7 Essential Soft Skills Every Great Teacher Needs to Succeed

Build connection, calm, and confidence in the classroom with soft skills.

By SELINclub | 16 Jul 2025, 02:08 AM

Let’s be honest: most of us didn’t choose teaching for the paperwork or the data reports. We’re here because we want to help students grow — to guide, support, and challenge them to become confident, capable learners.

And while subject knowledge is obviously important, what really makes an impact in a classroom isn’t just what you teach — it’s how you show up every day. That’s where soft skills come in.

These aren’t extras. They’re essentials.

They’re the real skills behind a well-run classroom, engaged learners, and a career that doesn’t burn you out. This post will walk you through the 7 soft skills that great teachers rely on — plus down-to-earth tips for how you can strengthen them yourself, one small step at a time.

What Are Soft Skills (and Why Do They Matter)?

Soft skills are the interpersonal skills — the behaviours and characteristics that determine how you work with students, with colleagues, and even with yourself, such as communication, empathy, and flexibility.

While hard skills enable you to pen a devastating lesson plan or crack student data, soft skills enable you to establish trust, defuse tension, and create a classroom where children feel that they matter.

Think about it:

• A student is acting out during your lesson. Do you snap, or stay steady and look for what’s really going on?
   
• Your technology crashes mid-presentation. Do you panic, or pivot and keep the room engaged?
   
• A colleague gives you tough feedback. Do you get defensive or take it as a chance to grow?

These moments don’t depend on what you know — they depend on how you show up. And that is where soft skills shine.

The 7 Soft Skills Every Great Teacher Builds

Here’s a closer look at the seven soft skills that great teachers rely on daily, not in theory, but in real-life classrooms, with all the beautiful chaos that comes with them.

Soft Skill	Why It Matters	Real-Life Example
Communication	Helps students feel heard and understand what’s expected	Checking in with a student who's struggling without shaming them
Empathy	Builds trust and emotional safety in the classroom	Noticing a student’s mood shift and quietly offering support
Adaptability	Keeps learning going even when things don’t go to plan	Rewriting a lesson mid-class when students aren’t connecting
Patience	Helps students feel safe making mistakes	Staying calm when explaining a concept for the third time
Creativity	Makes learning engaging, memorable, and student-centred	Turning a history topic into a class debate
Collaboration	Strengthens classroom support through teamwork	Team-teaching or sharing strategies with peers
Growth Mindset	Model resilience and curiosity for students	Admitting when something didn’t work — and trying again

Let’s dig into each one.

1. Communication: Clarity Over Complexity

Good teachers don’t just talk. They connect.

That means breaking things down without dumbing them down. It means reading the room and asking questions that really check for understanding — not just, “Everyone got it?” but, “What part felt tricky?”

It also means communicating expectations in a way students can follow. Saying “I need everyone’s eyes here in 5 seconds” works better than “Settle down.”

Small ways to grow this skill:

• Practice the wait time after asking questions. Give students space to think.
   
• Use student-friendly language and visuals when introducing new concepts.
   
• At the end of a lesson, ask one student to explain what they learned — not for a grade, just as a pulse check.

Bonus tip: Communicate just as clearly with parents and colleagues. That text home about a student’s great day? It goes a long way.

2. Empathy: Understanding Over Assumptions

Every student walks into your classroom carrying a story. And most of those stories aren’t visible on the surface.

That kid who always has their head down? They might be up late taking care of a sibling. The one who keeps talking out of turn? They might not know how else to get attention.

Empathy doesn’t mean excusing poor behaviour — it means approaching it with curiosity rather than judgment.

Small ways to grow this skill:

• Greet students at the door and notice their body language.
   
• Privately check in if you sense something’s off: “You don’t seem like yourself today. Want to talk?”
   
• Build in small choices that let students feel in control, like how they show understanding (drawing vs. writing, for example).

Bonus tip: Show yourself some empathy, too. Teaching is hard. You’re doing your best.

3. Adaptability: Go With the (Sometimes Wild) Flow

You’ve planned the perfect lesson. Then... the projector breaks. Or a fire drill hits. Or the class just isn’t feeling it today.

Adaptability means not letting the moment derail you. It means shifting gears — not perfectly, just purposefully.

Great teachers don’t always stick to the plan. They read the room, respond, and recalibrate.

Small ways to grow this skill:

• Keep a “backup basket” of quick activities or games for when plans fall through.
   
• Start the day with one flexible segment — like an open-ended discussion or group brainstorm.
   
