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Showing posts with label BUSINESS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BUSINESS. Show all posts

TOP TIPS for WRITING a SUCCESSFUL SPEECH (From OXFORD Living Dictionaries)


At some point in your life, you will probably have to make a speech. There are many kinds of speeches, including those intended to inform, persuade, instruct, motivate, and entertain. They all share the same goal, however: to communicate clearly and effectively to an audience.

💡 Here are some guidelines to make it easier to talk to a room full of people you don’t know.
  1. Know your audience
  2. Narrow your topic
  3. Outline your speech
  4. Get the attention of the room
  5. Organize your speech
  6. Offer examples, statistics, and quotations
  7. Craft a powerful conclusion
  8. Use presentation aids if appropriate
  9. Write for the ear, not for the eye
  10. Time yourself

1. Know your audience

Understand what your listeners care about. Tailor your speech to their knowledge and their interests. If you are an expert speaking to a general audience, be sure to define your terms. If you’re a manager talking to a staff that has recently experienced lay-offs, acknowledge that you understand their concerns.

2. Narrow your topic

A good speech makes a claim. And a good speech is about one thing only. Even if your speech is a wedding toast, your point is that the bride and the groom were meant for each other. Have a specific focus and make sure everything you say supports it.

3. Outline your speech

A conventional organization usually works best. Tell the audience what you’re going to say (introduction), say it (body), and then tell them what you said (conclusion) ⇒ Repetition is a powerful tool, especially in a speech. Audiences tend to absorb only a small portion of what they hear, so it’s good to make your point several times.

4. Get the attention of the room

Your opening should engage listeners immediately. Engage them with a unique personal story that is relevant to your topic. Or try a specific reference to the location. Most people will appreciate a speaker who says she’s glad to be in Australia in January.

Other good ways to begin:
  • ask a question;
  • report a surprising statistic related to your topic;
  • find an apposite quotation.

5. Organize your speech

Structure your speech according to your purpose. If your goal is to inform, try a chronological or alphabetical organization. When your goal is to convince your audience to take a stand, introduce the problem and then propose a solution. Use transitions between your examples, so people can follow your logic.

6. Offer examples, statistics, and quotations

You need evidence to support what you’re saying. Try examples from history, current events, and your own life. Consult government sources for statistics. Use quotations from experts in the field. Don’t overdo quotations, though: most of the words in your speech should be your own. Check your facts—inaccuracies will undermine your credibility.

7. Craft a powerful conclusion

Keep it short, memorable, and to the point. Consider ending with a concrete, vivid image or anecdote that illustrates your topic. Or ask people to take an action, such as promise to write to a decision-maker or to contribute to a cause.

8. Use presentation aids if appropriate

Charts and tables quickly convey data, and photographs can offer compelling support. Incorporate visuals into your speech if they’ll make it more powerful. Know what technology will be available for you to share these visuals. And be prepared to do without them, in case something goes wrong with the equipment.

9. Write for the ear, not for the eye

Once you’ve finished a draft of your speech, practice reading it out loud. You’ll hear anything that sounds awkward. Revise so you are more comfortable giving your speech. You want to sound natural, no matter what the occasion.

10. Time yourself

Have someone else run the stopwatch, so you won’t be distracted. Read slowly and clearly. Include pauses for emphasis or for audience reaction if you’re saying something that might cause listeners to laugh or gasp. If you’re over your time limit, you’ll need to edit to shorten your speech.


💡 Go to Oxford Dictionaries for more Top writing tips.

💡 You might also be interested in:

The cost of ditching plastic, by Richard Gray (from BBC Capital)

What's the real price of getting rid of plastic packaging?

How much would it cost to switch to plastic alternatives? Richard Gray crunches the numbers.

Walking along a short section of stony beach, Claire Waluda stoops briefly to pick up something from between the rocks. It is a brightly coloured plastic bottle top – just one of hundreds of bits of plastic that she finds washed ashore on the remote, windswept island of South Georgia.

Located in the south Atlantic, on the fringes of the Antarctic, it is nearly 1,000 miles (1,500km) from the nearest major human settlement. Yet even here Waluda, an ecologist with the British Antarctic Survey, is finding worrying signs of our throw-away attitude towards plastic. Regularly she finds seals entangled in this debris or albatross chicks coughing up bits of plastic film.

