Page 387 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

Model Question Papers | 375

outlay of energy or of time and energy. Skill acquisition is an essential component of
any learning system. An understanding of the basic principles of skill acquisition can
enhance all teaching and coaching. The development of a skill, from playing basketball
to resolving a conflict, will progress in levels of achievement. An individual will begin
by struggling through attempts to perform the skill. In time, success and improved con-
fidence will take place. With enough practice, a person can become an expert in the per-
formance of the desired skill. It has been described that this progression occurs through
four steps. From the raw beginning, through to mastery, a person will move from:
Unconsciously Incompetent
to

Consciously Incompetent
to
Consciously Competent
to
Unconsciously Competent
Described further, a person can begin the learning of a skill with no concept about
it, and no ability to perform it. With some teaching and/or practice, the individual
becomes aware of skill and its goal, but still cannot perform the skill with any significant
success. With more teaching and practice, the skill is acquired and can be performed
well, with high levels of concentration. More practice brings the person to the highest
level of function in which the skill can be performed with great success and without the
need to concentrate intently. At this point the skill has become very repetitious. There
are a great number of examples to illustrate the point. A young child learning how to
walk is an obvious case. At the earliest stages, the child will rise to their feet, soon to tall
with the first attempt to move. They do not know how to perform the skill, and have
no knowledge of what to do to improve. They are unconsciously incompetent. With
more attempts, the child begins to realize to potential to walk or move, but is unable to
perform the skill to any significant extent. With still more practice, the child can move
about, but only with significant concentration. If they are distracted from their intent,
they will quickly topple over. In time, the skill becomes second nature to them and can
be performed without conscious intent. They have become unconsciously competent.
New skills are added in progressions. The child will begin to run only to be met with a
new series of challenges. Over the course of skill acquisition, the child will learn to run
while catching and throwing, followed by more and more complex skills. At the highest
level, very skilled athletes perform seemingly impossible tasks with relative ease. Just
like learning to walk, training the thinking system to resolve conflict, to overcome non-
assertiveness, to improve communication requires time, patience, and many thousands
of repetitions. One school of thought vehemently argues that soft skills are innate and
cannot be learned. The other school of thought holds the view that soft skills can be
learned. It is important to take a balanced view that the by product of the two schools of

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