Seven Principles of Effective Public Speaking

When we watch celebrities, politicians, or business leaders speak on television or in public, they seem so at ease that we may wonder:  are great speakers made, or are they just born that way? While it is true that some individuals are definitely born with this gift, the overwhelming majority of effective speakers have trained themselves to be so. Either they have received formal media training or they have delivered so many speeches that over time they’ve learned what works for them. So what is the true secret to effective public...

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How to be a better reader

The importance of reading Reading is an extremely important skill. It is by reading that you learn much of what you need to know for your different school subjects. Reading is also an excellent way to improve your general English. You can only learn from reading, however, if what you read is not too difficult. For this reason, it is important to know what makes texts difficult and how you can improve your chances of understanding them. What makes texts difficult to understand Most of your reading difficulties will be caused by a problem on the...

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Identifying Good Reader Behaviors and Areas of Weakness

Peter led Bridget into the waiting room.  What did you do as you read this sentence? I am certain that you are primarily conscious of a mental picture of Peter and Bridget. But before you could form this picture, you performed a variety of other actions. You recognized the individual words, and you assigned some form of meaning to each one. You did this accurately and very quickly. In addition to constructing an image of Peter and Bridget,...

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Self-Motivated At the college level, students who succeed are normally self-motivated. They are in school because they choose to be, not necessarily because their parents expect them to be. Self-motivated students don't need as much hand-holding from instructors and peers to show up to class, listen and complete homework. They consistently come ready to learn, take good notes, study for tests and turn in work on time. Organized Students often balance school with work, family and personal time. To effectively navigate each area...

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