Soft Skills

The Pausch Theorem: People won't remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.

The Golden Rule - a 0th order default guess on what to do in a tricky situation when you don't have time to think

How To Apologize - 6 Key Steps:

1. “Say you're sorry. Not that you 'regret,' not that you are 'devastated.' Say you're 'sorry.'”
2. “Say what it is that you're apologizing for. Be specific.”
3. “Show you understand why it was bad, take ownership, and show that you understand why you caused hurt.”
4. “Don't make excuses.”
5. “Say why it won't happen again. What steps are you taking?”
6. “If it's relevant, make reparations: 'I'm going to pay for the dry cleaning. Just send the bill to me. I'm going to do my best to fix what I did.'”

The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM (Online Guide V1.0) - PDF version here

Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)

Calling In (Loretta J. Ross) - vs. Calling Out

Communication Courses from MSU HR

Education, Training & Assessments from The Ombuds Office

Navigating the Ph.D. Workshops from The Graduate School

Effective Listening

Grad Student Professional Development from CNS

Writing Professional Emails

Cultural Competency Workshop Resources

Adulting 101

Budgeting

The following is a selection of resources that were shared with us during a difficult conversations workshop led by Ryan Smith (MSU Ombudsperson) that we had during a group meeting in 2025(?).

Conflict Resolution Brochure from Ryan Smith (MSU Ombudsperson)

Ryan Smith's slide on Conflict Resolution

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High (Book)

The secret to giving great feedback TED Video