Communication Is Not a “Soft Skill”
(We recently had a conversation with a good friend of The Latimer Group, who said something really powerful to us. Our friend shared that her firm no longer calls communication a “soft skill.” Instead, they refer to communication as a “power skill.” We LOVE that, and it caused me to write this post, which has been percolating in my head for a really long time.)
For a really long time — far too long, in fact — the business community has referred to communication skills as a “soft skill.” In fact, many articles on business websites like LinkedIn, Indeed and Monster put communication at the top of the “soft skills” list.
Big mistake, people. The term “soft skill” has an implication that is bad for you, your colleagues, clients and customers, vendors, partners… everyone. The term is bad for your company.
Why? Because any term that includes the descriptor “soft” has an implication that the thing is not critical. Not required. Less important.
And yet, we live in a world where things are moving faster and people are expected to be in multiple places at once, available constantly… where everyone is drowning in data and information… where attention spans have plummeted… where competition is greater than ever… where everyone has an opinion on seemingly everything… Does this sound like a world where good communication skills are optional?
We live in a world that demands good communication skills to survive. In every company we walk into, leadership is always talking about the importance of communication skills. Regardless of industry, everyone sees it. Everyone knows it. And yet we hear many continue to use the term “soft skill” to describe communication.
At The Latimer Group we always say that “we believe great communication skills can change the world.” It is our core belief. It is our raison d’être. Good communication skills are in fact critical. They are anything BUT soft. If we want to be successful in today’s world, good communication skills are required.
Have a great day.
