two positive aspects in a constructive manner, We should build up our strength and explore various opportunities. But at the same time we should try to overcome the two negative aspects --weaknesses and threats. -6-Conclusion: . . ‘SWOT analysis must be done effectively. Then only your self-realization will be complete. The Chinese Philosopher Tao Te Ching says: Knowing others is Intelligence; Knowing yourself is Wisdom. Mastering others is Strength; Mastering yourself is Power. 7. Developing Positive Attitude a. Introduction: The word attitude has two meanings: i. A position of the body ii. A state of mind or a feeling. The second meaning is applicable to our study. b. Attitude: Attitude includes a lot of things. a. What you think b. How you understand events and people c. What opinions you form about others d. What feelings you experience ¢. How you speak to others f. How you treat people 8. How you behave in society c. Formation of Attitudes: The formation of an attitude is not a simple process --- not a linear development. Man’ toma 'y factors act on a person’s mind to -7-i, Psychological factors define attitudes. That is, your experiences in carly life have a strong influence on your mind. They shape your attitudes. ii, | Family background is another factor. iii. Society is also responsible for your attitudes. Social customs, traditions and conventions very strongly influence your mind. iv. Political factors also decide your opinions and behaviour. v. Economic factors also influence attitudes. d. Change of attitudes: Opinions and judgements once formed cannot be easily changed. There are “die-hard” politicians and traditionalists everywhere. We cannot change their attitudes. But at the sametime attitudes do change. Gaining of new information, the feeling of fear, influence of peers (friends) and a tendency to go with others —- all these change people’s attitudes. e. Positive Attitude: There are two types of attitude : Negative Positive Negative attitude always doubts other people and it has no faith in future progress. Negative attitude is not healthy, But Posi- tive Attitude is a sign of good mental health. f. Positive attitude has the following characteristics: (Advantages) i, It is optimistic--it has high hopes about future progress and success. ii. It thinks and plans creatively. iii, It encourages others and co-workers and motivates them to achieve the goals. -8-iv. _ It faces problems (and challenges) boldly and tries to solve them. v. It never experiences discouragement or hopeless mood. vi. It is self-confidence and self-esteem. g. Developing positive attitude: i. Listen to the internal dialogue ---that is, what your conscience says. ii. _ Listen to the advice of your superiors, senior colleagues and friends. iii. Help and encourage others. iv. Explain your difficulties or problems to others and try to get their help. v. If there is any criticism from others, don’t lose your temper, Listen to them and improve yourself. vi. Try to develop co-operation at your workplace. h. Conclusion: Thus, Positive attitude is helpful to a person. It also builds up team spirit in the organization and leads to the overall develop- ment of society. 8. Values a. Introduction: The word “value"(“values”) has been defined as follows: i. Values are general beliefs about what is ri what is wrong. sightand ii, Values refer to a specific mode of conduct Preferable to another mode, -9-b. Characteristics of values: Values have the following characteristics, i. ii. iii. A Value is chosen freely, according to one’s own judgement. If children go to church because of parents’ compulsion, church going is not a value. Values are chosen from among several things. “Eating” is not a value, because there is no choice. But behaving in a particular way or treating others in a way is a value. A value is beneficial to us. c. Values relating to education: The following are values relating to education. iii. Students must accept the importance of knowledge and the importance of learning. Authorities should reward achievement by students and teachers. Educationists must encourage the questioning attitude of students. All must realize that home, school and society form one integral unit. d. Values relating to Self and others: i, ii. iii. iv. One must realize one’s worth and must have self esteem. One should co-operate with others to build a better organization and a better society. One must be honest when dealing with others. One must accept and respect the view points of others. One should be duty-conscious and sincere.e. Values relating to civic responsibilities: You should have faith in democratic values. You must be a dutiful son (or daughter) and later a devoted husband, (or wife) and care for the family. iv. You should be a respectable member of society. v. You should pay the taxes and respect & obey government authority. f. Social & Cultural Values: Every society has its own traditions, conventions, ceremo- nies, forms of worship, religious beliefs etc. Every