Being persuasive is a foundational soft skill that everyone in an organization has a responsibility to use, although it’s vitally important to being a successful leader. Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss the soft skill of being persuasive and how it use can spur an organization’s growth. Among the topics they discuss are: Why being persuasive makes our list How to differentiate between manipulation and persuasion A working definition of persuasion How persuasion leads to “buy-in” How ...
Nov 15, 2017•17 min
Delegation, one of the 55 soft skills, helps determine which human resources to delegate to specific tasks to ensure organizational effectiveness. In this episode, the hosts, Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham, discuss: What delegation is The intentionality of delegation How return on assets (ROA) plays into deciding when to delegate How delegation can build a better, deeper team When delegation becomes shirking and avoiding the Tom Sawyer approach How to know when good delegation is occurring...
Nov 09, 2017•19 min
Environment, while not a soft skill, plays a critical role in which soft skills we use and how we use them. Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss the role of environment in this episode. Environment is not a soft skill, but it performs an important role in determining which soft skills to use and how to use them. In this episode, the hosts discuss: Why soft skills are dependent on the environment in which they are employed. How environment might play into when to ask of a raise How ...
Nov 01, 2017•15 min
Meeting facilitation may not seem like a soft skill, but it can easy serve as a gateway to more productivity and opportunity for leaders, managers and organizations. Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss the cost and culture surrounding ineffective meetings and why good meetings really do require strong soft skills. In this episode, they discuss: The incredible cost to American companies from unproductive meetings. Why meeting facilitation is on the soft skills list How technology m...
Oct 24, 2017•19 min
Soft skills are the true differentiator that helps people with strong technical skills earn jobs and transform their organizations, the hosts explain while answering listener questions. Introduction Bob Graham (‘0:20'): Welcome to Serious Soft Skills, Episode 16. With me is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. For you newcomers and those of you who have been with us for a while, you may or may not know we have uncovered a list of 55 soft skills. We dug this list up though academic research and our teaching of...
Oct 17, 2017•18 min
Patience makes the list of soft skills. We'll explain why and how it fosters opportunities at work and in careers. Introduction Dr. Tobin Porterfield (‘0:20'): Welcome to Serious Soft Skills, Episode 15. With me is Bob Graham. For you newcomers, welcome. Let's set the stage. We have uncovered a list of 55 soft skills from our review of academic research and our teaching of college students, and our work in diverse industries. We use our keen eye on soft skills to help uncover how they work and h...
Oct 11, 2017•15 min
Self-reflection, while not a soft skill, plays an important role in how we develop our soft skills over time. Introduction Bob Graham (‘0:20'): Hello, I am Bob Graham and with me as always is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We teach college, we research soft skills and we help our students develop these skills and have seen how they play out in a variety of work settings. We'll show you that eye for soft skills in a second when we start talking about self reflection. Graham (‘0:39'): Self reflection itse...
Oct 04, 2017•18 min
Exploring the role customer service as a soft skill plays in the success of an organization om an interview with customer service expert Neal Woodson. Introduction Dr. Tobin Porterfield (‘0:21'): Welcome to Episode 13 of Serious Soft Skills. I am your host, Dr. Tobin Porterfield. Today we will have the second of a two-part interview that my cohost Bob Graham conducted with Neal Woodson. Neal has 35 years of experience across a range of environments, including 19 years in the event technology ind...
Sep 26, 2017•15 min
The soft skill of customer service is often misunderstood. Serious Soft Skills Cohost Bob Graham interviews Neal Woodson, a customer service expert, in the first part of a two-part interview on the topic. Neal's view is that customer service is the most important aspect of what organizations provide, and it ultimately is what is necessary to find any success. Introduction Dr. Tobin Porterfield (‘0:21'): Welcome to Episode 12 of Serious Soft Skills. I am your host, Dr. Tobin Porterfield. Today we...
Sep 20, 2017•14 min
Project management is not always considered a soft skill. Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss its role as a soft skill and discuss the criticism. What Project Management Is Bob Graham ‘1:06': We should probably start out first off with defining what project management is and explaining why it fits into our list of soft skills because most people, or some people, might be thinking that they can take a course of project management in college. Why are you saying it's a soft skill? Dr...
