The Quantified Communications Blog

In recent years, inclusion has evolved from an idealistic workplace buzzword to a must-have component of company culture. Definitions vary from source, but inclusion boils down to the idea that, regardless of background, viewpoints, or beliefs, every team member’s contributions are valued and worthy of respect.

If you’ve ever been to a job interview—or an interview for just about anything, for that matter, you’ve fielded the request, “Tell me about yourself.” It seems innocuous and oh-so simple, doesn’t it? But chances are, that question has made you feel like a deer in headlights at least once. “Tell her about myself? What about myself? Who am I, even?”

There’s no two ways about it: employee retention is a critical driver of a financially healthy organization. Retaining talent isn’t easy, but research has shown that the cost of replacing just one employee can soar to nine months of that single employee’s salary, and Gallup has found that turnover among millennials alone costs the US economy $30.5 billion annually.

It’s clear that today’s businesses can’t afford not to retain employees, but how can companies keep their top talent engaged? There are dozens of great retention strategies out there, but the way we see it here at Quantified, it comes down to leadership.

Think back to your last important communication event. Maybe it was a presentation to five hundred key stakeholders, or maybe it was an innovative product pitch for the CEO and her team. You had your message down pat—you’d prepared your data points, supporting stories, and visual supports using audience-first methodology—and you’d rehearsed until you knew your key points like the back of your hand. Your content was on point. You were talking like a leader.

But did you look like a leader?

If you’ve been following our research and our blog, you know that, here at Quantified, we’re big believers in the power of storytelling. We know that storytelling language and structure make communication significantly more memorable, and we know they have a distinct neurological and chemical effect on our audience’s brains.

But what does it take to actually incorporate storytelling into your next big communication event? After all, it’s one thing to tell stories in a TED Talk or a commencement speech or a wedding toast, but a team meeting? A financial presentation?

For years, researchers, school districts, and policymakers have been focusing on ways to enhance elementary school learning through personalized learning plans. Harvard University released a report earlier this year, finding that while personalized learning plans are powerful for elementary students, they are largely underutilized in schools, according to Education Dive.

Though they were once considered “nice to haves,” we now know soft skills are critical predictors of workplace performance. Though they were once considered entirely subjective, we now know they can be quantified. And though soft skills were once considered traits you were either born with or not, we now know they can be taught and improved. 

Whether or not soft skills are important in the workplace is no longer up for debate. We’ve written in depth about the topic, and we’re not the only ones. LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report identified soft skills as the biggest trend transforming the talent landscape, with 80 percent of respondents saying employees’ soft skills are critical to a company’s success and 92 percent saying they matter as much or more than hard skills.

Some of the questions we’re asked most frequently here at Quantified are about the differences in the way men and women should communicate if they want to be perceived as respectable, authoritative leaders. After all, it’s incredible just how often we see women in leadership positions being criticized (or praised, sure, but more often criticized) not for their message, itself, but for the way they deliver it.

Soft skills. People skills. Emotional intelligence. These are buzzwords we hear every day. They’re the qualities we should aspire to as professionals and leaders if we want to be successful at inspiring others, elevating our brands, and improving our companies’ bottom lines. But when it comes to defining these skills—not to mention developing them—we have a harder time being concrete. We tend to attribute great people skills to the luck of the draw. Some people are just born with them.