Talk:People skills/Archives/2013

Latest comment: 14 years ago by PSY7 in topic References

How does X work?

{{helpme}} I have the content ready to post except waiting a few hours for the last editor. Can the page stay for 24 hours without content added? --PSY7 (talk) 23:08, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Make the edit and add a {{hangon}} tag, explaining here that the article has been modified since the speedy deletion nomination was made. DoktorMandrake 23:11, 3 August 2009 (UTC)
Sorry, I've just realised I misunderstood your question. It seems you're saying that you intend to edit the article tomorrow, and wish for it not to be deleted in the meantime, is that correct? If so, that's not really a valid reason for contesting the speedy deletion. If it is deleted before you edit it you can just recreate the article with the appropriate content when you are ready. There is no real reason to place a temporary holding page without any content. DoktorMandrake 23:22, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Recreated page

Redirect ended. Article recreated with content edits; References clarified, revised and verified.PSY7 (talk) 00:27, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Synthesis and original research

Much, if not all, of this article appears to be original research. Many of the sources do not use the term people skills to describe their content - for example the Leviticus quote and the APA study. The Types of Skills section is completely unreferenced, save for one source which is a merely the definition of psychosocial. The UNESCO source is referring to 'life skills' which, as described in the lead, is a different (albeit related) topic, covered in another article.

The previous incarnation of this article was deemed OR, blanked and redirected to Wiktionary, as the only salvageable content was a dictionary definition, which of course is unsuitable for Wikipedia. I fear this could happen again if the article is not improved further. DoktorMandrake 07:22, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

Modifications and clarifications

As a writer involved with this page, I am addressing the questions raised by AJCham/DoktorMandrake. People Skills is a relatively new term with wide usage (1,950,000 hits for a Google "people skills" search today). The range of usage varies in comprehensiveness, yet there is considerable overlap in core skills.

The first reference is now a description by the Business Journal News Service. According to these usages, Leviticus is quoted as examples of basic guidelines “relating to people skills” from early records of human history.

Psychosocial is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “involving both psychological and social aspects”. The APA study “Century of research confirms impact of psychosocial factors on health” includes people skills in the psychosocial factors in the full text version , namely, stress management on page 32 and interpersonal skills on page 33.

The Types of Skills section has been referenced with two major reputable resources. The three “Further reading” references are consistent with these types of skills.

The “UNESCO Research” British Telecommunications reference specifically notes “skills of speaking and listening” (people skills as reported in the above references) in their summary referring to life skills. PSY7 (talk) 03:07, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

References

As a professional editor with 7+ years of experience, I examined this article's references and found the citations are specifically verified by mainstream sources. Reader7777a (talk) 20:46, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

I still do not feel it is appropriate to remove the tag. The main points which I would object to are:
1. the bible quotes, as I have commented above (note, DoktorMandrake is my previous username, and not a sockpuppet). PSY7 notes that:

The first reference is now a description by the Business Journal News Service. According to these usages, Leviticus is quoted as examples of basic guidelines “relating to people skills” from early records of human history.

However, the link between Leviticus and 'people skills' is not explicitly stated in the source. It is PSY7's interpretation of the text. This is what I understand to be the very definition of synthesis, but if I have misunderstood, please correct me.
2. Over 50 percent of the deaths in the United States can be attributed to psychosocial deficits in people skills - contrast with the source which is worded Over 50 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to behavioral and social factors, which is not saying the same thing. This is one of a number of examples where the source makes no mention of 'people skills' as a term.
AJCham 21:31, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
Leviticus is used as the earliest example found pertaining to guidelines for behaviors included in people skills’ categories. Of course, the term “people skills” is much more recent than ancient biblical quotations. The current sources mention similar behaviors (not seeking revenge and gentle answers) such as moderating our responses, talking effectively and building relationships (Business Journal News Service).
The APA study full text version includes people skills in the psychosocial factors of stress management on page 32 and interpersonal skills on page 33. However, I see that there is a not a direct link to the 50 percent figure and consequently have changed the text to “A significant portion of the deaths …” PSY7 (talk) 16:37, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Request for Comments

I would like to request an outside opinion on the content of this article, and how it relates to our policy on original research and synthesis, as noted in the discussion above.

I've not taken steps myself to improve this article, as frankly, I've been somewhat unsure of how best to improve it, or whether it is likely to remain or not. AJCham 21:36, 25 October 2009 (UTC)