This is Unit 4. The profession
Element 2. Interpersonal skills.
Key Elements of Personal skills.
This animation introduces interpersonal skills,
such as communication skills
or positive attitude, required in the process of producing
quality Easy-to-understand information.
All jobs require some sort of interpersonal skills.
A professional in the field of Easy-to-understand information
relies on those skills strongly.
Producing quality easy to understand information is a complex process.
It can take a lot of time.
And in the process, you will most likely work
with diverse end-users and professionals.
Let us take a closer look
at some of the interpersonal skills that may come in handy.
Listening.
Attentive listening is very important.
Always allow the speaker to finish their thought.
Reflect on what they said.
Summarise.
Repeat in your own words
to make sure you really understood the speaker.
Clear verbal communication.
Be decisive.
Be concrete.
Ask specific questions.
When working with validators, avoid using questions
that can be answered with a ''yes'' or a ''no''.
Make sure you are understood.
Ask clarifying questions, if needed.
You can use visuals to better explain your thoughts
or help people answer questions.
And do not forget to listen and reflect!
Non-verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication are all unwritten and unspoken messages
we send or receive.
It is our body language.
It is the sounds we make,
our facial expressions, gestures,
closeness and so much more.
Some people you will be working with or working for
might not use a lot of verbal communication.
Thus, it is important that you are familiar
with the elements of non-verbal communication.
Assertiveness.
Assertiveness is a hard-strong word,
but a soft concept.
It means that we are neither passive nor aggressive,
but know how to compromise,
make sure things are fair
and stand up for ourselves and others.
Remember how we spoke of clear communication?
When you are assertive, people know where they stand with you.
And both of you win in the end.
Nice, huh?
Teamwork.
Teamwork means working together,
with other people, producing something.
If you want your Easy-to-understand information to be of good quality,
you will likely have to work with several different people.
This is where you will need to network.
Find the people who have the necessary skills and knowledge.
Make sure you identify when you need help
and do not be too proud to ask for it.
It is important that you recognize your team members' strengths and weaknesses.
If you do, you will be able to engage
with just the right people for the task
you will be working on at the moment.
Define roles clearly.
Be honest.
Mentoring people is also important.
People you will be working with do not have the same level
of knowledge, expertise, or experience.
Give other people credit.
Say thank you.
Listen to people's concerns.
Take responsibility for your own mistakes.
As already said, you will need to establish
a network of people to make your work easier and more efficient.
Validators, sometimes also called test readers,
are your best friends.
You will also be working with other professionals.
It is important, that you show the people you work with
respect and trust.
Problem-solving.
Every human, also every professional,
encounters problems at some point.
It is important that you know how to define the problem,
analyze it, find possible solutions
and decide on one.
Problem-solving is very closely connected to decision-making.
What can be done?
Who will do it?
When will they do it and how?
There are many tips that can help develop and refine our decision-making skills,
so do not worry, if this is one of your weaker points.
Positive attitude.
Always stay positive.
This way, you will boost the creativity process,
inspire, and motivate people
and increase collaboration.
The outcome will be much better.
Your Easy-to-understand information will be better and more useful.
Humour.
And no, we did not forget about humour.
It is so much easier to work with people with a healthy dose of humour.
Did you know that with the use of humour you can sometimes make people understand
certain things that are hard to understand.
And what if we told you
that you can make your work fun this way?
Now go out there and be
the most fun and most awesome professional
to ever prepare Easy-to-understand information!
Just give us another minute before that…
Not feeling like a ''people person'',
''good with people'' or ''client-oriented'‘?
That is OK.
There are many ways to practice your interpersonal skills.
Practice makes perfect.
Try to engage with people as much as possible.
Join a group.
You can even take face-to-face or online workshops.
All it takes is the desire to make a difference.
Quality, easy to understand information, which you are choosing to produce,
does make all the difference for a lot of people.
So good luck and happy travels!
The script was prepared by Zavod RISA and RTV Slovenia.
Graphical design and animation were created by Blaž Zajc.
It was produced by RTV Slovenia in 2021.