writing skills is very important

Of all the classes I took in college and graduate school, the two that have helped me most in my career have been English Composition and Business English. In these classes I learned effective writing skills, which I have used in every job I have ever had. No other job but my work on this site included writing as part of my job description. In spite of this, I was required to write in every job, and it was taken for granted that I would be able to do this. This is the case with most jobs -- whether you must write internal memos, correspond with clients, or help design sales materials. Writing beautiful prose and poetry is a talent. Writing effectively, however, is a skill that can be learned.
Organize Your Writing

Whether you are writing a memo to your co-worker or a report for your boss, you should decide what information you want to convey. Here is how to do this:
1. List each item you need to discuss in your memo or report.
2. Put them in order — from most to least important
3. Write a brief summary of your entire memo — this will be your first paragraph.
4. Expand on each item listed in step 1.
5. If any action needs to be taken by the recipient, state that in your closing paragraph.

Some Tips

Avoid wordiness. Say out loud what you are trying to write. Listen to how the words sound. For example, the sentence, "I found out that I should take a look at our past sales figures in order to come up with a plan to help us re-evaluate our sales technique" could be more simply stated as "I must take a look at our past sales figures to re-evaluate our sales technique."
Write for your audience. Use simple language. You don't want the reader to need a dictionary to decipher what you are trying to say. You should not try to impress your reader with your huge vocabulary. Chances are you will frustrate your reader instead. Most people are juggling several tasks at the same time, and are interested in receiving only necessary information. You are responsible for making this happen. Instead of saying, "His gregarious nature credentials him as a superlative candidate for the job," say "His friendliness makes him a top candidate for the job."

Stay away from jargon your reader may not understand. If your work is very technical, but the person you are writing to is not well versed in that field, stick to words that person will understand. For example, if you are a Web site designer, this sentence in a memo to your client, a psychologist, will make no sense: "What would you like me to use as the BGCOLOR for your site: #ADD8E6 or #FFFFFF?" Anyone proficient in Web page design knows that this question can be translated to "What would you like the background color of your site to be: Light Blue or White?" However, don't expect your client to be more familiar with this technical jargon than you would be with her discussion of a psychological term such as trichotillomania.

A cliche a day keeps the reader away — or at least it does not make him or her remember what you are saying. You want your writing to be memorable. Because we hear cliches often, we become desensitized to them. The words, then, are not uniquely associated with your writing. Rather than saying "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today" in a memo to a subordinate you are trying to motivate. Simply say, "Stop procrastinating. Get the job done now."

When possible, use the active voice. The active voice makes your sentence stronger and usually shorter. Let's try these examples. Passive voice: "Sales increased due to the networking I did." Active voice: "My networking increased sales."

Don't be redundant. It is not necessary to say "2 p.m. in the afternoon" or "the expectant pregnant woman." Saying "2 p.m." or "2 in the afternoon" or "the expectant woman" or "the pregnant woman" all convey what you want to say and are less wordy.

Of course pay attention to grammar. Use Strunk and White's Elements of Style, available on the Web. A good dictionary should be nearby, along with a thesaurus. A thesaurus will allow you to keep your writing fresh by helping you find a variety of words to use. Many of these resources are available online.

Proofreading is one of the most important things you can do. Since you probably do most of your writing on a computer, you have access to automated spelling and grammar checkers. Beware though — some words, used in the wrong context may be missed by computerized spell checkers. For example the sentence "To employees attended too meetings two learn about the gnu software," would pass through the spell check without any misspellings being detected. Have someone else proofread your document, if possible. If time allows, put your composition away, and proofread it later, or even better, the next day.

Read more »

Posted in: good teacher,important,improve english,improve wriitng skills,learning,learning english,school,Sekolah,siswa,skill,skills,teaching,writing skills

How to Make Better Speak

1. Listen to yourself talk. Many people do not like to do this, and they often react by saying: "I hate the way I sound." But, use whatever technical tools you need to take this step. Whether it's a simple recording on a voicemail or answering machine, or something more advanced, you need to hear yourself before you can learn to improve your speaking voice. One trick here: record yourself speaking, but do not listen to it immediately. Wait a day. This advice coming from some of the best talent coaches in the country, who train some very prominent public speakers. You must allow time to separate yourself from whatever you have recorded, so you can be more objective. Record something. Wait a day. Then listen to your voice.

2. Begin working on the weaknesses you hear. One of the biggest hurdles to hop over, is getting away from that "monotone" delivery. This happens on the phone and speaking to groups. For some reason, we tend to shy away from using inflection. That is because we are trying to sound professional. But, truth be told, your speaking voice will end up sounding flat when you try too hard at this. Use inflection, like you do when you are telling a funny joke, or a really great story. Envision yourself sitting around the dinner table talking to your family. Let your voice go "up" a little during the more exciting parts, like you do in normal conversation. This will keep people engaged when they listen to you.

