StReSsEd up?

Oh! Come on. It's just one out of the countless days in your life when you feel so down, and that nothing good seems to happen; that you seem to wake up on the wrong side of the bed; or suddenly, you become the victim of circumstances!

Breathe in! Breathe out! To share a precious advice from my colleague, Pn Mastura Johar, in one of our aerobic cum fitness class - breathe in at the count of EIGHT. You'll feel better because you have just inhaled more oxygen. That's also her secret to maintain awet muda - stay young and youthful :)

Do just that, and you're gonna be okay? NO - unfortunately, problems don't go off that easily. Taking flight does not help in the long run.

Muster enough courage in you and combat the stress factor. You can lose in the battle combatting stress - you cry, feel depressed, chicken-out from the arena... vent your anger...But you should WIN in fighting and handling the stress factor.

Check out your environment. Are you at the right place??? What about the people around you? Are you in the right crowd? Look at yourself. Should you belong where you are? Hmmm...top it up with Hemalan's (taken from active blogger's response) "...i thinks, how abouts, why nots, and the what ifs....", you may find the strength to face the challenging and stressful moment.

Is stress common? Yes..and don't be surprised that there's also positive stress called 'eustress' as much as the known negative stress - 'distress'. According to Payne and Whittaker (2000) taken from a textbook I used in my Study Skills class some time back - "Stress is an essential part of life. It provides excitement, impetus, and motivation as well as distress and anxiety."

In short, it helps to identify the source of stress and build enough energy within ourselves to face it and solve it. It's 'fight' or 'flight'.

Having said that, think about this - some battles are not worth fighting for! So, is it better to ignore? The choice is ultimately yours...

Groups that Work :)

Effective groups sit together and discuss in order to reach a final decision. Ideally, members would communicate ideas and exchange feedback in response to the issue raised. This process can be labelled as "group communication" - that we talk to each other, explain our stance, ask for clarification, and debate contradicting ideas.

Sometimes, group discussions lead to conflict - don't panic. This is a healthy progress because group members are open to express their own opinions - never succumb to groupthink, that is. This conflict will invite debate, sub groups, further debate, and finally a group decision via majority vote or consensus.

Indeed, group communication entails a lot of talking!

So, what if you're "born" - shy? quiet? and you believe you have problems with self-confidence and self-esteem? What if you become sick on the discussion day, and you've lost your voice, and you can't cognitively process the information in order to argue for or against a preliminary decision. Do you suddenly lose your significance? What can you do to (still) contribute to the success of your group communication?

TIPS:

• Recall the good, easy moments in class when your close friend talks (or presents a speech) in front of the class and you sit back comfortably at your seat. Once in a while, you'd nod your head and smile to show support. Now, apply this skill to your group and see how you encourage others to talk. When they return your favour, you'll find support in speaking your mind - speak up!
  
  Can you imagine a group of speakers with no listener at all? Hence, one way to make groups work is to train listeners as much as we train speakers. Of course not passive listeners!
  
  Use nonverbal messages like leaning forward, head nods, hand movement, as regulators to direct the flow of interaction.
  
  If you have quiet and shy members, who undoubtedly have lots of ideas, prompt them to talk. Probes like - "Let's listen to Qila's opinion on this issue" or "I'm sure Raj can explain this better than me" - shifts the responsibility to talk onto the less extrovert member - at least, it saves him from volunteering his idea!
  
  Limit your group discussion to one idea or issue within one time frame. Arguing over four or five ideas at one time makes you muddled and puzzled...and move on to the following ideas using transition signals or signposting.

In a nutshell, this article emphasizes on how completely anybody can play an effective role in a group discussion. It doesn't require a talkative person, nor an extrovert personality, or a leader to make groups work!

I'm sure you have experienced your own secrets of group success. Please share it with the person next to you, and also this blog community.

Groups: Simply Indispensable!

According to Galanes & Adams (2007), "Groups exist to meet important human needs".

How significant is this claim to you? Or perhaps, the question should be - what kind of human needs are we dealing with here?

Think about this list: inclusion, affection, sense of belonging, power, achievement, support, etc.

Some of us have undoubtedly lived through obstacles and challenges, mostly due to our own hard work and determination. We have also accomplished some goals all by ourselves, without having to depend on others for help and assistance.

Nevertheless, this individual journey can be exhausting and sometimes too demanding. If we could only share the work with two other friends and colleagues, and later celebrate the joy of our team work, won't it all be less stressful and more meaningful?

The concept of "groups" is so important that it has become pervasive in our society. Students gather and form "study groups" as early as in primary school. Educators divide students into "cooperative learning groups" in their classrooms using either the cooperative or collaborative learning approach.