individual should respect these. The following are social & cultural values. i. Universal Love. We should consider all people as our brothers & sisters. ii. Sharing our happiness, sorrows & problems with others will bring in an atmosphere of brotherhood. iii, We should participate in social and cultural activities. iv. Helping tendency and team spirit are also important aspects of social life. g. Formation of Values: Essay No.7 “Developing Positive Attitude” paragraph c. “Formation of attitudes” Repeat the whole para, but use the word “values” or “value” instead of “attitudes” or “attitude”, h. Similarities between attitudes and values: i. Both attitudes and values are learned -- not inherited, not inbom or innate. ii. The same sources like family, fri iety i attitudes and values. Noe Sony Sana iii. Both affect the behaviour and character of people, WV. Attitudes and values do not change easily, -ll-i. Difference between attitudes and values: Attitudes are one’s personal beliefs. Values are common to many people and they are the property of a whole society. j. Importance of values i, Values shape an individual’s beheviour and character. Self-respect, ambition to achieve the goal, co-operation with others -- all these are the result of values. ii. If all individual workers have good values, the orgonization will grow and society will prosper. iii. Values refer to moral principles. If people respect personal and social values, society will earn a good name. 9. Perception a. Introduction: Perception is a process of seeing, receiving, selecting, organizing and giving meaning to the environment. We sce people, things, places and events and understand the meaning of each. This is perception. b. The process of perception : Inputs ———> Throughputs ———»> Outputs Inputs: Our senses experience the outside world. We see things and people . We hear some noise or music. We smell something or taste a drink or food. We come into contact with an object by physical touch. These are all the inputs -- They may be called stimuli; they stimulate us; that is, they rouse our senses. Selection : Our sensory organs feel the things and select a few and send the message to the brain. The brain realises the meaning and importance of what we sce or hear. ~ teOutput : - ae behaviour in response to the stimuli is the output. An example : ‘bens i i a cyclist and While you are walking on a road, you see scooterist collide with each other and fall down -- Input. Your eyes send the message to your brain. Your ‘brain ieee re event. i i “acci - ctlon and ives meaning). It as an “accident e erpesusien. You immediately rush to the spot in order to help the two men - Output. ¢. Factors that influence perception: Two sets of factors influence our perception i. Internal il. External Internal External needs, desires, size, experience, intensity, frequency, Personality, contrast, movement, i. Internal Factors Needs & Desires: There is a huge hoarding (board) with a Picture of a car by the roadside. Ifyou are planning to buy a car, you will stop and examine the picture carefully. If you don’t want to buy a car you ignore the hoarding. Experience : -13-Personality: Personality influences perception. An optimist (a person who sees good things and hopes for a good future) views a situation in bright light but a pessimist (a person who sees only the dark side of things) views the same situation differently. ii, External Factors: Intensity : “Intensity” means strength or the quality of having strong influence. If a noise is soft and low, people may not perceive it. If it is loud, people hear and interpret it. Size: The size of a person or thing attracts the attention of the people. A multi-storey building is more casily perceived than small buildings. Frequency : Ifa TV ad is repeated many times, people perceive it. They may also feel that it is boring. Contrast: (Opposite, different thing). While driving on the highway, there is nothing but dry land on both sides. But suddenly you see a beautiful lake. Your perception is roused. Movement: Movement is another factor that influences perception. On the bazaar if a fellow runs out of a jewellery mart madly, all people perceive him. d. Different people perecive the same thing or situation differently: The simple word night is understood (perecived) by different -14-people in different ways. A night watchman will think of his night duty. A thief will think of how and where he can show his skill and steal things, Most people think of rest and sleep. Newly married couple will think of their sexual pleasure. Perception is unique-— that is every person has their own way of perceiving things. There are many pictures that illustrate the point that different people perceive the same thing differently, Mo Do you see a flower vase Does the book face you or two faces ? or face down ? e. Pereeption and its application in an organization: There are several workers in an organization. Very often a situation or a problem is perceived differently by different