COLLEGE REFORMS & TRAININGS, HED, PUNJAB

Social Skills

Introduction

Social skills are the skills used every day to interact and communicate with others. Social skills include not only verbal communication but also non-verbal communication. Examples of verbal and non-verbal communication include speech, gesture, facial expressions and body language. A person is qualified to have strong social skills if they have mastered how to behave in social situations and understand the rules of how to communicate and socialize with others.

Social skills are essential for enabling an individual to maintain positive interactions with other individuals. Majority of these skills are crucial in sustaining relationships. Social interactions may not always run smoothly and may require strategy implementations.

Multiple techniques can be used in order to enhance social skills among students. The most effective strategy between teachers and students has been the ‘Positive Peer Interaction’. Video modeling has also been quite functional for students to observe actions before putting them into practice for themselves. Other methodologies include social role-play activities, teamwork, adopting research-based programs, etc.

Learning Objectives:

To identify positive social skills
To demonstrate understanding of social skills
To relate with other people and be able to work in groups
To navigate tricky social situations
To assist other students with understanding

This section will assist educators and students on improving their social skills through three sub – themes:

Effective Communication
Active Listening
Conflict Resolution

Effective Communication

At its simplest, communication is the act of transferring information from one place to another. It may be vocally, written, visually, or non-verbally. Effective communication is all about understanding the emotions and intentions behind an information. Being able to communicate efficiently is vital as it enables individuals to pass on information that can be well-interpret by others.

Debrief

These activities should be performed on a regular basis using several different topics. This will enable students to be confident and communicate effectively with others.

Active Listening

As well as being able to, clearly, convey a message is important; listening is also a key to effective communication. Without the ability to listen correctly, a message can be misunderstood.

There are two components of active listening: attention and reflection. Attention involves holding eye contact, nodding, having a good posture, and mirroring the speaker’s body language to show interest in what they are saying. Reflection is repeating and paraphrasing what the speaker has said to show that you fully understood them.

Good listeners always strive to fully understand what the other person is communicating, whether the conversation lacks clarity or not. Listening demands the attempt to decode and interpret verbal and non-verbal messages.

Debrief

Alongside the activities, the following tips should be explained and demonstrated to help with effective listening:

1. Face the speaker and maintain eye contact.

2. Be attentive, but relaxed.

3. Keep an open mind.

4. Listen to the words and try to picture what the speaker is saying.

5. Do not interrupt.

6. Wait for the speaker to pause, to ask any clarifying questions

7. Ask questions only to ensure understanding.

8. Try to feel what the speaker is feeling.

9. Give the speaker regular feedback.

10. Pay attention to what isn’t said.

These guidelines will, overall, promote effective communication.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts and arguments are a natural part of our lives. A conflict does not necessarily have to be negative. Depending on how we respond to it, it could be either a source of violence and misunderstandings or a source of transformation.

Conflicts can be either direct or indirect.

Direct conflicts are through a verbal channel i.e. spoken word whereas indirect conflicts are through non-verbal channels such as gestures, movements, body language, etc.

Clashes are most likely to occur and students should know how to handle disagreements without lashing out.

The main objective behind conflict resolution are:

To produce a solution that all parties can agree to.
To work as quickly as possible to find a solution.
To improve relationships between groups during conflicts.

Peaceful Coexistence

Peaceful coexistence means mutual respect and tolerance. In a peaceful society, there is no hatred, and prejudice.

A society is made up of different ethnicities, religions, cultures, languages and races. As these groups diversify, coherence problems arise. In developed societies, this diversity is considered a sign of stability but in developing societies, such diversity is becoming a sign of non-coherence.

Characteristics of People in Peaceful Societies:

Positive thinking: This means looking at every aspect in a positive way. With positive thinking, we value not only our own lives but also the lives of those around us.
Finding peace in oneself: It means finding solutions to the problems and conflicts. It helps to think about different aspects of problems, control anger, and keep the mind calm.
Being sympathetic and not harming anyone: Creating the virtues of compassion, kindness and friendship. This can better deal with violence in society.
Learning to live together: Living together in different groups and working together promotes values such as sharing, building trust, building mutual respect, and taking responsibility.
Respect for human dignity: This means learning the concepts of rights, freedoms and justice. It is important to develop a mindset that recognizes and respects the rights of oneself and others.
Creative thinking: It enables a person to solve problems through non-violence. This includes problem solving, finding alternative solutions and decision-making.

Activity: MAKING ‘I’ STATEMENTS

Material needed: paper and pen/pencil

The use of ‘I’ statements helps to avoid criticizing or placing blame on others. Taking responsibility for what we understand, even if we are wrong, reduces defensiveness in those we are interacting with.

Examples:

“I would like to talk more” instead of “You don’t let me talk!”

“I am bothered by you being late” instead of “You come in here late all the time”.

“I am disappointed by your late submission” instead of “You submitted your work late”.

Ask every student of the class to pen down at least 5 such statements.

Activity: MY PERSONAL STRATEGY FOR DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE AND DIFFICULT SITUATIONS

Material needed: paper and pen/pencil

Think of a situation or person that you are dealing with or have dealt with that has been problematic. How would you deal with the issue?

The Problem:

What Not To DO?

Ways to Resolve

Debrief

Teacher can ask students to participate in this activity, asking one volunteer student to discuss his conflict scenario.

Reflections on learning are one important part of the whole learning process. After every activity, teacher must discuss for 2-3 minutes by asking students to share their reflections on any particular activity by asking questions such as:

What have they learned out of this activity?

Was this activity helpful for them to encounter a specific situation?

How has it helped change their perception about something?

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