I Have a Hostage...Send Someone to Negotiate!

Negotiation is a learned skill that can greatly benefit anyone in various situations. It might be perceived that only business students find it a helpful tool to learn, but this skill can actually benefit anyone in any discipline. Further insight about negotiation, including some basics can be found below!

Do Your Homework

Think critically about all the variables involved. A person that is better informed then the opposition, has leverage when it comes to a negotiation. Separate the core issues and assign value to different variables. Knowing what is more important can help a person decide on what they are willing to give up or not give up.

Know When to Walk

Sometimes walking away is the best choice to make. Carefully think through the different alternatives and come to a conclusion about the situation. Confidentially walking away can discourage the opposition from attempting to gain more in the current situation or in the future.

Listen

Active listening can go a long way in a negotiation. Even if a point is unimportant, listening to the oppositions thoughts can help empower some of your own points. Listening can also uncover any underlying issues that might be not communicated right away.

Tradeoffs

Not all negotiations can be won and sometimes you need to come to a settlement where a tradeoff might or might not occur. It is important to pursue some sort of tradeoff even if you are not winning the negotiation. If you don’t tradeoff, it is likely that the opposition will attempt to negotiate for more as they see this as a sign of weakness.

Source:

http://b2bsalesgroup.blogspot.ca/2007/12/simple-negotiation-tips.html

6 Tips for Writing Clearly and Concisely

One of the biggest misconceptions is that students believe that the “more” they write; the more likely they’ll receive a “higher” mark. But it’s rarely the case due to a lack of poor communication within their writing. Sometimes instructors ask for a 500-word limit in an essays assignment but many students end up writing 700 words or longer. (Blackman, 2011).Here are 6 tips you can follow to write clearly and concisely 

Lead with your main point: If you were forced to boil down your email to one or two sentences, what would they say? Always start by writing your main point. Then elaborate as necessary.

Cut the jargon: Don’t write things you don’t have to

Use short, direct sentences: Put the subject at the beginning of your sentence. Also, watch out for sentences that go on for three or more lines. Shorter sentences are much easier to read.

Read it aloud: When you’re getting ready to send an important communication, you’ll catch mistakes and other problems more easily if you read it aloud. If something trips you up or doesn’t make sense as you’re reading, rewrite until it’s clear.

Use spell check: Seems simple, but you’d be surprised how many people skip this crucial step.

BUT! Don’t overuse spell check: Meaning, don’t assume spell check is going to catch all of your mistakes. (Blackman, 2011)

Blackman, S. (2011, July 29). Wharton University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved December 9, 2012, from 6 Tips for Clear and Concise Business Communications: http://whartonmagazine.com/blogs/6-tips-for-clear-and-concise-business-communication/

Things Ladies Do During Presentations Without Even Realizing It!

Just yesterday I had a huge Human Relations presentation. It was an hour long. Yes I was a bit nervous, but I felt good. I knew ALL my material. When delivering, I felt confident with what I was saying.

After getting my grade back, my instructor told me that I did not have enough power behind my words. I used the floor, I walked around, and I talked to the audience equally, but I lacked power because I diminished my presentation by saying words just as "just" and "little", etc. I didn't realize that I did it. And I found the article that my instructor sent me after class very interesting.

There are many examples in which women especially belittle themselves. Below I have listed examples that apply to many women out there. Women belittle themselves…

1) By telling the audience something will take "just a minute".

[NO] "Im just going to quickly show you an example"

[YES} "Im am going to show you an example"

2) By making a statement sound like a question

"Women often raise the pitch of their voice at the end of a sentence, making it sound like a question. Listen to your own language and that of women around you, and you are likely to notice this everywhere. Unsurprisingly, speaking a statement like a question diminishes its power. Make statements sound like statements; drop the tone lower at the end" 

(Mohr, 2012)

3) By telling the audience that you might be wrong with what you are going to say

When you speak and comment on what people have to say by replying with “Im not sure if this applies but…” or “You definitely know more about the subject than I do but…”

So, LADIES, please keep these things in mind when speaking. I am guilty of doing if without realizing it, and I'm sure...wait...I KNOW that you all do it too.

Retrieved from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tara-sophia-mohr/8-voice-lessons-for-brill_b_1084041.html?ref=tw

Stop Procrastinating!

