conversation skill

Why Conversation Skill Is Important?

You may have all the necessary technical skills, the expertise and the experience that can really attest that you deserve that next promotion, but if you haven't got the conversation skills to back it up, you might miss the opportunity to level up in your career.

It is important to be able to have the conversation skills to communicate everything that will contribute for your career growth. You can't just silently plug away at your work without being open to opportunities of growth. You can actually make changes by means of using your conversation skills.

Conversation skills are important to any kinds of career because it is the base means with which you express yourself to other people, specifically your colleagues, your boss and other people you will deal with in the career you have chosen for yourself. Many a competent graduate has missed out on opportunities for a rewarding career because he or she lacked the ample amount of conversation skills needed to be able to sustain the communication dynamics that come with every sort of promotion in work.

From the very beginning of your career, conversation skills are some sort of gauge with which other people measure your capability, coupled with your array of experiences and qualifications shown over a steady stream of performance for a set period of time. Conversation skills in itself will not land you the promotion or career growth you aspire, but a lack of it will certainly lessen your likelihood of bagging a good job, especially if they have seen better conversationalists among your colleagues who may be aspiring for the same career growth form that you want.

Having good conversation skills does not only give a good edge compared to your colleagues, but it will also help you gain the general goodwill of most people in your workplace. If you are as gracious with your words as you are excellent with your work, people will just naturally trust you and establish you as someone who is reliable and fun to work with. Good conversation skills ease the gaps that come between people who have little or almost nothing in common.

Not all career growth opportunities are easily bestowed. You might find your efforts be less visible to the people who can help you land that promotion. In this case, you will definitely need to be backed up by your subtle and well-thought out conversation skill strategies that will help you be able to express yourself and assert your qualification to your bosses without making them feel threatened or imposed upon.

Conversation skills do not only deal with the fluent pronunciation, the good articulation or the well-versed array of words. Veering from the technical aspect is the emotional correspondence which makes your eloquent speaking capabilities more felt by those who will hear you and converse with you. Body language is also a great factor which will either make or break your statements. A good investment as you grow in your career is to enroll in courses or read on books that will help enhance or refresh your conversation skills. Technological devices from the Internet can also help enhance your skills if you are stuck in a daytime office job with little room for extracurricular courses.

Communities online such as forums and groups can also be helpful in making you well-versed and up-to-date with the things outside your office-- something you can tell your colleagues as an icebreaker in the middle of a very busy day.

If you are a person with good conversation skills, you also naturally inspire others to do the same thing even without trying. Good conversation skills is not just admirable, it is also contagious especially with people you interact with on a regular basis. If you are a catalyst to having good conversation skills at work, you can also expect your colleagues and consequently, your entire company, to grow well with you in that arena. Having good conversation skills is like shining a flashlight on what is otherwise considered as a typical work routine day. In addition to that, if you have cultivated yourself to attain good conversation skills, you will definitely reap what you sow by means of meeting more interesting people who can match your conversation skills and double your growth, professionally as well as personally.


Given a long and varied history, the term has, unsurprisingly, no less than three major types of definitions in the field, each of which has generated its own tradition of research, findings, and practical applications:

1. The original definition presents self-esteem as a ratio found by dividing one’s successes in areas of life of importance to a given individual by the failures in them or one’s “success / pretensions”.Problems with this approach come from making self-esteem contingent upon success: this implies inherent instability because failure can occur at any moment.

2. In the mid 1960s Morris Rosenberg and social-learning theorists defined self-esteem in terms of a stable sense of personal worth or worthiness, measurable by self-report testing. This became the most frequently used definition for research, but involves problems of boundary-definition, making self-esteem indistinguishable from such things as narcissism or simple bragging.

3. Nathaniel Branden in 1969 briefly defined self-esteem as "…the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness". This two-factor approach, as some have also called it, provides a balanced definition that seems to be capable of dealing with limits of defining self-esteem primarily in terms of competence or worth alone.


Branden’s (1969) description of self-esteem includes the following primary properties:

1. self-esteem as a basic human need, i.e., "…it makes an essential contribution to the life process", "…is indispensable to normal and healthy self-development, and has a value for survival."
2. self-esteem as an automatic and inevitable consequence of the sum of individuals' choices in using their consciousness
3. something experienced as a part of, or background to, all of the individual's thoughts, feelings and actions.

Compare the usage of terms such as self-love or self-confidence.

Measuring self-esteem

For the purposes of empirical research, psychologists typically assess self-esteem by a self-report questionnaire yielding a quantitative result. They establish the validity and reliability of the questionnaire prior to its use.

Popular lore recognizes just "high" self-esteem and "low" self-esteem.

