Speaking - 7 Simple and Effective Ways to Be a Smooth Talker

I believe that one of the best ways to connect with people and build quality relationships is through making conversation. Although most people can hold a conversation, only a few are smooth and charismatic when they talk. 

Working as a communication coach, I have explored and tested many techniques for improving conversation skills. I have discovered 7 simple and effective ways to be a smooth talker. Here they are:

1. Talk slowly

Typically, good talkers don’t rush into a conversation. They take their time when they reflect on something and when they say it out loud. They act as if they have all the time in the world. This makes them come off as centered and collected. Model this way of talking and you will create the same effect.

2. Hold more eye contact

Most people keep eye contact about 2/3 of the time or less when they talk. In my experience, it’s a very good idea to hold eye contact just a bit more than that. This will convey confidence and interest in interacting with them.

3. Notice the details

People with good conversation skills tend to notice the kind of things that the average person doesn’t notice, and to bring such details into the conversation. They may notice and point out an interesting ring on the other person’s hand, a certain foreign accent, or a certain voice tone they use when saying a name. Thus, such individuals impress people in a very elegant manner.

4. Give unique compliments

Anybody can pay a generic compliment to try and get another person’s appreciation. Charismatic people on the other hand are able to really pay attention to others, to look beyond the facade and thus, pay unique compliments. Do the same and besides wooing others, you may even help them find out things about themselves they didn’t know.

5. Express your emotions

It’s very rare to meet a person who is comfortable talking about their emotions and how certain things make them feel, especially with strangers. Yet this way of talking is a real virtue. Don’t just present the facts, you’re not a newspaper. Express your feelings about those facts. Keep in mind that it is at the emotional level that people connect best.

6. Offer interesting insights

Anybody can talk about the news or express basic opinions. But good talkers can frequently tell you things you didn’t know and that you’ll find fascinating. This is why it’s good to have knowledge into fields such as psychology or sociology, and bring such knowledge out at the right moments in a conversation.

7. Use the best words

The ability to talk smoothly has a lot to do with choosing the precise words to convey your precise feelings or thoughts. Constantly develop your vocabulary and practice communicating as accurately as possible. It will help you develop a way with words and allow you to express yourself more easily.

http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2011/04/01/improve-conversation-skills/ 

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Writing - How to write a job application

How to write a job application

You will need to apply in writing for most jobs. This usually means preparing two items, a letter of application and your resume.  If you are applying for a government job, you may need to provide responses to some selection criteria.

We have developed this guide to provide you with information to prepare a letter of application.  To read the how to guide on building a resume, visit:

• How to build a resume

For ideas on how to present your resume if you have gaps in your work history, see:

• Applying for a job when you have an episodic work history

Written applications

Written applications generally are a key part of an employer’s recruitment process. Employers use recruitment processes to select who they should interview for a job by assessing skills, qualities, experience and qualifications. Some employers will also use recruitment processes to identify writing skills if these are important to the job.

• ensure you research the employer and the position you are applying for
• identify skills, attributes, knowledge, experience and qualifications which will appeal to the employer

Cover letter

Many employers are very busy, so the cover letter needs to be concise.

What to include

• Customise your cover letter so it is relevant to the employer and the job.
• Focus on what the employer wants to know, not what you want from them.
• Try to convince them that you can do the job, that you’ll do a great job, you’ll fit in and be an asset to their organisation.
• Make sure you include your contact details.
• Keep your letter no longer than one page.

Structure

Explain the purpose of your letter in the opening paragraph. Mention the position you are applying for and where you heard about it or where it was advertised. 

In the next paragraph, show you can do the job and do it well. You should summarise your qualifications, skills, abilities and experience. State what makes you perfect for the job advertised.

Next, state that you are keen to work for the company and why. Try to give some information about what type of person you are. Keep in mind what you know about the employer. Mention your personal qualities which you think they are looking for.

Before finishing, thank them for taking the time to review your application. Also mention any attachments including your resume and any work examples.

Final check

Check your application before sending it. Ask someone else to check it for mistakes. Ensure that you have read the job advertisement and any other information. Check if the employer asked you to send several copies of your application. Some employers may want you to address specific selection criteria.

