How to learn more effectively?

It’s no surprise that as individuals, we have different learning and working styles. Some people learn better by discussing things in groups, or by jumping into a project straightaway. Others prefer to work alone or have time to think things through before starting something new.

How can you ensure that whenever you learn something – or when you present information or conduct training – you maximise learning effectiveness? Here are a few tips:

Understand your learning style
There are numerous theories about learning styles. A simple and often-used model categorises people as visual learners (65 percent of population), auditory learners (30 percent) or physical/tactile learners (5 percent). Other theories feature a more complex model, with each person tending towards one style or another along a continuum.

Knowing your preferred style of learning is a good starting point to get the most out of any learning experience. For example, if you know that you are a primarily visual learner, then you can supplement reading, lectures or other types of non-visual instruction or information with graphs, flowcharts, diagrams or video, so that you stimulate the main learning centres in your brain. When note-taking, you can also use mind map methods, draw arrows, symbols and shapes to show connections, or use different coloured highlighters.

Similarly, if you are more of a verbal or auditory learner, summarise the material in your own words, or discuss it with a group; explaining it and then hearing it in other people’s words can help you better understand and retain the information. Tactile learners will find it helpful to have something at hand that they can knead or touch; when you read or study, listen to background music, and take frequent breaks. As often as possible, use magnetic letters, maps, globes, note cards or anything tactile to supplement learning.


Get out of your comfort zone
It is also good to develop the areas where you are weaker. This is so that you don’t become too reliant on only one style of learning, limiting your ability to effectively take in new information.

For visual learners, relying solely on visual information can weaken your ability to understand or communicate verbal and written information. So it is important to improve your verbal skills, such as by practising explaining information to a colleague or reading the newspaper. Likewise, verbal learners can practise skills such as reading graphs and maps; and tactile learners should work on improving their verbal and/or visual abilities.


Mix it up
Research shows that on average, students who learn from reading alone only retain about 10 percent of the content. Whereas they retain 26 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 70 percent of what they say themselves, and 90 percent of what they say while doing something.

These statistics support the idea that by learning using different methods, you can retain more information, with people who have to explain or demonstrate something to others being the most successful at learning a topic.

In other words, the best way to learn is to use a variety of methods for each learning experience; no matter your learning style, you can benefit from different types of stimuli and input. Think of it as cross-training for your brain.

Edited from: HP.com

Posted for you By:
S.Grace Paul Regan

How to make better decisions ?

If you think we’re highly evolved beings with the capacity to think clearly and make careful decisions based on reason – think again. Science believes our decisions are often shaped by over-simplification, prejudice, our surroundings, and just plain laziness.

Our minds are easily subverted by images, and even by our own desires. That’s why we tend to avoid visits to the beach after watching sharks on TV, and why we believe we might win the lottery, though the odds are stacked against us. Indeed, we often only see what we want to see or recognise data that supports what we already think.

So, are we doomed to blunder through life led only by our irrational minds? Fortunately, help is at hand with the following useful tips.

The importance of defining your purpose

Clearly define in your own mind what you’re trying to achieve and, if it’s to be a group-based decision, involve the right colleagues – probably about five to seven people, including all key stakeholders.

Always present the idea or problem in the form of a question which helps identify the goal. For example, instead of stating, “Advantages to launching new product X next year,” ask, “When would be the best time to launch product X?” Be really clear in your own mind: what exactly is the problem you want to solve; and what benefits will solving the problem bring to your business? What will happen if you don’t solve the problem? By identifying the problem in this way, you’ll open up your mind to all sorts of alternative solutions.

Generate ideas

The worst way to make a decision is in a hurry. Take your time. Choose a relaxed, informal environment in which to hold your meeting, provide refreshments and allow time for several breaks for coffee.

Brainstorming is ideal for gathering ideas from a group of people; it helps us break out of stale, established patterns of thinking. The idea is to generate as many ideas as possible and encourage everyone to take part, sparking ideas and connections and opening up possibilities – even if they seem crazy! The more options you consider, the more comprehensive your final decision will be. There shouldn’t be any criticism or judgement at this stage; evaluation comes later. It is, however, important that one person in the group should record all the ideas that are generated in the meeting.