Sep 12, 2017•18 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss perseverance or persistence, and why it plays a critical role in group dynamics. Introduction Graham ‘0:21': Welcome to Episode 10 of Serious Soft Skills. I'm Bob Graham and with me as always, at least so far, is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college; we collaborate on researching soft skills, and we both have used and seen others employ soft skills over the course of our long and illustrious careers, not that long and not that illustriou...
Sep 05, 2017•15 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss empathy, a soft skill that everyone can benefit from, but it's a soft skill that is poorly understood and often overlooked. Introduction Graham ‘0:24': Welcome to Episode 9 of Serious Soft Skills. I'm Bob Graham and with me as always, at least so far, is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college; we collaborate on researching soft skills, and we both have used and seen others employ soft skills over the course of our long and illustrious care...
Aug 29, 2017•19 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham look at the soft skills that guide an organization and its culture toward change and a shared vision. Bob Graham (‘0:00'): Coming up, we're going to talk about the list of soft skills that play the most prominent role in organizations and organizational change. That and more in just a few seconds. Introduction Graham ‘0:20': Welcome to Episode 8 of Serious Soft Skills. I'm Bob Graham and with me as always is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college,...
Aug 23, 2017•18 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham talk about specific soft skills that fuel innovation and guide you when you are working in a group. Bob Graham (‘0:00'): Coming up, we're going to talk about some specific soft skills that guide you when you are working in a group. That and more in just a few seconds. Introduction Graham ‘0:19': Welcome to Episode 7. It's already been a week. I'm Bob Graham and with me is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college, we collaborate on researching soft s...
Aug 15, 2017•18 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham discuss the soft skills necessary to foster good one-on-one communications. Bob Graham ‘0:00': Coming we're going to talk about the specific soft skills that can make or break your discussion with another person. That and more in just a few seconds. The Opening Graham ‘0:17': Welcome to Episode 6 of Serious Soft Skills. I am Bob Graham and with me is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college, we collaborate on researching soft skills and we have both...
Aug 09, 2017•17 min
Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham take a deeper dive into one of the key areas of soft skills: Individual soft skills. We’re also going to talk about how best to get moving toward improving your soft skills. Bob Graham ‘0:00’: Coming up, we’re going to take a deeper dive into one of the key area of soft skills: Individual soft skills. Graham ‘0:23’: Welcome to Episode 4 of Serious Soft Skills. I am Bob Graham, and with me, as always, is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college, we collabo...
Aug 02, 2017•20 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham share some cutting-edge research on soft skills we obtained from a survey of almost 500 business people. They further dig into results among various groups, including people seeking jobs, workers without leadership roles, mid-level managers, executives, and the self-employed. It’s great stuff that will give you new insights on soft skills. Bob Graham ‘0:00’: Coming up, we will share some cutting-edge research on soft skills we obtained from a survey of ...
Jul 18, 2017•18 min
Today we are going to look at arguably what is one of the most important soft skills, one that sets the stage for so many other soft skills to appear. Will you agree or disagree with our host? Bob Graham ‘0:00’: Coming up, we are going to look at arguably what is one of the most important soft skills, one that sets the stage for so many other soft skills to appear. That’s coming up in just a few seconds. Graham ‘0:26’: Welcome to Episode 3 of Serious Soft Skills. I am Bob Graham and with me, as ...
Jul 11, 2017•16 min
You may have heard about soft skills, but you may not know who in your office needs to use them and why. We'll explain it all. Bob Graham ‘0:00': You may have heard about soft skills, but you may not know who in your office needs to use them and why. We will enlighten you in just a few seconds. Graham ‘0:22': Welcome to Episode 2 of Serious Soft Skills. I am Bob Graham, and with me is Dr. Tobin Porterfield. We each teach college, we collaborate on researching soft skills, and we both have used a...
Jul 04, 2017•17 min
Hosts Dr. Tobin Porterfield and Bob Graham explain what soft skills are, using powerful examples from business. Bob Graham ‘0:22': We’re going to explain what soft skills are in general, and explain them in a way that gives people a better understanding. Let’s start with the big question first. Why soft skills now? Dr. Tobin Porterfield ‘0:58': We know from our research that soft skills go back almost 50 years. So they are not new. But what is new is, we are in a hyper-competitive market now, wh...
Jun 29, 2017•18 min
