Module 1: LSRW and Personality Development

Communication Skills: Effective reading/writing/listening skills:

Communication skills are one of the fundamental life skills which are required for greater
understanding of information. It can be done vocally, visually, non-verbally and through written
media. All these are means of communication which are essential soft skills which are required
for a successful career. Communication is an act of conveying meanings from one entity to
another with the use of understood signs, symbols and rules. Communications skills, in a
nutshell, are a set of activities you make giving and receiving various kind of information.

Some of the examples of communicating are; expressing your viewpoint on a topic, updating
new additions on your project, expressing feelings etc. Communication skills involve speaking,
listening, observing and empathizing. It also helps to understand how to communicate by phone
conversations, face-to-face interactions, digital communications like social media and email.

Listening, speaking, reading and writing are critical language skills you need to navigate a
changing professional landscape.. Every activity from reading this blog and writing an email to
listening to a podcast and speaking in a meeting constitutes communication. Whether you’re with
friends or at work, you have to communicate every day, all the time.

Language skills are communication skills that help you convey your ideas with clarity and
precision. Not only do you learn to speak well but also listen attentively. Writing clearly with
brevity is another skill that’s considered crucial in a professional setting. Reading helps you
make sense of vast amounts of data and information. Developing your linguistic skills will help
you become a proficient communicator who knows how to get from point A to B effectively.

What Are The Four Language Skills?

Basic language skills that you need today are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Regardless
of whether you’re a student or professional, your years of experience or goals, linguistic skills
will always come in handy.

1. Active Listening:

Listening is a lot more than simply hearing what someone is saying. There’s a big difference
between hearing and listening. Hearing is when you don’t really register the words, instead,
you nod and smile while your mind is drifting off to neverland. Listening is an activity where
you’re fully engaged. Not only are you registering their words but also getting curious to
learn more. Listening successfully will usually end with you asking follow-up questions
about the speaker’s intent, drive and purpose. Here are some of the traits of active listening:

• You want to actively understand what they’re trying to convey

• You give them your complete attention

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 • You ask more questions than giving answers
• You listen first, speak or interject later
• You make the speaker feel welcome so they can open up to you

Listening Comprehension:

Listening comprehension is the ability to understand and make sense of spoken language. It's a
cognitive process that involves identifying phonemes, recognizing words, and understanding the
syntax and semantics of language. Listening comprehension is an active process that
involves: Discriminating sounds, Understanding vocabulary, Interpreting stress and intonation,
Retaining collected data, and Interpreting data within the context. Listening comprehension is
important for language pedagogy and is considered a significant skill to develop in second
language learning. Some tips for improving listening comprehension include:
 Separating ideas from the speaker
 Listening to expressions, feelings, tone, pitch, voice modulations, and intentions
 Using your eyes as well
 Not getting too emotional
 Being attentive but keeping your mind free to reflect on your own
 Thinking with the speaker (not like the speaker) and empathizing

2. Reading:

When you read, you take your time to understand what the author’s trying to convey with their
words. Whether it’s a novel, online article or even a business report, it’s important to take your
time with it and make sense of the original intent. Reading well and deeply requires complete
attention but also efficiency so you don’t end up going over the same sentence multiple times.
You can make notes, add comments or summarize the contents of a text to get a deeper insight.
Here are some of the characteristics of deep reading:

• You’re able to understand what the author wants to convey the first time
• You manage your time well without spending hours with a text
• You can draw conclusions, write summaries and analyze the content without a problem
• You make notes and memos so it’s easier to identify parts of a text
• You’re not afraid to tackle 100-page reports because you know how to approach a large body
of text.

Reading Comprehension:
Reading comprehension is the ability to understand the meaning of written text. It is a cognitive
process that involves several skills, including:

 Word reading: The ability to decode the symbols on the page

 Language comprehension: The ability to understand the meaning of words and sentences

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 Decoding: The ability to sound out words that have been heard before but not written out
 Fluency: The ability to recognize words instantly

Reading comprehension is important for success in school, work, and life in general. It is
different from the ability to recognize words, as recognizing words without understanding their
meaning does not fulfill the purpose of reading.

