LIFE SKILLS

Dr A SELVAKUMAR M.Tech MBA.,PhD

Department Of Mechanical Engineering

Number of Engineering colleges in India: 6214
(Source: HRD Ministry)
LIFE SKILLS
 LIFE SKILLS (WHO)

1. SELF-AWARENESS
2. EMPATHY
3. CRITICAL THINKING
4. CREATIVE THINKING
5. DECISION MAKING
6. PROBLEM SOLVING
7. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
8. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
9. COPING WITH STRESS
10. COPING WITH EMOTION
 COMMUNICATION SKILLS

• SELF AWARENESS
• EMPATHY
• EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
• INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
 SELF-AWARENESS Social skills

• INCLUDES RECOGNITION OF ‘SELF’, OUR CHARACTER, OUR

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES, DESIRES AND DISLIKES.
• DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS CAN HELP US TO RECOGNIZE
WHEN WE ARE STRESSED OR FEEL UNDER PRESSURE.
• IT IS OFTEN A PREREQUISITE TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS, AS WELL AS FOR DEVELOPING
EMPATHY WITH OTHERS.
 • TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR LOVED
ONES AND SOCIETY AT LARGE, WE NEED TO
EMPATHY UNDERSTAND AND CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLES’
NEEDS, DESIRES AND FEELINGS.
• EMPATHY IS THE ABILITY TO IMAGINE WHAT LIFE IS LIKE
FOR ANOTHER PERSON.
• WITHOUT EMPATHY, OUR COMMUNICATION WITH
OTHERS WILL AMOUNT TO ONE-WAY TRAFFIC. WORST,
WE WILL BE ACTING AND BEHAVING ACCORDING TO
OUR SELF-INTEREST AND ARE BOUND TO RUN INTO
PROBLEMS.
• NO MAN IS AN ISLAND, NO WOMAN EITHER! WE GROW
UP IN RELATIONSHIPS WITH MANY PEOPLE – PARENTS,
BROTHERS AND SISTERS, COUSINS, UNCLES AND AUNTS,
CLASSMATES, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS’.
• WHEN WE UNDERSTAND OURSELVES AS WELL AS OTHERS, WE ARE
BETTER PREPARED TO COMMUNICATE OUR NEEDS AND DESIRES.

• WE WILL BE MORE EQUIPPED TO SAY WHAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO

KNOW, PRESENT OUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS AND TACKLE
DELICATE ISSUES WITHOUT OFFENDING OTHER PEOPLE.

• AT THE SAME TIME, WE WILL BE ABLE TO ELICIT SUPPORT FROM

OTHERS, AND WIN THEIR UNDERSTANDING.
•
EMPATHY CAN HELP US TO ACCEPT OTHERS, WHO MAY BE VERY
DIFFERENT FROM OURSELVES.

• THIS CAN IMPROVE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, ESPECIALLY, IN SITUATIONS

OF ETHNIC OR CULTURAL DIVERSITY.

• EMPATHY CAN ALSO HELP TO ENCOURAGE NURTURING BEHAVIOUR

TOWARDS PEOPLE IN NEED OF CARE AND ASSISTANCE, OR
TOLERANCE, AS IS THE CASE WITH AIDS SUFFERERS, OR PEOPLE WITH
MENTAL DISORDERS, WHO MAY BE STIGMATIZED AND OSTRACIZED BY
THE VERY PEOPLE THEY DEPEND UPON FOR SUPPORT.
 Social skills
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
• SKILLS HELP US TO RELATE IN POSITIVE WAYS WITH THE PEOPLE WE
INTERACT WITH. THIS MAY MEAN BEING ABLE TO MAKE AND KEEP
FRIENDLY RELATIONSHIPS, WHICH CAN BE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO
• Leadership OUR MENTAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING.
• Team Building
• IT MAY MEAN KEEPING, GOOD RELATIONS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS, WHICH
• Change Management
• Conflict Resolution ARE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT.
• IT MAY ALSO MEAN BEING ABLE TO END RELATIONSHIPS CONSTRUCTIVELY.
 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
• MEANS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO EXPRESS OURSELVES, BOTH VERBALLY AND NON-VERBALLY, IN
WAYS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE TO OUR CULTURES AND SITUATIONS.
• THIS MEANS BEING ABLE TO EXPRESS OPINIONS AND DESIRES, AND ALSO NEEDS AND FEARS.
AND IT MAY MEAN BEING ABLE TO ASK FOR ADVICE AND HELP IN A TIME OF NEED.

