Thursday 17 July 2014
635. OVER COMING FEAR MBA I - II
Edited by Karen W., Ben Rubenstein, Jack Herrick, Flickety and
65 others
Four
Methods:
Even the most courageous people have fears to overcome. Are you
afraid of something tangible, like spiders or heights? Maybe you fear failure,
change or something else that's more difficult to pin down. No matter what it
is that scares you, learn how to acknowledge, confront and take ownership of
your fear to keep it from holding you back in life.
1 Start by acknowledging it. It's
easy to ignore or deny our fears, even to ourselves, in a society that stresses
the importance of being strong and brave. But courage can't come into play
unless you have a fear to face down. By owning your feelings you've taken the
first step toward gaining control over the situation.
·
Name your fear. Sometimes fear makes itself known immediately,
clearly, and other times its more difficult to name the cause of those anxious
feelings lurking in the back of your mind. Let your fear rise to the surface and
give it a name.
·
Write it down. Writing down your fear is a way to officially
admit that you have a problem you want to overcome. Keeping a journal is a
good way to track your progress as you work toward conquering your fear. It can
serve as a guide for the next time you've got a problem that needs to be
solved. You can overcome fear by facing it every time it comes your way, and,
once you decide to make up your mind, your fears will dissolve away.
2 Define its contours.
Approaching your fear as something with a beginning and an end can help you see
that you have the power to contain it. If you can clearly see the shape of your
fear, you'll be able to recognize when its affecting you and handle it more
effectively. Answer the following questions to better understand your fear.
·
What is the history of your fear? Did it begin with a negative
experience? Is it related to factors that affected your childhood environment?
For how long have you been affected by this fear?
·
What triggers your fear? Is it something obvious, like the sight
of a snake on a trail? Maybe passing your career counselor's office door sends
your mind into a downward spiral when you walk down the corridor in your high school.
Figure out everything that triggers your fear so you can determine how far it
stretches.
·
How does your fear affect you? Does it cause you to stay in bed
instead of getting up and going to a class you're afraid of failing? Do you
avoid visiting your family in another state because you don't want to get on a
plane? Figure out exactly what power your fear has over your mind and behavior.
·
Is the source of your fear actually dangerous? Fear can be a
healthy emotion that protects us from harm by causing us to avoid things that
are dangerous. Determine whether you have a good reason to be afraid or if your
fear is misplaced and inhibiting. For example, when you are afraid to ride that
totally extreme roller coaster in the theme park even though all your friends
are doing it, your fear may be inhibiting you. If you are healthy and in the
correct age range, you can freely ride a coaster without worrying about getting
hurt.
3 Imagine the outcome you desire. Now
that you completely understand your fear, think about what exactly you want to
change. You already have your big goal set - you want to overcome your fear -
but it's important to set smaller concrete goals to help you get there. For
example:
·
If your fear is commitment, your first concrete goal may be to date
someone for longer than a month.
·
If your fear is heights, you may want to be able to go on a
hiking trip with the outdoor club at your school.
·
If your fear is going away to college, you could start by
setting a goal to apply to three schools.
·
If your fear is spiders, you might want to be able to handle
seeing a spider in your bathroom next time that situation arises.
1 Let yourself be afraid sometimes.
There's no way to completely eliminate fear from your life. It's as valid an
emotion as joy or sadness. Fear builds character and teaches us how to act with
courage.
·
Don't be hard on yourself if you have a lot of fears. Fear is a
natural response to situations that are out of our control, and feeling it just
means you're human.
·
Don't push yourself too far. If you are extremely afraid of
something that you can avoid frequently encountering, like tarantulas, you may
not need to force yourself to overcome that fear. It's important to work on
overcome fears that limit your life, but don't stress yourself out about those
that have no real effect on you.
2 Celebrate your victories. Don't
wait until your fear has been completely overcome to give yourself a pat on the
back for your effort. Celebrate each milestone, whether you told a story to a
group of people at a party, saw a spider and realized you didn't want to run
away, or took a trip to a different city by yourself for the first time. When
you see how good it feels to gain an edge on your fear, you'll be ready to face
the next one head-on.
·
Consider seeing a counselor if your fears seem to be taking
over. A trained specialist can help you figure out the source of your fears and
create new ways of coping.
Warnings
·
Never do anything too dangerous, like touching a venomous
rattlesnake without proper training. Be sure to exercise safety as you confront
your fears.
