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Tag: soft skill training

Life-Hacks: Absolute No-Nos at an Office Party

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

Imagine this. You are working at an International firm and they are having another office party to celebrate the launch of a product. Universities & Institutes prepare you for the theoretical and practical aspects of the job, but what about what happens after hours?
There are a number of top Investment Banks who provide their employees with interesting benefits, like organizing a product launch, annual parties or the likes. There’s a particular code of conduct as to how one would behave at these parties and here’s a few things that you must not do or say, according to a number of dignified HR professionals.
1. Never ever think it would be acceptable to expect the office party, to be a place where you would find a date. While it is fine if you are interested in someone from your office, never extend that interest to any of your coworker’s relatives. Asking or even suggesting someone to introduce their son or daughter, or their cousin or anyone to you, in the romantic context is an absolute no-no.
2. One should always measure their words. This holds truer than ever when it comes to parties and social gatherings organized by your office. The reason for this being sometimes professionals can get way out of hand while complementing a certain co-worker. Ensure that you keep away from commenting on someone’s dressing sense or physical attributes, even if you mean it innocently.

3. If any of your office parties involve alcohol, it’s always better to take a proper stance way before you attend the party. One thing that you want to make sure is that everyone, intoxicated or not, is able to get home safely. It is important that you either call up an Uber before, or have a designated driver. Just straight up going to someone (who you are not close to) and asking, “Can I Drive You Home?” will be absolute grounds for inappropriateness.
4. Always, always remember that it is an office party and not an informal gala which you are attending with your friends. This means that you should behave the way you would in the office. Being the person who drinks more than is necessary is something that you need to absolutely avoid no matter what.

Always ensuring to be sophisticated and poised, help in the making of a great employee and also help keep the atmosphere as positive as can be when it comes to working spaces.

 

We hope you liked this edition of Life-Hacks where we try to help our readers out with fun tips and tricks to survive the corporate world.

Listening: The Forgotten Managerial Skill

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

by Zenobia Sethna.
In this age of self promotion, most people don’t tire of hearing their own voices – gloating, complaining, advising, gossiping, what have you. Skills such as listening need to be trained in soft skills training courses. So, if you are the rare one who truly, actively listens to others, and does not talk much, you will stand out. Think about it – people pay a shrink good money to listen to their problems, cause its so rare in real life.
The Dalai Lama said, ‘When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know, but when you listen you may learn something new.’ Just one of the many benefits of listening. Your boss or your subordinates feeling heard and acknowledged, which would make them trust you more, is another.
Most people do not listen with the intent to truly understand, but rather with the intent to reply. And just because you’re quiet and you let others do 75% of the talking, doesn’t mean you’re a good listener either. A powerful listener is able to pay attention to what another person is saying without getting distracted with their ego or personal agenda.

So how do you sharpen your listening skills?

  • When interacting one on one, give the other party your undivided attention. Yes, that means stop fiddling with your damn phone and put it aside. The texts and phone calls can wait. Really.
  • Don’t interrupt. Let the person speak freely. The goal is to shine the spotlight on them, not you.
  • Truly be “present,” instead of daydreaming or thinking about something else.
  • Make direct eye contact with the other party and lean in / forward to show you are interested. Likewise don’t distract the talker (and show you are bored) by cracking your  knuckles, fidgeting, swaying your legs, or worst of all, yawn.
  • Pay attention to the body language of the talker – we know as much as 80% of communication is non-verbal. This is the number one lesson taught in investment banking schools in India. In other words, you can master the act of listening, but won’t be a good listener if you can read body language. ‘The most important thing in communication is hearing what ISN’T said’, said Peter Drucker.
  • Forget outdated advice that tells you to repeat statements that you just heard, in order to show the talker that you were paying attention. Something like “So, Tenaz, what I hear you saying is that Geeta’s work is really poor?” Really? What’s the point? Repeating exactly what you heard a minute ago makes you sound like a parrot. Instead, stop repeating and offer some analysis or your interpretation of what the talker just said. Something like “So what you are getting at is that you may have to fire Geeta…”
  • You can show you’re in sync with what the person is saying by using “yes”, “yeah”, “mhmm”, “okay” occasionally.  This sounds trivial, but it’s important to not act like a zombie and demonstrate some interest and comprehension.
  • Open the door to deeper communication by asking open ended questions that encourage reflection and interpretation.
  • Validate what you heard. Listening keenly does not mean you have to agree with everything you hear. You can disagree and even express your disagreement. You only need to show the other party that you value their opinion and they feel validated for expressing how they feel.

A wise man said ‘God gave you two ears and only one mouth.’ That surely ought to tell us something.
Imarticus Learning is India’s leading education institute, offering certified industry-endorsed training in Financial Services and the Analytics Domain. Each course also has a module on soft skills training.