The "Rosenberg Self Esteem Questionnaire" evaluates one's self esteem.[citation needed] A high score shows high self-esteem and a low score shows low self-esteem.[citation needed]

Maslow's approaches to esteem

Maslow described two kinds of esteem needs — the need for respect from others and the need for self-respect.[citation needed] Respect from others entails recognition, acceptance, status, and appreciation.[citation needed] Without the fulfillment of these needs, Maslow suggests, an individual feels discouraged, weak and inferior.[citation needed]

Quality and level of self-esteem

Level and quality of self-esteem, though correlated, remain distinct. Level-wise, one can exhibit high but fragile self-esteem (as in narcissism) or low but stable self-esteem (as in humility). However, investigators can indirectly assess the quality of self-esteem in several ways:

1. in terms of its constancy over time (stability)
2. in terms of its independence of meeting particular conditions (non-contingency)
3. in terms of its ingrained nature at a basic psychological level (implicitness or automaticity).

Excessive self-esteem

Humans have portrayed the dangers of excessive self-esteem and the advantages of more humility since at least the development of Greek tragedy, which typically showed the results of hubris. Ongoing social concern with too much perceived self-esteem reflects in everyday language: we speak of "overweening" types and of the need to "take a person down a peg or two". Spiritual practices (notably Eastern spiritual practices) which de-emphasize the self may lead to a more socially acceptable balance in the personal self-esteem stakes.

Criticisms

Critics see the all pervading importance given to self-esteem in popular culture and in modern psychology as misleading and dogmatic. A review[citation needed] of self-esteem literature by Roy Baumeister confirmed that high self-regard per se is not necessarily "good"; nor does it translate into higher estimates by others of a person's intellect, appearance or virtue. Baumeister describes the view of self-esteem as panacea as "a very compelling illusion" because it correlates with happiness and other good things; he sees psychologists as "a little too eager in promoting the program before the data were in." Some social constructionists[attribution needed] argue that modern-day America — with its overwhelming cultural bias towards self-enhancement — has fabricated and validated the dogma of self-esteem as a universal human goal that all must strive towards perfecting. This fails to consider the absence of such an emphasis in other flourishing cultures, in which people neither celebrate high self-esteem so much nor regard it as so central a concept.

Psychological literature and popular culture both concentrate on the presence or absence of high self-esteem, however some evidence suggests that the overemphasis on the self-esteem mantra can lead to rapid falls when the self becomes invalidated in the domains that one considers important. In addition this pursuit may have negative consequences on the welfare of society as a whole. Eastern philosophy, particularly Buddhist and Hindu thought, tends to see the self in its limited form as illusory; it perceives a "true self" as a sublime and transcendent entity, whose nature remains hidden from the limited or egoic self.

group discussion

4 steps to acing Group Discussion

Group Discussions are an important part of the short-listing process for admission to B-Schools.

Why? Because business management is essentially a group activity and working with groups is perhaps the most important parameter of career success as a manager.

These are the four main areas tested in your GD:

i. Content
ii. Communication skills
iii. Group dynamics
iv. Leadership

Content

Content is a combination of knowledge and the ability to create coherent, logical arguments on the basis of that knowledge. Merely memorising facts is pointless. We need an in-depth understanding of various issues as well as the ability to analyse the topic and build arguments.

For example, take the topic 'Are peace talks between India and Pakistan useless or useful?' The candidate should be clearly aware that this is not a test of patriotism. Nor should he or she forget that the purpose of the discussion is getting into a good B-School, and that his or her influence on India's foreign policy is zilch. So, an emotional response would, in all probability, get you disqualified.

Go for a balanced response like, "Even though little has resulted from talks, it is certainly good to see the talks continue." Please remember that your opinion does not matter. The depth of knowledge and logical analysis you show is critical. Unfortunately, such analytical skills are rarely taught at the school and graduate level, so learn and practise first.

ii. Communication skills

Communication is a two-way process, and the role of the listener is critical.

* The listener has his own interpretation of what you say. Unless you listen to him, you cannot figure out whether he or she has understood you.
* Unless you listen, the points you make may not fit in with points made by others. It is easy for an experienced evaluator (moderator) to realise you aren't listening.

Besides listening, you also need the ability to:

* Express your ideas in a clear and concise manner.
* Build on others' points.
* Sum up the discussion made by the entire group.

iii. Group dynamics

As mentioned before, a GD is a formal peer group situation and tests your behaviour as well as your influence on the group. Formal language and mutual respect are obvious requirements. In addition, you need to have:

* Willingness to listen and discuss various points of view. Do not take strong views in the beginning itself; try and analyse the pros and cons of a situation.
* Learn to disagree politely, if required. In fact, it is far better to put forward your point of view without specifically saying 'I disagree' or 'You're wrong'.
* Show appreciation for good points made by others. You can make a positive contribution by agreeing to and expanding an argument made by someone else.
* Size the opportunity to make a summary near the end or, even better, a part summary. Partial agreement or part consensus is a sign of the group's progress. Complete agreement is impossible in the time frame allotted.