3. Speaking:

Impactfully If there’s one communication skill everyone needs, but many fear, it’s speaking
effectively. The fear is in terms of speaking in front of an audience—presentations, meetings and
speeches. It may even be communicating with an interviewer if you’ve applied for a job.
Speaking well helps you in many areas of life. Talking to friends, coworkers or clients requires
some skill, attention and concentration. Here are some characteristics of speaking with impact:

• You speak clearly and concisely to draw your audience’s attention

• You’re able to convey your ideas, thoughts and opinions with impact
• You articulate things well into words with a strong verbal delivery.

4. Proficient Writing:
Linguistic skills are incomplete without proficient writing abilities. Writing well means you’re
able to succinctly present your ideas. You don’t have to write long, complex sentences stuffed
with heavy vocabulary to write well. What you do need is the ability to convey your thoughts in
short, crisp sentences. Writing well will help you with business communication or if you’re in a
creative field that involves copywriting, blogs or social media posts. Here are some aspects of
proficient writing:
• You know how to structure your writing to generate interest
• You can tell a story with your words to make your communication all the more interesting
• Your writing is succinct, clear and precise without wasting words
• You’re able to put your thoughts into words
• You can summarize long reports and texts for easier understanding
These four language skills form the pillars of effective, impactful and strong communication.
Building, refining and perfecting these skills will help you make progress in your career.

E-Mail Writing:
Email writing involves composing, sending, storing and receiving messages over an electronic
communication system. An email stands for an electronic mail. Email writing is preferred over
other forms of communication as it is cheaper and faster. Email writing is a common and
preferred method of communication because it is fast, inexpensive, and accessible. It is used for
both personal and business purposes, and can be used to communicate with individuals or lists of
people.

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Here are some tips for writing an email: Start with a positive greeting, Introduce yourself or state
the purpose of your email, Write a concise message, Use neutral language and simple
vocabulary, and Proofread your email. Emails can be formal or informal, and the tone, language,
words, and expressions used differentiate the two. Formal emails are used for official work

Personality Development:
Personality is a psychological factor of an individual which is rarely known to others. An
individual’s personality is not an artificial fact or occurrence that can be easily understood,
merely on his/her personal appearance. Personality is the whole aspect of an individual from
general point of view. It includes a person’s physical, psychological and emotional aspects.

Personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviour of an

individual. These attributes make a person unique. Personality originates within the individual
and remains fairly consistent throughout life. Personality exhibits distinctive qualities of a
person, especially those distinguishing personal characteristics that make one socially appealing.

If a person wins an election on his own, society may say that he/she has won “more on
personality than on capability”. Personality reveals distinctive qualities of mind and behaviour of
a person. It is a pattern of collective character which includes behavioural, mental,
temperamental, and emotional traits of a person that makes one socially appealing. It exhibits the
quality of a person, which is visible and impresses or disturbs others. For example, the
statements such as “He has a pleasing personality Raju is a rude persona” reveal the collective
characters of a person which display positive or negative personality.

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 Emotional Intelligence (EI):

Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient (EQ), is the ability to understand,
use, and manage your own and other people's emotions. It's a critical skill for success in both
personal and professional life.

People with high EI tend to:

 Have better relationships
 Be more psychologically well
 Be able to handle complex social situations
 Stay calm under pressure
 Be aware of their own and others' feelings
 Use emotional information to guide their thinking and behavior

Some signs of low EI include: Difficulty managing and expressing emotions, Strained
conversations, Blaming others when things don't go as planned, and Being prone to
outbursts. Some ways to develop EI include: Journaling, Practicing active listening, Paying
attention to your emotions, and Taking an online course or training.

Self awareness:
Anyone who is dedicated to self-improvement, personal development or the higher goal of
spiritual growth needs to actively seek to understand oneself. This is because only when one
understands where one lacks, can he or she focus their efforts on what to improve.

