Understanding Strengths, Preferences, Interests and Needs

Developing Self-Improvement and Communication Skills

Understanding and Communicating Strengths, Preferences, Interests, and Needs (SPIN)

Lesson Objectives

•Understand personal strengths, preferences, interests, and needs

•Learn how to effectively communicate personal attributes

•Develop self-advocacy skills for school, work, and personal life

•Helps with goal-setting and career planning

•Improves confidence and decision-making

•Strengthens communication with teachers, employers, and peers

Why is Self-Awareness Important?

Poll

Do you feel confident sharing your strengths

• YES

• NO

​What are you good at?

S - STRENGTHS

​What do you enjoy?

​​P -PREFERENCES

​What careers, hobbies, or skills excite you?

I - INTERESTS

Essential requirements for survival and well-being.
What helps you secceed.

​SPIN Breakdown

N - NEEDS

Multiple Choice

What are Needs?

• Needs are preferences that can be ignored.
• Needs are optional desires for luxury.
• Needs are essential requirements for survival and well-being.
• Needs are temporary wants that change over time.

Multiple Choice

What is a STRENGTH

• Something you are good at

• A type of weakness.
• An irrelevant characteristic.
• A measure of physical power.

Multiple Choice

What are preferences?

• Preferences are individual choices or inclinations towards certain options.
• Preferences are universal rules that apply to everyone.
• Preferences are mandatory choices that cannot be changed.
• Preferences are the same as opinions and do not vary by individual.

Multiple Choice

What are Interests?

• Interests are financial obligations that must be paid.
• Interests are legal terms used in contracts.
• Interests are the amount of time spent on a task.
• Interests are personal preferences or activities that individuals enjoy or are passionate about.

Why self-advocacy matters:

1. Helps in job interviews

2. Supports academic success

3. Builds stronger relationships

​

Communicating SPIN Effectively

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Multiple Choice

Understanding Personal Strengths, Preferences, Interests, and Needs - Scenario: Choosing an Elective

Alex, a high school sophomore, is selecting an elective course. He enjoys hands-on work and problem-solving but struggles with long reading assignments. His choices are:

• A. Creative Writing

• B. Robotics

• C. Culinary Arts

• D. Business Marketing

Question 1: Based on Alex’s strengths and preferences, which elective would likely be the best fit?

• Creative Writing – He will improve his reading and writing skills.

• Robotics – He can use problem-solving skills in a hands-on way.

• Culinary Arts – It involves hands-on work with little reading
  

• Both B and C – They match his interests and strengths.

Multiple Choice

Learning to Effectively Communicate Personal Attributes - Scenario: Group Project Challenges

Jamie, an 11th grader, is in a group project. She is great at research and organization but struggles with public speaking. The leader assigns her to present.

Question: What should Jamie do?

• Accept the role without saying anything and struggle through the presentation.

• Explain her strengths and suggest another way to contribute, like creating the slideshow or organizing notes.

• Refuse to participate because she dislikes public speaking.

• Let someone else present but not help with anything else.

Multiple Choice

Developing Self-Advocacy Skills for School, Work, and Personal Life - Scenario: Requesting Accommodations at Work

Jordan, a high school senior with ADHD, has trouble focusing on long shifts at his retail job. He often forgets instructions when given multiple tasks at once.

Question: What is the best way for Jordan to handle this situation?

• Talk to his manager and ask for written task lists and scheduled short breaks.

• Ignore the issue and hope he gets used to it.

• Quit the job because it’s too difficult.

• Tell his coworkers to help him remember things instead of talking to the manager.