Mandatory Soft Skills for School Students

The broadcast discusses the importance of teaching soft skills to school students. The key soft skills mentioned are emotional intelligence, effective communication, growth mindset, adaptability, critical thinking, leadership, conflict resolution, networking, and negotiation. The speaker recommends various books for each skill. These skills are seen as essential for students to navigate the complex and challenging future. Namaskar, welcome to this very special broadcast from Meeting India. Today we will be discussing some of the key soft skills which we feel should be taught or should be trained to all the school students at large. So the first soft skill which should be mandatorily taught is emotional intelligence. Recognizing emotions in oneself and others, managing emotions for better decision-making, building strong relationships through empathy and some of the books which our faculty members can fall back upon are Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Influence by Robert B Cialdini and What Everybody is Saying by Joe Navarro. Effective communication is again a very futuristic skill and a very imperative soft skill. Conveying ideas clearly and concisely, active listening and understanding others, building strong connections through communication and some of the books which we can refer to are How to Win Friends and Influence People, the classic Dale Carnegie. How to Talk to Anyone, 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leal Laundice. The Communication Book, 44 Ideas for Better Conversation, Every by Mikhail Krogeres and Roman Schapeller. Growth Mindset is the third very important soft skill which we need to impregnate our young learners early on. It is all about believing in the potential for growth and improvement, embracing challenges as opportunities for learning and persisting through setbacks and seeking feedback for growth. And some of the books which we can refer to are Mindset, The New Psychology of Success by Carol S Dweck, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Kovey and The Obstacle is the Way by Rian Holiday. Adaptability in the age of WUKA, adaptability is something which we all have to learn day in and day out. It is all about embracing change with a positive mindset, quickly adjusting to new circumstances, finding creative solutions in unpredictable situations. The books we can fall back upon to elaborate is Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Adapt, Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Hafford and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Critical thinking is yet another mandatory soft skill which is all about analyzing information objectively and logically, evaluating arguments and evidence, making informed and reasoned decisions. Nudge, Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Caste Are Sustained can be referred to. The other book is Predictably Irrational, The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dane Ariely and The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli. The next soft skill which we can fall back upon, which we need to mandatorily inculcate in our young learners is Leadership. It is all about inspiring and guiding others towards a common goal, making informed decisions and taking responsibility, empowering and developing the potential of others. Extreme Ownership, How US Navy Seals Lead and Win by Joko Willink and Leif Babin. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell and Leaders Eat Last, Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simone Sinek. The next soft skill which we can, which we should rather take a resolve that New Year resolve is Conflict Resolution, which is all about addressing conflicts through peaceful means, active listening and understanding all perspectives and finding mutually agreeable solutions. The books which we can fall back upon are The Power of a Positive No, How to Say No and Still Get to Yes by William Ury. Difficult Conversations, How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Shaila Heen. One of the futuristic skills which comes very, very handy is Networking, building connections for professional growth, expanding opportunities through relationships, creating a supportive network for success and the books which we can fall back are The Charisma Myth, How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism by Olivia Fox Cabane. Give and Take, Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant, The Go-Giver by Bob Berg and John David Mann. In the last soft skills which you want to recommend for this upcoming year is Negotiation. It is all about finding common grounds through compromise, effective communication for resolving conflict and seeking mutually beneficial outcomes and the books to refer to Never Split the Difference, Negotiating As If Your Life Depended on This by Chris Voss and Tahil Raz, Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton. So these nine soft skills, these nine futuristic skills which we feel are treating and they are should be made mandatory for all our young learners in the school so that they can really come up as futuristic learners and they can make their way in the upcoming complex and convoluted era and make the best out of their lives. So we hope that this podcast would have been really helpful for our teachers as well as the young learners and just a quick recapitulation, emotional intelligence, effective communication, growth mindset, adaptability, critical thinking, leadership, conflict resolution, networking and negotiation. So with this we end this podcast and we hope it would be helpful to all of you. Thank you. Namaskar.