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Tag: Communication

  • Time to Communicate

    Time to Communicate

    What would the world be like if we couldn’t communicate with each other? That means no talking, no emailing, and dare I say it, no texting! What a different world we would live in. As social beings, communication is one of our most important tools. Whether it is verbal communication, hand gestures or written communication, all of these types of communication are used as forms of expression. These forms of expression can help us share our ideas and feelings and also help us to understand the ideas and feelings of others.

    Throughout school and even beyond, communication skills are very important. When trying to express yourself to your teachers and your peers it is your ability to communicate that will make or break you. There is a lot to be said for people who are able to use their written communication skills to write clear, concise essays and your grades will reflect this. Being able to communicate on a small scale, like discussing ideas with a peer or even publicly by doing a presentation in front of the class, are times when having good communication skills will make you stand out.

    Even in the work force, communication skills are one of the first skills employers look for in candidates. Your interview with them indicates how well you can communicate and what kind of skills you can bring to the table. Employers want to know that you can communicate effectively with co-workers and clients. Whether it’s a presentation in school or a business presentation for your career, developing these skills is very beneficial.

    Here are some tips to help you improve your communication skills:

    1)      Be a good listener – in order to successfully communicate with others you need to really listen to what they are saying so that you can respond effectively.

    2)      Be aware of your body language – sometimes your body is telling people one thing while your mouth is telling them another. Being aware of your body language will send people the right message.

    3)      Be engaging – raise your pitch so that you don’t sound monotone.  In addition to this, enhance your communication by maintaining eye contact. Also, use an appropriate volume so that your audience can hear you.

    4)      Slow down – talking too fast is a tell-tale sign that you’re nervous. Slow down your speech in order to sound more confident in what you are saying.

  • Mastering the Art of Communication

    Mastering the Art of Communication

    Your mission: Learn to communicate – and do it well!

    Communication is an important part of being successful and something that everyone must do. Whether you’re talking to one person or a room full of people, sharing a personal story or presenting a project, it’s important to learn to communicate in the most effective way.

    Have you ever played the game Telephone? If you have, you know how easy it is for one set of words to get turned into something else as each person tries to understand what the person next to them has said. You want your messages to be clear when you communicate so that a telephone-effect does not happen to what you say.

    If you want a room full of people to know that global warming is an issue you feel strongly about and think they should, too, you want them to leave the room with an understanding of why. So how do you say what you mean? And how do you say it in a way where people will want to listen?

    1) Think before you speak: It sounds so simple yet many times not thinking ahead will cause us to say something differently, incorrectly, or even sometimes completely silly-sounding. By thinking through what you want to say, you are more likely to say exactly what you mean.

    2) Pay attention: Listen to what your audience is saying and judge how they are reacting to what you’re saying. This will help you to identify strong points and areas for improvement in the future.

    3) Know it all: Understand what you’re talking about and take time to become an expert in the subject. Fully understanding a subject is important not only in formal situations or while presenting, but also when having a conversation. Know all the details and don’t assume or gossip to fill in the blanks. Understanding your subject will give you confidence that your audience will notice.

    4) Add personality: You’ve got personality and it would be a shame not to use it! Perhaps you’re a caring, soft-spoken individual or perhaps the joker of your group of friends. Regardless of your personality, find a way to use it to add uniqueness to the way you communicate.

    5) Know how to close: Not every story ends saying, “the end.” How do you want your audience to feel after you’ve finished communicating? What was the purpose of your communicating? To inspire thought or action? To inform? Ensure that your conclusion brings all of your thoughts together and re-states your purpose.

    Whether you’re just starting to build your communication skills or you’re already quite the expert, there is always room for improvement. Keep practising and experimenting with new ways to communicate. Challenge yourself and find new methods that work well for you.

    With all of these tips in mind and with a willingness to grow as a communicator – your mission will be accomplished!

     

  • “Esperanto” – The Beginning of a New Language

    “Esperanto” – The Beginning of a New Language

    Invented languages can be fun. Have you ever used a language like Pig Latin with your friends and watched as other people struggled to understand you? When you use these kinds of invented languages, your purpose is usually to keep other people, such as your parents, from understanding what you say. However, what if an invented language could actually help strangers from around the world to understand each other? That’s what a man named L. L. Zamenhof hoped when he invented the Esperanto language in the late nineteenth century.

    L. L. Zamenhof was born in the city of Bialystok, Russia (now Poland) in 1859. He later moved with his family to Warsaw, the capital city. When he was growing up he learned several languages, including Russian, Polish, and Latin. He became a doctor but dreamed of inventing a world language that would allow people of all countries to speak with each other. In 1872, he began to invent a language which he called Esperanto or Eo; the name “Esperanto” means “hope”. Zamenhof hoped that Esperanto would eventually overtake all other languages and gave it a third name, “La Lingvo Internacia” or “the international language.”

    In 1887, Dr. Zamenhof published a book outlining the grammar and vocabulary of his new invention. To make his new language easy to learn, L. L. Zamenhof designed it to be as simple as possible. He used many of the words that already existed in languages like German, French, and Spanish but simplified the spelling and pronunciation. He used the same alphabet as these languages (with a few additional letters) but reduced the number of words in the vocabulary.