- 1 Learn how to enroll and engage your audience. If you haven't yet taken a professional development course on public speaking, consider finding a public speaking training course appropriate for your needs. Learning the art of public speaking can enhance your results in a boardroom, in a sales presentation, and even accelerate your climb up the corporate ladder. It is a must-skill for any executive and/or business owner.
2 Recognize that people can't see your
nervousness. When you're walking out onto the stage toward the podium, no
one knows you're nervous. Your stomach could be in knots and you feel like
you're going to be sick, but you really aren't showing nervous behavior.
Sometimes, with public speaking, you think that people may notice you're
nervous. This makes you even more nervous. There are only a few subtle cues
that show a person is nervous and they're so small, that the ordinary person
wouldn't put more than 1 second into them. Don't worry so much. People don't
see that extreme nervous beast inside you.
·
Bluff. Stand tall, with shoulders back and chest out. Smile.
Even though you don’t feel happy or confident, do it anyway. You will look
confident and your body will fool your brain into thinking it is confident.
3 Do
not overthink the audience's reactions. When you are on stage or speaking
in public, calm your mind. Remember that even if you see people looking at you
like they think you are weird, ignore it. What they think doesn't matter. If
there really is something that you know you are doing wrong, fix it as quick as
possible.
·
Yawning, bored expressions and similar negative facial
expressions will always appear in an audience. Chances are some of those people
will be bored whatever the occasion; some of those people are difficult to
please; some of those people are tired; some of those people are distracted.
None of these reasons reflect on you.
Tips
·
Remember, you don't look as nervous as you feel.
·
If you think the people you're talking to will judge you too
much, think that they're not themselves. Think that they're your siblings or
friends. People who respect you and won't judge you if you make a mistake.
·
Remember, even the top professionals learn something new every
single time they go out!
·
Only you know what you are supposed to say or do so it's okay to
change things during the presentation. (It's okay not to be word-for-word as
your wrote it.)
·
Remember that when you are asked to speak, if you are coming
from a place of service, you can't go wrong. Remember, it's not about you. It's
about them - your audience. You are not the star, they are.
·
Tell yourself, "One is admired when looked upon by
others."
·
If you go to school, volunteer to read the text when the class
is reading textbooks.
·
Try low lighting. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation. Display it
on the projector, and turn off the lights in the room. By doing this, you will
have an enormous advantage because nobody will be looking at you and the
projector will draw all of the attention from you. This will give you a sense
of relief like you wouldn't believe, making your presentation completely stress
free. This method does not cure the fear of public speaking but it does help
you avoid the anxiety throughout the speech.
·
Smile and try to make some jokes to cover your nervousness. The
audience will laugh (but in a good way, of course!) and think that you're
really funny. Don't try to be humorous in serious situations such a funeral or
an important meeting though, or you might get into big trouble!
Warnings
·
Don't give a wrong or uninformed answer. Defer to a later time
and ask "is it okay if I get back to you on that on the break. I want to
make sure I cover the subject well, and get you the right answer".
·
If you don't know the answer to a question, ask the audience if
anyone knows the answer to the question (you don't have to admit you don't know
it...you just ask the audience).
·
Avoid death by PowerPoint; overuse of slides during a talk will
put your audience to sleep.
·
Avoid standing behind podiums, tables or any physical barrier
between you and your audience.
·
Don't take anything personally.
Some more hints
1. Take time out
2. What's the worst that can happen?
3. Expose yourself to the fear
4. Welcome the worst
5. Get real
6. Don't expect perfection
7. Visualise
8. Talk about it
9. Go back to basics
10. Reward yourself
What Do You Think?
* End the speech as
soon as possible* Avoid any pauses or interruptions during the speech
* Avoid contact with the audience
* Hide the fact that they are afraid
Don't Be the Unspeaker!
Hurrying
Ignoring the Audience
Fighting to Hide Your Fear
Fear of Public Speaking:
Fear of public
speaking is the most common of all phobias. It's a form of performance anxiety
in which a person becomes very concerned that he or she will look visibly
anxious, maybe even have a panic attack while speaking. Over time, people try to protect themselves by either avoiding public speaking or by struggling against speech anxiety.
In this way, people get Tricked into making the fear of public speaking more chronic and disruptive.
Some people do this with avoidance. They choose college coursework in such a way as to avoid public speaking, rather than taking the classes they want.