Definition : Self-awareness is the capacity that a person has to introspect. It includes gaining an
understanding of and insight into one’s strengths, qualities, weaknesses, defects, ideas, thoughts,
beliefs, ideals, responses, reactions, attitude, emotions and motivations.Thus introspection also
includes assessing how one is perceived by others and how others are impacted based on one’s
behaviour, responses and conduct.

Types of Self Awareness

Psychologists often break self-awareness down into two different types, either public or private.
1. Public Self-Awareness: This type emerges when people are aware of how they appear to
others. Public self awareness often emerges in situations when people are at the centre of
attention, such as when giving a presentation or talking to a group of friends. This type of self-
awareness often compels people to adhere to social norms. When we are aware that we are being
watched and evaluated, we often try to behave in ways that are socially acceptable and desirable.
In short we display our best behaviour, which may not be reflective of our true personality.
Public self-awareness can also lead to ‘evaluation anxiety’ in which people become distressed,
anxious, or worried about how they are perceived by others.

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2. Private Self-Awareness: This type happens when people become aware of some aspects of
themselves, but only in a private way. For example, seeing your face in the mirror is a type of
private self-awareness. Feeling your stomach lurch when you realize you forgot to study for an
important test or feeling your heart flutter when you see someone you are attracted to are also
good examples of private self-awareness. Close family members and friends are privy to some
aspects of our private self as we let our guard down in front of them. Hence, they become
invaluable aides in helping us assess ourselves.

Self Management:
Self-management is your ability to regulate your behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in a
productive way. This means excelling in both personal and professional responsibilities for the
benefit of yourself and your team. Effective self-management leads to better emotional
intelligence by supporting your self-awareness and well being. This means staying on top of
social cues and respecting your own personal needs.
Self-management is an important leadership quality that doesn’t always come naturally, but with
the right tools and practice, you can develop. Let’s dive into the top seven self-management
skills to develop.

Personal SWOT:
Personal development is an essential step for making yourself more appealing to employers and
customers. It also helps boost your self-image. People apply many different tactics to stand apart
in this sea of candidates. They want to secure the top position, but it not as easy as it sounds.
Individuals often conduct the SWOT analysis. Even though SWOT was originally used for
business, it can help assess a person’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats too.
This kind of simple analysis structure will provide guidance. It looks at internal and external
factors. Do not take the SWOT analysis light.

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A SWOT analysis focuses on the 4 elements included in its acronym. Knowing about these
positive and negative factors can help you make changes more effectively. Typically, a SWOT
analysis is done by creating a table, divided into 4 columns. Usually, the strengths and
weaknesses do not match the opportunities and threats listed. Remember that pairing external
threats with the internal weaknesses can help highlight the most serious issues.
For each of the SWOT elements, ask yourself some questions. I have listed some example
questions below, but they may vary.

Strengths:
• What benefits do you have which others do not have? This could include skills, education, or
connections.
• What are you better at than anyone else?
• What personal resources do you have access to?
• What do other people see as your strengths?
• Which achievements are you most proud of?
• What values do you believe in that others fail to show?
• Are you part of a network no one else is involved in? What connections do you have with
powerful people?

Weaknesses:
• What work do you usually avoid because of lack of confidence?
• What do people think you weaknesses are?
• Are you happy with your education and skills training?
• Do you have any negative work habits?
• Which of your personality traits hold you back?

Opportunities:
• What new technology can assist you?
• Can you take advantage of the market in its present state?
• Do you have a network of strategic contacts to offer good advice or help you?
• Is any of your competitors failing to do something important? Can you take advantage of it?
• Is there a need in your company which no one is filling?
• Could you create an opportunity by offering solutions to problems?

Threats:
• What hindrances do you currently face at work?
• Is any of your co-workers competing with you for projects or roles?
• Is your job changing?
• Can technological changes threaten your position?
• Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?