Leadership

One of the most common misconceptions about leadership is that it is all about controlling the group. However, for the GDs we are talking about, leadership is all about giving direction to the group in terms of content.

It is about initiating the discussion and suggesting a path on which the group can continue the discussion.

A good leader is one who allows others to express their views and channels the discussion to a probable decision or conclusion on the given topic.

Types of GDs

i. Topic-based

~ Knowledge intensive: Here, the background knowledge of a subject is required for effective participation (for example: Should India go in for full convertibility of the rupee?).

~ Non-knowledge intensive: Requires structured thinking, but subject knowledge is not required (for example: Do women make better managers?)

~ Abstract: Requires out-of-the-box thinking, analogy and example-based discussion (For example: Money is sweeter than honey, blue is better than red).

ii. Case studies

A structured discussion of a specific situation is given as a case. Sometimes, you will be asked to enact a role play where each participant is allotted a role to play, with relevance to the case study.

iii. Group tasks

These are an extension of case studies where specific objectives are to be achieved as a group.

Conducting GDs

While there is a great deal of variety in the methodology of conducting a Group Discussion, let's discuss the methodology commonly used for B-School selections.

Normally 8-10 students are taken as a group, though in some cases, up to 16 people may be included in a group. The GD lasts for 10-15 minutes.

For a topic-based GD, 2-3 minutes of thinking time may be given; though the group is often told to start right away. For case studies, however, about 15 minutes is given.

The evaluation is done by one or two experts, usually professors from the B-School itself. Please remember that these people are experts with a lot of experience and can be counted upon to observe all details, even if the GD is chaotic.

The candidates may be seated in a circle or in a rectangular arrangement, with or without a table. Seating arrangements may be prefixed or there may be free seating.

The discussion may be stopped at the set time or even earlier. A conclusion or consensus may be asked for, though it usually does not occur. A written or oral summary may asked for at the end from each candidate.

How to prepare?

i. Content

~ Develop subject knowledge on current affairs, general awareness and business trends.
~ Structure arguments on selected topics, considering both sides to the argument.
~ Plan for short and lucid points.

ii. Practice

~ GD skills cannot be learned from books. Get into practice groups.
~ Get skilled people to observe and give feedback.
~ Spend a lot of time analysing each GD performance. Plan specific improvements

career guidence

How to Plan Your Career?

Choosing a career is a difficult matter, in the best of times. Add to this opinions of friends and parents, and the young person is caught up in a confusing situation where making a decision is almost impossible. We give here a model that can help young people to choose a career, gain competencies required for it, make decisions, set goals and take action. The decision for each individual is different, since everyone is a distinct individual. This model is helpful not only for fresher but also throughout one's life.

flowers

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INTERVIEW

Preparation is key to a successful interview

Does the idea of going to a job interview make you feel a little queasy? Many people find that it is the hardest part of the hiring process. But it doesn’t have to be. The more you prepare and practice, the more comfortable you will feel. Increase your odds of landing the job you want by brushing up on your interview skills.

Prepare before you go.
Find out all you can about the company before you go to the interview. Understand the products that they produce and/or the services that they provide. It’s also good to know who the customers are and who the major competitors are.

Practice makes perfect.
It will also make you feel more confident and relaxed. So, practice your answers to common questions. Make a list of questions to ask, too. Almost all interviewers will ask if you have questions. This is a great opportunity for you to show that you have done your homework and have put some thought into your questions

Make a great impression.
The interview is your chance to show that you are the best person for the job. Your application or resume has already exhibited that you are qualified. Now it ’s up to you to show how your skills and experience match this position and this company.

The employer will be looking and listening to determine if you are a good fit. He/she will be looking for a number of different qualities, in addition to the skills that you possess. To make the best impression, dress appropriately; sell your strengths; arrive early, by about 10-15 minutes; be enthusiastic; shake hands firmly; be an active listener; sit up straight and maintain eye contact; ask questions.

Say "thank you".
After the interview, follow up with a thank-you note. This is a chance for you to restate your interest and how you can benefit the company. Your best bet is to try to time it so that the note gets there before the hiring decision is made. You should also follow up with a phone call if you don’t hear back from the employer within the specified time. Check out some samples:

What Is Self Confidence?

How to gain self confidence

Today is one of those days when your group has to make a presentation to a client. This is an important occasion because it is an opportunity to get your boss' attention. It could mean a raise or a promotion if you could just muster the courage to stand there in front of these people and present your proposal. The problem is, your shyness gets the better of you, and you are relegated to the background.

