9 Soft Skills to Accelerate Your Career

1. Make People Feel Important (SHR Method)

Your formula to be charismatic:

Seen

• Give eye contact
• Offer a specific compliment

Heard

• Ask good questions
• Be interested, not interesting

Remembered

• Follow up
• Remember names
• Recall something you discussed

Written by Ben Meer

2. Hone Your Body Language (7-38-55 Rule)

People will like/dislike your communication based on:

• 7% words
• 38% tonality and face
• 55% body language

Stand up straight, pull your shoulders back, make eye contact, smile, give a firm handshake… You will be dangerous.

3. Master the 4-Bullet Update

Powerful people are busy (they might not remember what they asked you to do). Give updates with this outline:

• Here’s what you asked me to do
• Here’s what I did
• Here are the risks/blockers (if any)
• If given more time, I’d do this…

4. Record and Study Your Speaking

The best communicator I know told me her secret: She records her calls. Then she replays them and studies them (like an athlete watching game film).

You’ll cut “ums” and “likes.” 99.9% won’t do this — be the outlier.

5. Ask Rapport-Building Questions

Your network is your net worth. Build bonds with these questions:

• What are you most excited about these days?
• Do you have any siblings/kids?
• How’d you meet your partner? (if mentioned)
• Any fun upcoming trips?

Simple — but most people miss this.

6. Send “Friday Highlights”

If you’re new to a team, do this to build trust.

Every Friday, send your supervisor(s) a short email with two parts:

1) Highlights from the prior week

• Big tasks completed
• People networked with
• Extracurriculars (like affinity groups)

2) Upcoming activities for next week

• Forward-looking big tasks
• Networking

7. Don’t Complain or Gossip. Ever.

Nobody likes to hear complaining — so why do we do it ourselves?

(Respectfully standing up for yourself is different.)

When you talk bad about others, people wonder if you talk bad about them too.

Just don’t do it.

8. Remember All the Names

A person’s favorite sound is their name. Their second-favorite sound: the names of their loved ones and pets.

Whenever you hear one mentioned, write it down. Later, ask by name about them.

You will stand out.

9. Give Yourself a Personal MBA

Willingness to learn is a crucial soft skill. Here’s a 6-month Personal MBA plan:

All it takes to finish? Read 30 minutes daily.