You should also complete the following check:

• Don’t send too much. Employers are very busy and will not want information they haven’t asked for. 
• Send copies of your original documents. If the employer has requested copies of certificates and other formal documents, only send copies.  You can show them the originals at your interview, if required.
• Ensure your application is professionally presented as employers pride themselves on their professionalism. They are looking at your application to ensure that you share their values. For example:
  • type your application, unless they specify for you to write it
  • use clean A4 paper
  • don’t make manual corrections, such as crossing something out or using correction fluid
  • make sure it is easy to read. The print must be clear. There should be spaces between paragraphs. Use a suitable font size and appropriate margins.  The print shouldn’t start too close to the top of the page or go too close to the edges or bottom of the page
  • Use an A4 envelope so that you don't have to fold your application
  • use a standard font, nothing too fancy
• tailor your application to the job you are applying for.  If you are applying for a creative industry job, it might be appropriate to show your creativity.  For most jobs, concentrate on making the application clear, simple and to the point. 
• number the pages in the application
• include your name in the header or footer of each page in case they become separated
• if posting your application make sure you send it in plenty of time, otherwise try and drop it off in person.

http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/content/how-write-job-application

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Writing - Write a Cover Letter in 5 Easy Steps

Write a Cover Letter in 5 Easy Steps

A well-written cover letter will help you secure an interview and get your application noticed. Take the time to personalize it so it shows the employer why you're a solid candidate for the job. Here's how to write a cover letter in five easy steps.

Keep it Short

Keep in mind that your cover letter doesn't need to be long - a page is plenty. Here's information on how long a cover letter should be.

Cover Letter Samples
Here are cover letters examples, both written and email, that are designed for a variety of different types of job applications and employment inquiries.

Cover Letter Format
This cover letter format lists the information you need to include in the cover letter you submit with your resume.

More Types of Cover Letters
There are other types of cover letters you may need to use, depending on the jobs for which you are applying. Here are examples of referral letters, prospecting letters, letters asking for job search help and more.

More About How to Write a Cover Letter
How to write a cover letter, including what to include in your cover letter, cover letter format, targeted cover letters, and cover letter samples and examples.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverletters/a/aa030401a.htm 

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Writing - Job Application Letter Format

Job Application Letter Format

The following application letter format lists the information you need to include in the job application letter you send with your resume.

Application letters have a fairly rigid format - as hiring managers read your letter, they will expect to see certain information included in set areas. (The format of an email application letter is similar, but varies slightly from the application format below.)

Use the application letter format below as a guideline to create customized application letters to send to employers.

Job Application Letter Format

Contact Information
Name
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Phone Number
Email Address

Date

Employer Contact Information (if you have it)
Name
Title
Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Salutation

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, (leave out if you don't have a contact)

Body of Application Letter
The body of your application letter lets the employer know what position you are applying for, why the employer should select you for an interview, and how you will follow-up.

First Paragraph
The first paragraph of your letter should include information on why you are writing. Mention the job you are applying for and where you found the job listing. Include the name of a mutual contact, if you have one.

Middle Paragraph(s)
The next section of your application letter should describe what you have to offer the employer. Mention specifically how your qualifications match the job you are applying for.

Final Paragraph
Conclude your application letter by thanking the employer for considering you for the position. Include information on how you will follow-up.

Complimentary Close

Sincerely,

Signature

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobapplicationletters/a/appletterformat.htm 

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Listening - Parts of an Essay

Parts of an Essay

Essays, like sandwiches or burgers, are divided into different parts. These parts are the:

• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion

The Introduction

The introduction opens the essay. It is a short paragraph – usually about THREE sentences. In an argument essay, it usually describes or summarizes both sides of the present situation and says what you are going to do in your essay.

The Body

The Body is the main part of the essay. In an argument essay, it is divided into two or three paragraphs, giving your opinion and reasons.
Each paragraph in the body is between FIVE and SEVEN sentences long.