You sat there mesmerized, as your colleague Elena made a winning presentation of your proposal. She stood there, dressed in a simple gray suit that spelled confidence! "Why can't I gather enough courage to present my work to these people when I know this project like the back of my hand," you ask yourself.

Self confidence. This is what you lack, and this is what your colleague Elena has. But what is self confidence? Is it the ability to speak in a loud voice so you can get people's attention? Is it about power dressing?

Self confidence is an attitude that is characterized by a positive belief that one can take control of one's life and of one's plans.

personality development- childhood and adolescence

Personality Development
Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence by Jerome Kagan, Ph.D. Harvard University

The concept of personality refers to the profile of stable beliefs, moods, and behaviors that differentiate among children (and adults) who live in a particular society. The profiles that differentiate children across cultures of different historical times will not be the same because the most adaptive profiles vary with the values of the society and the historical era. An essay on personality development written 300 years ago by a New England Puritan would have listed piety as a major psychological trait but that would not be regarded as an important personality trait in contemporary America.

Contemporary theorists emphasize personality traits having to do with individualism, internalized conscience, sociability with strangers, the ability to control strong emotion and impulse, and personal achievement.

An important reason for the immaturity of our understanding of personality development is the heavy reliance on questionnaires that are filled out by parents of children or the responses of older children to questionnaires. Because there is less use of behavioral observations of children, our theories of personality development are not strong.

Five Perspectives on Personality Development Perspective Assumed Processes Primary Outcomes
Temperament Inherent physiological mechanisms Ease of arousal, ability to regulate emotions and impulses, energy, reaction to unfamiliar people and events, dominant mood
Psychoanalytic Conflict over sexual and hostile motives Defenses, phobias, depressed mood
Attachment Relation to the caretaker in the infant years Control of impulse, social habits, security, anger, frustration tolerance, trust in others, capacity for love
Self Interpretations of experience, identification Guilt, shame, anxiety, self-confidence
Observed behavior Acquired habits Sociability, aggressive behavior, impulsivity, shyness, obedience

There are five different hypotheses regarding the early origins of personality (see accompanying table). One assumes that the child's inherited biology, usually called a temperamental bias, is an important basis for the child's later personality. Alexander Thomas and StellaChess suggested there were nine temperamental dimensions along with three synthetic types they called the difficult child, the easy child, and the child who is slow to warm up to unfamiliarity. Longitudinal studies of children suggest that a shy and fearful style of reacting to challenge and novelty predicts, to a modest degree, an adult personality that is passive to challenge and introverted in mood.

Manners

Helping Children With Manners

Manners are constantly changing from one century or one generation to the next. For example, a handshake originally was meant to show that men were not carrying a sword or dagger in their hands. Men still tip their hats because once knights in armor lifted the visors of their helmets to show their faces. And it wasn't too many years ago that a man almost always got up in a crowded bus and gave his seat to a woman. Nevertheless, certain manners do survive from one decade to the next, and this is because manners make life easier for everybody.

There are three important ideas behind the good manners we use today: custom, consideration, and common sense. Custom is the habit of doing certain things like shaking hands and tipping hats mentioned above. Consideration is the most important idea behind all good manners. Almost always, being considerate is being well-mannered. Consideration is simply thinking about the way the other person feels. Being rude to someone is bad manners, not because a book says so, but because it causes hurt feelings. Nearly all good manners have in element of common sense. If you are standing in the rear of a crowded elevator, it's not reasonable-nor good manners-to try pushing your way to the front so you can get out first.

These are the basic ideas we want to teach our children when we are trying to instill good manners-simple kindness, consideration, and common sense. The following suggestions written for and directed to children may give some added authority in the matter of what is common courtesy and what is not.

Manners at Home

Home is where you learn to get along with people. 'Me closer you live with other people, the more important good manners are. Everybody in a household should respect the rights and feelings of everybody else. Try to listen when others in the family have something to say. Even a little brother or sister who can't yet read or a grandmother who seems quite old has a right to an opinion.

It is important for members of a family to consider each other's privacy. No matter how crowded a home is, everyone in it has a right to some place that is his own. Here are some privacy don'ts:

* Don't open a closed door until you have knocked and waited for permission to enter.
* Don't go into anyone else's bureau, desk, box, or papers at home or anywhere else without his permission.
* Don't read anyone's mail or anything he has written (for example, a diary) unless he asks you to.
* Don't discuss the private affairs of your family with outsiders or tell about a family problem.

Another important part of family good manners is sharing. You share the TV set and the telephone and the bathroom and maybe a bedroom or a closet or a desk. You share the work. This means cleaning up after yourself and sharing the responsibility for the safety of everyone in the house.

Personality Development

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Six ways to make people like you

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Win people to your way of thinking

1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
A leader's job often includes changing your people's attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

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