Soft skills and Interpersonal

Communication
OE-EC 506 A
(Open Elective)

Prepared by:
Dolon Champa Das
 Syllabus
UNIT I

SELF ANALYSIS

 SWOT Analysis
 Who am I
 Attributes
 Importance of Self Confidence, Self Esteem
Self Analysis
 Self Analysis
What is self- analysis?
• A systematic attempt by an individual to
understand his or her own personality without
the aid of another person
Need for Self- Analysis
• Self awareness is fundamental to being able to
thrive not just survive. Self analysis is the
mechanism by which the above are reached. To
know oneself, the good, bad, and the ugly provides
the opportunities for growth and change.

• Otherwise we are just like many animals unaware

of how we impact others beyond instinct and
reactive responses to base stimuli, situation,
context.
 Need for Self- Analysis
• Self awareness through self analysis is knowing who
that person is in the mirror and how you impact others
(or not), and what you can and can’t do about it.

• Finally self analysis can help you learn how you can
modify, change, adapt etc.

• Self analysis can lead to growth, growth can lead to

choice. But they are not exclusive, linear or guaranteed.
You can grow without self analysis, and you can
analyze and not grow. But if you want to grow, then self
analysis is a good start. When you grow, you grow
choices.
SWOT Analysis
 SWOT Analysis
• SWOT analysis is the examination of yourself
or your organization's by looking at Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

• It is used as a strategic planning tool for any

organization.

• At personal level SWOT analysis identify

areas for development, and as part of career
discussions.
 SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a way of looking at your situation by identifying:
• Strengths, or those areas of an advantage over others, or some
unique resources to exploit;

• Weaknesses, or areas where you or your organization may be

weaker than others, and may find that others can do better than
you;

• Opportunities, or possibilities that you can take advantage of to

help you achieve your goals and ambitions;

• Threats, or things that may prevent you or your organization

from making a profit or achieving your goals.
 SWOT Process
• Identify the goal that you want to achieve

• Identify the personal strengths that will help you to

achieve it, and the weaknesses that could prevent you

• Identify any personal opportunities that could enable

you to achieve the goal, and also that you will be able to
take advantage of when you have achieved it

• Identify any threats

• Review and prioritize

Who Am I????
 Attributes
An attribute is
defined as a
quality or
characteristic of a
person, place, or
thing.
Importance of Self-Confidence & Self-Esteem

“ You are what you believe yourself to be.” —

Paulo Coelho
Importance of Self- Esteem & Self- Confidence
• Self-esteem refers to how we generally feel about
ourselves: how much we like or love ourselves, and the
overall image we have about who we are — positive or
negative. It is shaped by our experiences and the
environments we grow up in, by our family members,
our school, and our community.

• Self-confidence relates to how we feel about our

abilities and how capable we see ourselves of doing
certain things or handling different situations.
Importance of Self- Esteem & Self- Confidence
• Building Self-Confidence

• Self-confidence in a person can be improved if you

have believe in yourself and your capabilities before
anyone else will.

• Bandura's (Albert Bandura- renowned researcher of

Self-efficacy) theory of self-efficacy(Self-efficacy is a
person's belief in their ability to complete a task or
achieve a goal) is a great place to start looking for
ways to improve the way you see your abilities.
According to his theory, there are four sources of self-
efficacy:
Importance of Self- Esteem & Self- Confidence
• Mastery experiences – things you have succeeded at in the
past.
• Vicarious experiences – seeing people who are similar to
you succeed.
• Social persuasion – hearing from others that you're
capable.
• Emotional status – staying positive, and managing stress.

• Three of these sources (the first, second, and fourth) are

within your control. However, while we can’t force people
to say good things about us (the third source), we can
increase the likelihood of receiving positive feedback by
being more confident in general.
 Syllabus
UNIT II
CREATIVITY

Out of box thinking

Lateral Thinking
Out of Box Thinking
 Out of Box Thinking
• Exercise #1: Alphabetize Adventure…in 5
seconds…
• First, think of any word or see a word that is on
a book cover (preferably six or so letters).
• Second, stop looking at the word and just
picture it in your mind. Then arrange all the
letters in your head so they are in alphabetical
order.
• For example, take a word like NUMBER. You
would spell it as follows: B-E-M-N-R-U.
 Out of Box Thinking
• Exercise #2: Have a Conversation WITHOUT
Using the Letter “E”
• This is a fun game to play with a friend or family
member, which will automatically flex your brain’s
“muscles” and help make you mentally sharper. The
object is for you and your friend to carry on a regular
conversation without using any word that has the letter
E in it. But you must try to make the conversation as
normal as possible without any long pauses in between
sentences. Example:
• Person 1: “What do you want to do now?”
• Person 2: “I don’t know, how about lunch. I know of a
good fast food joint.”
 What is Out of Box Thinking?
• Thinking outside the box simply means that you're
willing to consider different solutions and methods
for reaching your desired outcome.

• It is a metaphor that means to think differently,

unconventionally, or from a new perspective.

• Thinking differently can have a powerful and positive

effect on your career.
 Need for Out of Box Thinking
• Questioning the status quo is a good thing:
• If everyone just accepted things the way they
are, then there would never be any innovation
or improvement in the world.

• Eg. If Thomas Edison had shrugged and figured

things were good enough the way they were
with gas lamps, light bulbs and the electricity to
power them might never have been developed.
If he hadn’t thought outside the box, the world
could be a very dim (literally) place.
 Questioning the status quo is a good thing
• If you view things as unchangeable, then nothing
will ever change for the better.

• By thinking outside the box and questioning the

status quo, you’ll constantly be considering how you
could improve an experience, product or service.
This allows you to keep growing and can lead to
intelligent and forward-thinking decisions in life.