3. Learn to warm up your mouth and jaw, just like you warm up muscles for working out. Open your jaw very wide and stretch it, then close, and open and repeat. This will also help relax you. Another good exercise is to loosen up your tongue and vocal chords by using a few little tools learned from well trained talent coaches. If you are driving to a meeting or to give a public speech, repeat this phrase: "Over the lips, the teeth the tongue." Sounds funny, just try it. You will feel it loosen up your mouth. Also stand in front of the mirror and say (opening your mouth nice and wide): "Woo, Whoa, War, Wow." This will also stretch out that mouth and jaw. You don't want to speak when you are all clenched up.

4. Speak from your gut. You have probably heard that you are supposed to "push from the diaphragm." Same thing. The idea is to pull that voice up from the center of your body, instead of speaking out of your throat. You will find this is easier than you think. All you do is breathe and relax, and speak naturally. You should be able to feel your tummy moving a little (just below your ribs) if you press down on it when you do this. This will give your voice a nice, resonant sound. It will also keep you from getting a sore throat, which is what happens when you push directly from the vocal chords.

5.Sing. Even if you believe you are a terrible singer, sing anyway. Just be sure and do it when you are alone, so you are comfortable. This will help your inflection and your control more than you can imagine. Public speakers, news anchors, and actors often even take singing lessons to help them learn to control their voices. You don't have to go that far. Just sing to yourself. And don't hold back. Belt it out.

Read more »

Posted in: better,better speak,good teacher,school,siswa,skill,speaking,teaching

how to improve your writing skills

f all the classes I took in college and graduate school, the two that have helped me most in my career have been English Composition and Business English. In these classes I learned effective writing skills, which I have used in every job I have ever had. No other job but my work on this site included writing as part of my job description. In spite of this, I was required to write in every job, and it was taken for granted that I would be able to do this. This is the case with most jobs -- whether you must write internal memos, correspond with clients, or help design sales materials. Writing beautiful prose and poetry is a talent. Writing effectively, however, is a skill that can be learned.
Organize Your Writing

Whether you are writing a memo to your co-worker or a report for your boss, you should decide what information you want to convey. Here is how to do this:
List each item you need to discuss in your memo or report.
Put them in order — from most to least important
Write a brief summary of your entire memo — this will be your first paragraph.
Expand on each item listed in step 1.
If any action needs to be taken by the recipient, state that in your closing paragraph.
Some Tips

Avoid wordiness. Say out loud what you are trying to write. Listen to how the words sound. For example, the sentence, "I found out that I should take a look at our past sales figures in order to come up with a plan to help us re-evaluate our sales technique" could be more simply stated as "I must take a look at our past sales figures to re-evaluate our sales technique."
Write for your audience. Use simple language. You don't want the reader to need a dictionary to decipher what you are trying to say. You should not try to impress your reader with your huge vocabulary. Chances are you will frustrate your reader instead. Most people are juggling several tasks at the same time, and are interested in receiving only necessary information. You are responsible for making this happen. Instead of saying, "His gregarious nature credentials him as a superlative candidate for the job," say "His friendliness makes him a top candidate for the job."

Stay away from jargon your reader may not understand. If your work is very technical, but the person you are writing to is not well versed in that field, stick to words that person will understand. For example, if you are a Web site designer, this sentence in a memo to your client, a psychologist, will make no sense: "What would you like me to use as the BGCOLOR for your site: #ADD8E6 or #FFFFFF?" Anyone proficient in Web page design knows that this question can be translated to "What would you like the background color of your site to be: Light Blue or White?" However, don't expect your client to be more familiar with this technical jargon than you would be with her discussion of a psychological term such as trichotillomania.

A cliche a day keeps the reader away — or at least it does not make him or her remember what you are saying. You want your writing to be memorable. Because we hear cliches often, we become desensitized to them. The words, then, are not uniquely associated with your writing. Rather than saying "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today" in a memo to a subordinate you are trying to motivate. Simply say, "Stop procrastinating. Get the job done now."

When possible, use the active voice. The active voice makes your sentence stronger and usually shorter. Let's try these examples. Passive voice: "Sales increased due to the networking I did." Active voice: "My networking increased sales."

Don't be redundant. It is not necessary to say "2 p.m. in the afternoon" or "the expectant pregnant woman." Saying "2 p.m." or "2 in the afternoon" or "the expectant woman" or "the pregnant woman" all convey what you want to say and are less wordy.

Of course pay attention to grammar. Use Strunk and White's Elements of Style, available on the Web. A good dictionary should be nearby, along with a thesaurus. A thesaurus will allow you to keep your writing fresh by helping you find a variety of words to use. Many of these resources are available online.

Proofreading is one of the most important things you can do. Since you probably do most of your writing on a computer, you have access to automated spelling and grammar checkers. Beware though — some words, used in the wrong context may be missed by computerized spell checkers. For example the sentence "To employees attended too meetings two learn about the gnu software," would pass through the spell check without any misspellings being detected. Have someone else proofread your document, if possible. If time allows, put your composition away, and proofread it later, or even better, the next day.

Read more »

Posted in: belajar,belajar bahasa inggris,cara belajar bahasa inggris,English,good teacher,improve english,improve wriitng skills,learning,learning english,skill,skills,teaching,writing skills