    Instead of having a different word for everything, Esperanto uses a smaller number of basic words. These words then have extra letters called affixes added to the beginning or end of the word for different meanings. For example, “mi” means “I” and “mia” means “my.” “Mal” means “bad” and is used to change almost any word to its opposite. For example, “granda,” meaning “big,” becomes “small” with the word “mal” at the beginning. The language also has its own rules for how to put sentences together, much like English and other languages. It has fewer rules than most other languages, and the rules are generally easy to learn and follow.

    The idea behind Esperanto was to make sure that everyone has an equal chance to learn and use the language of communication. So far, Esperanto has spread to 115 countries, including Poland, where it first started. Eastern Europe has the largest population of Esperanto speakers, although many parts of Asia and South America also have people who use the language, and some in North America. By 1999, about two million people had learned to understand and speak Esperanto.

    Why would anyone want to learn a language like Esperanto? The language has never reached the kind of acceptance that its inventor hoped it would. However, if more people begin to learn it, who knows what might happen in the future?

  • Forming A Study Group

    Forming A Study Group

    One of the main benefits of a post-secondary education is the environment that it cultivates and the community of like-minded individuals that inhabits it. Whether you are in a lab, a lecture or practicing a skill, you will be surrounded by other students who are actively attempting to understand and learn just like you. So take advantage of it!

    Study groups are among the best ways to benefit from this. Whether your group is meeting daily, weekly or just to cram before an exam, the people you meet and the skills you develop will make you wonder why it has taken you so long to start forming or participating in study groups.

    But don’t limit yourself to simply joining a study group – why not form one? Not only will this give you a chance to experience a leadership position within a relaxed environment, but it will also allow you to create a study group unique to your academic calendar, perhaps filling some niche that may have previously been overlooked. A biology-religion study group, anyone?

    With the advent of social networking, it’s even easier than before! I can’t imagine creating a group before Facebook or Twitter feeds, but with these social tools available to you it’s easy to communicate between members of the group. Study groups are no longer limited to when you can reserve a room in the library. Running group conversations on Facebook can keep the dialogue going between the actual face-to-face study sessions while Twitter feeds can provide live commentary on a specific topic or question. If used effectively, these tools can greatly enhance your education. Social networking has expanded the potential and definition of the traditional post-secondary study group. Best of all, the person who benefits the most? You!

    Study groups allow you to make the most of your post-secondary education and can be central to your social, academic and interpersonal development. These groups can grow into mini-communities within your school’s own student body. As a leader of a study group, your own role and influence will play an even larger part in your school and the overall experience of all those involved.

    So start a study group – what’s the worst that could happen?

  • What’s Your Edge?

    What’s Your Edge?

    Check Your Communication Style

    Practice the Art of Reading Your Own Communication Style

    “ And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful then the it took to blossom.” Anais Nin

    In the famous book, “ The Art of War” Sun Tzu describes the 3 paradigms of being as :

    1. How you see yourself,
    2. How others see you,
    3. The true reality between one and two.

    In today’s fast paced business environment we have lost the ability to understand how we truly show up on stage. This is not because we are lazy or ignorant: the answer lies in the fact that we have never been formally taught how to clearly and intentionally communicate.

    Your true  edge starts with your ability to first understand your communication and style, using it then to impact others.  There are many intelligent and knowledgeable people out there with one major flaw: they are unable to stand out in a crowd and differentiate themselves.  Humans, by nature, are people of adaptation and habit.  For example, if we see a successful business person doing certain things and behaving in a certain way we may think that if we mimic that style or pattern then we too will become successful,  WRONG

    Breathing and communicating have one thing in common:  “ you are doing it all the time even if you never say a thing , you are still communicating.”

    Although we can indeed learn valuable tools from successful individuals, they are just that,- individuals. During a networking event a distressed woman began speaking with the circle of people around her saying “  I just don’t understand it .  I can say the exact same thing, the exact same way as a co-worker of mine does to my boss , and, he always laughs it off when they say it, but takes it seriously from me!”  Our focus in this article is to have you check how good you are at reading your self. ( This is not the same as how you see yourself in the mirror every day.  This view is cluttered with ego and self beliefs. ) . No training will teach you these skills . They come from your own self-awareness and ability to see outside of yourself and your limiting beliefs.

    Breathing and communicating have one thing in common, you are doing it all the time ,even if you never say a thing. You are still communicating . The danger is in being unaware that both are an imperative necessity to you quality of life.

    When you leave a room , what conversation is left behind about you ?  This is an interesting question.  It has been said that people will never remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. When you enter or exit a room what are people saying about you . Today, it is important to know.  Let’s start with the major component to communication that makes up the fabric of your success.  Body Language and Listening Skills makes up 90% of your communication.  It involves your posture, eye contact, attention span and ability to listen at a level much deeper than surface conversation.  Are we actually listening ?  Or are we waiting for the other person to take a breath so that we can jump in ?