I have noticed a distinct improvement in my day to day life, not even just interviews, from really focusing on soft skills. When I was a kid I'd start every se

I have noticed a distinct improvement in my day to day life, not even just interviews, from really focusing on soft skills. When I was a kid I'd start every sentence with "actually" and use jargon without considering whether the other person was following what I was saying. I got told to shut the fuck up a lot as a result. Now I've had at least a half-dozen people earnestly tell me I should be a teacher. When I think back to my childhood, that blows my mind. The biggest benefits to my life and mental health came from learning: * How to better squeeze requirements out of non-technical users, and explaining why the edge cases shouldn't be left to the last minute. * How to talk to the boss(es) about prioritization, hard requirements vs nice-to-haves, and estimated timeframes. Understanding why you're being asked to do a task and varying your approach on that information will instantly improve your relationship with your boss. * How to respectfully delegate and offer assistance. * How to productively critique and receive criticism. And the best thing? I don't feel at all like these came at the expense of technical skills. I need to be a different mindset to learn either of them, so I structure my efforts around that.