Speed Reading!

Master Speed Reading

Speed reading skills are a must for any ambitious individual. In this competitive world where equipping one’s self with extra knowledge is a must to attain the winning edge, nothing helps like speed reading. Speed reading is very important for students who have a lot of homework and reading in their daily schedule. Speed reading does not mean mere surfing of words. It more or less resembles the work of a scanner. Comprehension and retention of contents are not affected or reduced in any way in speed reading skills. People use many techniques in speed reading which may include identification of words without focusing on the alphabets, not sounding all words, spending less time on phrases and skimming small sections. 

A comfortable body posture, good eye sight and enough air in the surrounding are basic necessities for speed reading. While handling the process called skimming, one searches the page for clues to grab the meaning of the article. Information rich reading material is handled with the skimming process where less interesting or irrelevant words are skipped. Meta guiding is another technique where the eye is guided by the finger or a pen which enables faster movement of passages. The information would be printed in subconscious for later retrieval. Removing sub vocalization is another important technique of speed reading. 

There is no specific method which is applicable for everyone. Each person has to try one of the methods which suit him and continue with that. Speed reading could be started with familiar text subjects. Reading the index of contents, scanning headings and subheadings would also help in getting prepared to comprehend text as you read. 

Measurement of Speed Reading Skills

The number of words that a person reads at a given time is recorded. The reader is later tested for his comprehension of the read text. If he fails to give correct answers for more than half of the total questions asked, he is considered to be failed in grasping the skill. Strange terminology in the script and lack of concentration on the reader’s part could also result in poor comprehension.

Communication at work

Good communication skills at work and healthy rapport among employees is very important at any office and it contributes a lot to the company well being. Workplace communication is very important especially in cases of team work. Both the team leader and the person working under him have to keep themselves approachable for successful execution of projects. Employees need to guide and motivate one another to push the institution to higher levels. When a staff is not told about what he ought to know and do, the smooth flow of office work receives a jolt where every staff would be affected. When spoken to in a rude manner, an employee may fail to register the instructions that are communicated at that point of time. The words and the tone should be constructive enough for the general well being of the office environment. 

When a colleague or a staff working under you tries to say something, it is better to listen till he finishes without any sort of interruptions. Eye contact with the person you are speaking to is very important. Speaking in a moderate volume and changing the pitch appropriately would get your ideas into the listener more easily. Facial expressions without being overdone also help in good communication. One should maintain a limited body language while speaking. As you express your point of view, try to observe the issue from the other person’s point of view too. Be open to suggestions and criticisms. Suggestion boxes work out well in this case. 

Acknowledge the positive attributes of your colleagues immediately. Be instantaneous in praising. On the other hand, when it comes to criticizing, take a slow pace. Constructive criticism is better and should be accompanied with suggestions for the desired result. Conversations with colleagues in subjects which do not involve your office, like current affairs and other amusing topics would help to build a rapport with them.

Interacting with children

Children are very fragile hearts who need to be carefully handled. We could not afford to pamper them lest we should be compelled to submit to their wrong decisions. We could not be strict always since they need to be cuddled to stay emotionally secure. A right balance of attitude towards children and careful activities would let us make them into successful individuals whom the society would be proud to own. Interacting with children is a joyous affair for which you need not be one of their parents. 

Asking a child about his day in school or reading out a book to him is a good way to start interacting with children. Bicycling around the block or a park with your child in two different cycles, visiting informative places like zoo or museum and watching a children’s movie or cartoon with the child are other ways to develop a bond. Having enthusiasm loaded in the voice and being patient while dealing with their short comings is very important while interaction with children. Punishing and bribing are bad while explaining the reason behind doing something desirable, stays in their mind for a lifetime. Parents and Teachers of a particular child should know each other since they are working on a common task of moulding the child. 

Every question asked by the child should be met with enthusiasm. When a child speaks, however trivial the topic might be, it is best to stay attentive. Good habits should be taught by being a personal example for the same. Offensive languages, Physical demonstration of anger should be avoided in the presence of a child. The effort of the child to follow our advice should be instantly recognized. Adults should express confidence in the child’s ability to achieve academically. It is very important to teach the child how to deal with guests and strangers. 

A well communicated child is an asset to his or her nation.

Handling Depression

Getting into a blue mood happens to everyone, in which even the richest and the most influential person are also not spared. Not only does it hurt your heart and soul but also makes a big waste of your most valuable time and energy. Since time, energy and sound mental health are translated as investment for a prosperous future; depression should be effectively handled and avoided if possible. Will power is not enough to tackle depression because depression is equally obstinate. A small change in the lifestyle would be enough. As routine activities, one could include walking, meditation for at least five minutes and eating healthy foods instead of junk foods. 

One could also make other changes like using another route to school or office, making slight changes in your home or bedroom like shifting the bed or sofa to another position, going in for a new hair cut or adding a new dress to your wardrobe. Having a manicure and a pedicure once every month is most recommended because the massage thus experienced is more than just perfecting the look of our hands and legs. Spending time with friends who have a positive attitude is a good idea while having negative people should be avoided. At low moments one could have a small walk or call a loved one to have a brief chat. 

Keeping a professional goal or academic goal and staying focused to that is also a great way of avoiding depression. Developing a very strong emotional intelligence is very important to beat depression. Since wrong pattern of human thinking may lead to imbalance depression, correcting one’s emotional intelligence is very important. One should think well before getting into an activity in order to avoid a big mess in one’s life. Since each person is where he chose to be, good choices ought to be made.

How to ask the right question

Questions rule the world. Where ever you go and whatever you might do the whole world is filled with questions which are based on curiosity to know. A right question at the right time transforms the world inside out. Any revolution that you might know or have heard of would have started from a question. Francis Bacon has rightly said, "A prudent question is one half of wisdom." So, questioning is an important skill which has to be mastered properly. Many a times we fear if we may ask a stupid question and be laughed at. So, we refrain ourselves from asking questions. But, the truth is that if you know certain basic techniques of questioning then you won’t ever hesitate to ask questions.

Ask a different question:

The greatest flaw that most people make is to ask the question that most people ask. If you want to be in the lime light you have to ask a different kind of question. Let your creativity creep through your mind and bring out different kinds of questions. 

Ask strong question:

The second thing to concentrate is to ask strong questions. Remember that the most empowering solutions are made on strong questions. To initiate strong questions, you have to focus clearly on the solutions to the problems. Focusing on what can help reaching the solutions in a better way can help you frame strong questions. 

Question based leadership:

It is only a question based leadership that can bring out a good group. For knowledge and understanding effective questions are the doorsteps. One important technique is pretending Ignorance. This technique has been used by Socrates who had the philosophy of questioning the question.  His idea of questioning the question has inspired many people to come up with new innovative ideas. 

What will you get by questioning?

One other important action that you have to do to come up with effective questions is to look into what you will get by asking those questions. If you can predict possible answers then you would be able to ask more effective questions.