SHINE UNDER STRESS (Strategies for Success in Exams)

In This Program You Will Learn: How to Prepare for Exams; How to take the Exam; & How to overcome Nervousness. Despite adequate preparation, many students feel pre-exam stress & anxiety. This is normal. Some stress will help you to stay motivated for proper preparation. But, excessive stress can seriously interfere in proper preparation. To Succeed in Examinations you don’t need much luck. Like everybody else, you also have same chance of doing equally well in examination. You need Proper Study Techniques; Perseverance; Time Management; Motivation; & Proper Revision Techniques.

 

How to Prepare or Exams

How to Study

1. Make a time table for all daily activities like reading, eating, sleeping, recreation etc.
2. Don’t study for 24 hours daily. This decreases efficiency & capacity to retain.
3. Don’t study beyond your normal limits of concentration.
4. Know if you are an am person or a pm person & make your time table accordingly
5. Start study after collecting everything you will need to study. Don’t get up in between.
6. Devote at least two weeks to each subject.
7. Short & regular study periods are more productive than single long session.
8. Eat well balanced diet & drink lot of fluids.
9. Don’t take much tea/coffee. It causes disorientation of thought process.
10. Don’t study same subject for long time.
11. Don’t keep shaking. Sit erect in a comfortable chair.

How to Remember

1. Identify your weak areas; if need be get outside help.
2. Understanding is a vital aid to learning & remembering.
3. Review your progress systematically
4. Use SQ3R Technique for better learning. SQ3R means:
5. Survey (Scan through your notes & text)
6. Question (What was the topic about)

• Read ( Try to answer your questions, make notes)

1. Recite (Answer the question without your notes)
2. Review (Re-read your notes whenever you can)

& As the Day Approaches (one day/night before the Exam)

1. Don’t study excessively day before the exam
2. Do some relaxing & have a good night sleep
3. Pack your material the night before.

Examination Room strategies

1. Don’t take your notes to the Test Center.
2. Further revision will make you more anxious.
3. Immediately prior to the exam, don’t discuss your preparations with your friends
4. Read question carefully & understand what answers are expected.
5. Allot time to each question depending upon the marks
6. Make planning notes for each question before you actually start writing answers.
7. Use 20:70:10 formula attempt the paper

-20% time for planning

-70% time for writing

-10% time for revising

8. Leave harder questions to the last
9. Keep a watch on the watch
10. Write neatly & quickly
11. Start new question from new page.
12. Don’t spend more than allotted time on any question even if it is incomplete.
13. Always revise the paper.
14. Un attempted questions get no marks; answer all the questions.
15. Don’t panic if you forget a point. It is will occur to you later. Answer new question.
16. Do not spend extra time on any question trying score perfectly.

After the exam

1. Don’t do exam post-mortem. It will cause panic for next paper.
2. Assume that you have done well & start thinking about next paper.
3. Avoid negative thoughts.
4. Leave exam site as early as possible.
5. If time permits, spend rest of the day by doing something relaxing

How to Overcome Fear

Symptoms of Fear

1. Tightness in chest/mouth
2. Dry mouth
3. Sweating palms.
4. Breathlessness
5. Lack of energy
6. Absentmindedness

If You Get Sudden Attack of Panic

1. Breathe deeply & slowly.
2. Clenching & un clenching fists also relieves tension.
3. Besides; have some water.
4. Maintain good body posture.
5. Remember Oxygen is food of the brain
6. Practice Auto /Suggestion/visualization Technique
7. Believe in Yourself. You are as good as anybody else!
8. However, there is no substitute to thorough preparation to overcome your fears

We conduct workshop many soft skills improvement workshops for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes

Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or call us at (91)8866680407 for further details.

Sarwan Singh

sarwansingh6644@gmail.com

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

@sarwan_singh

How to Beat Nervusness during Exam Stress

Many students become tense and nervous not only during actual writing of the test paper but also during the preparation for the examination.

This article suggests students should do to avoid becoming tense during exam preparation and also what a student should do if she/he becomes tense/nervous during actual writing of the test paper in the examination hall.

