While hard skills teach us what to do, soft skills tell us how to apply our hard skills in a social environment. The focus of the course is to develop a wide variety of soft skills starting from communication, to working in different environments, developing emotional sensitivity, learning creative and critical decision making, developing awareness of how to work with and negotiate with people, and resolving stress and conflict in ourselves and others.

The uniqueness of the course lies in how a wide range of relevant issues are raised, relevant skills discussed, and tips for integration provided in order to make us effective in the workplace and social environments. The key areas addressed are conversation skills, group skills, persuasion skills, presentation skills, critical and creative thinking, emotional skills, positive thinking, and vocational skills.

For anyone keen to improve her soft skills, Elective Course, Open course (UG and PG), No restrictions, ideally after class XII

Basic knowledge in communication and a good understanding of English

All industries where soft skills are important will recognize the relevance of this course.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Priyadarshi Patnaik is a Professor of English and Communication in the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur. He is also the Secretary, Nehru Museum of Science and Technology, IIT Kharagpur, and Rector’s Nominee, Technology Students Gymkhana, IIT Kharagpur. His areas of research include Visual communication, Music and Emotion, Communication and culture, Media communication, Translation, and Digital humanities. He has authored and edited more than 14 volumes of text, reference, and creative work. He has a number of research papers, translations, poems, short stories, illustrations, and photographs in many national and international journals. He is currently one of the Co-PIs involved with a number of cultural and heritage projects under the MHRD Mega-Project, SandHI.

Vijay Nath Giri is a Professor and Head of the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur. He has been teaching subjects related to Communication Studies. He has received many awards including DAAD-Fellowship, Germany. He has published a book, a number of book chapters, and more than fifty research papers in refereed journals. He has supervised eight students for Ph.D. degrees. He was on the editorial board of ‘Communication Theory” published by International Communication Association, USA and member editorial board “Encyclopaedia of Communication Theory” published by Sage, USA. His current research interests include organizational, interpersonal, and intercultural communication, communication styles, and conflict management.

Damodar Suar is a Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur, and in the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur. He was the Head of the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences from 2007-2010. Currently, he is the President of the National Academy of Psychology India and the Editor of the journal Psychological Studies (Springer). He teaches Research methodology, Organisational Behavior, and Psychology. His research focuses on leadership, laterality, cognition, values, post-disaster trauma, disaster preparedness, and pro-environmental behavior. He has authored over 125 scientific/professional articles including book chapters. He has authored a book on Psychological Aspects of the polarisation phenomenon and co-edited three books. He has produced 25 Ph.D. students, handled more than 30 research/consultancy projects, and coordinated 20 training programs.