Even assignments and graded projects at university level are mostly done in "small groups" , may be for two main reasons:1) more ideas can be tapped to produce better results 2)undergraduates will experience the success and tribulations of working with others to accomplish a final result. A glance at workplace literature also emphasizes on groups - "teamwork" and "group dynamics" are indeed the two essential concepts in organizations nowadays.

So, "groups" do serve all these practical and logical purposes - exams, classroom activities, projects, etc. It is indeed an indispensable structure in our lives.

What about you? What are the important human needs that you have personally enjoyed/ achieved by fitting yourselves nicely in groups? Take a moment to ponder.

Got a Topic for Public Speaking?

A friend comes around one day and asks, "Why do children watch so much television until they forget about socializing?"

If you are a parent yourself, preparing a speech topic for a PTA assembly, this will be an appropriate discussion topic. You can grab the chance to educate parents about the influence of television on children, and remind them to encourage their children to mingle with peers and the neighbourhood friends.

Nevertheless, will this topic attract the attention of teenagers or university students? Is this a major concern in their everyday lives? If they listen to you, will they gain benefit almost immediately?

Public speaking students always start their speaking challenge with informative speech. This type of speech is easier to begin with, compared to persuasive and argumentative speech. It's a speech genre almost anybody can handle - provided you pick a suitable topic.

The first rule is to investigate your audience. You can do a simple survey by merely checking if friends would be interested to learn about hacking? employability? communication skills for IS professionals? animal testing? illegal immigrants? etc.

Next, pick a topic that you feel comfortable presenting and discussing in front of so many people. Avoid topics that have been a taboo in your life, or sensitive issues, prejudices, etc.

Doing an extensive research on your topic will help you play the role of the "expert" - at least, that you know 70% and your audience have a grasp of 30%...on the topic. Basically, as a speaker, you have to inform the crowd about your topic.

Because you "are" the speaker, the audience will assume that you have some extra information to share with them. Think about this - if it's not significant, it might as well be a one-minute conversation topic at the cafe, or bus-stop.

A careful analysis on both, yourself and your audience, will help you take off gracefully. Later, you can start to worry about other aspects of success in public speaking like content, delivery and language.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking??? Yes, it's time to share, and it's good to learn from each other. Seniors in public speaking, what were among the best topics you have delivered? For the juniors, if you're still searching for a suitable topic, tell us about it and see what kind of feedback you can get from this community. All the best.

Cutting the Gordian Knot

In life, we sometimes have the luxury of making a choice, a decision - and we lavishly bring into the cruise three elements: time, procrastination, and hesitation. Unfortunately, this often results in stress and underachievement.

Let's understand the nature of decision - that choices must be made in time for it to be meaningful. For instance, deliberating over a long list of topics over and over again does not help an ENGF 103 student make up his or her mind quick enough to submit the assignment to the lecturer. So? Be like Alexander the Great who "Cut the Gordian Knot" with boldness and decisiveness.

Tips:
In making decisions, piles of data and reading materials may not help much if we don't have the "right" materials.

Studying the problem time and again will not lead us to the decision, unless we "prioritize" the analysis and impose a "deadline".

At the end of the pursuit, find the courage in you to "Cut the Knot!"

True - we are amazed to still see ourselves and people around us spending so much time reading and understanding surplus information, yet still cannot decide. So, who says making decision is easy?

Alexander the Great was supposed to untie the knot, but he chose to cut it- the quickest way to loosen it. He used his mighty sword, of course...what about you?

Have you tried "storytelling"?

Sounds childish? Definitely not. Childlike, may be..which is positive indeed. This is a common genre of creative speech that is discussed at TESL conferences. As much as it is mostly children who participate in storytelling competitions, students in secondary school, colleges and higher istitutions may want to try it out themselves.

My children have tried storytelling, and these stories have taken them through challenging moments on stage, losing and also winning the prizes and incentives, of course. To me, what really matters is that they find enough courage in themselves to stand in front of a big audience, being only 7,8, and 9 then, participate, and learn the tru meaning of perseverence (lots of practice) and endeavour. Congratz Nadia & Farah. You are such darlings:)

Why storytelling, you may ask. Well, most interestingly, it improves your paralanguage ( which is like icing to d birthday cake & spice to mamak's curry). That includes intonation, voice, expressions,...hmmm..can imagine a speech embedded with these effects? a conversation embellished with these secret formulas?

Like reading aloud, try storytelling. Grab a big book this moment and have lots of fun. Enjoy.

Academic Blogging: Speak up and Write

Academic blogging is one way to express our ideas and opinions, indeed. Our personal reaction to an article or issue may have a lot of impact to others who share the same interest, perception as well as concerns. Our stance - made known - can also contribute to the majority . Sometimes, we can even find solutions to our anxieties by reading what others have to say in response to the discussion topic.

