5-Step Program to Improve Your Communication Skills

5-Step Program to Improve Your Communication Skills With the development of technology lots of people find it more simple to get anything they want from the web, avoiding face-to-face contact. Nevertheless, communication skills are still essential: not only will they help you be successful in your studies and at the workplace, but also they are a powerful instrument, that helps you learn about the world and live a life, full of diverse experiences that come from interacting with different people. Weve come up with a series of steps that will facilitate effective communication with others. Try them out! Be cautious, though: theres a high probability that youll become more talkative, popular person! Identify the Weak Spots Lets face it: if youve ended up searching for â€Å"how to improve your communication skills† you obviously think there is an area for improvement. Dont be too harsh on yourself: saying youre a total mess wont do you any good. Be critical yet constructive. A possible solution here could be to videotape yourself having a conversation: you might do it on your own or ask a friend or a family member for help. Watch it with your confidante and determine all the soft spots: it might be a body language, the tone of voice (too low or too high), the speed of your speech. All in all, make a list, stay positive and remember: youre on the way to success! Learn Your Body Language We send non-verbal signals of the time: your posture, gestures, the way you look at your interlocutor say a lot about how you feel. There is a simple recipe, that can help you transmit a far more positive message. Dont slouch, try not to cross your hands and legs, when talking to someone, and, of course, smile! It is also a great idea to maintain a confident tone, without being too loud or too timid and keep an eye contact with your conversation partner. These are just the basics, adjustable for every individual, nevertheless, paying attention to them certainly wont hurt. You should also pay attention to your fellow talkers body language: youll interpret the signs they give you more competently and even be able to change your behavior to achieve the best possible outcome of the interaction. Listen Everybody loves talking about themselves. Thus, having a conversation about ones thoughts, dreams and plans is a shortcut to establishing friendly relationships with the person. The most important thing here is to pay attention and really listen to your conversation partner. Dont be a drain for information. Do your best to be an active listener: encourage the person to continue by asking relevant questions, paraphrase their own thoughts to make sure you have the same ideas in mind and, of course, concentrate on what they say. The â€Å"what goes around comes around† rule applies here. Pay attention and the opposite party is very likely to pay it back. Stand Up for Yourself Assertiveness by no means implies being aggressive or overly contentious. It rather involves ability to express your ideas openly and honestly, respecting others. To send appropriate message you should remember several basic rules. know where you stand: you wont be able to pursue your goals, without knowing exactly what they are. Listen to yourself, work out your own views on certain issues and then express them to others. be negative effectively: its perfectly OK to be angry or frustrated. What matters, though, is being able to tackle the problems constructively. Holding negative emotions in is destructive, so dont fixate on them. If something causes your discomfort, tell people about it and dont wait too long to look for solutions. stay tolerant: expressing your own stance is surely of the highest importance. However, you shouldnt forget about one of the most valuable benefits of communication: it leads to exchange of experiences. Try to stay flexible and take others opinion into account: new insights might help you change the situation for the better. Count to 10 Managing stress and anxiety is a vital skill. Lots of wrong things were said in the wrong way for the reason of simple nervousness. Thats why you should be able to identify the point, when you start to lose control over the situation and handle it properly. Dont worry about pauses in conversations. Sometimes, they are a great opportunity to take your time and think of the next point youd like to mention. The urge to fill the silence may result in thoughtless mumbling, which does not lead to fruitful communication. Repeat the questions and ask for clarifications, when needed. This will show youre truly interested in the positive outcome of a conversation and prove youre a good listener and critical thinker. Take deep breaths. This technique wouldnt be so popular if it didnt work. When you feel youre about to lose the nerve, count to ten (yeah, that again) and concentrate on your breathing. In a moment youll see: everything is not so bad! Keep Going Thats not the last step of our program. Thats just a recommendation for the future. Think of the methods above and apply them in practice. Have a chat with a shop assistant or talk to a stranger at the bus stop. It might be a bit scary at first, but youll love the result. No one is perfect. Thats what makes us humans. Working on those imperfections makes us better versions of ourselves. Keep that in mind and dont stop!

Trading & Dealing in Security Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Trading & Dealing in Security Markets - Essay Example Investigations showed that the crash occurred due to a single mutual firm fund that sold a large number of contracts worth 4.1 billion USD and this triggered a reaction from HFT machines that quickly dumped their positions thus pulling the Dow index down. The HFT machines then quickly bought stock at the lower prices and this made the stocks rise then dumped the stock and this ‘hot potato’ trading continued until equilibrium was brought in. All this happened in a few minutes due to the fragile and interconnected nature of the market (SEC, 30 September 2010). There are fears that since algorithms used in the software decision making are hidden, it is difficult to asses if HFT amplifies or dampens the market equilibrium prices. HFT also encourages Flash Trading where certain traders can see incoming buy or sell orders for securities about 30 milliseconds before others do. This lead called 'front running' allows HFT traders to execute their trading strategy ahead of others (NYT, 8 October 2012). HFT traders also have the advantage that they can turn their machines off when the risks and trends are against them and thus they can cut their losses. Overall, trading is thus reduced to a war of technology and speed of connectivity and the financial software and hardware market was worth 25.4 billion USD in 2011. Terms such as scalping, shorting have become common and HFT run transactions in less than 10 milliseconds (Gsell, 2009). 2.2. Advantages of HFT HFT brings equality in the market and a small trader with a single terminal running powerful HFT software can overcome billion dollar traders. HFT is also credited with bringing liquidity in the market, reducing risk of frauds perpetrated by large... The author of the essay "Trading and Dealing in Security Markets" begins with that High Frequency Trading – HFT makes use of powerful computers that automate the trading process and where trading software takes the decisions to buy, sell or hold stock. The practice is also called as Algorithmic trading, Algo trading, automated trading or black box trading. Since the commands are executed by software systems, positions on various stocks are held for durations that vary from a few seconds to a few minutes. HFT has been blamed for ‘flash’ price variations where the prices changes very rapidly for no apparent reason. With high profits almost assured and reduction of losses to a minimum, many traders have started using HFT. In a way, HFT represents the inevitable move to high technology. Like many other areas of business processes such as procurement, automatic ordering in supply change management, ERP systems, humans are removed from decision-making and power is veste d in machines. At the end of the essay the author concludes that since HFT yields high profits, many more firms will take up this practice. HFT certainly has some ill effects on the stock movement and these needs to be constrained and regulated. The regulations must not place HFT under disadvantage and new technology must not be punished. The author also gives his recommendations. Thus, traders should not be allowed to switch off their machines when stocks are falling. This will ensure HFTs remain operational even when they stand to make a loss, just as any day trader.