Manners & Etiquette:

Etiquette is a code of conduct and a set of societal rules that acts as a catalyst for positive human
interactions. On the other hand, manners are behaviors that reflect a person’s attitude. A

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key difference between etiquette and manners is that the former changes with a change in
societal customs and norms, while the latter remains largely unchanged across communities.
Etiquette provides a structure within which good manners can flourish. It’s good manners to
follow proper etiquette. For example, etiquette may dictate the rules of talking to someone. In
some cultures, this means introducing yourself properly to a stranger and shaking their hand. But
in other cultures, shaking hands is frowned upon. Good manners will prompt you to say ‘please’
or ‘thank you’ when needed and not interrupt another person. These are universal courtesies.

Let’s look at some ways to practice proper etiquette and manners:

Mind Your Language
It’s important to pay attention to the way you communicate with others. Use respectful
language that makes your listeners feel valued. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to express
your gratitude. Avoid speaking loudly when you’re conversing with someone.
Be Friendly And Respectful
We must treat others with respect if we want to be treated respectfully. It’s possible that
someone is having a bad day and behaves rudely with you. This shouldn’t prevent you
from responding in a calm and composed manner. Good etiquette and manners create a
culture of trust and respect, allowing you to network and collaborate with others.
Dress Appropriately
Every event and place has a dress code, whether you are going to your office for work or
to a company retreat. Wearing appropriate attire shows that you pay attention to details.
For example, you should choose formal wear if you’re appearing for a job interview, but
dress in traditional attire if you’re going to a wedding. Appropriate clothes make you look
presentable and help you meet social expectations.
Be On Time
A well-mannered person always arrives on time. Being on time shows that you are not
only punctual but also considerate of others’ time. For example, if you have an important
client meeting, aim to arrive a few minutes early to allow yourself a buffer. You can
prepare for the meeting, relax or think through your ideas while you wait. You will also
mitigate the possibility of being late and making a bad impression.
Keep An Open Mind
In life, you will come across various kinds of people from different backgrounds. Not
everyone will agree with what you have to say or offer. There will be times when conflicts
may arise due to disagreements. For example, you may be required to work with different
teams, therefore collaborating with people who have different work styles. Flexibility
prevents conflicts from escalating and helps maintain a positive and courteous work
environment.

Proper etiquette and manners are necessary for us to coexist and live in harmony. We progress as
a society when we know how to behave in socially responsible ways. Let’s look at the benefits of
adopting good manners and etiquette:

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Positive Attitude:

Attitude plays a very important role for achieving the success. It is more important than
education, money, knowledge, intelligence, talents or skills. It applies to every sphere of life,
including one's personal and professional life. There are primarily three factors that determine
our attitude. They are: 1. Environment 2. Experience 3. Education These are called the triple Es
of attitude.
A positive attitude helps you to cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism
into your life and makes it easier to avoid worry and negative thinking. It will bring constructive
changes into your life and make you happier, brighter and more successful. People with positive
attitudes have certain personality traits that are easy to recognize. They are caring, confident,
patient, and humble. They have high expectations of themselves and others. They anticipate
positive outcomes. A person with a positive attitude is like a fruit of all seasons. He is always
welcome.

The Benefits of a Positive Attitude:

These are many and easy to see. But what is easy to see is also easy to miss. To mention a few, a
positive attitude increases productivity
 fosters teamwork
 solves problems
 improves quality
 makes for congenial atmosphere
 breeds loyalty
 increases profits
 fosters better relationships with employers, employees, and customers
 reduces stress
 helps a person become a contributing member of society and an asset to their country
 makes for a pleasing personality

Steps to build a Positive Attitude:

Step 1: Changing the Focus and Looking for the Positive
Step 2: Making a Habit of Doing It Now
Step 3: Developing an Attitude of Gratitude
Step 4: Getting into a Continuous Education Program
Step 5: Building a Positive Self-Esteem
Step 6: Staying away from Negative Influences