Symptoms of Nervousness:

Given below are the symptoms of stress/nervousness.

• Tightness in chest/ mouth,
• Dry mouth,
• Sweating palms,
• Breathlessness,
• Lack of energy,

How not to become nervous during exam preparation:

• Start studying well before the exam.
• Focus on understanding the concepts rather than mugging.
• Find a “study buddy”, a classmate who is an expert in the subject you find difficult.
• Attempt full length previous tests.
• Eat healthy food. It’s easier to work on nutritious food than junk.
• Get plenty of sleep
• Exercise and don’t forget your recreational activities

Also

• Believe in Yourself. You are as good as anybody else,
• Keep reminding yourself that hard work always pays, and
• On the day of the exam, feel happy and optimistic! 

On becoming nervous during exam:

If you get sudden attack of panic during actual writing of the paper in the examination hall, the students should try following techniques:

• Breathe deeply & slowly,
• Clenching & un clenching  fists also relieves tension,
• Besides; have some water,
• Maintain good body posture
• Remember oxygen is food of the brain.
• Practice Auto Suggestion/Visualization Technique

The last point is very important. Auto suggestion or visualization is the technique in which person reminds himself/herself that what ever goal he/she wants to achieve; it will definitely be achieved. This technique is practised by many successful sports persons and many other successful persons.

However, there is no substitute to thorough preparation to overcome fears;

and never forget:

The best helping hand is at the end of your own arm!

We conduct workshop many soft skills improvement workshops for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes

Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or call us at (91)8866680407 for further details.

Sarwan Singh

sarwansingh6644@gmail.com

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

@sarwan_singh

A useful activity for teaching English

A useful activity for teaching English

Some of the common reasons all students of English learning classes give for their inability to speak in English are:

I don’t know grammar,

I have poor vocabulary,

I lack self confidence,

Others make fun,

I lack environment to practice, etc.

‘I don’t know grammar’ generally occupies the top slot as the reason for inability to speak in English. Generally no amount of discussion is able to fully convince the students that they don’t really   have to master grammar to speak in English.

In order to convince the students that even with a little knowledge of English we are able to understand the message of the receiver, I have created an activity. Teachers of English improvement classes will find it useful. I flash some common everyday questions given below on the screen:

Which is your favorite sport?

Who is sitting next to you?

What is in your pocket?

What is the color of your shirt?

In which class do you study?

Which is your favorite tourist place?

Who is your favorite actor?

Which is your favorite movie?

What is the name of your school?

What is the name of your favorite teacher?

Where do you stay?

How do you come to the class?

Can you drive a car?

Shall we go for a movie after the class?

Many more such routine questions can be added. Students are asked to sit in a circle and each student is required to ask any question from above list at random to any other participant.The student who has been asked question is required to reply without worrying about grammatical accuracy of the answer. The answers given by the students are recorded on an electronic device.

Other students are required to just listen to the answer without making any comment.

We can all guess that as the students are learners, many of the answers given are grammatically wrong.

After everybody has the chance to ask a few questions and also reply, I ask the students as to what they were doing when somebody was answering the question. Were they trying to understand the message of the speaker or were they checking if the answer given is grammatically right or wrong?

Till date not even one student has replied that she/he was checking the answer for gramatical accuracy. Every one replies that they were trying to understand the message of the speaker. They also agree that they have understood the messges of almost all the speakers.

Now the answers recorded are played back to demostrate that many of the answers were grammatically wrong and yet the listeners did not have much diffculty in understanding the message of the receiver.

This eventually convinces most of the students that important thing for us, and what we actually do, is to understand the message of the speaker and for this the message need not be grammatically correct.

Some discussion on the difference between content words and structure words takes place to explain that so long as we do not miss the contents words from our sentences, the listener will be able to understand the intended meassage, which is primary requirement of any communication.

The activity ends with asking those students who do not have proper knowledge of grammar to raise hand. Most of the hands go up.

And, I ask them to reflect on that if I do not myself know grammar, how can I check if the sentence I listen or read is grammatically right or wrong? All round nodding of heads!

No one after this activity says that she/he is unable to speak in English as she/he doesn’t know grmmar.