employees and the authorities and it results in clashes. According to the boss, salary is good enough, but the workers think the salary is low. If both parties resolve the differences, and modify (change) their perception, the organization will prosper. f£. Conclusion Thus, Perception is our understanding of things, events and People. It is an everlasting experience, Every minute we see or hear something or Somebody and we perceive the situation in our own way, -15-UNIT -2 10. Interpersonal Relationships (skills) Understanding others a. Introduction: Interpersonal relationship means relationship between one person and another or one person and others. Courtesy and understanding of other people’s views (opinions, points) are two important aspects of Interpersonal Relationships. b. Situations where interpersonal skills are important: Interpersonal relationships are like the axis (central point) on which the whole world rotates. If two persons do not understand each other, quarrel and fighting are the result, leading to damage or separation of the two people. There are three situations where interpersonal skills are important: ii. i. Family ii. Workplace iii. Society (community) . Family: A good family is a university - it is a place of knowledge, growth & development and cordial (friendly) relationships. Understanding between parents & children, brothers & sisters, husband & wife - - all are essential for a happy home. Parents must be strict, but kind at the same time. Children must be obedient and devoted to their parents. They must help their parents in all possible ways. Among brothers and sisters there should be proper understanding. Everyone must help the others. There must be a kind of give and take policy and a spirit of sacrifice. Place of work: There should be proper interpersonal relationships in an organization. It is called “team — spirit” or “team building”. (separate essay). iii. Society: Nobody is an island. We are all members of a community or society. It may be a small village or a large town or a metropolitan city — there are other people, thousands and -16-understand the opinions, thousands of them. You should meople. You should try ifficulties of other 7 Fonelp anybody in difficulty. Ife young man or gil offers their own seat on the bus or train to a senior citizen, it is not a big matter, but it matters very mang ae society. “Love neighbour as you A ~ this i ding principle summarises all our theories about interpersonal relationships. We must respect people of other religions, other races and other countries. Clashes arise because of lack of understanding and adjustment. c. Conclusion: : Thus interpersonal skills are the pivot on which the whole world rotates. Good interpersonal relations > good families healthy communities + prosperous countries —> pleasant world. (Also refer to the essay on courtesy) 11. Team Building — (Group Dynamics) a. Introduction: Team building and Group Dynamics almost mean the same thing. Team means a number of people or animals who do something together as a group. There are two contexts (situations) in which the word “team” is used. b. In sports and games “team” refers to a group of players who compete with another group for success — Football Team, Basketball Team, Badminton Team etc., Here team spirit is very important. On the football ground we can see each player passes the ball to another member of the team in order to gain a goal. Individual ego (pride) should be sacrificed so that the team can win. “Esprit de corps” means “team spirit”. b. Each for All, All for Each: : “Each for All, All for Each” is the basi inci f co-operati er ion. _ the main idea of team spirit. Principle 0 c e second sense of the term “Tk Tae oe school, college, bank, Govt. office or any wodionaeinace’ Has also “team spirit” is important. The Head of an organizati should be cordial (kind, courteous) to his sub-ordina on under his control). There should be mutual cine en ie W . orkers, Give-and-take Policy should be ado pted. -17-You must be respectful to your superior officers. You must obey their orders. If they are wrong, you should politely point out the mistake and convince and correct them. Moreover, you should behave properly with people of your own rank. Don’t try to boss over them. You are all equals, nobody is above or below anybody. All must work together for the growth of/our organization. If people of an organization develop team spirit, the organization will grow. You should also maintain friendly relationships with the people who are below you in rank. You should not be authoritative in a tude way. If they correct you, you must not become angry, but accept the correction. d. The Role of the Leader of the Team: The leader of a team should be friendly to others. He must clear the misunderstanding among co-workers. If they quarrel among themselves, the organization will be ruined. The leader should show his power and authority, not in a rough manner, but in a gentle way. He must encourage the workers