Professional writers write articles, chapters, and technical documents. Undergraduates write academic essays or research papers for class assignments or dissertations. This writing genre is more serious and requires more than opinions and an extent of elaboration. Claims must be supported by literature review and in-text citations to establish a scholarly context. This may not sound easy nor friendly to beginners and budding talents who wish to start speaking their minds.

So, what would be an easy solution to this inspiration to speak your mind? If journal writing does not quite work because it's between you and yourself - try blogging, for you would indeed have an audience to exchange ideas.

Read the articles or issues raised by the author, and think creatively, critically and laterally. Now - what / how do I feel about this topic? Has this ever happened to me, and what did I do at that time? Can I contribute a solution to this problem? Do I have ideas to extend this discussion and make it lively and interesting? Have I heard people talking about this matter, and what were their comments? Ask questions and probe for response that allows expression of opinion.

Blogging takes, at most, 30 minutes of your time. Compare this portion to other ways that we actually spend our 24 hours. It's time we start reading, forming opinions about a discussion topic, and express our opinions. This healthy exchange of response can be therapeutic and reciprocal.

When you see others sharing the same ideas, concerns, and worries, and several others supporting and helping you with tips or experience, won't you feel like you are not alone anymore? This will motivate you to speak up more - and finally - the time will come when you shall muster enough courage to speak up orally, in small group discussions, class presentations, or better still - public speaking competitions and debates.

It's a new year, and it comes with new promises and fresh resolutions. It's a new year and we should unshackle our paradigms. It's time to speak up, and it calls for us to speak up more, indeed. The year will be more dynamic and fulfilling if we choose to speak up! If speaking has to wait due to some personal reasons, try sharing your thoughts via writing. Try blogging - write your comments, ideas, and tell people about your experience. Unravel the wonders blogging can do to you and the people around you. Let's make it happen!

Speak up: Deliberating the Barriers and Challenges

Given a choice, how many of our undergraduates will voluntarily enrol for a "speech course" or "public speaking class" and earn credits for the semester?

Despite promotion posters and attractive rewards for a public speaking competition or elocution contest, how can we guarantee that new faces will participate and compete for the trophy?

The current demands of evaluation in education as well as employability imposes on our undergraduates to possess adequate skills and courage to speak up, present ideas, argue and negotiate. The onus is on them to develop this skill.

Swain (1985) wrote, "We learn to speak by speaking".

But it's not as easy to speak up and talk to others about our ideas. Common problems like nervousness, lack of confidence, and low self-esteem may create barriers to beginners. Given a bit of exposure on theories and practice, some will still refuse to speak up.

In our daily lives, we speak more than we write. But some of us still find public speaking, or even speaking in a group discussion, an ordeal, a nightmare, and a tough challenge indeed.

Speak up: A Ticket to Employability

Think about this - you can get shortlisted for a job due to your well-crafted job application letter, curriculum vitae, and proposal. Nevertheless, "The selection interview may help discriminate between various applicants" (Varma, Toh & Pichler, 2006).

Speak up because your ability to express your opinions can be your most valuable asset! It can indeed be your ticket for employability.

Graduates competing for job opportunities realize that good ideas on paper can be transformed to impressive results and job offers! by the noble attempt to speak up and present your ideas in a persuasive manner.

So, waste no time! Participate in a speaking competition, present your insights in a group meeting - convince your audience with your eloquence and wits. Stand a chance to be spotted for your talent and ability, and discover that two days, two weeks or even two months later, you are hired - you get a job - because of your decision to speak up.

This may be hypothetical to some, but cutting-edge graduates have proven that speaking skills is indeed a determinant factor to secure a job opportunity.

Why do you Need to Speak up?

Speak your minds and share your ideas and opinions with others around you!

Believe it. Keeping your ideas to yourself may not take you far. The time spent on generating the arguments and supporting details will end up with an A+ letter grade or a pensive moment of silence.

Try to speak up!, share and present your ideas, and influence others around you.

Speaking your minds can be promising in several ways:
1) an opportunity to tell people about your wonderful and critical interpretations of issues
2) a platform for you to gather more audience to support your opinion
3) a convenient means of publicity for yourself

Speak up is indeed a kickstart to persuasive communication which can be used as a tool to inform, persuade and influence others to support your stance. It also promotes critical thinking and healthy debate on issues of interests.

Persuasive communication comes in handy for undergraduates in their academic oral presentations, graduates in their selection interviews, CEOs during contract negotiations, and even political leaders during their election campaigns.

As the saying goes, "No man is an island". One needs a friend, a company. What better way to cherish this rapport other than to communicate your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs via conversations, discussions, and debates.