Abraham Lincoln's Brilliant Method for Handling Setbacks What was the secret of Abraham Lincoln's success in dealing with people? Incredibly, this is not just a question that a business journalist would ask. Dale Carnegie himself--the legendary author of How to Win Friends and Influence People--asked the exact same question on page 8 of that famous book. Carnegie was in a unique position to know the answer. Four years before How to Win Friends came out, he authored a book called Lincoln the Unknown, which he spent three years working on. How Lincoln Practiced Patience The point is that Carnegie--America's preeminent expert on networking, arguably the person who first codified networking as a skill--analyzed Lincoln's life for his people skills. As an example, Carnegie cites a letter Lincoln wrote to a general who disobeyed his orders during the Civil War. "I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. Clearly, this is a stern rebuke. But the lesson Carnegie has to offer is a simple one. 1. 2. 3.
Crafting a Powerful Executive Summary If you think a proposal's executive summary is really a summary, you're missing the point. Here are six tips for turning your blah conclusions into an effective, well-substantiated pitch. by John Clayton Responding to a request for proposals (RFP) is pretty straightforward. You describe your company's history, your product or service, its implementation schedule, and the support you'll provide. The one stumbling block is the one section that everyone will read: the executive summary. What is its purpose? "Executive summary is a bit of a misnomer," says Tom Sant, founder of the Cincinnati-based Sant Corporation and author of Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win Customers, Clients, and Contracts (Amacom, 1992). Thus the executive summary demands a whole different approach to writing than the rest of the proposal, one that balances efficient delivery of key information with a persuasive, well-substantiated pitch. 1. 2. 3. Use formatting and graphics to highlight your message.
10 Common Mistakes in Giving Feedback There’s good reason that you aren’t eager about giving feedback to the people you work with. It’s hard to do. You might say something you’ll regret later. People are too emotional. All of these reasons top the list among leaders, managers, and executives on why they don’t think they give good, consistent feedback. Steer clear of these 10 blunders when giving feedback, taken from our Feedback That Works guidebook: Mistake #1: The feedback judges individuals, not actions. Mistake #2: The feedback is too vague. Mistake #3: The feedback speaks for others. Mistake #4: Negative feedback gets sandwiched between positive messages. Mistake #5: The feedback is exaggerated with generalities. Mistake #6: The feedback psychoanalyzes the motives behind behavior. Mistake #7: The feedback goes on too long. Mistake #8: The feedback contains an implied threat. Mistake #9: The feedback uses inappropriate humor. Mistake #10: The feedback is a question, not a statement.
Google for Teachers: 100+ Tricks It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it. Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social life–time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google for teachers has to offer? From super-effective search tricks to Google for teachers tools to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these Google for teacherstricks will surely save you some precious time when using technology in the classroom. Google for Teachers Search Tricks These search tricks can save you time when researching online for your next project or just to find out what time it is across the world, so start using these right away. Convert units. Google for Teachers From Google Scholar that returns only results from scholarly literature to learning more about computer science, these Google items will help you at school. Google Scholar. Using Google Docs in the Classroom 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.
The 10 Rules You Need to Communicate Effectively Frank Luntz has “engineered some of the most potent political and corporate campaigns of the last decade.” His wordsmithing helped Republican Rudy Giuliani get elected twice in New York — a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 5-to-1. Luntz and his polling firm have learned a great deal about language by conducting nearly 1500 surveys and focus groups for a wide range of products and politicians. The key takeaway from his book is actually part of the title: It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear. In Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear Luntz breaks down the ten main lessons he’s learned from years of crafting political messages; lessons we can all learn from: 1) Simplicity: Use Small Words Via Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear: “Avoid words that might force someone to reach for the dictionary… because most Americans won’t. 2) Brevity: Use Short Sentences 3) Credibility Is As Important As Philosophy 4) Consistency Matters Tags:
How to write paragraphs — Advice for authoring a PhD or academic book In English the core building blocks of any intellectual or research argument are paragraphs. Each paragraphs should be a single unit of thought, a discrete package of ideas composed of closely linked sentences. The most generally applicable sequence to follow is — Topic, Body, Tokens, Wrap. The opening ‘topic’ sentence alerts readers to a change of subject and focus, and cues readers (in ‘signpost’ mode) about what the paragraph covers. It should never link backwards to material that came before (linkages are instead always made forward in ‘wrap’ sentences). Rational, skimming readers do not treat all parts of paragraphs in the same way. It follows that the beginning and endings of paragraphs should always be the most carefully written materials. Six common paragraph problems Six things most commonly go wrong in writing paragraphs: 1 The author starts with a backward link to the previous paragraph, instead of a fresh topic sentence. The solution to very long paragraphs has to be brutal.
