Reminded today of how basic and fundamentally important people (or soft) skill’s as a professional kayak guide. Its not enough to ask how folks are doing; one has to gauge comfort level through verbal and non-verbal clues. And of these identifying non-verbal triggers that exacerbate folks
negative behaviors are crux. Negative behaviors include and are not limited to: people not having fun and not enjoying kayaking. Non-verbal triggers vary from person to person. One wants to be pro-active. One needs to stay positive (and that can’t be faked); One wants to improve communication. Soft skills are a continuous process, changing minute by minute. I like to follow the premise of “tell me, show me and involve me”. Folks who are happy and are engaged w others when kayaking decrease risks, promote their individual values, facilitates communication and support various other mindsets. Goal and objective is have fun.