KEVIN CARTER
 CRITICAL THINKING Thinking skills

• IS AN ABILITY TO ANALYZE INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCES IN AN OBJECTIVE MANNER.

CRITICAL THINKING CAN CONTRIBUTE TO HEALTH BY HELPING US TO RECOGNIZE AND ASSESS THE
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR, SUCH AS VALUES, PEER PRESSURE AND
THE MEDIA.
 Thinking skills

CREATIVE THINKING
IS A NOVEL WAY OF SEEING OR DOING THINGS THAT IS CHARACTERISTIC OF FOUR
COMPONENTS –
• FLUENCY (GENERATING NEW IDEAS),
• FLEXIBILITY (SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE EASILY),
• ORIGINALITY (CONCEIVING OF SOMETHING NEW), AND
• ELABORATION (BUILDING ON OTHER IDEAS).
 Thinking skills
DECISION MAKING
• HELPS US TO DEAL CONSTRUCTIVELY WITH DECISIONS
ABOUT OUR LIVES.
• THIS CAN HAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH.
• IT CAN TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO ACTIVELY MAKE DECISIONS
ABOUT THEIR ACTIONS IN RELATION TO HEALTHY
ASSESSMENT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND, WHAT EFFECTS
THESE DIFFERENT DECISIONS ARE LIKELY TO HAVE.
• PROBLEM SOLVING HELPS US TO DEAL
CONSTRUCTIVELY WITH PROBLEMS IN OUR
LIVES.
• SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS THAT ARE LEFT
UNRESOLVED CAN CAUSE MENTAL STRESS
AND GIVE RISE TO ACCOMPANYING
PHYSICAL STRAIN.
 COPING WITH STRESS: Emotional skills
• COPING WITH STRESS MEANS RECOGNIZING THE SOURCES OF STRESS IN OUR
LIVES, RECOGNIZING HOW THIS AFFECTS US, AND ACTING IN WAYS THAT HELP US
CONTROL OUR LEVELS OF STRESS, BY CHANGING OUR ENVIRONMENT OR
LIFESTYLE AND LEARNING HOW TO RELAX.
• 95% OF ALL THE DISEASES ARE CREATED BY STRESS. WRONG BELIEFS LIKE “I’M NOT
GOOD ENOUGH” OR "SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ME" CAUSE UP TO 95% OF ALL
ILLNESS AND DISEASE.
• THE MEMBRANE OF THE CELL IS THE BRAIN OF THE CELL, NOT THE NUCLEUS. OUR
BELIEFS ARE STORED IN THE MEMBRANE OF OUR CELLS. UNLESS WE ARE FULLY AWARE
OF WHAT WE ARE DOING AND WHY WE ARE DOING IT AT EVERY MOMENT, WE ARE
ALWAYS ACTING ON OUR UNCONSCIOUS PROGRAMMING STORED AS BELIEFS IN
OUR CELLS.
 COPING WITH STRESS
(STRESS BRAIN CHEMISTRY, MENTAL HEALTH AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS)

• SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HAS ESTABLISHED THAT STRESS IS THE CORE FACTOR IN PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND
EMOTIONAL DISEASE. DISCOVERING HOW UNCONSCIOUS PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HABITS
CREATE STRESS, AGING, ADDICTION AND DISEASE, THROUGH AWARENESS AND SIMPLE LIFESTYLE CHANGES
RECLAIMING YOUTHFUL VITALITY, JOY AND WELL BEING.
• MENTAL HEALTH RELIES ON NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND HORMONES BEING PRODUCED UTILIZED AND
METABOLIZED PROPERLY.
• HORMONES AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS GOVERN OUR MOODS, EMOTIONS, BEHAVIOR, AND SLEEP PATTERNS,
AS WELL AS EVERY ASPECT OF OUR PHYSICAL HEALTH.
• STRESS RESULTING FROM FALSE BELIEFS CAUSES IMBALANCES OF HORMONES AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS. THE
DIMINISHED AVAILABILITY OF JUST ONE NEUROTRANSMITTER OR A DISRUPTION IN ITS PATH CAN ADVERSELY
AFFECT EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE AND HEALTH.
EMOTIONS

