The Lifelong Learner
:: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::
The Lifelong Learner
:: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::
Excellent entry on lifehack.org.
We all argue. It’s just part of life. Try to avoid it if you can. But if you do it, you might as well do it right. These points tell you exactly how.
* Never Accuse your opponent of being wrong.* If you realize you made a mistake admit it immediately.
* Be pleasant.
* Get your opponent saying “yes” It is a proven technique.
* Let them talk. “Enough rope,” “digging a hole” all that.
* Be receptive. We’ve already established we could be wrong.
* Make it their idea.
* Play on their wants.
* Plea for righteousness. Every body wants “whats right.”
* Back it up. If you’ve got data, use it.
* Issue a challenge. Men especially will fall for this.
* Be a Cool Hand Luke. Arguments can get emotional. It is to your advantage to be the calm rational one.
ReferenceReg Adkins, elementaltruths.blogspot.com
12 Keys To Winning an Argument, lifehack.org entry
Do you want to become a better communicator? A better speaker? Do you want a guarantee with that as well? I’m serius. Join a Toastmasters club! You will become a better communicator, a better speaker, and a more confident person. That’s a given. I’ll tell you my story.
I joined the Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters in Rutherford, NJ a year a half ago. I was a chicken then: I did not want to speak in a group; I was afraid to speak; I had no eye contact. I was just a bad communicator. Since joining Toastmasters, I have become more confident, I am not afraid to speak, and I think I’m just a better communicator overall. I am not a great communicator (not yet 
), but comparing myself now and from a year ago, I see big improvement.
Since joining FEB TM, I have become more involved in the club. I am now the Vice President of Education — I schedule people to speak, evaluate, and for other roles. I have also set up a web presence for our club: website (with an integrated blog), a mailing list, and a new domain, feb-tm.org. So, as you can see, leadership roles are available as well.
At each Toastmasters meeting, each member gets a chance to speak. If you are not one of the three speakers, you participate in Table Topics. In Table Topics you are asked a question and you are given a minute to two to answer it. No preparation. Also, we have different roles at each meeting: timer, grammarian, wordmaster, general evaluator, evaluators, invocator, and table topics master. Each member gets a chance to have each role: a Toastmaster wears many hats.
Still not convinced? Guests are welcome at almost all of the clubs.
Want to see for yourself? Find a club near you. Go to Toastmasters.org and click Find a Club.
Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters meet in Rutherford, NJ (Bergen County) at the Rutherford Libary every Saturday from 9-11AM.
It’s a small investment in time (most clubs meet every two weeks for two hours) and money (most are around $30-40 every six months, FEB charges $33), but the results are guaranteed.
I believe that communication skills are the most important skills to have…
I will give you two tips on how you can make your cover letter better.
One, make sure that it is actually read by the recipients. How? The answer is simple: Grab their attention right away. How do you do that? You need to put an attention-grabbing statement right away in the letter. (Did I grab your attention in the opening statement of this post?) For example, you might start (I like this one): “THREE reasons why I believe I may be the candidate you’re looking for to fill [the position].” Read the whole article by Jimmy Sweeney here.
Two, include an attention grabbing P.S. (Post Script). I have to admit this is true, I’m jumping to a P.S. right away (have you read the P.S in this post, yet?). If not, I almost always read it. From now on, I’m going to use it to my advantage. You’ll find the whole article, also by Jimmy Sweeney here.
P.S.The articles are taken from a net-temps.com newsletter I subscribe to.
Writing, Briefly by Paul Graham is a great set of tips and tricks on how to write better. I like to listen to the best and learn. I said it before, Paul Graham is one of the best writers I know. Listen to him and learn. Read his essays.
When she was home from her boarding-school I used to see her almost every day sometimes, because their house was right opposite the Town Hall Annexe. She and her younger sister used to go in and out a lot, often with young men, which of course I didn’t like. When I had a free moment from the files and ledgers I stood by the window and used to look down over the road over the frosting and sometimes I’d see her. In the evening I marked it in my observations diary, at first with X, and then when I knew her name with M. ….
The above is a starting passage from The Collector by John Fowles. It illustrates the principle “Show The Story” very well. It is one of the major principles of writing. By showing the story, not simply telling, a reader is exploring it the same way as the author. The reader sees what the writer sees.
I recently listened to a book by Sol Stein, Stein on Writing. It is a book where Stein, master editor and a great writer, shows you how to improve your writing. He shows you. He doesn’t just tell you the theory behind it. How? By giving you countless examples. It’s a great book if you want to improve your writing.
The two principles from this book that I’m going to remember when I’m writing:
1. Show, Don’t Tell
2. Use Distinctive Detail
To use distinctive detail, or to particulate, is to make the character, scene, or story unique. Make is so distinctive that you can actully see it in your eyes. You can visualize it.
Check out the book, or listen to it, and learn.
