Tuesday 22 February 2011

How to Prepare For a Successful Speech

The thought of giving a speech in front of people can be a terrifying anxiety for some people. When these people realise, that nobody knows they are worried about speech making, it becomes less daunting. They may be worried because they have never spoken in front of others before, and are anticipating the worst that can happen. So it is totally only in their minds that something will go wrong.

Some of the things that these people worry about is making a mistake and looking like a fool. They could be worried about being able to have enough information, to fill the time that has been given for them, to speak. They could be worried about being able to think on their feet in front of their audience, to keep them interested in what is being said. All of these worries although they could happen are unnecessary and can be eliminated, if a few simple preparations are done before the actual speech.

It all depends on what sort of speech has to delivered, as to the facts that will be needed. It could be a wedding speech, a business presentation speech, a casual address to a group of friends at a birthday celebration. Whatever the event, a speech can be presented smoothly without any problems and needless worry, when we look at a simple basic way to prepare.

The best and simplest way to prepare for any speech is to write everything down you need to talk about, so you can add to or take away the facts you do not need. Once everything is written down, it takes some of the stress out for you, because you have something to talk about. Put the points down in the order you wish to speak about them. Even if it is just a simple little speech, if it is written down first, there is more chance everything will be included you need or want to say.

Once you have written everything down try to put the main idea into shorter bullet points. A speech is much better delivered when the speaker is able to look at his audience most of the time. It also looks more convincing and impressive to the listener as well. If you have it in bullet form you can look at each point fast and back to the audience. While speaking move your thumb down each point as it is covered, so that your eyes can grab the next bullet point with ease and there is no falter in the speech, or the interest of the audience.

Sometimes a speaker knows his subject so well he can throw away the paper and give a strong fluent speech without any trouble. A good idea is to get some of your friends or family together and practice your talk on them. They can then tell you how it is received and what needs improving, before the speech is delivered to the real audience.

If you follow all these basic simple techniques, you will increase your confidence and be in control of the situation. Being in control of your speech is what gives you the greatest confidence in speech making, because you know your speech and you know what you will be talking about. When the time comes to give it especially when practiced a few times.

All of this sounds simple and obvious, but it is surprising how many people do not have even this simple plan in mind, when they are asked to confront an audience with a speech. Some people stress and worry and even panic, just thinking about giving a talk. So I hope that I have been able to relieve some of that worry by giving a simple plan that works like magic every time.

Good luck with your speech making.

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Wednesday 16 February 2011

Never Forget a Name Again: Three Tips That Work

Are you ready to remember names and faces? You'll succeed by using these three tips and techniques to boost your memory.

Again and Again... and Again. Or, you could say, practice, practice, practice. Either way, when you meet someone whose name you want to remember, tries using their name three or four times in a conversation. It's not hard; just slip the name into normal statements and questions you'd be saying anyway. Say your boss wants you to meet the new VP, Heidi. "Hello, Heidi, nice to meet you," you begin. A little later you might ask, "Heidi, do you live near the office, or do you commute?" Or, "Has anyone shown you where the staff room is, Heidi? You're bound to need some coffee." Or, to remember her last name, ask, "I noticed your last name is Grosse. Is that a German name?"

This is a great memory technique for names, partly because it's so simple. But more important, it works.

Use Vivid, Descriptors. Just to make sure you remember Heidi's name, try using the classic technique of giving her a vivid descriptive word. The more unusual, oddball, funny, or outrageous the descriptor, the better. Heidi is pale and blonde, rather ethereal in appearance. She reminds you of a face on an icon.

So, in your head, you call her Holy Heidi. Or imagine meeting a fellow named Fred. You glance down and notice his enormous feet. In your private imagination, call him Big Foot Fred. Or when you meet Millie, you notice she's very muscular, probably works out. She becomes Mighty Millie.

You'll be surprised how effective this technique can be in helping you remember names. Just don't blurt out your imaginary monikers!

Remember the Positive Payoffs. Remembering names and faces is not an end in itself. It's the impact that you make-on your new acquaintance and yourself. The impact on your new acquaintance will be immediately obvious. You make them feel good about themselves, just by using their name. If they feel good about themselves, they'll feel good about you. Not only that, you'll impress yourself too. Remembering names is a skill that will improve your own self-esteem, especially after years of bungling introductions by forgetting.

Remembering names and faces is a win-win situation. You make somebody else feel good, and you gain self-respect. Remembering gives you a new reason to believe in yourself.

So when you meet a new acquaintance, try the new techniques. Repeat the name in conversation, focus on the person you're meeting, imagine a funny description, and glow in the double positive payoff. It's simple, and it works.


How-Improve-Memory

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Thursday 10 February 2011

Memory Boosting Means: Tips to Control Your Brain

You can definitely increase the capacity of your brain to retain and reproduce data. You can also ensure that your memory remains active till very advanced age.

Hippocampus is that portion of the brain that monitors all form of recalling including the long-term ones.

Health scientists in Virginia University in America studying this critical area of the human brain have come up with a startling discovery that we rarely initiate measures to take care of our brain. In simple words, we take for granted this vital organ of our body - the brain. As a part of their researches, the doctors have found that memory can fade, and also that this deadly syndrome can strike a person when she/he is in the early twenties. This problem is termed as 'fading memory'.