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Confidence Building:
Self-confidence is directly related to achievement and accomplishment. Self-confidence is the
more external of the two and will change as our circumstances change. It can be helpful to work
with a therapist if we are having confidence issues, although these are more situational and do
not always require such assistance.
Self-confidence is an attitude about your skills and abilities. It means you accept and trust
yourself and have a sense of control in your life. You know your strengths and weakness well,
and have a positive view of yourself. You set realistic expectations and goals, communicate
assertively, and can handle criticism. On the other hand, low self-confidence might make you
feel full of self-doubt, be passive or submissive, or have difficulty trusting others. You may feel
inferior, unloved, or be sensitive to criticism.
Feeling confident in yourself might depend on the situation. For instance, you can feel very
confident in some areas, such as academics, but lack confidence in others, like relationships.
Having high or low self-confidence is rarely related to your actual abilities, and mostly based on
your perceptions. Perceptions are the way your think about yourself and these thoughts can be
flawed. Low self-confidence might stem from different experiences, such as growing up in an
unsupportive and critical environment, being separated from your friends or family for the first
time, judging yourself too harshly, or being afraid of failure. People with low self-confidence
often have errors in their thinking

Motivation:
Motivation is something that encourages action or feeling. To motivate means to encourage and
inspire. Motivation can also mean to turn on or ignite the feeling or action. Motivation is
powerful. It can persuade, convince and propel you into action. In other words, motivation can

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be defined as motive for action. It is a force that can literally change your life. Motivation is the
driving force in our lives. It comes from a desire to succeed. Without success there is little pride
in life; no enjoyment or excitement at work and at home. Often life becomes like a lopsided
wheel giving a bumpy ride. The greatest enemy of motivation is complacence. Complacence
leads to frustration, and when people are frustrated they give up because they cannot identify
what is important.

Significance and types:

Once you understand the principle that motivates the motivator, you can proceed to achieve your
goal and can motivate others too. Your internal motivation is your drive and attitude. It is
contagious. Attitude is the key to getting the response you want from others. How does a person
stay motivated and focused? One important tool that has been used by athletes for a long time is
called auto-suggestion. Auto suggestions are positive statements made in the present tense and
repeated regularly. In other words it is positive self-talk. Motivation is classified into two types:
External motivation
External motivation comes from outside, such as money, societal approval, fame or fear.
Examples of external motivation are fear of getting spanked by parents and fear of getting fired
at work.
a) Fear motivation
b) Incentive motivation
Internal motivation.
Internal motivation is the inner gratification, not for success or winning, but for the fulfilment
that comes from having done it. It is a feeling of accomplishment, rather than just achieving a
goal. Reaching an unworthy goal does not give the gratifying feeling. Internal motivation is
lasting, because it comes from within and translates into self-motivation.

Flexibility:
Flexibility is a personality trait that describes the extent to which a person can cope with changes
in circumstances and think about problems and tasks in novel, creative ways. Flexible people
are highly adaptable and can adjust quickly to new situations. They tend to be versatile thinkers,
who are able to be creative and take alternate routes to make things happen,” says Clarissa Silva,
a behavioral scientist, relationship coach, and creator of 'Your Happiness Hypothesis Method.

Patience:

How important patience is in life stretches far beyond being nice to others. It benefits your
relationships with others and helps these relationships stay healthy over an extended period of
time. Being a patient person also teaches you to regulate your emotions so that your well-being
remains strong.

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Being impatient causes stress, and chronic stress has detrimental effects on physical well-being.
Your physical and mental health grows when you practice patience. You may find that
you’ll experience less headaches, acne breakouts, and ulcers.Patient people may also experience
fewer negative emotions. That’s because with patience, you’re better equipped to deal with
stressful and challenging moments in life. This helps your overall mental health and well-
being.Patience can even help you avoid and recover from burnout. Rather than work yourself to
the extreme, patience reminds you to slow down and prioritize your own well-being.The role of
patience in our life isn't exclusively individual. Being patient also helps you develop strong,
healthy, long-lasting relationships. Your relationships with friends, family, and coworkers thrive
when you practice patience.

It’s important to understand that patience isn't transactional. When you’re patient with a person,
don’t hold onto an expectation that they'll give you something in return. Patience is about
sustaining and bettering relationships — not holding your good deed above someone until they
do you a favor. Patient people may have an easier time being empathetic, kind, cooperative, and
selfless. Being compassionate when others make mistakes helps create relationships where flaws
are accepted.