These are just a few examples of the damage our throw-away relationship with plastics is inflicting on the environment. More than 78 million tonnes of plastic packaging is produced worldwide every year by an industry worth nearly $198 billion. Just a fraction of that is recycled while the vast majority is thrown away. Plastic litter now clutters every part of our planet, from remote parts of the Antarctic to the deepest ocean trenches.

INTERVIEWS: How to answer the "TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF" interview question

Interviewers will sometimes start an interview with an open-ended question like, "Tell me about yourself." The question is a way to break the ice and make you feel more comfortable during the interview process. It's also a way for the hiring manager to get insight into your personality to help determine if you're a good fit for the job. This is one of several interview questions about you that you might hear during your interview.

Sharing too much or too little information isn't a good idea. The interviewer doesn't want to know everything about you, but disclosing too little can make him or her wonder why you aren't more open. Read on for advice on how to respond to this question — and, perhaps more importantly, what not to say in your answer. (GO TO FULL ARTICLE, by ALISON DOYLE)


(More on YouTube ⇒ Linda Raynier)

💡 Similar question ⇒ "Tell me something about yourself that's not on your resume"

Your resume states the facts, but the interviewer wants to know about the person behind the work history to determine whether you’re a good match for the job and the organization.

To uncover this information, interviewers ask different questions to get an in-depth view of your qualifications for the job, as well as of your personality. Ultimately, they want to know that you’re not only able to carry out the duties of the job, but that you’ll fit in well with the team and the corporate culture. (GO TO FULL ARTICLE, by ALISON DOYLE)

(Related videos on YouTube ⇒ Work It Daily)

💡 How to Nail “Tell Me About Yourself” (by Pamela Skillings)

Think of it as your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or business and its value proposition. It answers the question: “Why should I buy/invest?” It should be concise enough to be delivered during a short elevator ride (to the 5th floor, not to the 105th floor).

You need an elevator pitch for yourself as a job candidate — and it should be customized for different opportunities. Keep it focused and short, ideally less than a minute, and no more than 2 minutes.

You won’t be able to fit all of your great qualities and resume high points into 2 minutes, so you’ll have to spend some time thinking about how to present yourself in a way that starts the interview on the right note.

A great answer will address the following:
  • What are your primary selling points for this job? This could be number of years of experience in a particular industry or area of specialization. You might also highlight special training and technical skills here. Focus on the qualifications in the job description and how you meet and exceed the requirements.
  • Why are you interested in this position right now? You can wrap up your answer by indicating why you are looking for a new challenge and why you feel this role is the best next step. (GO TO FULL ARTICLE)

MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

🔗 Tell Me About Yourself Internship Interview Question (Students who are in the final stages of their summer internship interviews face one dreaded question: Tell me about yourself. Here is how to answer it.)

🔗 How to Answer Interview Questions About You (Here are common questions an interviewer will ask you about you; including, sample answers, and tips for the best way to respond.)

🔗 How to Introduce Yourself at a Job Interview (How to introduce yourself at a job interview, including how to greet the receptionist, and what to say and what to do when you meet the interviewer.)

🔗 Avoid These Worst Interview Answers (Answers you should not give at a job interview, along with tips on what you can say instead to impress the interviewer.)


Types of Job Interview Questions, by Alison Doyle (from The Balance Careers)

By ALISON DOYLE (Updated May 25, 2018) From The Balance Careers 


When you go on a job interview there are a variety of different types of interview questions you'll be asked. You'll be asked about your employment history, your ability to work on a team, your leadership skills, your motivation, as well as other interview questions related to your skills and abilities.

Your responses need to be targeted for the job you are interviewing for. Your responses should show the employer why you're a qualified candidate and why you are a fit for the job and the company.

Take the time to prepare for a job interview, in advance, by reviewing the different types of interview questions you'll be asked, as well as by taking a look at sample answers for each type of question.


During a job interview, you'll be asked questions about your abilities. The key to successfully responding is to focus on your abilities as they relate to the qualifications required for the job. Review common interview questions about your abilities and sample answers.


