Soft Skills: an advanced guide for MUNers

1. Omar I. Ali
Member of academic committee
Model United Nations- O6U

3. Hard Skills
Skills that are learned to
perform a specific job function
and are more easily identifiable
and quantifiable.
Mostly about “what you know”
VS
Soft Skills
Skills that are less tangible, and
more associated with one’s
traits or personality, that
determine how we interact.
Mostly about “how you act”.

4. • Soft skills are general attributes that aren’t
specific to a job or industry.
• They’re usually self-developed, meaning
no training is needed to build them. And
because they an be applied to a number of
different roles.
• soft skills are always desirable – no matter
what field you’re working in.

6. “Soft skills get little respect but
they will make or break your
career” Peggy Klaus, author

8. • Writing a resume/CV
• Going for a job/position interview
• Preparing for conference
• Learning new skills
• Seeking a promotion

16. Communication
Conflict
Management
ListeningReliability
Respectfulness

18. Flexibility
Focus on
Your Core
Values
Be Open-
Minded
Develop
Your Skill
Set
Be
Optimistic
Stay Calm
Plan
Ahead

20. • Time management:
– The prioritization, scheduling and execution
of daily responsibilities to a level of personal
satisfaction.
– Effective time management does not mean
you have more time; it means you make better
use of the time you have.

21. • Matching a specific task with a designated
time period
• Use Boxing, Time Mapping and Clustering
• Schedule Interruptions:
• Be flexible with your schedule.
• Allocate time for possible interruption.
• Prevent interruption

22. • 3 to 5 hour chunks or boxes of time
• In each time do a specific responsibility
• Geared toward big projects

23. • Share the responsibility with others.
• Things to notice when delegating:
– Give clear instructions.
– Don’t delegate complicated
tasks.
– Follow up on delegated duties.

24. • Limit cell phone and internet usage.
• Limit TV time.
• Keep your surroundings clean and tidy.
• Get a good night of sleep.
• Don’t multi-task (I guess if you have
that many hands it would be ok)

25. Reducing Stress

26. • What causes stress?
– Internal sources
– External sources
• What is stressful for you?

27. • Cognitive Symptoms
– Memory problems
– Inability to concentrate
– Poor judgment
– Seeing only the negative
– Anxious or racing thoughts
– Constant worrying
• Emotional Symptoms
– Moodiness
– Irritability or short temper
– Agitation and inability to relax
– Feeling overwhelmed
– Sense of loneliness and isolation
– Depression or general unhappiness
• Physical Symptoms
– Aches and pains
– Diarrhea or constipation
– Nausea and/or dizziness
– Chest pain and/or rapid heartbeat
– Loss of sex drive
– Frequent colds
• Physical Symptoms
– Eating more or less
– Sleeping too much or too little
– Isolating yourself from others
– Procrastinating or neglecting
responsibilities
– Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs
to relax
– Nervous habits (e.g., nail biting,
pacing)

28. • Reduce your stress through:
– Time Management
– Organization
– Delegation

29. • Microsoft Outlook Basics to Manage Your
Days
– E-mail management
– Calendar management
– Task management

30. • E-mail Management
– Creating folders
– Setting rules

31. • Setting Rules

32. • Calendar Management
– Setting an appointment
– Updating and deleting an appointment

33. • Setting an Appointment

34. • Setting an Appointment

35. • Entering Tasks

36. • Flagging E-mails

40. • Newspapers/magazines
• Who to follow
• Websites: munplanet/best delegate
• Applications: UN news/ MUN
• Research publications/journals

47. Academic databases: ERIC, NBER
Research centers’ publications

49. Communication
Awareness
Honesty/Integrity
Relationship
Innovation

52. Skills self assessment