Success can be considered as one of the greatest purposes in the world. We are no longer just talking about building a multimillion-dollar company or being an elite athlete, but also those limits that we ourselves consider as such: passing exams on the first try, proving to our family that we can, or even doing what we want to do.
Each person views success as they want, but practically We all want to get to it. Everyone knows that a high IQ can open many doors for us; However, experts have been trying for years to demonstrate that professional and personal success goes beyond technical skills or pure knowledge.
They emphasize the importance of communication skills as differentials in a person’s career, and this time, it was Harvard University that has given the five essentials: knowing how to listen, write, know how to present yourself, have the ability to persuade and manage change.
The skills that lead to success
According to the United States Department of Labor, today’s employers believe that social skills are more important to job readiness than job-specific skills.
In fact, a recent report by LinkedIn Global Talent Trends noted that 89% of recruiters say that when a contract does not work, it is the result of a lack of interpersonal skills.
[El motivo por el que los españoles son los más felices del mundo según los británicos]
Communication is the basis of everything, not only in life in general, but it is responsible for leading us to success. In our interpersonal relationships he is responsible for making sure everything goes well and in the company he is the glue that holds together to all team members at all levels.
If we seek to be successful at work, but also to achieve all the purposes we have in mind, these are the five communication skills, according to Harvard, that They will make the path much easier:
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Listen actively. Knowing how to listen carefully is key to learning, both from ourselves and from other people. Just as we seek to be understood, we need to understand the needs and opinions of others in order to work more intelligently and effectively.
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Write well. We live in the digital age, where everything we want to achieve is very likely to be done through social networks, emails or websites. The ability to write clear and concise messages is essential, it allows us to transmit ideas effectively and avoid misunderstandings. Writing well also helps us, indirectly, to know how to express ourselves.
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Presentation skills. Presentation skills are essential in today’s world. Whether we are giving a talk, leading a team meeting or simply expressing our ideas in a conversation, knowing how to present ourselves with confidence and effectiveness is very valuable. This includes things like body language, clarity of expression, and the ability to answer questions with confidence.
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Persuasion. The capacity for persuasion is essential to be able to communicate assertively, since it allows interactions to be based on arguments and connection. Being able to persuade others, although it has been seen for decades as something bad and there are those who use it for that, is essential to achieve professional goals and advance in one’s career.
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Change management. At work, but also in life, knowing how to manage change is essential. It involves demonstrating flexibility, resolving doubts and generating confidence that we can adapt to everything without any problem.
In addition to being skills that will lead us to success, they can also help us in our daily life. The human being is defined and lives by his capacity for socialization; there are many studies that corroborate that relationships are —whether friendship, family or love— those that make us happy and help us prosper.
This socialization does not occur if we do not know how to communicate. We exchange part of our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, experiences… and we expect other people to do the same with us. Knowing how to understand and count these same emotions gives rise to one of the most underrated skills: self-awareness.
Self-awareness, a hidden skill
Many people mistakenly believe that self-awareness is about understanding your feelings and flaws; However, being self-aware means reflect on our strengths and relate them to our objectives.
Research suggests that developing self-awareness helps us be more creative, make better decisions, communicate better, and build stronger relationships.
[‘Comerse una rana’: el sencillo truco de los psicólogos para aumentar la productividad y dejar de posponer tareas]
Juliette Han, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, highlights self-awareness as a skill that we must add to all the previous ones. if we want to find success or, simply, it is the one that we must develop if we seek to make the others come out of ourselves in an easier and simpler way.
According to Han, self-awareness is “the most underrated skill” that successful people use to advance their careers: reflect on our skills, ask for feedback from our boss or colleagues to see if we can improve or set goals.
In fact, the neuroscientist adds: “You can have all the technical skills and charisma in the world, but if you don’t realize yourself or how you behave and interact in the world, it is much more difficult to build strong relationships.