Conclusion

The Conclusion is the end of the essay. It is a short paragraph – about THREE sentences. It often has the same idea as the Introduction, only in different words.
Some people think of the essay as a sandwich. The Introduction and Conclusion are the bread, and the Body is the filling in the center. If the introduction looks good, people will carry on to the body. Hopefully, the conclusion will leave them with a nice taste in their mouth…

http://writefix.com/?page_id=1813

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Listening - Top 10 Listening Tips for the TOEFL

Top 10 Listening Tips for the TOEFL iBT and Paper English Language Tests

1. Take past TOEFL listening tests and become familiar with the format. Quickly read the comprehension questions before the recording begins - this helps you to listen out for key points – often there is a lot of content that you will not be tested on – keep your focus and energy for the points that count!

2. Practice note taking whenever you are listening to something in English – only write down key words or phrases, use abbreviations for long words and always write in English. Record only the major points – you won’t have time to write down the minor, unimportant details in the exam.

3. Improve your vocabulary – the more words you know, the easier it will be for you to understand the listening section. Learn new vocab and save words you have trouble with by becoming an English, baby! Super member.

4. Listen for signal words that indicate major steps, changes or ideas such as seldom, at the moment, in 1975, so far, usually, often, up to now, at the moment. Make sure to also listen out for repetition, synonyms and pronouns.

5. Download listening practice lessons, such as lessons on Daily English Audio and stop it at different times. Try and guess what will happen next! This is a great way to practice your ability to connect and combine ideas. Then go back and listen to the lesson in full and see how well you did.

6. Determine the purpose of a conversation or speech– what do you think the speakers are trying to do? Are they angry? Trying to resolve a conflict? Sad? Express an idea? Practice this technique every time you hear English including English movies or TV shows, daily English lessons on English, baby!, even people you hear speaking English on the street! This will help you focus on the key points and improve your ability to filter out information that is not necessary for the TOEFL listening exam questions.

7. Recognize key points – who or what is the conversation about? What is the main point of the lecture? Why are they talking about this? Remember, the TOEFL listening exam is testing your comprehension, not your ability to memorize and repeat what you have just heard!

8. Find connections between ideas – how do these points connect to the key ideas of the passage? If they do NOT connect to the key ideas, they are probably not the major ideas of the passage and you should not focus on them.

9. Pay attention when someone in the exercise asks a question – often it is a clue that information is about to be given. However, this is not always true so be careful for responses that sound a lot like the answer to a question. Listen very carefully as these responses are often there to test your ability to understand the context of what you heard.

10. Categorize the type of exercise you are listening to when taking practice TOEFL listening tests. Ask yourself – is it a lecture (mostly one-sided and on academic topics) or a conversation (language is more informal, two or more people)? This will help you understand the flow of the conversation more clearly.

http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/toefl_listening_tips

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Listening - Strategies for doing your best in the Listening Section

Strategies for doing your best in the Listening Section

 

http://www.tcyonline.com/toefl/str_list.php

 

Strategies for doing your best in the Listening Section are:

The Caser Approach
This approach should be followed to score maximum in this section.

Concentrate
Concentrate your brain. Be ready to listen to the discussions and talks that you would expect to find in a university setting.

Anticipate
Think ahead. What kind of discussion/talk would you expect to hear from two or more people talking on a campus? When the title of the talk appears, what kind of words or ideas do you think might come up? Try to predict what will come next.

Summarize
You were not allowed to write during the TOEFL CBT exam, but the new TOEFL iBT allows you to make notes and to summarize what you have already heard. Listen for pauses in the talks; this probably means that the speaker is moving on to a new thought. Keep a note of what the speaker has just finished saying. The TOEFL often asks you to do this when it gives you Main Topic, Main Idea, and Restatement questions. While taking notes make sure the notes are as brief as possible and the main topic or main idea is noted separately and not clubbed with major points or supporting detail.

Evaluate
What did you think of, what the speaker just said? Did you agree or disagree? Was the speaker convincing? What was the tone of the speaker's voice? What was his attitude? The TOEFL asks you to do this when it gives you Inference questions.

