Skills versus talent. Can communication or business skills be taught?

Skills versus talent. Can communication or business skills be taught?

The famous physicist Albert Einstein said: "Genius is 1 percent talent and 99 percent hard work."

Does this also apply to business and communication skills? Where is the line between talent and skill?

The difference between talent and skill

We usually associate both talent and skill with a person's ability to achieve extraordinary feats. If you have talent, you have already built a house. You just have to discover it. Then all you have to decide is the extension, the colour of the facade and the type of materials to be used.

With skill, you start from the ground up. You have to build the house first, and only after a while do you start to focus on the outside. Talent is a gift that you have received from God and your parents in your genes. A skill is an ability that you have acquired through hard work and good guidance from others.

Talent

  • an innate ability,

  • sometimes hidden and needs to be discovered,

  • requires the help of others to be discovered and channeled properly.

Skill

  • one is not born with it,

  • it is the result of diligent and persistent effort,

  • it takes experts who possess the skill to acquire it.

Communication and business skills

Can communication and business skills be taught? Can we consider them as skills that can be acquired or do we have to have an innate talent for them?

One of the sayings of the wise King Solomon says, "Lazy hands lead to poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth." This is also true when it comes to communication and business skills.

To acquire both business and communication skills, the following factors must work together:

  • the desire and strong will to acquire the skill and to persevere towards it,

  • training and assistance from a professional.

Desire, will and persistence

The following qualities and attitudes are necessary to acquire the skill:

  • really wanting to achieve the skill,

  • a strong will to achieve the skill at any cost,

  • patience and perseverance when setbacks occur,

Vocational training

The second prerequisite is professional training and courses specialising in communication and business skills. These include, for example:

  • principles of effective communication,

  • quality listening,

  • the art of empathy,

  • body language,

  • non-verbal communication in business negotiations,

  • the six stages of successful business negotiation,

  • techniques for closing the deal.

Requalification

Business and communication skills can be achieved by people with and without talent. Did you know that retraining courses are one of the ways to acquire skills? In the Czech Republic, more than 11,000 candidates participate in them every year.

The most frequently implemented retraining in the country are courses aimed at obtaining a driving licence.

 

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