• (status quo- or statu quo is a Latin phrase. It means

to keep things the way they presently are.)
 Need for Out of Box Thinking
• Greater perspective:
• The world can become very small place if we are close-
minded.
• Thinking outside the box can expand our worldview,
allowing us to have greater perspective on the events and
happenings in our career (and in life).
• When we’re willing to consider alternative points of
view and ways of doing things, we’ll be more open to a
variety of different points of view and potential solutions.
• A greater perspective can make us more receptive to
different ideas, which means that we won’t be limited by
a small worldview. When we’re open to limitless
possibilities, the possibilities are endless!
 Case Study 1:

• Super-successful companies have a different approach to

company culture.
• For instance, consider the fashion retailer Zappos.
• It offers employee perks like free food, complimentary
wellness services .
• On the one hand, it would be easy to dismiss these things
as a waste of money and a threat to the company’s
bottom line.
• However, they take the long view. They see that by
offering these benefits and perks, they attract and retain
better employees.
• Happy and healthy employees tend to be more
productive, loyal and harder-working.
 More creative problem-solving

• When you’re thinking in the box as opposed to outside of

it, your career growth can be stunted. When there are a
finite number of ways that things can be done also means
that there is a limit to what you can achieve.
• Alternatively, when you think outside the box, suddenly
there are many more possibilities and opportunities. When
you allow for any and every possible solution, you may in
fact end up coming up with more creative ways to solve
problems.
• Consider Netflix, for instance. By dreaming up an
alternative to the standard video store template with rentals
and late fees, they were able to create a worldwide
sensation. What creative solutions could you come up with
if you think outside the box?
 Stay adaptable

• Whatever you are, may be a writer, a trader or the

founder of a food truck, one thing is certain: Your
career will change over time. Technology, people’s
tastes and all sorts of other factors are constantly
evolving, and you’ll need to be able to change in
kind to remain relevant.

• For example, as a teacher, I have to

constantly updating to remain updated. If I didn’t
evaluate and alter my techniques with the changing
times, I’d quickly become a dinosaur in my field.
 Case study links:
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/start
ups/how-startup-companies-are-offering-fun-activitie
s-to-engage-and-retain-employees/articleshow/48796
662.cms?from=mdr

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/startups-li
ke-inmobi-myntra-flipkart-and-others-recruit-retain-s
taff-with-harley-davdisons-volkswagens/articleshow/
35174920.cms
Lateral Thinking
 What is Lateral Thinking?
• Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an
indirect and creative approach via reasoning.

• It involves ideas that may not be obtainable using only

traditional step-by-step logic.

• Edward de Bono introduced the term in his book The Use of

Lateral Thinking (1967).

• De Bono cites the Judgment of Solomon as an example of

lateral thinking, where King Solomon resolves a dispute over
the parentage of a child by calling for the child to be cut in
half, and making his judgment according to the reactions that
this order receives.
 Lateral Thinking
• De Bono describes lateral thinking as ‘a habit of mind
and an attitude of mind’ which can be fostered by
practicing specific lateral thinking techniques, such as:

• Challenging assumptions (e.g. by thinking outside the

box)
• generating alternatives (even when you have an
apparently satisfactory solution)
• brainstorming
• Analogies (comparison of one thought and another)
• random stimulation (e.g. by opening a dictionary to find
a random word and apply it to the problem)
 Lateral Thinking

• Lateral thinking involves solving problems through an indirect and

creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and
involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional
step-by-step logic or simple analysis. It involves the following main
activities:

• Reviewing issues and problems in terms of what might be missing or

absent
• Looking at an issue or problem from a variety of different or unusual
angles
• Reversing an issue or problem/challenge to look for a new solution
• Finding and evaluating more than one potential solution to an issue or
challenge
• Rearranging a problem to see if new angles may be discovered
• Delaying judgment and maintaining an open mind
• Removing any stereotypical or cliché patterns of thought or knowledge
 Methods of Lateral Thinking
• Edward de Bono defines four types of thinking
tools:
• Idea-generating tools intended to break current
thinking patterns—routine patterns, the status quo
• Focus tools intended to broaden where to search
for new ideas
• Harvest tools intended to ensure more value is
received from idea generating output
• Treatment tools that promote consideration of
real-world constraints, resources, and support
 When to Use Lateral Thinking
Problem Solving

• Often when you are problem solving or

designing something there may well be an
obvious answer. If the matter is important it can
be beneficial to a small amount of time to use
lateral thinking to discover alternative ways of
defining the problem and to start thinking about
it in a broader sense. You can train your brain to
be more naturally creative and discover better
solutions to known problems.
 When to Use Lateral Thinking
Finding new ways

• It is possible that the way you do everything in

your life or business is the best possible way of
doing it, but not likely. Whether you have created
a way of doing things yourself or have been told
that 'this is the way to do this', there are likely
other ways to do those things more effectively
and efficiently. By using the techniques from
Lateral Thinking to look for new ways to improve
yourself and business you can achieve your goals.
 When to Use Lateral Thinking
For Inventions & Innovation

• Every Inventor or Creative will at times need to

focus their creativity towards the process of
Invention, whether it is a patentable invention or a
mobile application it will some times be thinking
from a 'blank page' state, not simply being about
improving what is already there. Lateral Thinking
help thinkers be more proactive and confident in
their thinking. When solving a problem that is not
yet known lateral thinking can help you choose
your starting point.
 Assignment
1. Why do you need to do self-analysis?
2. Do you think ‘Thinking Out of the Box’ or by
using ‘Lateral Thinking’ methods improve
your creative side? If yes, Explain.
3. Explain with proper examples the thinking
tools stated by Edward de Bono.
4. Cite case studies to explain how companies
take up out of the box method to run their
business.
Thank YOU