The Human Touch : Personal skills for professional success

Strong interpersonal skills are a fundamental requirement in all work environments. This book provides expert guidance for IT and other professionals on key skills including: building rapport; team working; leadership; negotiation; written communication; managing conflict; presentation skills; coaching and mentoring; problem solving. Abstract: Strong interpersonal skills are a fundamental requirement in all work environments. This book provides expert guidance for IT and other professionals on key skills including: building rapport; team working; leadership; negotiation; written communication; managing conflict; presentation skills; coaching and mentoring; problem solving. � Read more... Content: Copyright CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES AUTHORS FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABBREVIATIONS 1 THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL SKILLS INTRODUCTION THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE CATEGORISING PEOPLE THE SENSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL THE NATURE OF BUSINESS CHANGE WORK CATEGORIES OF SKILL THE HUMAN TOUCH CONCLUSION REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 2 BUILDING RAPPORT AND SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER THE NATURE OF RAPPORT WHY RAPPORT IS SO IMPORTANT IN WORKING RELATIONSHIPS THE BUSINESS CONTEXT FOR RAPPORT THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RAPPORT. TECHNIQUES FOR CREATING AND SUSTAINING RAPPORT FACE TO FACETECHNIQUES FOR CREATING AND SUSTAINING RAPPORT OVER THE PHONE TECHNIQUES FOR CREATING RAPPORT VIA EMAIL HOW TO DESTROY RAPPORT CONCLUSION REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 3 TEAM WORKING INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER GROUPS AND TEAMS TEAM ROLES TEAM DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AND TEAM BUILDING CONCLUSION CHAPTER REFERENCES 4 NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER TYPES OF NEGOTIATION SITUATIONS NEGOTIATION OUTCOMES THE 'GETTING TO YES' APPROACH PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION. MANAGING CONFLICT SITUATIONSCONCLUSION REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 5 LEADERSHIP INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? HOW LEADERSHIP DIFFERS FROM MANAGEMENT THREE KEYS TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP STYLES THE MODELS LATERAL LEADERSHIP CONCLUSION REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 6 INFLUENCING INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER INFLUENCE VERSUS POWER STARTING OUT: DEFINING OUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE INFLUENCING AND THE THREE UNIVERSAL HUMAN GOALS CIALDINI'S 'SIX PRINCIPLES OF INFLUENCE' THE OUTCOME FRAME. QUESTIONS: THE GOLDEN KEY TO INFLUENCEINFLUENCING ACCORDING TO SOCIAL PREFERENCE THE INFLUENCING PROCESS CONCLUSION REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 7 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER THE PROS AND CONS OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS AND THE BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION PLANNING THE WRITTEN COMMUNICATION TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION A PROCESS FOR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF WRITING WRITING STYLE ASSESSING READABILITY: THE 'FOG INDEX' EMAIL: PERILS AND PITFALLS WRITING FOR THE WEB CONCLUSION FURTHER READING. 8 PRESENTATION SKILLSINTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER PLANNING THE PRESENTATION DEVELOPING THE PRESENTATION SPEAKER'S NOTES PRESENTATION AIDS DELIVERING THE PRESENTATION THE TEAM PRESENTATION CONCLUSION FURTHER READING 9 COMMERCIAL AWARENESS INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER WHAT IS COMMERCIAL AWARENESS? MAKING SENSE OF THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND THE MARKET MAKING SENSE OF THE ORGANISATION APPRECIATING CULTURE FINANCIAL LITERACY CONCLUSION REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 10 COACHING INTRODUCTION CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER WHAT IS COACHING? All professionals need strong interpersonal skills as they are a fundamental requirement in any business environment. The importance of these skills cannot be overstated in today’s business world particularly in the light of current economic conditions. Numerous books cover interpersonal skills, but none specifically address their application within professional job roles, in particular those within the IT industry. This book fills that gap, providing guidance on all of the key skills and forming a comprehensive reference manual that will be relevant to a huge variety of situations. Topics include: building rapport; team working; leadership; negotiation; written communication; managing conflict; presentation skills; coaching and mentoring; problem solving. All professionals need strong interpersonal skills as they are a fundamental requirement in any business environment. This book specifically addresses the application of those key skills within professional job roles and the IT industry. It forms a comprehensive and practical reference manual relevant to a huge variety of situations. Topics include: building rapport; team working; leadership; negotiation; managing conflict; presentation skills; coaching and mentoring; and problem solving.