• Reflect weekly on one thing you had to adapt and how it turned out.

Bonus tip: Share your flops with other teachers. We all have them. And we all learn from them.

4. Patience: The Unsung Hero

You explain a concept. Blank stares. You try again. Still not clicking.

Teaching can test your patience like few other jobs. But staying calm, encouraging, and steady through it all? That’s what helps students feel safe to struggle — and eventually succeed.

Small ways to grow this skill:

• Use calming strategies when stress builds, like counting to five or pausing to sip water.
   
• Acknowledge effort out loud: “I see you’re trying — keep at it.”
   
• Focus on progress, not perfection. Celebrate the 70% as a win.

Bonus tip: Talk about patience with your class. Let them know mistakes are part of learning — for you and for them.

5. Creativity: Making Learning Stick

You don’t need to be an artist to be a creative teacher. Creativity is just about making content come alive — connecting it to something students care about.

Whether it’s acting out scenes in English class, turning science into a hands-on experiment, or building math games out of cardboard, creativity makes learning real.

Small ways to grow this skill:

• Start lessons with a question or story, not a lecture.
   
• Let students help shape a project or choose how to present their learning.
   
• Swap in one hands-on activity this week — even if it’s low-tech.

Bonus tip: Let creativity come from your students, too. Give them a voice in how they learn.

6. Collaboration: You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

The best teachers don’t work in silos. They ask for help, bounce ideas off others, and support their teammates. And when they do, everyone — including students — benefits.

Collaboration also means looping in parents, specialists, and community members when needed.

Small ways to grow this skill:

• Invite a colleague to observe your class and swap feedback.
   
• Co-plan a unit or project with another teacher.
   
• Send home regular updates to parents — not just when something’s wrong.

Bonus tip: Start or join a teacher group (online or in person). The ideas and support are gold.

7. Growth Mindset: Progress, Not Perfection

You don’t need to be a “natural” at everything. You just need to keep learning.

A growth mindset isn’t about always succeeding — it’s about being willing to try, fail, and try again. And when your students see you modelling that? That’s powerful.

Small ways to grow this skill:

• After a lesson, ask yourself: “What worked? What could I tweak?”
   
• Share your learning goals with students. (“I’m trying a new activity today — we’ll see how it goes!”)
   
• Reflect often — in a journal, with a colleague, or just over coffee.

Bonus tip: Keep a “what I’ve learned this month” note. Teaching is growth, every single day.

Quick Start: Building These Skills One Day at a Time

You don’t need a total classroom overhaul. Just start with one.

Try this:

Week	Focus Skill	One Action to Try
1	Communication	Replace “Any questions?” with “What’s still unclear?”
2	Empathy	Check in with one student who seems off
3	Adaptability	Swap a rigid lesson for a student-led discussion
4	Patience	Pause before responding to disruptions
5	Creativity	Start class with a story, not slides
6	Collaboration	Plan a quick brainstorm with a colleague
7	Growth Mindset	Journal one teaching win and one “next time”

Bit by bit, these soft skills become habits. And those habits change your classroom.

 

Resources to Help You Keep Growing

Type	What to Explore	Examples
Books	Deep dives into mindset and classroom connection	The Courage to Teach, Mindset
Online Courses	Short PDs on communication, classroom culture, and SEL	Coursera, edX, FutureLearn
Teacher Communities	Real talk with real teachers	Reddit (r/Teachers), Edutopia, Teacher Twitter
Free Tools	Videos, templates, or printables to boost your skills	Teachers Pay Teachers, Scholastic
Apps	Support mindfulness and emotional regulation	Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer

 

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FAQ

Q: What are soft skills in teaching?
Soft skills are personal and interpersonal traits — like empathy, patience, and adaptability — that help you connect with students and manage your classroom effectively.

Q: Aren’t these just personality traits?
Not at all. Soft skills can absolutely be learned, practised, and improved over time.

Q: How do soft skills help with student achievement?
Students who feel seen, heard, and supported are more likely to engage, take academic risks, and persist through challenges.

Q: What if I don’t feel strong in one of these areas?
That’s normal. Start with one. Try small actions. Reflect. Adjust. You’ll get stronger.

Final Thoughts: This Work Matters

If you’ve made it this far, here’s your reminder: this work is important. And the way you do it matters more than you probably realise.

The way you listen, adapt, encourage, and grow? It shapes your students’ experience of school — and learning — in ways that last long after the test scores fade.

So take the pressure off being perfect. Instead, focus on showing up human, open, steady, and ready to learn alongside your students.

You’ve got this.