How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking
Five Parts:
634. Vocabulary Skills MBA I - II
Vocabulary Skills
MBA
I – II
Reading
vocabulary
A person's reading
vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when reading. This is the
largest type of vocabulary simply because it includes the other three. It needs
a lot of practice to read. This we should learn from a teacher. Otherwise
certain words we should refer dictionary for pronunciation.
A person's listening
vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when listening to speech.
This vocabulary is aided in size by context and tone of voice. While listening
the pronunciation differs from native to native.
American accent is
called yankee style which is very different and difficult to understand.
We follow the British
style. Especially ours is called Indian style. Why it is called because we
follow our own mother tongue style.
This is very less in
day to day conversation. If we listen to experts, scientists, writers etc. it changes or we cannot follow unless we know
about that subject. Because the jargon differs from subject to subject.
A person's writing
vocabulary is all the words he or she can employ in writing. Contrary to the
previous two vocabulary types, the writing vocabulary is stimulated by its
user.
Writing is an art. It
depends upon the subject the writer is writing. Whether is an expert or
ordinary person.
A person's speaking
vocabulary is all the words he or she can use in speech. Due to the spontaneous
nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often misused. This misuse –
though slight and unintentional – may be compensated by facial expressions,
tone of voice, or hand gestures.
American accent is
called yankee style which is very different and difficult to understand. Others
cannot follow it as usual. Those who are born and brought up can only speak
that style.
We follow the British
style. Especially ours is called Indian style. Why it is called because while
speaking we follow our own mother tongue style.
This is very less in
day to day conversation. If we speak to experts, scientists, writers etc. it changes or we cannot follow unless we know
about that subject. Because the jargon differs from subject to subject.
"Focal
vocabulary" is a specialized set of terms and distinctions that is
particularly important to a certain group; those with particular focuses of
experience or activity.
For example, the Nuer
of Sudan have an elaborate vocabulary to describe cattle. The Nuer have dozens of names for cattle
because of the cattle's particular histories, economies, and environments.
This kind of
comparison has elicited some linguistic controversy, as with the number of
"Eskimo words for snow".
English speakers can
also elaborate their snow and cattle vocabularies when the need arises.
That is why English
is full of synonyms. Every year atleast 1000 new words join English. If the
speaker uses the native words where they to that area, he can be understood
well.
Eg. British call police and Americans call police as cop.
Initially, in the
infancy phase, vocabulary growth requires no effort. Infants hear words and
mimic them, eventually associating them with objects and actions. This is the listening vocabulary.
The speaking vocabulary follows, as a child's thoughts become more reliant on its
ability to express itself without gestures and mere sounds.
Once the reading
and writing vocabularies are attained – through questions and
education – the anomalies and irregularities of language can be discovered.
In first grade, an
advantaged student (i.e. a literate student) knows about twice as many words as
a disadvantaged student. Generally, this gap does not tighten. This translates
into a wide range of vocabulary size by age five or six, at which time an
English-speaking child will know about 2,500–5,000 words. An average student
learns some 3,000 words per year, or approximately eight words per day.
After leaving school,
vocabulary growth plateaus. People may then expand their vocabularies by
reading, playing word games, participating in vocabulary programs, etc.
Even if we learn a
word, it takes a lot of practice and context connections for us to learn it
well. A rough grouping of words we understand when we hear them encompasses our
"passive" vocabulary, whereas our "active" vocabulary is
made up of words that come to our mind immediately when we have to use them in
a sentence, as we speak. In this case, we often have to come up with a word in
the timeframe of milliseconds, so one has to know it well, often in
combinations with other words in phrases, where it is commonly used.
- An extensive vocabulary aids
expressions and communication
- Vocabulary size has been directly
linked to reading comprehension.
- Linguistic vocabulary is
synonymous with thinking vocabulary
- A person may be judged by others
based on his or her vocabulary
- Every day new new words are
created, or borrowed, we need more vocabulary.
Native speakers'
vocabularies vary widely within a language, and are especially dependent on the
level of the speaker's education. A 1995 study estimated the vocabulary size of
college-educated speakers at about 17,000 word families, and that of first-year
college students (high-school educated) at about 12,000.
Francis and Kucera[10]
studied texts totaling one million words and found that if one knows the words
with the highest frequency, they will quickly know most of the words in a text:
By knowing the 2000
words with the highest frequency, one would know 80% of the words in those
texts. The numbers look even better than this if we want to cover the words we
come across in an informally spoken context. Then the 2000 most common words
would cover 96% of the vocabulary.[11]
These numbers should be encouraging to beginning language learners, especially
because the numbers in the table are for word lemmas and knowing that many word families
would give even higher coverage. But before you start thinking you would learn
a language in no time, think how well you would understand a book in your own
language where every fifth word was blacked-out! We cannot usually guess
meanings from context when that many words are missing.[12]
We need to understand about 95% of a text[13]
in order to gain close to full understanding and it looks like one needs to
know more than 10,000 words for that.