Here are eight benefits of patience to consider:

1. You can better focus on your long-term goals and dreams

2. You can make more rational, realistic decisions
3. You develop persistence and resilience
4. You have a better time learning new skills
5. It allows you to be a better listener
6. You make others feel comfortable
7. You practice kindness and encourage others to do so too
8. You learn how to live a peaceful life, not a stressful one

Dependability:

Dependability is the quality of being trustworthy and reliable and being consistent in
performance or behavior. A dependable team member is regarded as someone who gets the job
done with accuracy and can be counted on to follow through on work tasks in a timely manner.
Dependability” is also a performance dimension on which C&Ts are assessed during their annual
performance reviews. It is a quality managers and co-workers cherish in team members.
Dependable employees can get the job done with little supervision, making them valuable to
managers in an ever-changing workplace. For this reason, dependability is a highly sought-after
quality by hiring managers.

Characteristics of a Dependable Employee:

Understanding assignments and meeting deadlines consistently

Showing up on time to work and ready to start the day
Being trustworthy by following through on assigned task
Communicating when issues arise, and problem solving quickly and efficiently

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Following company policies and procedures for each task and assignment
Taking the initiative to tackle a challenging assignment

Adaptability:

Personality adaptability refers to the willingness to adjust one's behavior and approach to work
based on the needs of the situation. Adaptable people with this important skill are open-minded,
flexible, and comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone. There are 5 ways of adaptability
Ways of Interacting,
Ways of Achieving,
Ways of Learning,
Ways of Working, and
Ways of Thinking.

Interpersonnal and Inttrapersonnel skill:

Interpersonal skills, also known as people skills, are the abilities and qualities that enable
effective communication, interaction, and connection with others. These skills involve a range of
behaviors, attitudes, and competencies that facilitate positive and meaningful relationships in
personal and professional settings. Interpersonal skills include interpersonal communication,
which encompasses both verbal and nonverbal communication skills, active listening, empathy,
conflict resolution, collaboration, teamwork, leadership, and networking.

Intrapersonal skills refer to a person's ability to understand and manage their thoughts, emotions,
and behaviors. These skills involve self-awareness, self-reflection, and personal growth.
Intrapersonal skills encompass a range of competencies such as emotional intelligence, self-
confidence, adaptability, decision-making, self-motivation, intrapersonal communication, and
time management.

Context Interpersonal Skills Intrapersonal Skills

Focus of Skills Interactions, and relationships with Self-awareness and self-

others management

Context of Social and professional settings Personal growth and self-

Application improvement

Impact on Directly influences the ability to Indirectly impacts external

External connect and build relationships relationships through personal
Relationships growth

Nature of Active engagement with others, Introspection, self-reflection, and

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Development practice, and feedback personal development activities

External vs. Limited scalability due to physical Highly scalable, can

Internal Focus constraints accommodate large numbers of
learners

Impact on Crucial for success in professional Important for personal and

Success settings, effective communication, professional success, self-
collaboration, and leadership confidence, adaptability,
emotional resilience

Body Language:

Body language is the use of physical behaviour, expressions, and mannerisms to communicate
non-verbally. Non-verbal behaviours can allow people to be at ease, build trust and connections
with others. However, they can also confuse others, generate tension, and even create an
uncomfortable environment. Being able to understand one’s body language has always been
interesting for me personally, as I have been in situations where, despite what one person says,
their body language communicates something different or vice versa. Non-verbal communication
can affect our words as it can reiterate our message, contradict our words, reinforce our
statement, substitute the meaning of what we are trying to say, and complement what we are
trying to say. Body language is something that is usually natural and is often done instinctively
rather than consciously. As humans, we express ourselves in different ways, including verbal,
vocal (This refers to the tone, pace, and inflection. The tone of one’s voice can indicate various
emotions including sarcasm, anger, affection, confidence, fear, etc.), and nonverbal. Non-verbal
communication constitutes the majority of our overall communication.

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