BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Being a high school senior can be a difficult time, as many of them prepare for college, a trade school or the workforce. An often overlooked part of their preparation is emotional intelligence. South Warren High School gathered up their seniors for a workshop about the importance of those soft skills.

Author Greg Coker who wrote “Soft Skills Field Manual: The Unwritten Rules of Succeeding in the Workplace,” spoke to students about the importance of being emotionally equipped in their next chapters in life.

Coker said, “IQ is very important, EQ, emotional intelligence, those soft skills. Our employers can teach them how to build a Corvette, I can teach them the technical skills. What I cannot always teach them, or maybe I don’t have the time, are the critical soft skills.”

According to Coker, soft skills are how someone gets along with other people, how someone adjusts into a culture of an organization, problem solving, and how to work in teams. One of the key highlights of this workshop is his teaching of what he calls the “Yes Face.”

Coker said, “Do I have a yes face that says ‘I would love to be hired by you, would love to work with you,’ says volume. Because when I’m busy, sometimes my face, I’m guilty of it, my face says ‘I’m busy, don’t approach me.’ And that basically says ‘I may not be the right person for the particular job.”’

The students heard the message loud and clear.

Daymon Williams, a senior at South Warren High School said, “I always want to make a good first impression, and sometimes, I do realize I need to work on that and be more self-aware and that I’m introducing myself in a more proper, respectable way.”

Others took notes for when they can hire someone.

Jason Miller, a senior, said, “I have taken several business management classes, and I can tell you, if I was a manager somewhere, I wouldn’t hire someone that comes in, they’re slouched over, they don’t present themselves very well, you know?”