Anyone who has watched any late night TV recently cannot have failed to have noticed the absolute deluge of infomercials trying to sell you on a series of trading seminars which will undoubtedly make you very rich.

It is no coincidence that the most successful floor traders are in general those with the most experience. This is because I believe that trading is essential a skill based activity which requires both practice and experience. There are many similarities between very competitive skill based sports, like golf or tennis, and trading. Here are 7 of the key skills that you must develop as a trader.

The ability to buy and sell shares in a company is referred to as liquidity. For instance, if a trader wishes to buy some shares in a company like the National Australia Bank (NAB) it is a very simple matter to telephone the broker and the shares can be bought in seconds. Similarly, if a trader wishes to sell shares in NAB, the process is quick and simple ? telephone the broker (by the way, the trade is just as easily transacted via an internet broker) and the shares can be sold in seconds. NAB is referred to as a highly liquid share.