Basic
English vocabulary
For English language
learners. Knowing 2000 English words, one could understand quite a lot of
English, and even read a lot of simple material without problems.
633. TIME MANAGEMENT MBA I - II
TIME
MANAGEMENT
MBA I
– II
10 Time Wasters To Be Alert To As A Leader Or Manager
You
can buy additional memory for your computer to speed it up and make it work
better. On the other hand, the amount of time you have in a day is fixed. What
that means is we need to invest it wisely. So what are 10 time wasters to be
alert to as a leader or manager?
- Incomplete
information which means you cannot take a decision.
- Employees coming in
with problems that are important to them but not urgent.
- Telephone calls,
including mobile phone calls, coming in on a totally random basis.
- Routine tasks that
should be taken care of by someone on your team being delegated upwards.
- Poorly organised or
poorly run meetings.
- Attempting to do,
or offering to do, too much in the time available.
- Being overly
optimistic in your estimates of how long things will take.
- Procrastinating;
either putting things off or leaving things partly completed.
- Not listening and
going off on the wrong track.
- Not being willing
to say ‘no’ when you are already fully utilised.
Boost Your Productivity And Results
Ask
just about any leader or manager what their biggest challenges are and you are
almost guaranteed that a lack of time will be on their list. We all at the end
of the day have the same allocation of time yet some seem to get vastly
different results from others. So how can you boost productivity and results?
start with a big enough ‘Why?’. By that he means being clear about why
saving time matters to you. The chances are that you are missing out on, or not
getting enough of, something that really matters to you. What is it and why
does it matter anyway?
A time
tracker is another great tool for getting insights into where
your time is going. I remember having to account for every 15 minutes of the
day when I worked in one of the Big 4 accountancy firms. Sometimes it felt like
a chore but it sure helped with focus.
Another great strategy is to organise things so that you can easily
put your hands on them when you need them. If you are one of
the many professional people who like to hold on to things just in case they
are needed, you might want to invest in a couple of sacks and get rid of stuff.
Cut down the delaying and procrastinating and start taking decisions and actions
to get things done. The reality is things will never be easier when you put
them off, they will just be later.
Distinguish between the ‘must do’ and ‘to
do’ list. ‘Must do’
activities are those areas that are critical to achieving your results. What
are those for your role? If you don’t know, make it a priority to find out.
Delegate more rather than holding on to stuff out of
habit or because you wrongly believe that you are the only one who could do it
so well.
Hold meetings only when you really need
to. They can easily
swallow up a bunch of time. When you hold a meeting, make sure there is a
defined outcome and time limit.
The Bottom Line: Mastering time management is an
important area in being a successful leader or manager and will require review
from time to time. At the same time, it is often small changes that can yield
big results.
7 Secrets Of Achieving Work / Life Balance
One
of the things I have noticed is that, despite all of the advances in technology
and gadgets, achieving some reasonable work / life balance seems to be a bigger
challenge than ever.
So
what are the secrets of achieving work / life balance?
Secret
1: Decide that it matters to you
It seems
obvious but you need to decide that getting some sort of sensible balance
matters to you.
Secret
2: Set boundaries
We all need
money to live. At the same time, it is of little benefit if you are so burned
out that you cannot enjoy the non-work time. Set boundaries on how much time
you want to spend at work and stick to them.
Secret
3: Let others know your boundaries
If you are
happy for people to contact you any time they like by ‘phone or on your
Blackberry, that’s fine. On the other hand, if you are not, make it clear to
others what is okay and what is not.
Secret
4: Turn off gadgets
If you are
a doctor or on-call in your job, you need your ‘phone and email on. If not, you
can probably turn off your gadgets.
Secret
5: Ask yourself what you would say on your death bed
I remember
a fairly new trainee saying to me when I worked at one of the Big 4 Accounting
Firms, Do you want to be lying on your death bed saying, ‘I wish I had spent
more time at work’? Essentially, she was saying, Decide on your priorities.
Secret
6: Focus
It is not
about working harder; it is about working smarter.
Secret
7: Track your time investment
Once you
start tracking where you are investing your time, you start to get insights on
where you need to change.