We conduct workshop on ‘English Improvement’ and many other soft skills improvement workshops for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes

Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or write to us at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com  or englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or call (91)8866680407 for further details.

By:

Sarwan Singh

@sarwan_singh

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

How to Improve Impact of Business Correspondence

How to Improve Impact of Business Correspondence

A senior recruiter says “If I have two candidates in front of me, equally qualified except that one can write better, I’ll hire the one who can write better – every time.”

Another renowned Communication Skills Expert says, “You can have the greatest ideas in the world, but they’re no good to anyone, if you can’t express them clearly & persuasively.”

As per John Balder & Richard Grinder: Ultimately the most important thing is that the meaning of your presentation is the response you get.

Good English writing skills are important. They help us make sure that what we write gives correct impression and is accurate and clear. Following ten-point guide can help us write well and get the response we want every time.

Make a Plan        (20:60:20 Formula)

Time spent planning what to write is never wasted. Planning helps you to focus on what you want to write so that you can organize your ideas and structure logically and clearly. A plan helps you to stay focused and relevant – and ultimately, saves  time. We should spend 20% of the time to plan the message we want to convey, 60% time actually writing & 20% time revising what has been written. No mail should ever be sent without revising 2/3 times.

 

Say Why You Are Writing in the First Sentence

Tell your reader why you are writing in the first sentence itself. Use phrases such as “I am writing to enquire about…” or “We have been experiencing some technical problems with…” If you’re replying to someone, you can write “Thank you for your letter / email.”

 

Keep It Short and Simple (KISS)

Reader should not be made to wade through long, rambling sentences. Write concisely and clearly and use a simple sentence structure. Avoid using over-formal words such as “hereby” and “herewith”. They will make you sound old-fashioned.  Stick to your plan and only include relevant and necessary information.

 

Link Your Ideas

Guide your reader through your text by using linking words and phrases. Words such as “and”, “because”,”therefore“etc. Make your text flow and prevent your sentences from appearing isolated from each other.

 

Get the Tone Right

The tone of your text depends on who you are writing to, and why you are writing. If you are answering a colleague’s email, your tone will be friendly and helpful. If you are writing a letter of apology to a customer, you tone should be polite and impersonal. Even if you are angry about something, use professional tone.

Getting the tone right also means thinking from your reader’s point of view. For example, using “you should” instead of “perhaps you could” to seniors makes tone over-direct. Similarly, giving bad news without introducing it first with phrase such as “unfortunately” or “We are sorry, but…” reader might assume that we don’t care. Thinking about the impact your writing has will help you to choose the right tone and avoid giving the wrong impression.

 

Keep Your Style Appropriate and Consistent

When you write, bear in mind the formality of the situation. Writing to a friend is very different from writing to your seniors.  There are a number of factors which determine style, such as vocabulary choice, length and complexity of sentence and so on. When in doubt, the safest course of action is to choose a neutral style to avoid sounding either too formal or too informal.

End Your Correspondence by Referring Back to the Reader

Make sure your reader knows what the next step should be. If you are asking for help in an email, you could end “Thanks for your help”. In a letter you could write “I look forward to hearing from you.” If you are replying to an enquiry, you could end the email or letter with “Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further information”. You could also end your correspondence by referring forward to a meeting, such as: “I look forward to meeting you next Thursday” or in an email “See you next week” or by asking the reader to do something, such as ”Please sign and return the enclosed by the end of next week.”

 

Make Sure Your Salutation and Ending are Correct

This is probably the simplest thing to get right & you must get it right. If you start your letter with “Dear Mr. X” or “Dear Ms X”, end “Yours sincerely”. If you know your reader quite well, you can start “Dear + first name” and end with “Best wishes” or “Best / Kind regards”. Take care never to use Mr. or Ms. With anybody’s first name. Always use Mr. or Ms. with only last name of the person you are writing to. Avoid using Mrs. before name of a woman unless you know that she is marrid & she prefers to be addressed thus. Prefer using Ms as title for a woman.  If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to and start “Dear Sir or Madam”, end with “Yours faithfully” rather than “Yours sincerely”. You can also start and end emails in the same way as letters. But if you are writing to more than one person, you can omit the salutation completely and start with your objective. Other ways you can end emails is by writing “Thanks” or even “Cheers”, but never “Bye”.

