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skill package

List of skills

Learning Plans

Answer Sheet

List of Skills

Read through the list of skills and choose ONE skill that you would like to work on for the entire semester. The choice is totally up to you. Pick one that you feel you need to improve.

1. lnitiate ideas and actions forcefully; assert yourself when you are right; feel able to give orders when a situation calls for you to do so.

2. Meet and get to know people; overcome shyness; begin new relationships; introduce yourself to someone you don't know; go to an event where you don't know anyone: promote a positive self-image with people you are getting to know.

3. Help someone in difficulty by discussing his/her problem; encourage or support someone in personal distress; respond to a friend who is in trouble; help someone to deal with his/ her own problems without taking on ownership of his or her problem.

4. Resolve a conflict between two people; settle an argument; negotiate an agreement; help people see each other's point of view.

5. Frankly criticize someone to help him/her to improve behavior in some way; offer suggestions or advice or information to someone who needs it.

6. Express your feelings; be genuine about showing emotions; be regarded as an open, frank person; feel spontaneous and genuine in reacting emotionally.

7. Argue well; be able to say exactly what you mean; logically defend your point of view; reason clearly; recognize fallacies in other people's arguments.

8. Convince others of the value of an idea or process; be persuasive; use many approaches to change someone's thinking; advocate what you believe in.

9. Listen carefully to others, taking care not to go beyond the intended meaning of their remarks; assess all the different implications of what they say, and make distinctions that are intended; strive to be fair to remarks you do not agree with or from persons you do not like.

10. Say no; refuse a favor or request; diminish a relationship; reject someone's offer to be with you; be abrupt with someone when necessary.

11. Tell someone something unpleasant or sad; break bad news to someone when necessary.

12. Get a group of people to work together; share ideas, cooperate, reach a decision, etc.

13. Say what you mean and have it understood by others; encourage others to listen to your ideas.

14. Explain an idea or process to someone; give a factual report; give directions clearly so that they are easily followed.

15. Relate to people from different social groups or cultures; discuss different points of view with people of different ages, race, place of national origin, sex, religion, socio-economic group, or political viewpoint.

16. Ask someone for a favor; make a request; ask to be included in a group; ask for a date; ask for a loan; ask for personal attention.

17. Be independent; differ from others in a group; refuse to conform or go along; state an unpopular opinion.

18. Express gratitude, appreciation; thank someone for a gift or favor, or advice.

19. Be strict or stern with someone; admonish, be firm about some error or wrongdoing; reprimand someone when he/she has done something harmful and avoidable or unfair to yourself or someone else.

20. Complain about bad treatment; rebel against an injustice; speak up about prejudice, the poor quality of something, rudeness, etc.

21. Be reserved, dignified, poised, sophisticated in socializing and bargaining; feel and appear unruffled, self-controlled, calm.

22. Express warmth or friendliness to someone you like; show appreciation, love to a close friend.

23. Be objective, fair-minded, impartial in a conflict situation or dispute; be regarded as honest, cautious, sincere.

24. Make conversation, chat, converse to pass the time in informal social situations; make small talk when first meeting someone.

25. Change a stiff, false, phony conversation into a more genuine personal one; encourage some one to be more real with you; when games are being played, try to break them up; find out what others really feel; move from superficial relations to deeper friendships.

26. Seek out people who are likely to disagree with you on important controversial issues and get their ideas or information.

27. Support a good idea from someone you dislike, mistrust, or usually ignore; try to see others in a fresh light and not to pin them down with past stereotypes.

28. Make a good impression at an interview; convey relaxation with voice, body movement, and eye contact. Learn what is effective for you in an interview situation.

29. Admit an error; give in to another person's point; apologize when you have done something wrong.

30. Keep calm in a crisis situation; avoid becoming upset; be able to think when others are reacting only emotionally; be a person that others can trust to be cool.

31. Go along with a group's decision about which you disagree; give in and compromise; deal with someone who is stubborn and unreasonable without raising defensiveness.

32. Share a personal problem with someone else; reveal things about yourself that aren't admirable such as being afraid, or having told a lie; ask for help about something foolish you have done or something you are worried about.

33. Encourage someone to take a risk, to try something he or she is hesitant to do, to go beyond the boundaries he/she has set for him/herself; to dare the unknown.

34. When you disagree with what someone is saying about an absent third party, or when their comments make you uncomfortable, express your feelings in a way that does not damage your own relationship with the speaker.

35. Feel at ease in speaking with small groups of people; be able to talk for a few minutes without getting tongue-tied; be able to tell a joke when you want or be a good host or hostess.

36. Be able to forgive an offense, whether to restore a relationship or to restore your own peace of mind.

37. Think before you speak or act. Take more time and thought before responding in various situations.

38. Work on one particular relationship. List two to four of the skills needed for this relationship to improve.

39. Be able to express anger or negative feelings clearly and constructively without losing your temper.

40. Become involved and sympathetic with another person without taking on their problems as your own.