under him. Even if there is any mistake, he must not lose his temper (become angry) but correct his subordinates in a polite manner. He must also think of new plans and new techniques for the improvement of the organization-—he should be innovative. He must maintain cordial relationships with Govt. officers. He must be ready to sacrifice his personal comfort for the sake of the organization. He must work hard. -The above are the requirements of the leader of a Team. e. Conclusion: Thus Team Building or Group Dynamics refers to co-operation of all the workers as a group. Dynamics means “change” “liveliness” and “progress”. Of course there may be minute (small) differences between the words “team” and “group”, but that does not matter much. -18-12. Networking a. Introduction: tases Networking means people or companies or computers joining together to do some work or share information. There are different types of Networking. Networking is based on the idea of co-operation and sharing. It avoids competition among the organizations of the same nature. a. Business Network b. Computer Network c. Wireless Network d. Other types of Network a. Business Networking: Manufacturers, dealers and shop owners have their own Networking. They agree to avoid “cut-throat competition”. They agree on common prices for things, so that no one sells something at a lower price in the spirit of competition. Business organizations share information about imports, exports, taxes, customer services and so on. If a product or service is not available with one organization, they guitie the customers to a sister organization. b. Computer Networking: In Computer Networking, all the computers in an organization (Bank, Railway Office, Transport Booking Office, School or College) are interconnected. This is one of the greatest achievements of science. In a Trichy Railway Office, you can book a ticket from Bangalore to Delhi. In the same way in a bank in Coimbatore, your can get the particulars of all your transactions in a Bank in Madurai. i. ATM: . Automated Teller Machine is a great boon to all people. My bank Account is in Chennai, but I insert my card into an ATM in Hyderabad and withdraw money! iL. Internet: . Internet is another miracle of the modem age. You can get any information about anything in the world — latest news, travel guidance, business tips, general knowledge, games, etc., etc. All these are possible because of Computer Networking. -19-iii, E-mail: E-mail is another aspect of Intemet. We can send messages to somebody in any part of the world; the message Teaches immediately. With Skype and Web Camera, we can see people in another part of the world and talk to them. ¢. Wireless Networking: . Radio and TV stations in the world share latest news and information thro’ wireless network. What happens in any part of the world is immediately flashed over T V and Radio and the whole world comes to know about it. All these are wonders of modern science. Satellites are responsible for all these wonders. d. Other types of Networking: Schools and Colleges and other organizations and Govt. offices, Police Departments, Army, Navy and Air Force all these have their own Networking systems. A crime is committed in Delhi, but the person who has committed the crime is arrested in Bangalore! — because of Networking. Even Taxi and Auto drivers have their own Networking and all of them quote the same travel charges. Conferences of scientists, political or religious leaders, medical or financial experts or educationists belong to Networking. They share their ideas & all members benefit. Even criminals — smugglers, bank robbers, murderers — have their own Networking and escape Jaw or punishment. e. Conclusion: Thus Networking is an important concept. It helps members of organizations and the general public. -20-UNIT -3 13. Communication Skills “Communication” means transfer of thoughts & feelings from. one person to another. Cmmunication can be classified as 5 a. Non-verbal communication b. Verbal communication a. Non-verbal communication We can pass on our ideas to another person without the use of words — this is called “Non-verbal communication”. If you extend your arm/and pull it back, you are asking somebody to come. An angry look from the father will convey so much of emotion to the son. The audience clap at the end of a programme; it means: “ the programme is very good”. A railway officer waves a flag and the “train starts. The traffic lights Red, Amber and Green guide the traffic effectively. 