5 Tips for a Happy Life from Winnie the Pooh “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” “Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best — ” and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.” Winnie the Pooh is a kind bear. And he has always seemed like a pretty happy bear to me. He’s also a favorite of mine so today I’d like to simply share 5 of my favorite happiness tips from that honey loving bear. 1. “You can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right; but spelling isn’t everything. Getting bogged down in details, focusing on the small problems can have advantages. Don’t make the classic mistakes of spending too much time nitpicking or making mountains out of molehills. Keep your attention on that. 2. “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. 3. Long-winded negative babbling? 4. 5.
Chunking Information for Instructional Design If we ran a contest for the favorite esoteric word of Instructional Designers, the term “chunking” might win. It’s a concept embedded in the world of instructional and information design. Chunking content is critical because of how our brain appears to work. Chunking Defined Chunking refers to the strategy of breaking down information into bite-sized pieces so the brain can more easily digest new information. The reason the brain needs this assistance is because working memory, which is where we manipulate information, holds a limited amount of information at one time. Why We Chunk Content George A. The pearl of wisdom here is that if a learner’s working memory is full, the excess information will just drop out—as in disappear. Chunking Information for eLearning Chunking information is particularly important for online learning. Four Steps to Chunking Information Step 1: Start at the highest level. Start with large chunks of conceptually related content and use these as your modules.
How to Write Email with Military Precision In the military, a poorly formatted email may be the difference between mission accomplished and mission failure. During my active duty service, I learned how to structure emails to maximize a mission’s chances for success. Since returning from duty, I have applied these lessons to emails that I write for my corporate job, and my missives have consequently become crisper and cleaner, eliciting quicker and higher-quality responses from colleagues and clients. Here are three of the main tips I learned on how to format your emails with military precision: 1. ACTION – Compulsory for the recipient to take some action SIGN – Requires the signature of the recipient INFO – For informational purposes only, and there is no response or action required DECISION – Requires a decision by the recipient REQUEST – Seeks permission or approval by the recipient COORD – Coordination by or with the recipient is needed 2. Shannon knows that no response is required because it was marked INFO. 3.
Academic Phrasebank Control–feedback–abort loop Too often systems fail, sometimes leading to significant loss of life, fortunes and confidence in the provider of a product or service. It was determined that a simple and useful tool was needed to help in the analysis of interactions of groups and systems to determine possible unexpected consequences. The tool didn’t need to provide every possible outcome of the interactions but needed to provide a means for analysts and product/service development stakeholders to evaluate the potential risks associated with implementing new functionality in a system. The concept of the Control–Feedback–Abort (CFA) loop is based upon another concept called the ‘Control – Feedback Loop'. History of CFA loop concept[edit] The concept of the CFA loop was developed by T. In 1997, Mr. It was found that strong similarities existed between the concept of ‘Control Charts’ and the CFA Loop. The control–feedback concept[edit] What is the CFA loop[edit] Figure 1 shows a model of the CFA loop. A. B. C. D. E. F.
14 Brilliant Uses for Mind Maps – Engage Your Whole Brain Mind maps engage your whole brain and allow you to see the big picture. A mind map is a whole-brain method for generating and organizing ideas which is largely inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s approach to note-taking. The concept was brought into the mainstream by Tony Buzan and is based on patterns found in nature, and on research on how humans think and how the brain works. In “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci”, Michael J. Gelb explains that by using mind mapping regularly, you can train yourself to be a more balanced thinker, like da Vinci. These geniuses include Charles Darwin, Michelangelo, Mark Twain, and, of course, da Vinci. How to Create Mind Maps: Step-by-Step Instructions Mind maps represent a task or an idea in pictorial form with a minimum of words. Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Step 4. Step 5. Step 6. Step 7. Step 8. Step 9. 14 Brilliant Uses For Mind Maps Now that you know how to create mind maps, here are 14 brilliant uses for mind maps: 1. 2. 3. What? 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Welcome to mindmapping.com How The Most Powerful People Get Things Done: 4 Tips From A White House Staffer We all have big decisions to make and deadlines to meet. And sometimes it can feel overwhelming. This got me wondering: how do the most powerful people get things done? When lives are on the line, literally trillions of dollars are at stake and the world is watching… how do people handle those situations? There have to be things we can learn from them. So I called my friend James Waters. James was Deputy Director of Scheduling at the White House and served in government for 10 years. James had some tremendous insights about how they do things at The White House that line up with a lot of what the formal research is telling us. Now if you’re looking for Republicans-this, Democrats-that, you’ve come to the wrong place. Let’s get to it. Be Responsive It ain’t like an episode of “The West Wing.” Watching that show you might think that 5 people get everything done. How do you make insanely big decisions with such a huge number of people involved? Your attention is limited and valuable. Have Passion