Soft Skills Enhancement

Soft skills are vital to success in all fields. Use the resources below to improve your soft skills!

Soft Skills Video Series

The IUP Kathleen Jones White Writing Center has put together soft-skill videos for geared toward STEM students. Watch the videos below to learn more about writing and effective communication!

Words that Work: Strategic Language for Professional Communication in Cybersecurity (27 min):

A workshop based on the book Words that Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Frank Luntz. This workshop explores the principles of Words that Work including simplicity, brevity, credibility, novelty, and speaking in an aspirational tone and gives students a chance to practice each of the principles. The workshop concludes by exploring how the strategic choice of words can be an asset in professional communication within cybersecurity and computer science settings.

Resume Writing Workshop for Cybersecurity Professionals (20 min):

This workshop introduces students to developing the content and designing an effective resume. We explore effective resume samples, how to frame experience to diverse audiences, and different content that goes in a resume. Students also can learn new features in MS Word that will make their resume distinctive. Students can get started on one during this workshop, or polish what they've already written.

Writing with Statistics: Data Visualization, Storytelling, and Persuasion (17 min):

Twenty-first century workplace contexts require effective communication skills, and in the digital age, these skills include how to use statistics and numbers to tell stories to potential customers or the public. This workshop explores the importance of data visualization, shares strategies and suggestions for how to effectively and ethically present statistical data in both written and visual formats, and how to use these effectively for informative and persuasive purposes.

Introduction to Technical and Professional Writing in Cybersecurity (16 min):

This workshop introduces students to the nature of writing in and for the workplace. It helps students develop their writing skills to shape their professional communication. With practical examples and engaging activities, students learn different styles, structures, and organizations of professional and technical writing genres. During the workshop, students learn about multimodal and digital ways of composing in technical and professional contexts.

Selling your Proposal in Professional Settings (17 min):

Proposals of ideas, new approaches, or new products are how you can make change. This workshop introduces students to how to write innovative short proposals to create change in their organizations and beyond. This workshop will discuss how to create short proposals in a business setting, how to pitch ideas and proposals to various audiences, and how to sell your ideas to others. This hands-on workshop will include proposal pitching and practice.

Clarity and Conciseness in Cybersecurity and Computer Science Writing (9 min):

This workshop explores the critical importance of clarity and conciseness in the field of computer science. Specifically, the workshop introduces students to the paramedic method, a method that can be used at the sentence and paragraph level to make writing more direct, active, and precise. We’ll also explore purpose and audience-driven strategies for clarity and conciseness that can be used to reduce wordiness and provide clarity.