Of course, you can also brainstorm on your own: just allow yourself half an hour of absolute freedom to explore all your creativity and experience. However, the obvious disadvantage to this is that you will be limited by your patterns of thinking and, yes, your prejudice; this is why a decision made on your own is always going to be more limited in scope than one made in a group.

Explore alternatives

Once the ideas have been generated, it’s time to evaluate them, considering the possible consequences of each and assessing the pros and cons. Many of us are trained to think that in order to be successful we have to think positively – all the time – and this can mean that we’re under-prepared when problems arise. A useful technique is therefore to consider each problem from different perspectives: first, focussing strictly and analytically on the data available, looking at and learning from past trends; next, using your intuition, or gut feeling, and your emotions; and finally, pessimistically, imagining “the worst scenario”, which will highlight the weak points in your plan.

Look again at the question you presented when you were defining your purpose: have you looked at it from all possible angles? Can you identify how your business would benefit from each of the alternative solutions to the problem?

Take action

In the end, you can never know 100% whether or not you’re making the “right” decision. Only time will tell. But once you’ve decided, concentrate on implementing it in a way that makes it successful – and try not to have doubts!

Edited content from HP.com

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Top tips for talking to your staff !

So you’re the boss! While authority can give you a heady feeling, it can also come with special challenges and considerations – the most important of which is your ability to effectively communicate with your staff. Communication is the true measure of your relationship with employees, and can have real impact on your professional success as a manager. What’s more, effective internal communication boosts productivity and your company’s bottom line. Here are the key points you need to know.

1. Listen more than you talk\

Effective managers know that the most important element of good communication isn’t talking – it’s listening. From being open to new ideas to understanding employees’ concerns, you must allow your staff to tell you what’s on their minds without fear of repercussions. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything that’s said or accept every suggestion, but at least your employees will know that their concerns have been heard – which goes a long way towards building trust and respect.

2. Make your expectations clear

Vague, cryptic comments and instructions will confuse and frustrate your workers. Make sure that requests and agreements are clear, both verbally and in writing. If you are trying to address a problem with an employee, you need to use specific examples to communicate your point.

For example, don’t tell someone, “You need to work on meeting deadlines.” Instead, say, “These reports need to be done by 9:00 every Monday. When they’re not done on time, it prevents us from shipping on time, and that causes us to lose money and hurts our business relationship with customers.” Then, give the employee a specific roadmap for improvement, and offer support: “This really needs to improve within 30 days. If there is some reason why you’re not meeting your deadlines, let’s discuss it so we can figure out a solution.”

3. Don’t jump to conclusions

This goes hand in hand with good listening – don’t assume you know the full story behind an incident. Even if you were present when it occurred, there may be an underlying issue or problem you’re not aware of that caused the incident.

For example, if you receive a complaint about customer service, don’t just accuse your staff of not interacting well with customers. Say, “This is what I know about that situation,” and explain what you know. Then allow the employee(s) to tell you what happened from their perspective – you may discover that the issue was out of the employee’s control, or was due to other circumstances that need to be addressed.

4. Don’t forget positive reinforcement and feedback

One of the primary reasons workers leave a job is because they feel unappreciated. Employees don’t need to be constantly showered with insincere praise (“You did such a great job making those copies! Excellent work!”); however, it’s important to recognise genuine effort and accomplishment. Try to link specific actions with outcomes; for instance, “You did a great job with that presentation – I think we can really expect to generate higher sales from the customer.” Studies show that this type of recognition has several benefits: it increases company loyalty, boosts individual productivity, and improves customer and client relationships.

Content from Small & Medium Business HP

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

The 6 keys to boosting productivity !

Now more than ever, companies are pushing their employees to work harder, better and “smarter”. In effect, many employees are drowning in work, are overwhelmed, less productive and don’t know which task to handle first.

If this scenario sounds familiar to you, then it’s time for our top tips and some easy-to-implement ideas you might find useful.