It has also been observed that a person can absorb any type of information, boost the pace of analyzes and resolving problems or puzzles - activities the brain is involved with - before reaching the age of 30. The pace generally goes down after the 27 years of age.

Well, don't be harried! It doesn't happen all the time with all type of people. Nonetheless, it does happen with people who rarely utilize their capacity to tune up their brains.

The best part of these tips is that they can be practiced at home or even in your office; they are quite economical also.

Hence the researchers have come up with the following tips to make your brain ever young...

THE STRATEGY

The mantra is to maintain an evergreen brain in a healthy body. Resolve stress, and go for relaxation.

PLAY MIND GAMES

The more you keep your brain active by playing various types of concentration-involving games, the more active will your brain remain. Get enrolled in club activities where you will be required to play such games with the members.

Your memory is persistently taxed to remain alert. In the process, your brain is rejuvenated, and your memory is tested while you are entertained. Stress-busting mental games are chess, memory testing card games, as well as some video games. You can play solo or in group.

Train yourself to remember numbers arranged in various ways or names of people or even the car numbers as they pass by. Mental prompts are must. You can evolve your methods.

REMAIN PHYSICALLY FIT

An active body can be possible only when you have the right diet with adequate calories. This wholesome diet is supplemented by physical and mental exercises. You can opt for yoga or other robust forms of free hand or gym-linked schedules.

Yoga gives flexibility to the limbs while the meditation part of it increases concentration. The combined effect is that the brain is pumped with oxygenated blood. The gymnasium exercises set your adrenalin flowing as well. In fact, all forms of activities that gets your blood flowing is ideal for your brain too. Cycling, swimming and jogging can be good ways of keeping your body, mind and brain active and kicking.

NOTE: The best way to go about it all is to seek the advice of your physician. This is important as our bodies need time to adjust to the new schedules of exercises. Don't go for a hectic or overactive exercise regimen if you have been having a rather laid-back roster of late. Else, the sudden shift in the daily routine can be harmful.

Wholesome diet

What we eat has a definite say on what we do with our brains. This is primarily because depending on our diet our hearts function. Hence choose green and fresh food items. Ensure that your body gets all forms of nutrients from the dishes that you consume. There must be adequate amount of Omega-3 fatty acids. Always vote for diet that is rich in antioxidant. Include walnuts, carrots and almonds.

These prescriptions mean saying a definite "NO!" to fast and junk food. Similarly, stay away from food that contains preservatives.

Nilutpal Gogoi is a freelance journalist and writer. He has published more than 1500 articles on varied fare including women issues, travelogues, political commentaries, short stories and on cultural items.
He is also a content builder and has detailed sites on yoga as well as Ayurveda.

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Friday 4 February 2011

Steps On How to Put Action On Your Own Copy

Your brochures and catalogs are great. Your site is superbly designed and constructed; the content is simple and enticing. You just wait for your visitors to flood in but after long waiting hours, no one is still registering. You may now be asking yourself: "Why aren't there any sales?" Think again! You maybe missing an important an important area that happens to be:

THE CALL TO ACTION. A call to action is a web copy which instructs a reader on what you wanted him to do. This call to action can certainly be in the form of a declarative, imperative and a command statement or just mere suggestions. With any marketing materials, it's important to get your prospective clients to act... NOW! Here are several steps to follow to earn a call to action that will absolutely have your phones ringing and your sales increasing.

The first step is to do your research on the terms to be used for your call to action. The term has to be associated with what your posts is promoting. Chances are, the terms you maybe thinking had already been used by other copy writers and you should take notice to this.

The next phase is to write your content to lead to a straight call to action. Compose the call to action evidently so that your visitors will know precisely what to do and how. Use phrases like "Register Now" or Click here" at an exact location where there is a button or a click through. Tell readers to call a toll number that is correct and still available.

Third step is to try to put your call to action on several locations on the web site, particularly if there's a lot of copy on your page. You can certainly put the call to action after an introductory paragraph, the top of the page, and other parts of the site.

The 4th stage is to make your internet site as direct as possible. Your visitors will want to know what they"re getting from your page as soon as they land on it. Get straight to the point instantaneously without having making your copy awkward.

The proactive approach may incorporate a registration blank which ask for information like the current email address. The fifth phase is to link these details to a shopping cart or an autoresponder to create your mailing list. Once you add a centered call to action to your copy, your efforts will make your web visitors to take your call to action.

As a word of advice, one can find certain tips that you could apply. One is to start your call to action with a verb. To attain clarity, keep the subject and verb close together; as an example: "Ask your sales representative for details". It's essential to keep your call to action on your screen the entire time. If this would not be possible, you have to let it pop several times so that irregular viewers may have a chance to see it. Lastly, inform yourself a lot more about contextual relevance, serial position effect and chunking and coding.

Creating a simple, smooth and efficient call to action is still an art. A straightforward and strong call to action can certainly really bring a difference to your copy content and can certainly convert it. The message on your call to action is really vital to the performance of your website. As an end note, always remember that a fantastic copywriting will always include a call to action.



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