syl's tips and tricks

1. Read everything you can get your hands on.

If you hate reading, then you should start to like it.

There's no way you can increase your skill to converse if you don't know how to convey your ideas into words. Having a generic vocabulary is fine but if you want to excel in communication, you had best not bore your listener/reader/s because you only know 10,000 words or less. Find words that sound compelling enough to attract attention.

2. Watch television or movies.

This is one main reason why couch potatoes and movie junkies excel in public speaking. Why? Because if you watch a wide variety of shows and films, you get exposed to different ways of pronunciations as well as proper (although the trend these days are more of improper) sentence construction and use. Knowing how to spell a word sometimes isn't enough to use it properly.

Long, boring narratives like documentaries are best suited for this.

3. Converse often

Practice makes perfect. Ever wondered why schools are adamant on using English as their primary means of communication? That's because the longer you've been using a certain language, the more familiar and in-tuned you'll be with it. If you have no one to talk to, practice by speaking out loud (obviously when no one is around, they might get ideas). Hearing how yourself sounds will help you track down problems.

4. Speak at a moderate pace

Too slow and you bore people with short attention span. Too fast and you risk the ire of people who can't keep up.

5. Self - conscious = BAD

When you get on stage and in the lime light, you should forget about how you look and how people see you. Worry about it before AND after. Doing so during a speech can lead to nervousness, stuttering, mental blocks and spell instant disaster.

6. Use your voice

Even when your topic is exciting, your vocabulary is huge and your presence dazzling, doing a monologue in public is not very enticing. Proper intonation and stresses on your words can draw the biggest of crowds. Speak as if to inform, not to compel others to stop and listen but to absorb every word that comes out you.

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I've read on a book about warfare once that in order to amass an army, high stature or standing reputation isn't at all a requirement. You just need to be eloquent.

I've always been appalled by the call center system because non-technical people are supposed to filter and sort through our concerns so that the technical people, those in-charge of repair, maintenance, etc, won't waste time doing so. Sadly it's this system itself that causes the problems that it's supposed to be preventing.. Here's why:

1. A call center agent is not a technician This is a common misconception to those who don't know how the system works. The call center agents face the flood of calls and act as a buffer. Yes it's economical and beneficial to the company because the job hierarchy prevents one staff member from doing the job of the other. For the customer's side, it can mean long waits for a response to their support tickets or worse even no response at all. Because they rely on a set of "symptoms" rather than general knowledge of what's going on, explaining a major problem is almost always a pain.

2. Good English skills does not mean good troubleshooting skills Call centers look for people who can speak well and little else. I won't deny that there are people in the service that have competent knowledge of the problems they're working with but the fact remains that because the experts and technicians don't come into the problem until much later into the support process you're faced with the daunting task of simplifying a complex problem so that the agent will understand.

3. Calling entail the need for patience. Lots of patience "-our apologies for your inconveniences" etc. etc. I'm sure we've all heard that because it's the SOP for nearly all call centers. Receiving sympathy when needed can often divert people from the fact that when you receive that same line for the 3rd or 4th time on the same problem it equates to being told to shut up and wait. That would not be a problem unless of course your problem is a simple one like a burned out adapter for your broadband modem.

4. Not all call center agents are there to help This is probably a one in a thousand call but it happens. They quickly divert the conversation to filing a report without even diagnosing what the problem is and drop the line. Though it probably won't happen exactly that way, it's a general idea of what to expect.

5. Asking other people is faster It's a tried and tested answer. Because most of what you need can be looked up on the net, unless it's a major problem that really requires technical help, call centers should be your last resort.

Stress is a change that we adapt to in our daily lives. You can almost describe it as pressure, demand, or any situation that requires physical and/or mental exertion. It can be positive or negative, ranging from something that motivates you to work or something that drags you to a halt. The negative effects can include lack of productivity, depression, loneliness, frustration or even anger. Those symptoms can sometimes cause much larger problems like break-ups, disparity at work, etc. Here are a few tips to help cope with the effects of stress:

1. R n R:

Take some time off and let loose. Work related stress can be due to the pile up of projects and deadlines. A vacation in the middle of the week will help you let loose all that accumulated stress.

2. Scream it out

Find a secluded place-your room, a toilet, an empty parking lot, anywhere you're sure that no can hear you and think that you've lost your mind-and scream your heart out. Scandalous, but it works.

3. Exercise

Sweating it out in the gym can reduce anxiety and frustrations.

4. Acupuncture

If you're willing to try alternative medicine, this is one method you shouldn't miss out. It can be quite relaxing, it can cure stiff shoulders too.

5. Manage your time and effort

If you have multiple sources of stress (deadlines, increased responsibilities), prioritize. Break large demands into small, manageable parts and work through one task at a time. Do what needs to be done first, leaving other things for tomorrow.

6. Call a friend

There are problems that you can't be solved alone. Ask for help as soon as you can.

1. Get sugar in your system Although most people recommend drinks with caffeine, I suggest taking in anything sugar coated. Yes, caffeine stimulates the body -insert caffeine facts here- but in my experience, it's boost lasts generally from 2 hours to roughly 20 minutes. When it wears off you're bound to take in seconds and repeat until needed. And we all know that too much of something is bad for your health. The beauty of sugar or, sweets in general is, that all you need is a small amount at a time to give your brain a jumpstart. If you're worried about calories then you can always use sugar alternatives.

2. Move around If your room is as boring as mine, chances are your inspiration will wane the moment you take a break from what you're doing. Move somewhere you'll be at ease and inspired like a quiet park, a scenic view or even just somewhere very familiar. If you're at ease it's much easier to think stuff up.

3. Listen to music It's a given to help induce your creativity but sometimes the wrong type of music can lead to loss of concentration. I've found that the best genre to listen to is something slow and soft. The gentle pace and rhythm can help with the flow of your creative thinking.

4. Look up on relevant stuff When creating a formal work like a paper or a report, searching for information that's both relevant to your work and interesting to you can help. Although it sounds contradictory, bear in mind that so long as what you're working on interests your concentration lasts much longer.

5. Always seek C&C While most people hate being criticized, especially those with egos the size of of skyscrapers, it's the best way to find out flaws and kinks in your work. This works well especially to writers because the best proof-reader isn't yourself.