 

Pay Attention to Your Punctuation

Most common punctuation mistakes are made with capital letters, commas and apostrophes. Remember that commas are used in lists, and to separate clauses, to give a kind of “breathing space”. Capital letters should be used for proper nouns, and in the first sentence of your correspondence. Apostrophes are used to show possession or contraction, but never for plurals. Pay special attention to marks of punctuation. In correct mark of punctuation can even make complete nonsense of your sentence. For example; comapre ‘Let’s eat, daddy’ with ‘Let’s eat daddy.’

 

Edit Your Writing

Read through what you have written to check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Some typical grammatical mistakes are article use (a, an, the), tense use and preposition use. However, each person has their own “weak spot” and you should be aware of your own difficulties when you write.

As you read, check also that you have followed your plan and that there is no redundant information. If possible, ask someone else to read your text. It’s sometimes hard to see your own mistakes and a second pair of eyes may pick up something you’ve missed.

Above tips should help you to vastly improve quality of your writing and motivate your reader to comply with your request.

We conduct workshop on ‘Communication Skills Improvement’ and many other soft skills training programs both for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or write to us at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com  or englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or call (91)8866680407 for further details..

By:

Sarwan Singh

@sarwan_singh

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

Does Reading Grammar help in Speaking in English?

Almost every body who wants to learn to speak in English has this doubt. Will I be able to speak in English without first reading/learning grammar? This article answers such doubts.

Question: How grammar help in english spoken course?

Response 1:

Grammar is the soul of a language, be it English or any other language. It is possible to speak English without knowing grammar by being in the company of a native speaker, but this way you would never know the ins and outs of the English language. Mastering English grammar makes you a confident speaker and enables you to answer many language related questions

Response 2:

Spoken English doesn’t need grammar.Students develop an inferiority complex when rules of grammar are applied and get confused in the bargain.One would have noticed that acumen of children is sharper that helps them pick up another language while playing with children of that language.Do we follow the rules of grammar when we speak in our own mother tongue? So my humble recommendation is to teach Spoken English to non-English medium students first.I have been sailing with different nationalities out at sea.They use simple English and convey their message.I am in the field of teaching Spoken English employing non-grammatical method which instils a lot of confidence in them to develop the required skill to converse in English.The pity which is prevailing in our system is that people good in grammar are not able to convey even a simple thought.

My response:

Let us start with the basic requirement of any language. The basic requirement of any language, especially spoken language, is simply to convey a thought. And, it is not necessary for the language to be grammatically correct for this thought to be understood by the recipient. For instance; let us take this question and above responses. Two persons above have replied to the question because they have understood the intention of the writer. But, the question itself is grammatically wrong. It should actually be: How does grammar help in Spoken English course?

Now the answer to the question: Does grammar help in speaking English or for that matter any language? Yes, it does. And, what is grammar? Grammar is simply like traffic rules of the language.And, rules are same for everybody.  Following the traffic rules makes flow of traffic smooth and not following it will result in accident. Grammar basically simply tells us how words should be arranged in a sentence so that the recipient can understand your message easily.Not following rule of grammar makes it difficult for the recipient to understand our message thus defeating the very purpose of communication.

But, the real question is: Will a person whose first language is not English be able to speak English confidently and fluently without being taught grammar (I repeat taught grammar in a classroom)?

The answer is- YES, ABSOLUTELY.

Why? Because, we learn to speak a language by listening to it, and not by studying rules of grammar of that language. That is how we learn our mother tongue or first language. Just imagine that parents start teaching toddler rules of grammar instead of just carrying on routine daily conversations   in presence of the child! Will the child learn to speak? No. That is why a child who is born deaf will not be able to speak because it could not listen to the language.

But, how do I learn grammar of the language I want to speak? Just by listening to that language. Listening is the first step to learning any language. Without listening, no one can learn any language.

Also, we all want to learn a language we do not know. Hence, how will I be able to understand rules of grammar of the language I do not know in first place? Isn’t it impossible?

Hence, the only way to learn any language is not to first master rules of grammar by reading books on grammar but simply by listening to that language and speaking. And, listening some more and speaking some more without worrying about grammar. This way you will learn grammar automatically and be able to speak confidently and fluently eventually.   Incidentally, even in educatioanl institutes teaching grammar starts only after studenst have learned to speak, read and write and not from the day a child starts attending school.

I know that this is a long answer to a short question, but I am sure it will be of great help.

We conduct many English improvement and soft skills training programs both on site and on line for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few progranms pro bono (free of charge) to educational institutes. Contact us at englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com or on (91)88666 80407.

How to Write Effective Emails

How to Write Effective Emails

Do people respond to your emails quickly? Or do they ignore them, or miss important information? Also are you making the best possible impression with your emails?

When you compose an email, there are some simple rules that you can follow so that your emails makes a positive impression, and gets you the response you want.

We look at these here, and we’ll illustrate the points we’re talking about with both good and bad examples at the end of each section.

Subject lines are headlines

A newspaper headline has two functions: It grabs your attention, and it tells you what the article is about, so that you can decide if you want to read further. Email subject lines need to do exactly the same thing! Use a few well-chosen words, so that the recipient knows at a glance what the email is about.

If you make appropriate use of the subject line, you increase the chances that your email will be read, rather than mistaken for spam and deleted.

Aolso, just as no newspaper is ever published without headlines, never send your mail with subject line blank. Emails with blank subject lines are usually spam!

 

Make one point per email

One of the advantages of email compared with traditional letters is that it doesn’t cost any more to send several emails than it does to send one. Generally while reading any written matter, we tend to ignore leave last few lines. So, if you need to communicate with someone about a number of different things, consider writing a separate email on each subject. Otherwise, there are good chances that your message will be only partly read.

That way, your correspondent can reply to each one individually and in the appropriate time frame. One topic might only require a short reply that he or she can send straight away. Another topic might require more research. By writing separate messages, you should get clearer answers, while helping other people manage their inboxes better.

If you do want to put several points in an email – perhaps because they relate to the same project – consider presenting each point in a separate, numbered paragraph. This makes each point stand out, significantly increasing the likelihood that each point will be addressed.

Keep your mail short

As with traditional business letters; each individual email should be clear and concise, with the purpose of the message detailed in the very first paragraph. Sentences should be kept short and to the point. The body of the email should contain all pertinent information and should be direct and informative.

Specify the response you want

Make sure to include any action you want, like a phone call or follow-up appointment. Then, make sure you include your contact information, including your name, title, and phone numbers. Do this even with internal messages. Remember, the easier you make it for someone else to respond, the more likely they are to do so!

Use simple English

Keep your emails grammatically simple. This means that a) you’re less likely to make grammatical mistakes, and b) your reader is more likely to understand them.

Here are some ways of writing simple English:
– use active forms instead of passive forms
– write short sentences rather than long ones (remember the word order Subject Verb Object Manner Place Time)
– don’t use idioms or phrasal verbs
– use common words rather than technical or jargon words if your reader is not in the same field as you

Don’t send heavy attachments

If possible, send a zip file, or give web addresses where your reader can find information.

Be a good correspondent

Make sure that you go through your inbox regularly and respond as appropriate. This is a simple act of courtesy and will also encourage others to reply to your emails in a timely manner. If a detailed response is required to an email, and you don’t have the time to pull together the information straight away, send a holding reply saying that you have received the message, and indicating when you will respond fully.

How frequently you should check your mail will depend on the nature of your work, but try to avoid interrupting a task you’re working on to check your mail, simply because you wonder if something interesting has come in.

Always set your Out of Office auto reply when you’re going to be away from your email for a day or more, whether on leave or because you’re at meetings.

Internal emails

Internal emails, just like other emails, should not be too informal. Remember, these are written forms of communication that can be altered, forwarded, printed out and viewed by people other than those for whom they were originally intended!  Hence be careful of your email content

Try to make your emails informative and polite, and use a neutral tone. Remember that your reader could forward your email to other people, so only write what you would be happy for other people to read. (No gossip, no personal comments, no confidential information and no ambiguous English such as sarcastic humor.) Avoid using emoticons and similes in business emails, or too many exclamation marks.

Check your email before you send it

Use a spell check to eliminate spelling mistakes. Read your email aloud to check for grammar and punctuation errors.

Some other useful pieces of advice

Use a spell check to eliminate spelling mistakes. Read your email aloud to check for grammar and punctuation errors.

Don’t write your mail in all capitals. This makes it difficult for the receiver to read your mail. Don’t underline any word for emphasis. Underlined word is an indicator of hyperlink. Make a word bold snd/or etallics to highlight.

Make minimum use of cc/bcc field. Send your mail to those who are directly connected with your message. Sending copies to un related persons will simply waste their time.

Don’t attach heavy files. Zip the files or give website address where your receiver can access the information.

Pause before replying to an aggressive mail. Keep in mind the following: Never reply to a letter when you are angry; never make a promise when you are happy and never make a decesion when you are sad.

Finally; ask yourself these questions:

“Is this clear?”
“Does my reader know what to do next?”
“Is this polite?”

Press send button only if your answer to above three questions is yes. If not; revise your mail till you get the answers to all of above three questions right.

We conduct workshop on ‘Communication Skills’ and many other soft skills improvement programs both for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes

Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or write to us at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com  or englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or call (91)8866680407 for further details.

By:

Sarwan Singh

@sarwan_singh

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

Synopsis of the workshop on Employ ability of 21st Century for Success

Synopsis of the workshop on Employ ability of 21^st Century for Success

The intended learning outcome of the workshop on ‘Employability Skills’ was following parameters:

1. Understand the importance of skills/competencies in 21^st century and be what employers look for in employees,
2. Identify which skills you have and how to give its evidence,
3. Identify strategies and resources for enhancing and developing skills you want to develop.

In 21^st century, technology has converted the world to a global village. Practically all the information and everybody is now just a click away. This has brought in following two major changes in which work is carried out these days:

1. 21^st Century has become the century of self promotion,
2. Work is no more the place you go to; work is the thing you do!

Positive Attitude, Communication and interpersonal skills have become the highly desirable attributes by all employers. In fact as per a research carried out by Harvard University, interpersonal skills contribute 85% towards our professional success. Contribution of our technical skills is only 15% towards our professional success. Stanford Research Institute further corroborates this finding and states that share of soft skills in our progress is 87.5%.

In addition, Critical, Thinking Media, Literacy, Communication Skills, Information Literacy, Collaboration and Creativity have become other critical attributes to be successful in 21^st century.

In addition in future the working is going to change even more.  Four major changes will take place in the working arena: In future work will be

1. Transparent,
2. Flat,
3. Competitive,
4. On demand

1. The work will be transparent: Now time and task tracking tools track productivity in real time. Hence contribution of every single individual towards the overall objective of the organization can be measured in the go. Hence more productive a person is; more money he/she will make.  Besides, it will not be possible to hide anything as it will be possible to cross verify any information/data from multiple sources in real time.

2. The work (organizations) will be flat:

Because of advances in information technology, it has become possible for a person at any level in an organization to interact   with anybody at any geographical location. Hierarchies have broken and organizations have become flat. In fact many organizations allow their employees to work from home and many other have adopted flexi working hours. In future location will become irrelevant. It will be possible to hire employees from anywhere in the world.  And they will be working from any place of their choice.

 

3. The work will become more competitive:

It has now become common place to hire vendors and temporary experts from anywhere in the world. Hence choice for vendors/employees is not limited to any geographical location. It is now common place for work teams to resemble movie production teams in which several people having diverse skills collaborate to make a movie. They all go their different ways once the movie is made. Innovation rather than location will be the key word in future relationships between employees and employers.

4. The work will be ON DEMAND:

In future people having specific skills and expertise rather than degrees will be more in demand. Knowledge and not formal qualification will be the key factor in hiring a person. Hence informal education will become more and more important. As every type of information and education is available on net virtually free, not having proper knowledge will not be acceptable. Hence those having experience and skills   in a particular field will be more in demand as compared to people just having formal qualification.