Remember
What ideas or facts do you remember from the talk? After all, that is why you listen in the first place, isn't it? The TOEFL asks you to do this when it gives you Fact, Purpose and Reference questions.

How to prepare for the Listening Section
The best way to improve your English is to listen to as much English as possible. Keep the following tips in mind:

• Attend your Lectures in the school and university in English.
• Watch English movies on channels like (H.B.O, Star Movies)
• Listen to news programs and weather report on TV and radio.
• Take all the listening practice tests.

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Listening - TOEFL Strategies for Listening Section

TOEFL Strategies for Listening Section

There are certain steps in strategies that would help in managing time in each part of listening test section (recordings). There are some basic requirements for listening skills which serves the steps in TOEFL listening strategies as detailed below:

• Basic Comprehension

When students listen to a recorded lecture or a conversation, they should understand the central or main idea in it. Then they should skim the recording for key points, important facts, purpose and the relevant details that connects the key points.

• Practical Understanding

It may also be called as “pragmatic understanding” where the meaning of a word should be taken, according to the context. Students are needed to find the intended meaning of the speaker i.e. from his point of view. A wide range of vocabulary is necessary for this process because, the recordings in listening test are usually from academic background. Practical understanding also becomes a must to find the purpose of a lecture or a conversation.

•  Relate Ideas given in multiple information sources

Relating ideas is the final state where the key points and the important facts are compared to find the relationship between them. This method would initially lead to construct an argument. Then a string of supportive and non supportive elements are categorized and as a result the causes for the events are traced. This is where a student would end up identifying the conclusion which is expressed indirectly.

•  Inference

Inference is to find the implied conclusion in recordings from the author’s point of view. The conclusion might be implied or expressed indirectly anywhere in the passage.

These are the basic requirements necessary, in each part of the strategy of listening section, which consists of two recorded lectures and one long conversation. These fundamentals are to be followed, in the following few preparatory steps.

Strategies in Preparation

• Spoken English From Various Sources And Accents

There are variations between the accents of English. It is the best to listen to English from various sources like television, music, radio etc. And also it is good to listen to the native speakers of English with different pronunciation and dialect. By doing this students would be able to improve their listening skills and also they will get used to different kinds of accents. It will be helpful very much if they listen to academic passages or conversations.

• Making Notes

While listening to a recording, notes should be jot down. These notes would help you to remember the important points given by speaker. The reason is also that, during the test you will be given only one chance to listen to a passage. Note making will help you to remember the details and the clues effectively.

• Main Idea

The main idea of a passage should be identified in a recording, as a first task while taking notes. Main idea of a lecture is usually given in the introductory part. The other details would be given in the rest of a lecture. Once the main idea is found it becomes a lighter task to find the purpose of the speaker.

• Pointer Words, Important Facts And Relationship Between The Facts

The pointer words may be defined as signal words or clues, given by the speaker. These keywords should be collected along with important facts and events. This should be done in order to compare them and identify the relationship between them. In turn this would give you the cause of the events.

• Summary of Observation

Give a summary of the recording which was listened, using the notes that are taken down. During this process, only important facts, relevant details, main idea and the key facts are covered. This is a good time saving technique, to prevent going through the notes again and again.

• Building your Vocabulary

Above all it is also important to build a student’s vocabulary, to find the meaning of a word, according to the context of the speaker. Students should get familiar with the words which they consider as new ones and practice them in their everyday life.

http://www.studyabroad18.com/articles/toefl-strategies-for-listening-section.php 

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Listening - Listening Practice

 You can visit this website to improve your listening comprehension :)

http://www.learning-englisht-online.net/skills/listening-comprehension/

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Reading - The Example of Descriptive Text (Place)

The Eiffel Tower

 

 

 

   The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest building in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named for its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair.

  The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-story building. Upon its completion, it surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930; however, due to the addition in 1957 of the antenna, the tower is now taller than the Chrysler Building. Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France after the 2004 Millau Viaduct.

   The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift, to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by elevator. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.

    The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

 

http://brechonana.blogspot.com/2015/01/contoh-descriptive-text-bahasa-inggris.html 

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