The Power of Soft skills
The ‘Softness’ that builds your strength.
Hey there! I know it’s been really long since I have written anything on Medium. Sincere apologies, readers! However, I’m back. This time with loads of experiences and stories to narrate. So, buckle up your seat belts and here we gooo!
20th November 2023. 7am. Literally three days after my CA Intermediate exams, I found myself at the Pune branch of WIRC (Western Indian Regional Council) of ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India). I was here to complete my Orientation Course, which is compulsory before we begin with the articleship i.e practical training. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go anywhere. All I knew was to go to the center, sit for 6 hours, for 15 days in a row and get the certificate. However, little did anyone know what a roller coaster of surprises was awaiting ahead!
The batch started off really well with the introduction. We were a bunch of 48 individuals coming from different parts of the country for a single purpose. At first, everyone experienced the difficulty of even remembering each other’s names. But by the end, all these buddies felt like family. The mentors who taught us made sure that we bond well through various group activities such as presentations, quiz competitions thereby killing two birds in a single shot. Firstly to develop ourselves as better individuals and secondly to understand the other person’s competence to level up the team’s performance. Exciting, right?
Well, the course evolved around soft skills, its importance and how as professionals we need to implement the same. At first, we gained insight about communication skills, followed by public speaking skills, presentation skills, coordination and team work, knowledge of etiquette and developing self-confidence. Initially, I had a pre-conceived notion about soft skills and what importance it may hold in my profession. However, this course was successful in changing my perception about the same.
Attaining technical knowledge about the things you do or the profession you are in is extremely essential, however the way in which it is conveyed also holds immense significance. For example, I remember a time when my team was giving a presentation and I was supposed to introduce the topic, I just went blank on the stage and the same reflected in my body language. As a result, I appeared to be nervous even though I was not. Hence, these are extremely trivial things but they do matter a lot.
In terms of public speaking, we got certain feed backs from our mentors which helped us be better orators. For example : While delivering a speech, grabbing the eyeballs of the audience is a tedious task and difficult to master at. As audience, they always have a right to ignore the speaker. But the content as well as the delivery should be so impactful that people engage in your talk.
Along with that, team work and developing coordination was also a crucial part of the curriculum. In a team, there are individuals having different opinions and perspectives regarding the same thing. However, the key factor involved is how do you settle on one thing and convince everyone that it fully lies in our interest. This also insights into leadership in the meanwhile. Hence, working with teammates is a win-win situation, filled with learning, experiences, understanding opinions and empowering everyone.
As mentioned above, there are numerous things which the course taught me. In no way, I wish to state that I have gained all the knowledge of soft skills. This is simply a record of the experiences I felt during the course. It just made me realise the power, soft skills hold. And trust me, it is good enough to grow you as a person.
I hope you liked this article & share if you loved it!
Until next time,