4. Verbal Communication Verbal communication means use of words —use of language. _ Speaker — Encoding —> Transmission —> Decoding —> Listener : Here both the speaker and the listener should understand the _fsame) language. If a guest: lecturer gives a lecture in Hindi or rench to students of Tamil Nadu, there is no communication. Tamil ju studénts understand neither Hindi nor French! To useitechnical terms, the sender enc the message, the es through a mediim; thei re i, decodes the ccs distance telophone: calls . may sometimes be the message may. not reach- Dp epee: Obstruction y the process i is called “Noise”: .” ; Enesdh- express. ideas in Words.” : ; Medium - directly through air or phone or mic. Decode - understand the speaker’s message. LSRW L= Listening S=Speaking R=Reading W=Writing LSRW are four essential aspects of learning. They are called Four Basic Skills of learning. They are indispensable (absolutely necessary) for leaming a language and for all communications. -21-Acchild learns the thro’ these four ative tongue or any second language only 14, a. Introduction: “Listening Listening is the first activity. A growing child listens to what chen in the family speak. Reception of sounds of a language is ¢ primary step towards learning to speak and later read and write b. Active listening X passive listening: : Hearing is a physical activity. When you are sitting in your room and reading something you hear so many noises — the blowing of the wind, the rattling of vessels in the kitchen, your father shouting at somebody and so on. You just hear them, but you go on reading your book. When you walk along a road or travel on a bus, you hear so many different noises from shops, vehicles, people etc. This is passive listening, or hearing. You don’t give importance to these noises. On the other hand when the teacher teaches or when your father or mother says something to you, you listen with attention. You understand what they say. If it is an order, you obey it You tune in your Radio or switch on your TV and listen to the News or any other programme. This is active listening. This-is a mental activity. c. Good listener X poor listener ; i. listens, with good attention, no attention — concentration no concentration ii. allows no distraction aod distraction iii. does not interfere int ce iteed iv. makes note of doubts n and asks afterwards ning: ediments (obstacles) to liste: : * "Obstacles to good listening occur on the part of the speaker or on the part of the listener. The Speaker: i. low voice , ii, uses unfamiliar, difficult words -22-iii. rambles (talks about many other points) without much concentration iv. if over any electronic system, defects in the system. The Listener i. physical illness — cannot concentrate ii, mental condition — some problem iii. the speaker uses difficult words (esp. in a class or seminar iv. defects in the electronic system v. lack of interest in the subject e. Types of Listening i. Competitive or combative listening A listener has his own ideas when somebody is saying something. So, the listener does not accept the speaker’s idea, but contradicts (opposes) him or says something else ii, Attentive or Active Listener: The Active Listener understands the message. He respond to the feelings of the speaker. f. Benefits of Listening: i. You can learn by listening. ii. Listening can win friends. iii. It leads to better work and co-operation. iv. It gives you confidence. v. If you have doubts, you tell somebody. You listen to that person, your doubts are cleared. vi. Listening reduces tension. 15. Speaking a. Introduction Listening is the first activity of a child in learning a language Speaking is the second activity. The growing child imitates the sounds and combinations of sounds used by mother & father anc others and gradually begins to speak. b. Characteristics of a good speaker i. The speaker should be sure of the subject he is going to talk about. -=23-ii, He must understand the intellectual standard of the listener by listeners and speak in a way that other people understand ‘im. iii. He must be careful about the choice of words and the language he uses. He must use simple words, so that all can understand him. iv, “Brevity is the soul of Wit” — Proverb. So, the speaker should use very few words. The message should be “short and sweet”. vi. He should closely observe the reaction of the listeners and shape his speech according to it. vii. He should use body language effectively. He should make eye contact with people and use physical signs with hands and impress the people with facial expressions. c. Public speaking (oratory) Public speaking is the art of speaking to a large number of people in order to make them accept your ideas. Public speaking is important for religious and political affairs. History gives a long list of powerful political and religious spéakers. They are called “Orators”. d. Characteristics of a Public Speaker (same as “b”) e. Importance of Speaking (for the Manager/Director/ (Principal/Head of an Organization) The Head of an organization should possess the art of speaking in addition to the art of doing. He should have the tact of speaking to his colleagues in such a way as to make them accept his own ideas & plans. He should convinte them of his plans. In any meeting of the staff, his speech must be short and sweet and to the point. f. The Principle of KISS KISS = Keep It Short and Sweet This is a very important principle when speaking at any meeting orconference, Ifthe speech is long, it may become boring, people may not listen. If you want your speech to be liked and appreciated by all, it must be “short & sweet”. -24-g. Advantages of Speech (Importance of speech) i, The earliest men first began to speak, not write. ii. Any child first leams to speak. iii. In speech we can express our feelings by the modulation of the tone, raising or lowering of voice and by change of pitch etc, Love, hatred, ambition, happiness, sorrow, jealousy, enmity ---all these emotions are expressed in speech. iv. Uneducated people depend completely on speech. Vv. Many tribals have no written form of language, but only speech. 