We explain what the skill and abilities that a person can possess are. Also, the types that exist and their relationship to skill.
What is skill?
According to the Royal Spanish Academy, ability is understood as the ability of someone to correctly and easily perform a certain task or activity. In this way, it is a form of fitness specific for a specific activity, be it of a nature physical, mental or social.
The term skill comes from Latinhabilis, which initially meant "that which can be had", and was used in the designation of some of the species of the genus Homo from our evolutionary past:Homohabilis, the "clever" man who learned to use stone tools to make his life easier. Thus, it is calledskillful at persons who have facilities to perform in a specific area.
Commonly, skills are understood as innate, natural talents, but the truth is that they can also be learned or perfected: a person can be born with a talent of their own for a certain sport, or you can acquire that skill with constant practice and exercise. In principle, then, ability somehow implies potential talent.
Skills of a person
According to World Health Organization, the human development It is given based on the appearance and mastery of a certain number of human abilities:
- Self-knowledge. Ability to know ourselves and know how we are and how we react.
- Empathy. Ability to perceive, understand and even share the feelings of others.
- Assertive communication. The possibility of transmitting information of various kinds to others, quickly, efficiently and accurately.
- Decision making. The ability to decide, quickly or slowly, but choosing the most convenient criterion given the options present.
- Creative thinking. Ability to find innovative solutions to problems and to express profound content through original symbols, signs and forms.
- Critical thinking. Ability to perceive the problems underlying a mode of thought or yet speech, and to be able to discuss them in the abstract and to be able to elaborate in depth their implications, their consequences, their causes, etc., to understand it more fully.
- Management problems Y conflicts. In other words, negotiation skills, flexibility and understanding for mutual benefit.
- Managing emotions. Self-control and healthy management of emotional life allows living a calmer life, healthier emotionally and with fewer factors of risk Health.
Skill types
Skills are classified according to the specific area or type of activity they involve, for example:
- Cognitive habilyties. Those that involve mental processes, such as memory, speed of thought, logical deduction or handling of idioms formalmath, for example).
- Social skills. Those that involve dealing with others or communication with other individuals, such as the leadership, the empathy, the conviction, etc.
- Physical abilities Those that require a coordinated management of the body and its extremities, as in the sports, the dance, acrobatics or any other similar physical activity.
Skill and dexterity
The dexterity (term from the Latindextra, "Right"), is a form of skill, which consists of carrying out in a satisfactory and easy way a task or a work linked generally with the body and with the manual trades. Thus, people who demonstrate dexterity are called right-handed- A right-handed basketball player, a highly skilled athlete, etc.