It's not WHAT you say -- it's HOW you say it. One moment of being rude can cost you everything. People can turn against you in a hot second.What's interesting about topics like this is how much it brings out the rationalization machine.
It's true you can succeed without good soft skills, especially if you are particularly brilliant at an in-demand hard skill.
But it's epic level missing the forest for the trees.
Developing soft skills, especially in persuasion and communication, are pure upside regardless of what profession you're in. I used to have very poor social skills (some would say I'm occasionally still quite surly), and used to use all kinds of rationalizations for not learning how to communicate with and persuade others. I resented people for having important skills that I didn't have. But that's not what I told myself. Here's what I told myself:
All of these things were rationalizations that allowed me to not only avoid recognizing a fundamental weakness, but to delude myself into thinking that weakness was somehow a strength or source of superiority to others.
- These people are secretly dumber than me, so they developed social skills as compensation.
- Soft skills are used by all manner of sleazeballs and conmen to cover up for the fact that they don't bring anything to the table.
- Technology is moving the world to a place where old school golf course persuasion is vestigial.
Why? Because the thought of embarrassing myself trying to sell, etc scared me shitless, and the ability of the human ego to protect itself through rationalization is virtually boundless.
Not saying that could in any way apply to anyone else here. Just me.
PS. Literally every aspect of life is improved when you develop the ability to persuade people, to understand what makes them tick and what makes them happy. When you learn how to thresh out what their needs are. Don't shortchange yourself, folks.
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