16. Reading a. Introduction Reading is the third of the four basic skills LSRW. Though reading may be viewed as a passive skill, it is not so; the mind of the reader is active while reading. b. Impact of TV, Computers, Phones and Internet on Reading It is a well-known fact that the above four have caused a severe damage to the habit of reading that existed a hundred years ago. But, still there are passionate readers and the importance of reading cannot be denied. ¢. Benefits of Reading (Importance of Reading) i, Reading helps students’ understanding power. ‘They can comprehend new concepts (ideas) more easily. ii. Reading improves one’s vocabulary. iii. It enhances (strengthens) knowledge. iv. Fluency and communication skills improve as a result of reading. v. Reading broadens a person’s attitude. d. Methods (Types, Kinds) of Reading i. Skimming Skimming is fast reading to get the main ideas of a book or newspaper. It is a kind of quick glance. We get general information about the news of the day from a glance. -25-ii. Scanning Scanning is searching for a Specific point or a particular news item iri the newspaper. The dey after yon College Day Celebration, you open the newspaper, omit the other pages and go directly to the particular page that contains the news about your College Day Function. Similarly, an eligible bachelor (unmarried gentleman) or spinster , (unmarried lady) goes to the page “MATRIMONIAL”. Unemployed people take the Wanted Columns. iii. Close Reading Close Reading is connected with Literature, Scholars and critics read a play or poem or novel or story line by line and word by word to find various meanings, characterization, rhyme, alliteration and other literary beauties. iv. Studying Studying means reading something with fill concentration to understand it. Students have to “study” their text books. If a report on the unemployment problem is prepared by a committee, the Govt. authorities must “study” the report carefully and thoroughly in order to find solutions to the problem of unemployment. y. Rapid Reading (Fast, Speed Reading) When reading a novel of 300 or 500 pages, the reader is anxious to know what is going to happen next. Therefore, the reader skips pages of description of natural beauty or a kind of vague philosophical discussion by characters. He passes on to the next pages to find what action takes place. e. Tips for Effective Reading The following steps will help you improve your reading skill. i. Preview Try to get an overall view of the book - - Title, Introduction, Chapter Headings and a few pages at random. -26-i, Take Notes You should have 100% attention in order to take notes, Then only you will have proper understanding. Ifyou take notes, that becomes a permanent record; later on, you can read the notes and remember the points. iii, Summarise At the end of reading the whole book, make a brief summary of the whole book. Later on you can use the written summary. iv. Review and Reflect At the end, you can add your own comments on the text. This will help you in future discussion of the book. f. Speed of Reading How many words do you read in a minute? There are different speeds of reading by different people. The tate of reading also depends on the purpose. Glancing thro’ a newspaper is the fastest. We may read 400 or more words per minute. A college student is expected to read about 280 words per minute on average. 17. Writing a. Importance (advantages) of Writing Writing occupies an important place in our personal, social and cultural life. i, All our past history is recorded in writing. ii. All scientific discoveries and inventions are recorded in writing and they are passed from one country to another and from one generation to another. iii, Our education is based on writing. iv. Our administration and Govt. work are based on writing. v. Legal procedures are recorded in writing. If a rich man distributes his wealth among his children by word of mouth before death, his children will quarrel. But if he writes a will it is final. Vi. Alll literature (except oral literature) is written down by poets, dramatists, essayists, novelists & critics. 27 =b. Writing Tips (How to improve your i. Cut the boring parts. Ton rei) Avoid unnecessary words. Don’t write “The drink was ery delicious", but write “the drink was delicious”, because “delicious” = very tasty. ii. Paint a picture Draw a picture wherever possible. A picture brings out an idea better than words. oo TAIN iii, Simple Language Use simple words and avoid a bombastic style. Call a spade a spade. Avoid highly philosophical or technical words. They only confuse the ordinary reader. iv. Practise writing all the time All great writes say “Not a single day passes without reading or writing a line.” So, you must always keep in touch with writing. c. Different Types of Writing Writing is a vast field. There is a lot of writing in the world at any given time. A few most important types of writing are examined below. i. Creative Writing Creative Writing is original writing, History, Science, Economics —these are not creative, because they just record cxisting facts. But literature is creative writing. The writer imagines characters, stories, natural scencs and events and expresses all these in the form of narration, dialogue and description. So drama, poetry, fiction - - all these belong Creative Writing. thew are great masters — Shakespeare, Milton, Johnson, Jane Austen, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Dickens, LS.Eliot and hundreds of other English writers. Tolstoyis a great Russian Writer. Tagore is a great Indian poet, dramatist & short story writer. We read the creative writers for pleasure, relaxation and enrichment of our thoughts, refinement of our feelings. ii. Scientific Writing Scientific writing is matter-of-fact writing. It gives all particulars about scientific experiments, observations and results. iii. Report Writing A committee or an individual is requested to study a problem or a situation and submit a report. The members of the committee look into all the aspects of the problem and meet a number of people and collect alll the information Possible. The report should be impartial and objective (without any personal prejudice), iv. Minutes of a Meeting Meetings of members of an organization are held often. The secretary or some other responsible member isrequired to write a report of what has happened in the meeting. Resolutions are passed in the meeting. The writer who. writes the minutes must be careful to include all the particulars. v. Journalistic Writing Journalistic Writing refers to the newspapers’ reports and news stories. The newspapers have a good staff of reporters sub-editors, editor or editors and proofreaders. They work as a team to give readable news. vi. Official letter writing Govt. offices and offices of other organizations exchange letters between them, They may be called official letters or business letters. They use minimum number of ‘words and state the main points in a very few sentences, vil. Personal, friendly, family letter writing Personal letters are full of feelings and personal opinions and affairs. They are written in a simple, colloquial everyday language. Personal relationships are expressed here. -29-vill. Test, Exam Students have to write their tests and exams. This is different from other forms of writing. The syllabus is there. Teachers give essays and notes. Students leam them and answer the questions. ix. Notices School Headmasters, College Principals and bosses of banks and offices very often put up notices on the notice board or send circulars. Here they refer to future meeting or exam; or sometimes refer to past events or achievements, Such notices are brief and matter-of-fact. 18, Writing E-mails a. Magic Mail E-mail may be called “magic mail” or “mail magic”. An inland letter takes 2 to 4 days to reach the addressee. A letter to another country takes.a week or more. But e-mail is instantaneous (happening immediately). It reaches the other person in a few seconds. That is why it is “mail magic”. E-mail means “electronic mail”. It is sent from one computer to another with the help of the intemet (satellite). b. Clues to. write E-Mail : i, Salutation: (Greeting) Heo MrJ/Dr/Prof./Mrs..... : among intimate friends or close } there” are.also acceptable.: ié- Subject matter ° - ee, The shbject matter should’ be art important one. Give.a ,beadisig, if possible, so that tle other person immediately understands what you want to say. iti. Dictionary Have a dictionary at hand. If you get any doubt about spelling or usage, you can refer to the Dictionary. iv. Punctuation Marks ‘You have to use commas and other punctuation marks carefully, so that the meaning js clearly understood by others. is good greeting. But tives “Hi, you”, “Hi, -30-y. Emoticons or Smileys Emoticon or Smiley is a simple picture of a smiling face, Itis a circle with dots & lines for eyes and lips. When you send E-mail include some smileys to express your feelings, vi. Brevity - be brief Cut short unnecessary details and include only the essential facts. vil. Be polite You must be polite. Use “Thank You”, “Please” “ Hope this will help you” and other such expressions of courtesy, vill. Reread Revise your message before you press the button “send”. Minor mistakes may be there - - you should correct them. -31-