1. Get organised

Where are last month’s progress reports? If you’re disorganised, it’s highly likely that you’ll spend too much time searching for things you need. So the heart of any good productivity plan is good personal organisation. Set aside a day or even a weekend to go through your PC or laptop and organise files and folders, get rid of information or programs you no longer need, and clean up your workspace. Not only is it mentally refreshing, you’ll be amazed at how much time and frustration you’ll save when you know exactly where to find that elusive progress report.

2. Identify and eliminate distractions

While ringing telephones and chatty colleagues are a regular part of office life, learn to identify when they’re getting in the way of your work. While some people can function perfectly well with noise and activity all around them, others find that even the gentle hum of a fan wrecks their concentration. If you’re the latter kind of person, don’t be shy about getting the peace you need to do your work properly. Retreat with your laptop to a quiet conference room, try noise-cancelling headphones, or work from home if it’s feasible and less distracting.

3. Get plenty of rest

When your to-do list is three pages long, taking a break may sound counter-intuitive. However, you can’t work efficiently if your brain and body are exhausted – and working to exhaustion can create serious long-term health problems. So make sure you get sufficient sleep every night, and take short breaks during the work day. Even a ten-minute walk can revive you, reduce stress levels and improve your concentration.

4. Prioritise and delegate

Without some idea of which tasks are most important and require the most effort, you may lurch from project to project and waste time that could be better spent focusing elsewhere. So as part of your “getting organised” process, make a list of all the tasks you have to complete on a daily basis and rank them in order of importance. Then, decide how much time realistically needs to be spent on each one, and try to stick to that schedule each day. You may also want to evaluate which, if any, of those tasks could be done by someone else. Maybe an employee or colleague has more time or is better suited to the task. Effective delegation isn’t necessarily about dumping work on someone else – it’s just about efficiency.

5. Talk less, do more

Do you spend a lot of your working time in meetings? Meetings are often unproductive and consume essential hours of the day that could be used to do actual work. If this is the case, simply stop holding those meetings or postpone them to a day when you do not have so many deadlines looming on the horizon.

6. Reading isn’t action

You’re currently reading an article about how to be more productive at work. Well, reading about it also keeps you away from tackling your tasks. Now, let this be the last one and get to work or seek further help

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Every Consultants Should Read !!!

30 second Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO of Coca Cola)

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it."

WORK EFFICIENTLY DUR ING OFFICE HOURS AND LEAVE ON TIME. GIVE THE REQUIRED TIME TO YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & HAVE PROPER REST.

Dr. Abdul Kalam's Letter to Every Indian !

Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?
We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites..
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours..


YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke. The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - 'YOURS'. Give him a face - 'YOURS'. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are.. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity… In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.

YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand ..

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan ..
Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.

We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.

When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?

What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too…. I am echoing J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians…..

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

Communicate this message to each Indian for a change instead of Jokes or gossips.

Thank you,
Dr.. Abdul Kalam

Don’t explode! Tips for managing anger at work

Anger is a completely normal human emotion – and a powerful one. When allowed to boil over, it can seriously damage relationships and hurt your professional credibility. But when completely suppressed, anger can turn inward, causing high blood pressure, depression or passive-aggressive behaviour.

When you find yourself struggling with anger, or are the target of someone else’s wrath, there are a few coping strategies you can use to help defuse and deal with the situation in a healthy way.

1. Try to calm down inside
During a difficult conversation, make sure you breathe deeply and evenly, from the diaphragm. Picture your breath coming up from the very middle of your body. Talk to yourself, slowly repeating something like “relax, keep calm”. You can also close your eyes for a few seconds and visualise a relaxing image, something that calms you down or makes you happy. While you are speaking, slow down, don’t interrupt, and consider carefully what you are saying.

2. Remove yourself from the situationIf tensions are flaring, consider taking a break from the discussion and returning to it later when you’ve both calmed down. As time passes, you’ll become more objective and the problem will crystalise in your head.