As we near the end of semester stress levels are at an all time high. Projects, presentations, term papers, and final exams are pretty much the only thing on any students mind.

For me, this semester has been the busiest of all. Over the last four months, I have slowly learned how to stop procrastinating, and not feel as stressed about the mountains of work I have to do. Here are some of the tips I taught myself along the way:

1.     Write a to-do list.

2.     Separate projects into smaller sections, and do a section a day.

3.     Use an agenda!!! Spread out what needs to be done over each day so you can look at it and know what needs to be done by which date. This also helps remind you of important due dates coming up.

4.     Don’t make a project seem bigger than it is. Breaking the tasks down help ease the workload, and allows the projects seem less daunting.

5.     Start the project with the soonest due date. Getting something done before the due date is the best way to relieve stress.

Resume Tips

As students near the end of their school days, it is important for them to update their resumes, and stand apart from the rest. A resume that is formatted the correct way, with information displayed in an easy to understand manner, the chances of receiving a call for an interview are increased substantially. Since I am no headhunter, I found some extremely helpful tips from forbes.com, and encourage everyone to follow what is suggested.

• Avoid the fancy-schmancy layout, font, and other special effects. Stick to traditional font of Times New Roman, 9 to 12 point size, and black type against a white paper. You might try a different type size for your name and the companies you have worked for, perhaps your title. But try to be consistent. Go easy on boldface type, italics, and underlining.
• Prepare it in a simple Word format that can easily be viewed on most computers. Not a table format or template.
• Use a reverse chronological order. List your present, or most recent job, first, and then work backwards. You state the complete name of the company you work for, or have worked for, and what they do, how long you were there–month and year. Then list the position you held and your accomplishments. You don’t have to use full sentences. Begin with verbs. “Managed company tax reporting, finance, invoicing, purchasing,” for example.
• Get rid of objectives and summary and all that silly stuff. It’s all fluff. An employer doesn’t care about your objective. He cares about his.
• Skip personal information such as married with three kids. Sounds stable to you. But to a hiring authority looking for someone to travel, it may keep you from being interviewed.
• Stories sell. Numbers, statistics, percentages get attention if you put in bold type. Increased profit by this 28%. Came under budget by 30%. If you were born and raised on chicken farm, note it on your résumé.
• Fuzzy key words and phrases should be avoided. These include customer-oriented, excellent communications skills, and creative. These words lack meaning and do absolutely nothing to help you get an interview.
• Use words that refer to titles- customer service, controller, manager, accountant,
• Get the photos off your résumé. You are looking for a job, not a date.

Good luck with the job hunt!

Dear Santa

Over 11,000 volunteers make the dreams of children around the world come true by responding to the letters sent into the North Pole. The letters from Santa are replied to in the language they were written, which even include Braille. To make sure Santa receives your Christmas wishes this year, make sure you send him a letter to the following address:

SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE
H0H 0H0
CANADA

Merry Christmas!

Please Note: In order for the letters to be responded to by Christmas this year, all letters must be mailed by December 3^rd, 2012!

Getting Over the "Writer's Blog Syndrome"

Dealing with “Writer’s Block”

There are many stages of the writing process. Some people have strengths within this process, and many people have common weaknesses. When an individual has an inability to write or produce new work in writing, which is considered only a temporary difficulty, it is called “writer’s block”. Sometimes, the hardest part is just starting to write! If you begin writing with no planning or no outline, it is even more difficult to start writing your work.  Some of tips to over come the “writer’s block syndrome” is to:

1)    Write down you ideas- point form or in a sentence structure- just put it down on paper

2)    Consciously stop the non-productive comments running through your head by replacing them with productive ones.

3)    If you have some "rituals" for writing success (chewing gum, listening to music.), use them.

4)    Talk to your Paper: sometimes talking about the ideas you want to write about with someone can generate some ideas

5)    Change the Audience: Sometimes changing whom you are writing too can help you start your paper. Pretending you are writing to a 5 year old gives you the opportunity to write clearly and get your point across, and then you can revise it and change the tone, style, etc.

6)    Start in the middle/the body: Writing down and creating the content for your paper sometimes works best. Leave the introduction and conclusion to the end. They are easier to write when you know what the content of your paper consist of

(Owl Purdue, 2012)

Owl Purdue. (2012). Owl Purdue Online Writing Labs. Retrieved December 3, 2012, from Other Strategies for Getting Over Writer's Block: