Soft skills alongside technical proficiency
Medical writing combines technical proficiency with non-technical qualities that make a writer effective to work with. These qualities can be assessed and developed throughout a career.
Professional competence beyond writing
Soft skills, also called transferable skills, are the non-technical characteristics that make a technically talented person a desirable professional, and they are as important as technical proficiency.
Medical-writing managers in 2018 wanted scientific and regulatory knowledge that brought insight and value to teams, together with emotional intelligence and soft skills supporting leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution. The skills enabling successful remote work were the same ones enabling writers to work well with teams.
By 2024, interpersonal and communication skills were also being described as power, durable or essential skills in remote and hybrid work. Udemy used the term “power skills” in 2022. A 2022 AMWA survey identified soft skills among hiring managers’ leading educational needs in medical communications, including time management, critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving, adaptability and leadership.
Writers’ career stories collected by 2016 suggested that the interpersonal exchanges needed to complete tasks often presented more difficulty than writing itself. Technical proficiency develops through education, experience and continuing professional growth, while integrating soft skills helps writers manage complexity, collaborate and progress in their careers.
Surveys in 2015 and 2016 found that 93% of employees rated soft skills very important or essential and 97% considered them key to business growth or success. In a National Association of Colleges and Employers survey of 260 employers, communication was among the three most sought-after skills.
The range of skills
There is no official list of soft skills, and different lists group and prioritise them differently. They apply beyond medical communication and can be learned through ordinary experiences in families, education and group activities. Job descriptions commonly express them as enthusiasm, working in a fast-paced environment, team-building and delivering on time and within budget.
One broad assessment covers the following qualities.
- Interpersonal skills.
- Etiquette.
- Positive attitude.
- Self-confidence.
- Work ethic.
- Cultural competency and sensitivity.
- Time management.
- Being a team player.
- Written and spoken communication.
- Critical thinking.
- Problem solving and decision making.
- Negotiation.
- Conflict resolution.
- Computational skills.
- Ethics.
- Working under pressure.
- Good judgement.
- Giving and receiving criticism.
- Flexibility.
- Leadership.
The eight qualities sought by medical-writing managers in 2018 were as follows.
- Communication.
- Negotiation.
- Conflict resolution.
- Problem solving.
- Critical thinking.
- Teamwork.
- Leadership.
- Time management.
A 2024 framework groups essential skills into nine areas.
- Time management.
- Communication.
- Leadership.
- Adaptability.
- Problem solving and critical thinking.
- Innovation and creativity.
- Emotional intelligence.
- Collaboration and teamwork.
- Networking.
Everyday professional qualities
Interpersonal habits include smiling, making eye contact, being kind, listening, showing sensitivity, covering coughs and sneezes, and maintaining grooming and hygiene. Professional etiquette includes putting away earphones, switching off a phone during meetings, avoiding phone calls while speaking to somebody or in a restaurant, and offering sincere thanks and polite requests.
A positive attitude means approaching a project expecting success rather than assuming failure. Self-confidence involves recognising and believing in personal strengths and skills, without confusing confidence with arrogance. Poor self-confidence can limit the responsibilities and promotion opportunities a writer receives.
A strong work ethic includes taking work seriously, working full days, avoiding unnecessary absence while staying away when ill, helping beyond assigned duties, taking additional responsibilities when time permits, enjoying work and maintaining a balance with personal life.
Good judgement applies to choices, unexpected situations and snap decisions, including avoiding inappropriate jokes, excessive drinking at receptions or excessive familiarity with clients and consultants. It includes assessing character, since somebody may be less trustworthy or respectful than they appear.
Flexibility includes adapting to a project manager’s departure, a new boss, reassignment or a client changing direction after months of work. Changing projects, priorities and client demands require adaptability while maintaining quality.
Critical thinking, problem solving and creativity
Critical thinking involves assessing merit and accuracy, setting aside biases, restraining reflex responses, weighing opposing views, thinking analytically and holistically, recognising logical fallacies, evaluating evidence, thinking on the spot and understanding science. It helps writers question assumptions, challenge ideas, explore alternatives and consider the larger picture as scientific information grows more complex.
Problem solving and decision making require rational assessment, weighing advantages and disadvantages, inductive and deductive reasoning, moving between detail and the larger picture, and brainstorming unconventional ideas. Problem solving in medical communication is closely tied to data analysis, creativity and critical thinking; a strategic writer, for example, needs to analyse a challenging brief and plan how to present its content to a particular industry audience.
Creativity extends beyond art and design to activities ranging from questioning to experimenting. It draws on critical thinking and problem solving to produce targeted communication solutions and encourages colleagues to generate strategic ideas, concepts and campaigns together.
Communication, conflict management and critical thinking—the three C’s—are interdependent rather than separate skills. Critical thinking supports clear communication, constructive feedback and systematic conflict resolution, while effective communication helps resolve conflict. Even saying no in a difficult situation requires weighing implications and responding fairly through sound logic.
Across a writer’s core functions, effective communication supports gathering and evaluating data, critical thinking supports organising and interpreting data into message-based documents, and both help present complex data as a compelling story.
A Reboot survey found that 95% of respondents considered critical thinking vital and 85% thought it lacking in people.
Critical thinking can be cultivated through consistent practice, reflection, exposure to diverse perspectives, seeking knowledge, challenging assumptions and critical analysis.
Assessment and development
Recognising a missing skill makes it possible to work on it, and no writer should assume they possess every soft skill. A practical self-assessment is to make a table with one example of something done well and one example of something done poorly for each skill, however minor. Reflecting on colleagues’ qualities and irritating habits can help identify behaviours worth examining, such as interruptions, lateness, phone use in meetings, arrogance and insults.
Soft skills often develop through lifetime experiences and may be less explicitly taught than technical skills, but they can still be learned and strengthened. Medical-writing managers in 2018 considered them among the hardest skills to develop, but identified willingness to learn and opportunities for live, face-to-face practice as requirements for successful training. Writers should continue practising and honing these skills at every career level, from entry positions to senior management.