Are You First To Arrive And Last To Leave?
In
the modern business world, people seem to be working longer and longer. It is
all too easy to fall into the trap of being the first to arrive and last to
leave. How do I know this? Well simply because it was an area that I found a
challenge when working in the accountancy profession.
So
if you are first to arrive and last to leave, what can you do to address this?
Get
clear on your priorities
You have
lots of things you could do. The question is what should you be doing? Getting
clear on your priorities is essential.
Focus
on your priorities
It is all
well and good being clear on your priorities. At the same time, you need to
make sure that you are focussing on them. That means continually checking what
you are doing to make sure you are focussing on what matters.
Discover
what can only be done by you
In my
experience, most tasks can be grouped into 3 brackets:
- Things that need
doing and can only be done by you.
- Things that need
doing but not necessarily by you.
- Things that might
not need doing at all.
Learn
to delegate
Delegation
is not just about getting stuff off your desk. It also provides a great development
opportunity. So learn how to and start delegating.
The
reality is that if we allow it, work will expand to fill the time we have
available. Remember, few things are so critical in management that they need
attention right away.
Work Smarter Not Harder
Sometimes delivering better results is not
always about work harder but about working smarter. Discover my
Secrets Of Managing Your Time
Time
is the ultimate limiting factor. It does not matter who you are; you have 24
hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, 744 hours in a month.
As
a result, how you manage your time is vital to the results that you get.
So
what are some of the secrets?
- Be clear on what
your priorities are and what you are expected to deliver.
- Plan how you are going
to invest your time.
- Keep a track of
where you are spending your time.
- Do what you do
best.
- Delegate and
empower others.
- Set boundaries.
- Focus on results.
- Keep a sense of
balance so that your productivity does not dip.
The
truth is, how you manage your time makes a big difference to your productivity
and results. So what have you found makes a big difference to managing your
time?
7 Simple Tips To Improve Your Work / Life Balance
The
more senior you become in the organisation, the tougher it can be to maintain
some form of work / life balance.
So
what simple tips do I suggest for improving work / life balance?
Tip 1: Set deadlines
- Have you ever
noticed that when you set a deadline for getting something done or a
timescale to do something, you somehow do it? Setting a deadline is a bit
like setting an intention which sends a signal to your mind.
Tip 2:
Prioritise well
- Whether you believe
it or not, some things are more important than others. Make the point of
identifying and prioritising how you will use your time.
Tip 3: Be
well organised
- Being able to find
things when you need them, whether in a computer or filing cabinet, can
pay big dividends.
Tip 4:
Plan things out of work
- If you don’t, you
will just end up staying that extra half hour, which will in reality end
up being two hours.
Tip 5: Ask for help
- Don’t suffer in
silence. Ask for help if you are struggling.
Tip 6:
Focus on what matters
- Rather than stuff
that keeps you busy.
Tip 7:
Learn to switch off
- Tough as it might
be, you need to be able to switch off.
The
truth is, maintaining a healthy work / life balance can actually enhance your
performance. So what’s your first step?
5 Fast Actions To Boost Your Personal Effectiveness
- Know what your
priorities are.
- Plan your time
utilisation to focus on your priorities.
- Periodically record
where you are spending your time so that you can be sure that you are
spending it appropriately.
- Do what you do best
and delegate or dump the other things.
- Get the team you
lead or manage taking on the things that they do best.
5 Tips To Boost Your Personal Effectiveness
Tip 1
- Get clear on what’s
priority and what’s not.
Tip 2
- Invest your time in
the priority activities.
Tip 3
- If you have
something that you have to do, make sure that you have the skills to do
it.
Tip 4
- Keep track of where
you are spending your time so that you can be sure that you are investing
it wisely.
Tip 5
- Reflect
periodically and make changes where necessary to take your personal
effectiveness to the next level.
6 Tips For Achieving Better Results
“Too much to do, too little time”, is an all
too familiar cry these days. So what can you do to get more done and achieve
better results?
- Know what’s
important and priority and what is just a time filler.
- Set yourself
challenging but realistic targets for each day, week and month.
- Set start and
finish times for every task.
- Don’t leave things
half completed otherwise you end up with a whole lot of work in progress.
- Get organised so
that you can find things.
- Automate whenever
you can to boost productivity.
What
additional tips would you add?
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647. PRESENTATION SKILLS MBA I - II
PRESENTATION SKILLS MBA I - II There are many types of presentations. 1. written, story, manual...