Comedy
Astonishment (wonderamant)
Disgust (tranquility)
Fear
Peace
Love
Sad
Brave
Anger
 COPING WITH EMOTION
• COPING WITH EMOTIONS MEANS INVOLVING RECOGNIZING EMOTIONS WITHIN US
AND OTHERS, BEING AWARE OF HOW EMOTIONS INFLUENCE BEHAVIOUR AND BEING
ABLE TO RESPOND TO EMOTIONS APPROPRIATELY.
• INTENSE EMOTIONS LIKE ANGER OR SADNESS CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON OUR
HEALTH IF WE DO NOT RESPOND APPROPRIATELY.
• EMOTIONAL FACTORS IN MENTAL WELL BEING OUR FEELINGS ARE A WONDERFUL
BAROMETER OF OUR WELL BEING. WHEN WE ARE NOT CAUGHT UP IN NEGATIVE
THINKING, OUR FEELINGS REMAIN POSITIVE, AND WE FEEL JOYFUL, LOVING AND
PEACEFUL.
• WHEN WE ARE FEELING FEARFUL, ANGRY, OR DEPRESSED IT IS A SURE SIGN THAT OUR
THOUGHTS HAVE BECOME NEGATIVE AND DYSFUNCTIONAL. DEVELOPING THIS
AWARENESS AND MAKING THE DECISION TO ELIMINATE NEGATIVE THINKING CAN BE
DRAMATICALLY LIFE CHANGING. ALTER YOUR OWN BRAIN CHEMISTRY WITH THOUGHTS
OF APPRECIATION, GRATITUDE, JOY AND LOVE.
EMOTIONAL SIGNS
• IRRITABILITY PEOPLE ARE LOW INFORMATION PROCESSORS—MAX OUT ON INFO PROCESSING WHEN
STRESSED B/C CONSTANTLY THINKING OF THINGS, MORE INFORMATION MAKES YOU ANGRY, SEE
EVERYTHING AS SERIOUS
• SADNESS, DEPRESSION
• APATHY
• ANXIETY FREE-FLOATING ANXIETY: CONSTANTLY WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP
• MENTAL FATIGUE FORGET THINGS, WHAT YOU MEANT TO DO
• OVERCOMPENSATE OR LIVE IN DENIAL BY TAKING ON EXTRA WORK
SOFT SKILLS NEED TO DEVELOP SOFT SKILLS FOR ENHANCING THE LIFE.

• PERSONALITY & ATTITUDE DEVELOPMENT,

• FAILURE MANAGEMENT
• IMPROVING SUCCESS RATIO & PERFORMANCE
• TEAM BUILDING
• LEADERSHIP BASICS
• ANALYTICAL AND LOGICAL THINKING
• SWOT ANALYSIS (BASED ON PSYCHOLOGY TEST)
• MANAGEMENT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
• COMMUNICATION CONCEPT
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• PRESENTATION SKILLS
• PUBLIC SPEAKING
• WORKPLACE SKILLS
• TIME & TIME MANAGEMENT
• STRESS & STRAIN MANAGEMENT
• PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
BENEFITS OF SOFT SKILLS TRAINING:-
• ENHANCE AND IMPROVE EMPLOYABLE SKILLS
• THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITH COWORKERS, EMPLOYERS, CLIENT S AND CUSTOMER S, FRIENDS
AND FAMILY MEMBERS
• THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS
• IMPROVE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
• HELPS IN PROMOTIONS AND UPGRADING SKILLS
• INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO IMPROVE TEAM RESULTS
• DEVELOPMENT OF PRESENTATION SKILLS TO PROMOTE MORE SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
• GAINING THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE SYMPTOMS OF STRESS AND LEARNING MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
• SOFT SKILLS REPRESENT A FUNDAMENTAL AT TRIBUTE TO TODAY’S KNOWLEDGE BASED ECONOMY.