This document outlines the top 10 soft skills needed for customer service. Soft skills are personal attributes that enable individuals to understand others and communicate effectively. The top soft skills for customer service are clear communication, listening skills, self-control, positive attitude, assertiveness, conflict resolution, empathy, depersonalization, taking responsibility, and a sense of humor. Each skill is then briefly defined and explained in the context of customer service interactions.

1. TOP 10 SOFT SKILLS
FOR CUSTOMER
SERVICE

2. WHAT ARE SOFT SKILLS?
• Soft skills are the individual’s personal attributes,
inheritance social cues, and communication abilities
needed to make a job successful. Unlike the hard skills,
the soft skills refers to the emotions and or insights that
enables and individual to read others mind and
behavior. It is very difficult to learn in a traditional
classroom. They are also difficult to evaluate and
measure.

3. •Soft skills include attitude, communication, creative
thinking, work ethic, teamwork, networking,
decision making, positivity, time management,
motivation, flexibility, problem-solving, critical
thinking, and conflict resolution.

4. SOFT SKILLS YOU NEED TO WORK
IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

5. CLEAR COMMUNICATION
• Clear communication is important for the customer
service. It is very important for you to understand the
customer needs and must be clear about what you can
do for them.
• These skills are also important when you are doing
phone communication. When you are doing the written
conversation with the customer on email, text or website
then be sure that your grammar spelling, words and
phrases must be able to convey an effective message to
the customer.

6. LISTENING SKILLS
• Listening skills have same important like the
communication as listening is the most important factor
of the communication. When you are having
communication with the customer must to listen to them
proper to know what they needs and what you can offer
to help them. Demonstrate the speaker through body
language, expressions and gestures that you are
listening to them attentively.

7. •When you are talking on the phone carefully listen
and understand what the customer is saying and
respond to their questions.

8. SELF-CONTROL
• People must know how to handle the customer by keep
calm when handling the customers even the most
negative or aggressive customers. You must be calm and
cool even your customer is not. Calmness will let you to
control yourself and stop you by getting upset or saying
something inappropriate.

9. POSITIVE ATTITUDE
• A positive attitude goes a long way in customer service.
Make sure that you know all about the services and the
products provided by your company so you can fill out
the queries of your customers. If a customer have a
problem with the product and services, focus on what
you can do for them.

10. ASSERTIVENESS
• When you are dealing with the customers you must
know how to deal with the situation and perform your
duty in an effective manner. Customers cannot believe
you if you are passive. Also you must not be aggressive
or angry on the customer that can make your customer
angry at you and report you or maybe not buying the
products and services again.

11. CONFLICT RESOLUTION
•When working in the customer service, the
conflict resolution is essential because you must
deal with a lot of customers who has a lot of
problems to be solved. You must need to think
about the solutions of the customer’s problems
that need to be solved.

12. •Sometimes if you cannot solve the problems of the
customers, don’t give them wrong information.
Better to refer them to the service center or
anywhere they can find the solution. Follow the
customer till the problem is not solved.

13. EMPATHY
•It is important to understand the customer
feelings and what they are saying. It is an
important soft skill to understand the emotional
feelings of the customers. If you are struggling to
convey the empathy then think yourself in the
customer’s position.

14. •How would you feel? How would you like to be
treated? What would you feel like if you had the
same problem the customer did? These questions
will help you to identify with and better assist your
customers.

15. DEPERSONALIZATION
• Even you are getting friendly with your customers, but
remember that you are not there to share your life story
with them. If a customer is sharing their issues with them
don’t start share your issues with them. A simple “I
understand” or “I know how you feel” can make the
customer feel understood and appreciated. You must
only focus on the customers and helping them.

16. TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
• It is an important part of customer service as you must
know how to say “I am sorry” even it is your fault or not
(a late shipment by the shipping company or the poor
quality of the product). You must be able to say sorry to
a customer on behalf of your company as it is none of
your fault. Hearing to the customer and saying them
sorry makes they feel better.

17. A SENSE OF HUMOR
• This can make a stressful interaction a more enjoyable
one. Even a customer is making a silly joke, just
appreciate them by giving a laughter back. But you must
never laugh at a customer even they make a mistake or
got trouble by doing anything silly.