When you're interviewing, you will be asked why you left or are going to leave your job. Here are interview questions, along with sample answers, related to leaving your job, getting fired, and what you have been doing if you're not currently employed.

The skill that will survive automation, by Livia Gershon (from BBC Capital)

Robots are poised to replace workers in many industries. But some professions can never be automated away, and require investment, writes Livia Gershon.

Disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data are changing the world of work. Retail jobs are disappearing in the US while the online sellers supplanting them fill their warehouses with robots instead of human workers. In China, manufacturing businesses that fled wealthy countries to find low-wage workers are now replacing those humans with machines. And on farms around the world, automated systems are beginning to take on backbreaking tasks like weeding lettuce. Studies have found that new technologies threaten around 40% of existing US jobs, and two-thirds of jobs in the developing world.

There is one kind of job though, that is both indispensable and difficult – perhaps impossible – to automate: the kind that requires emotional skills. Artificially intelligent software is being built that can recognise emotions in people's faces and voices, but it is a long way from simulating genuine empathy, and philosophers have been arguing for centuries that a machine with real feelings is impossible. Computers are nowhere near being able to compete with humans on the ability to really understand and connect with another human being.

WEEKLY PICKS - 4

This post offers you a selection of recommended free online exercises, games, videos and resources so that you can improve your English language skills while having fun! ENJOY!

📜 READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:

Article from Mind Tools: 10 Common Time Management Mistakes
Avoiding Common Pitfalls - How well do you manage your time? If you're like many people, your answer may not be completely positive! Perhaps you feel overloaded, and you often have to work late to hit your deadlines. Or maybe your days seem to go from one crisis to another, and this is stressful and demoralizing. (Continue reading)

QUIZ from Mind Tools ⇒ How Good Is Your Time Management?
Discover Time Management Tools That can Help you Excel

Article from BBC CULTURE: The writers who defied Soviet censors 
Underground publishers in the USSR broke rules in ingenious ways – such as hiding books in fake binding and making records on X-ray film, writes Benjamin Ramm.
In anticipation of the poet’s arrest, his creations were concealed by inventive means – sewn into the insides of cushions and shoes, or hidden in mattresses and saucepans. The police confiscated most of his papers, but others were smuggled out, or hidden surreptitiously in obscure locations. The most important poems were inscribed where even the wiliest investigator could not find them – in the memory of a devoted reader, who would pass them on.  (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:


MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!

WTF is slow fashion? by Hilary Milnes + 2 VIDEOS

The problems raised by fast fashion go deep.

The industry — embodied by giant retailers like H&M, Forever 21, Zara and Uniqlo that crank out cheap, disposable garments — is beset with problems stemming from pollution to waste to unsafe working conditions. Fashion Revolution Day, happening this Friday, April 24, is an annual day of awareness to memorialize the 2013 collapse of a clothing factory in Bangladesh that killed over 1,100 workers and injured 2,400 more. Sixty-five countries will participate, asking consumers to tag the brands they wear and ask #WhoMadeMyClothes on social media.

Fashion Revolution Day will hype “slow fashion” as the antidote to the ethical and environmental havoc wreaked by the fast-fashion industry. The slow fashion movement has been taking shape since designer Kate Fletcher coined the term in 2008, but it’s still not at the front of many consumers’ minds.


HERE's what slow fashion is and why it’s on the rise with conscious shoppers.







Can you train yourself to be a risk-taker? by Vivian Giang (from BBC CAPITAL)

Business leaders say taking risks is an essential part of getting ahead in today's world. If that's not your style, how can you become more comfortable with leaping into the unknown?

It took Binta Niambi Brown several years to walk away in 2013 from the comfortable life she had built for herself as a corporate lawyer. She was going to start her own business, in a tough market that was already flooded. (Continue reading)

The Leadership Motivation Assessment (from Mind Tools)


The first and most basic prerequisite for leadership is the desire to lead.

After all, it takes hard work to become an effective leader and, if you are not prepared to put this work in or if, deep down, you're not sure whether you really want to lead, you'll struggle to convince people that you are worth following.

Leaders create the vision and set the direction for their organizations. But it is their ability to motivate and inspire people that allows them to deliver that vision.

