Teaching Soft Skills to Business Students: An Analysis of Multiple Pedagogical Methods. (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Anthony, Suzanne; Garner, Benjamin
• Is Part Of: Business and professional communication quarterly. Volume 79:Number 3(2016:Sep.)
• Page Start: 360
• Page End: 370
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: soft skills -- business and professional communication -- management -- pedagogy; Business education -- United States -- Periodicals; Communication in management -- United States -- Periodicals; English language -- Business English -- Periodicals; 658.450715
• DOI: 10.1177/2329490616642247
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2329-4906

Abstract

Recent reports have suggested that many employees in the workforce today lack essential soft skills. This research analyzes the effectiveness of multiple classroom assignments for teaching soft skills in a Business Communication course. Five distinct pedagogical strategies were used in an effort to teach soft skills, including a self-analysis, an interview, a guest lecturer, a journal article, and a soft skills video. Results offer insights into students' perceptions of the most helpful pedagogical approaches for teaching soft skills.