Hence in future employers will have greater access to employees across the globe. Same way even employees will have much greater choice. Most importantly, in future the earning will be linked to the merit and experience and not to geographical location or qualification.

In short 21^st century worker will:

. . will use technologies that haven’t  been invented to do jobs that don’t exist at present,

. . will be networked,

. . will be multi-tasker,

. . will be digitally literate,

. . will crave interactivity,

. . will have strong visual-spatial skills,

. . will be tethered to the internet,

. . will want to learn things that matter,

. . will want to be challenged to reach own conclusions.

ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Communication is the exchange of information between two parties. In any communication, the sender wants a definite action to be taken by the receiver. How do we make sure that the communication received by the receiver is same as intended by sender  & that actions carried out based on such communication are as intended by sender.

 

In short, what are the essentials of effective communication?

1. The message should be useful & should have some purpose: Each message should have some purpose & it should be told clearly. The message should serve some useful purpose for both sender as well as receiver.

2. It should be brief but complete: ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’ should be the guiding principle in creating any message. Lengthy & too elaborate messages do not convey the intent of the sender & are difficult for the receiver to understand.

3. Should be simple & clear: All messages should use simple language. It should be clear about the intention of the sender. Complicated sentences & difficult language make it difficult for the receiver to understand the message.

4. Should have proper language: Proper & courteous language keeping the status of receiver in mind should be used. In case of verbal communication the language used, tone, body language etc. should also be kept in mind.

5    Should have provision for follow up: For any communication to be effective there should be provision for follow up so that the sender & receiver can both follow up with each other.

If we take care of above suggestions in framing our communication, message understood by the receiver will be same as intended by sender.  Actions carried out based on such communication will be as intended by sender.

We conduct workshop on ‘Communication Skills’ and many other soft skills improvement programs both for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes

Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or write to us at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com  or englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or call (91)8866680407 for further details.

By:

Sarwan Singh

@sarwan_singh

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

Group Discussion –Why and How?

Group Discussion –Why and How?

 

Companies conduct group discussion after the written test so as to check the prospective candidate for –

• Interactive skills
• How good you are at communicating with other people.
• How you behave, participate and contribute in a group.
• How much importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own.
• How well do you listen to viewpoints of others
• How open-minded are you in accepting views contrary to your own.

The aspects which come forward in GD are verbal communication, nonverbal

behavior, conformation to norms, decision-making ability and cooperation.

 

Preparation for GD

• Reading: This is the first and the most crucial step in preparation.
• Mocks: Create an informal GD group and meet regularly to discuss and exchange feedback.

 

During the GD Panelists assess participants on following qualities/traits:

• Leadership Skills – Ability to take leadership roles and be able to lead, inspire and carry the team along to help them achieve the group’s objectives.
• Communication Skills –Candidates will be assessed in terms of clarity of thought, expression and aptness of language.
• Interpersonal Skills – People skills are an important aspect of any job.
• Persuasive Skills – The ability to analyze and persuade

 

GD is a test of your ability that reflects:

• Clarity of thought
• Group working skills (especially during a group task of case study discussion)
• Conflict handling
• Listening and probing skills
• Knowledge about the subject and individual point of view
• Ability to create a consensus
• Openness and flexibility towards new ideas
• Data based approach to decision making

How do I take my chance to speak?

• Trying to interrupt others while speaking would only harm your chances.
• Maintain an eye-contact with the speaker. This would show your listening skills. It will help you gauge from his eye-movement and pitch of voice that he is about to close his inputs.
• You can quickly take it from there.
• Try and link your inputs with what he has spoken whether you are adding to or opposing his arguments.

