Unit IV — Overview: Soft Skills

Unit IV covers the soft skills that surround verbal and written communication — etiquette, body language, interpersonal skills, grammar, vocabulary. These are the "non-content" skills that make all your other communication land well.

Topics:

1. Business Etiquette — Professional Personality, Workplace Protocols, Cubicle Etiquette
2. Non-Verbal Communication — Kinesics, Proxemics, Paralanguage
3. Interpersonal Skills
4. Language Skills — grammar, common errors (verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, tenses, conjunctions, punctuation, prefix / suffix, idiomatic prepositions)
5. Sentence and Paragraph Construction
6. Spellings, Common Errors & Misappropriation
7. Building Vocabulary — Synonyms, Antonyms
8. Introduction to Business English

Learning outcomes

After Unit IV you should be able to:

• Apply business etiquette in office, video calls, and emails
• Read and use body language effectively
• Navigate interpersonal situations professionally
• Identify and fix common grammar errors
• Build a stronger working vocabulary
• Write clear sentences and paragraphs
• Use business English appropriately

Topic map

Typical exam weight

Unit IV contributes 2 long questions + several shorts:

• What is business etiquette? Discuss workplace protocols. — long
• What is non-verbal communication? Explain kinesics, proxemics and paralanguage. — long (very high frequency)
• Discuss interpersonal skills. — short
• List common grammatical errors and how to fix them. — long
• What are synonyms and antonyms? Give 10 examples each. — short

Self-check

Self-test the Unit IV map before you start the lessons.

1. How many long questions does Unit IV typically contribute? (2)
2. Name the five lessons of Unit IV from the topic map. (4.1 Business Etiquette + Workplace Protocols; 4.2 Non-Verbal Communication; 4.3 Interpersonal Skills; 4.4 Language Skills + Common Errors; 4.5 Vocabulary + Business English)
3. Which three sub-topics fall under non-verbal communication? (kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage)
4. What does Unit IV mean by "soft skills"? (the non-content skills surrounding verbal and written communication — etiquette, body language, interpersonal skills, grammar, vocabulary — that make your other communication land well)