So, how much do you want to lead? This quiz will help you find out.

💡 You may also be interested in the quizzes below: 

How Good Are Your Communication Skills? (from Mind Tools)

Communication skills are some of the most important skills that you need to succeed in the workplace.

If you want to be an expert communicator, you need to be effective at all points in the communication process – from "sender" through to "receiver" – and you must be comfortable with the different channels of communication – face to face, voice to voice, written, and so on. Poor communicators usually struggle to develop their careers beyond a certain point.

So, are you communicating effectively? Take this short quiz to find out!

💡 You may also be interested in the quizzes below:

The common words that companies are banning, by Mark Johanson (from BBC Capital)

Can banning some corporate terms and replacing them with buzzier or more positive-sounding alternatives do any good?

Apply for a job at Davio’s, a small chain of Italian-style steakhouses in the US, and you’ll never hear one extremely common workplace term: employee. That’s because CEO Steve DiFillippo has banned its use.

“I think ‘employee’ is an awful word,” he says. “Who wants to be an employee? It just isn’t something you strive toward.” Instead, those who work for DiFillippo are known as ‘inner guests.’

“A lot of servers and cooks go from restaurant to restaurant trying to find their way; we stop that,” he explains. “They come here and realise they’re in a different place where they’ll be treated differently.”

For DiFillippo, banning the word is both a way of empowering his ‘inner guests’ and explaining the company’s core values to its ‘outer guests’ (the diners). (Continue reading)

The secret to working overseas, by Maddy Savage (from BBC CAPITAL)

Is cultural knowledge more important than language skills?

Does cultural knowledge trump language ability in international companies and start-ups where English is dominating?

Learning the local language might seem an obvious goal for anyone moving abroad. But in an increasingly globalised world, whether this is an effective use of time is increasingly up for debate.

Growing numbers of multinationals and start-ups are adopting English as their official company language, even if they’re not based in an English-speaking nation. And internationally, millennials seem to have a much higher tolerance for using the global language than older generations, meaning it’s potentially easier to socialise with young locals by speaking English than in the past. The British Council estimates that by 2020, two billion people will be using it, well over a quarter of the world’s population.

Plus, while the idea that millennials are job-hopping much more than their parents is something of a myth, being able to work flexibly in different locations remains a core goal for many. In 2017, the Global Shapers Annual Survey, funded by the World Economic Forum, showed that 81% of respondents aged 18 to 35 from over 180 countries said they were willing to work abroad. The “ability to work and live anywhere” was one of the most important factors they identified in terms of making them feel freer in their society. (Continue reading)

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO, by Daniel Shogren

By Daniel Shogren, CPA, SPHR

I heard somebody the other day tell a group of his peers that he’s serving fewer clients these days and working far less than he used to. But, he says, he’s much happier than he used to be, and he’s making much more money.

His secret: he’s telling some of his long-standing clients that he cannot serve them anymore, and he’s sending them to somebody else – usually his competition. Mind you he’s not ridding himself of his best clients. He’s shedding those clients that don’t pay on time, that quibble about his fees, that drive his staff nuts with their nit picking, who have unrealistic expectations, or who are downright abusive and expect to get away with it because they are paying for the right to do so. Still, it’s tough to tell someone who pays, and who keeps coming back to pay again and again, that it’s time to hit the road.

He calls it ‘tough love’. Whatever you call it, it is a tough prescription for many to follow.

WHO DEFINES YOUR CHARACTER? - by Daniel Shogren

By Daniel Shogren, CPA, SPHR

Lot's of people talk about character, but the real question should be, "Where do we get character?" Or perhaps better said, "Who or what defines our character?" Before we tackle those questions, let's take a quick look at what character is. Character is about who you are when nobody is looking. Reputation is about who you are when people are watching. Reputation or image is what others think you are. But character is what you really are. Both matter, but of the two, character is far and away the most important.

Character is the basis for credibility and trust. And without credibility and trust, you can't lead anyone. Great leaders should have character, but should not be characters. A character is either a role, played by an actor, or someone who tries to attract attention to himself. When we play a role or we are showing off and trying to get noticed we are not showing our true character, and thus we won't be able to build credibility or trust.

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