Blog - Archive for July 2009
Loss And Bereavement Poetry: Weep For A While
Posted: Wednesday, 29th July 2009
IF YOU WISH TO USE THE POEM BELOW FOR A FUNERAL OR THANKSGIVING SERVICE, OR FOR ANY OTHER NON-COMMERCIAL EVENT, PLEASE SEE THE FREE REPRINT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE.
The poem about loss and bereavement that follows came to me within an hour. I am not a poet! From time to time, however, rhyming verses appear in my mind with such lightening speed that I can barely get them down in time. This is what happened here. The entire first verse – which is about coping with grief – occurred to me instantly.
Using Visual Aids In Presentations: Tips On How To Prepare For A Keynote Address
Posted: Monday, 27th July 2009
I began a series, recently, with a list of five practical ways to overcome a fear of speaking in public. The first item: Public speaking ideas: how they may be found and categorised, and the way in which they might be arranged to become a coherent talk, formed the basis of that post. I touched upon the concept of writing a good dialogue – using language with which your audience would be familiar, and finished with a brief look at structure.
Today, I’m going to look at the second item on the list, how to prepare a visual presentation.
Articles on related themes: Speaking Engagements
2nd Blog: Polly, Sean & Alex
Posted: Thursday, 23rd July 2009
Tday we are going to gramas, polly 4 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 4 days
Go in g to cockington park sean 4 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 4 days (We are twins)
Down in Devon with grandma, my cousins have woken me up so im knackered. Alex 12 years, 11months, and 2 weeks
Mummy still has one day of school left, whereas all the grandchildren have broken up. Guess who gets to have them all? Plus great-grandma who is now recovering from her pleurisy. Four generations in the house.
Free Psychometric Profiling Switch On As The Power Of Positive Thinking Is Unplugged
Posted: Wednesday, 22nd July 2009
The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale, has electrified society for over half a century as the means of feeling valued and attaining success in life. Now, it appears, to have been unplugged – or at least to have suffered power failure and fizzled out! Despite an epidemic of positive thinking for the last fifty years, we are, says the World Health Organisation, heading for a pandemic of depression in little more than a decade.
Psychologists have discovered from case studies, that
repeating positive thoughts can, actually, be counterproductive
– especially for those who are most in need of a
psychological boost.
Articles on related themes:
Books, Reading & Words; Self Help; Personal Growth
A Fear Of Speaking In Public: Five Practical Ways To Overcome It
Posted: Friday, 17th July 2009
You’ve been asked to do some public speaking for the Gardening Club, or Mums & Toddlers and frankly, you’re terrified. In fact your fear of speaking in public is enough to make you want to hang up your trowel and green wellies forever. And as for mums and toddlers, well your two-year-old is going to have to grow up fast!
Consequently, you are not going to believe me when I tell you that public speaking, as a means of increasing your confidence, cannot be surpassed! It’s all a matter of knowing what to do and how to do it.
Articles on related themes: Speaking Engagements; Personal Growth
A Blog By Polly & Sean, Aged 4 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days
Posted: Tuesday, 14th July 2009
My daughter, a teacher, told me that children are now being encouraged to blog and would I please get her two to do so. Polly loves reading and writing; Sean loves typing on a keyboard. Here is the result of their first blog which tells the story of the play they put on for our benefit this afternoon. Apart from the title, and credits, this is entirely their own work.
Tday we mad a play ov a princes and a princ. The dragin loct the princes in the tow r. polly age 4 years 11 months 2 weeks and 2 days.
My srod is sharp.and shiny.
Public Speaking As A Means To Enlarge My Vision: Part 2 - Receiving
Posted: Monday, 13th July 2009
I wrote, last week, about public speaking as being an act of investing in people, and suggested that it had a three dimensional nature: I give; I receive; I am filled. Having put in the effort to find out something about your audience, assembled your public speaking ideas and arranged them into a coherent talk, complete with slides and a visual presentation, and injected some fun into your address in the form of simple ice breakers, it’s time now to take a look at the wider role of public speaking.
Articles on related themes: Speaking Engagements; Self Help; Personal Growth
Do False Expectations Of Marriage Cause Stepfamily Problems?
Posted: Wednesday, 8th July 2009
What follows is an excerpt from the soon to be published revised and updated edition of Mel's book, Stepfamilies.
It is a false premise to expect that any marriage can ever answer all of our needs. To think otherwise is a totally unrealistic ideal which is doomed to disappointment. And this, perhaps, is one of the prime reasons for the failure of so many marriages.
Articles on related themes: Relationships; Family & Parenting; Books, Reading & Words; Stepfamilies
Public Speaking As A Means To Enlarge My Vision: Part 1 - Preparing To Give
Posted: Sunday, 5th July 2009
Public speaking for the dedicated communicator is so three dimensional. I give; I receive; I am filled. Or perhaps that should be: I am filled; I give; I receive. Let me explain.
Setting up a keynote address requires a huge effort. Especially if it includes visuals such as a Power Point Presentation. Hours of work go into the talk, with the construction defined by the mantra:
- Tell your audience what you’re going to tell them
- Tell them
- Tell them what you’ve told them
INVESTING IN PEOPLE
Before you begin, it’s important to remember, during the preparation work, that when giving your talk you are investing in people.
Articles on related themes: Speaking Engagements; Self Help; Personal Growth
Make The World A Better Place: Be A Cookie
Posted: Thursday, 2nd July 2009
One of the seminars I attended at the Conference at which I was speaking last week was about seeing your life as a cookie. Kathy See is the editor of Revive magazine and she wanted us to focus on our self-perception and what we might be able to offer in terms of writing a short inspirational article. The idea is that we all have a story to tell when it comes to making the world a better place. And naturally, as a keen cook, and mommy to two little boys, Kathy expressed herself in culinary language.
Articles on related themes: Fun & Competitions; Personal Growth
Personality And Communication
Posted: Wednesday, 1st July 2009
There’s no doubt that mistakes, misunderstandings and misinterpretation lie at the bottom of many of the problems we all encounter, from time to time. You know the situation? There was a poster some years ago which summed it up admirably. Something along the lines of: I know you think that what you say is what you intended to mean when you had it in mind. But what I’m hearing is what I understand and believe to be the correct interpretation of what you thought you were aiming to indicate, had you been a little clearer about it in the first place!
Confused? Yes. So are most of us, occasionally.
Articles on related themes: Relationships
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