Positive Task Roles in GD

• Initiator
• Information seeker
• Information giver
• Procedure facilitator
• Opinion seeker
• Opinion giver
• Clarifier
• Social Supporter
• Harmonizer
• Tension Reliever
• Energizer
• Compromiser
• Gatekeeper
• Summarizer

 

Negative Roles in GD

• Disgruntled non-participant
• Attacker
• Dominator
• Patronizer
• Clown

 

Initiation Techniques

• When you initiate a GD, you not only grab the opportunity to speak, you also grab the attention of the examiner and your fellow candidates.
• If you make a favorable first impression with your content and communication skills after you initiate a GD, it will help you sail through the discussion.
• But if you initiate a GD and stammer/ stutter/ quote wrong facts and figures, the damage might be irreparable.

Techniques to initiate a GD

• Quotes
• Definition
• Question
• Shock statement
• Facts, figures and statistics
• Short story
• General statement

Summarization/Conclusion

• Most GD doesn’t really have conclusions. A conclusion is where the whole group decides in favor or against the topic.
• But every GD is summarized. You can summaries what the group has discussed in the GD in a nutshell.

While summarizing a discussion:

• Avoid raising new points.
• Avoid stating only your viewpoint.
• Avoid dwelling only on one aspect of the GD.
• Keep it brief and concise.
• It must incorporate all the important points that came out during the GD.
• If the examiner asks you to summaries a GD, it means the GD has come to an end.
• Do not add anything once the GD has been summarized.

We conduct workshop on ‘Communication Skills’ and many other soft skills improvement programs both for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes

Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or write to us at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com  or englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or call (91)8866680407 for further details.

By:

Sarwan Singh

@sarwan_singh

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com

8 Highly Dangerous Words!

Words have power. Words produce emotions and emotions produce actions. Hence, the words we use may or may not produce action we want. Given below is the list of eight words which generally produce negative emotions and hence fail to produce the action we want. Suggestions about how we can replace these negative emotions producing words with positive emotions producing words have also been given:

1. But

This word negates everything said before it.

Substitute And Statement for But Statement

Don’t Say:

I respect your work but I don’t agree with this new idea.

Say:

I respect your work and I have reservations about this new idea.

Don’t Say:

I understand your point but you are missing mine.

Say:

I understand your view and I would like you to understand mine.

2. Try

This word presupposes failure. Refuse to be seduced by ‘TRY’

Don’t Say:

I will try

Say:

I promise to ……..

Don’t Say:

I will try very hard

Say:

I commit to …….

Don’t Say:

I will try my best

Say:

I will……

3. If

This word presupposes that you might not.  Replace ‘IF’ with ‘WHEN’

Don’t Say:

If you work hard, you will succeed.

Say:

When you work hard, you will succeed.

Don’t Say:

If he comes, we will go to the class.

Say:

When he comes, we will go to the class.

 

4. Can’t

This word is in a class of words called negations. Eliminate the word can’t from your sentences

Don’t Say:

I can’t complete this order in 10 days.

Say:

I will complete this order in 14 days.

Don’t Say:

He can’t make 100 calls in a day.

Say:

He can make 90 calls in a day.

 

5. Might

This word means Maybe yes-May be not.  Replace might by will/do/can

Don’t Say:

We might fulfill your order in 10 days.

Say:

We will fullfill your order in 14 days.

Don’t Say:

He might not make 100 calls in a day.

Say:

He can make 80 calls in a day.

 

6. Would
7. Could
8. Should

All have negative impact on power of your message.  Use Strong Verbs

Don’t Say:

I would like to complete this by tomorrow.

Say:

I will complete this by tomorrow.

Don’t Say:

Perhaps; you could consider our new products.

Say:

Our new products will definitely excite you.

Don’t Say:

We should offer better service to the customers.

Say:

I must provide better service to our customers.

 

Choose your words well to get the action you want!

 

We conduct workshop on ‘Communication Skills Improvement’ and many other soft skills training programs both for industries, educational institutes and individuals. We also offer a few programs like ‘Shine under Stress (Strategies to Succeed in Exams)’, ‘Seven Laws of Teaching’, ‘Student’s Behaviour Management’ etc. pro bono to educational institutes Please visit link http://bit.ly/sarwansingh or write to us at sarwansingh6644@gmail.com  or englishacademybaroda@gmail.com or call (91)8866680407 for further details..

By:

Sarwan Singh

@sarwan_singh

http://singhsarwan.blogspot.com