3. Choose the right medium for delivering your message
When you’re full of anger, it can be tempting to fire off a harshly worded e-mail, or stride over to someone’s desk to berate them. However, take a moment to consider what might be the best course of action. Negative emotions should actually not be shared in e-mails: what would appear quite reasonable when expressed in person or on the phone can come across quite differently in a mail, and can be interpreted wrongly. So arrange a time to talk – face to face, if possible.

4. Try to see the other person’s perspectiveIf you find yourself angry at a specific person, or they’re targeting you with their anger, take a moment to put yourself in their position. Everyone has their own stress and pressure; perhaps this person is dealing with a tough deadline, is the victim of a demanding boss, or has a personal problem at home. When you’re able to see the other person as a fallible human being just trying to get through the work day like you are, it’s easier to calm down and find common ground on which to start resolving your issues.

5. Moderate your languageListen carefully before you respond, and use phrases like, “I understand”, to show you are willing to see their point of view. Don’t use strong language or insults, and avoid words like “always” and “never”: they are probably inaccurate and will weaken your point. Another useful tip is the “mirroring technique”, where you repeat the other person’s words or phrases in what you are saying, not to annoy them further but to show you are really listening and that you understand them. Finally, don’t shift the blame for your anger on to them. Instead of saying, “You really annoy me when you …”, say, “I feel upset when you …”

6. Don’t take anger personally – and don’t fight backIf you’re being shouted at or treated rudely, try to remember: it isn’t really about you. You are not responsible for anyone else’s behaviour apart from your own, and you can’t control how they act. You can only control your response to their behaviour. If someone is lashing out at you, lashing back will only escalate the situation. Responding calmly, or not reacting at all and refusing to “feed” another person’s anger will cause it to burn out faster − just like depriving a fire of oxygen.

7. Know your “anger triggers” and find alternatives
Learn to recognise what makes you angry. It may be people, situations or tasks that cause your blood to boil – so figure out what they are, and figure out how to work around them with alternatives. For example, you may find that your daily commute to work leaves you frustrated and enraged in the morning before your day has even started. So explore different options – map a different route, drive rather than take public transport or vice versa. Or maybe you find yourself livid every time you have to prepare a certain report. Look for different, more efficient ways to get the task done, ask for help, or see if someone else is able or better suited to do it.

Finally, find healthy outlets for anger. Try vigorous exercise, or calming yoga or meditation routines. Allow yourself to release your frustration in a constructive way so that it doesn’t bottle up inside you – or explode in unhealthy ways.

Edited and Posted By,
Orginal Content from HP Asia-Pacific
S.Grace Paul Regan

Refined Consultant

Who is a refined consultant ?

1. The one who comes in high formal dress code with cozy suits but at the end looks like a donkey dressed up. Management "EMPLOYEES" doesn’t know dress code is worth for nothing if you know something, "if you know something! dress code is worth for nothing"

2. Try’s to show off himself and always shows his weakness, speaks butler English but in American accent. “How you speak doesn’t matter, What you speaks always matters”, Make sure what you deliever is understood.

3. Doesn’t know a word in a module but keeps up his image by pretending as if he knows INS and OUT of that particular subject. “A man becomes nothing when he thinks he knows everything”

4. Try’s to blow his buddy’s mistake beyond proportion and try’s to create a better image for himself as if he knows more than everybody. “It’s better to say NO and learn rather to say YES and being screwed”

5. Always have a laptop ,a costly mobile and some techie stuff and end of the day doesn’t know where a photo is saved when he saves the document from the net, never knew his mobile has wi-fi and so on …”Show off is like a chocolate wrapper – Having a good wrapper but soil inside will make the person throw both (Wrapper and Soil) in the dustbin or Having a good wrapper and good chocolate will at least spare the chocolate” But end of the day show off goes to the dust bin either you are a good wrapper or a bad one” Its better be who you are !

6. Keeps on searching mails if there is no mail to read he will forward some stupid messages to all his friends (Same Consultant’s) and will keep them busy, what a loop of network?. Invest your time positively , try to learn new things from web, update your knowledge…”Positive Investments have Positive Returns”

7. Always tries to work late after office hours even he would have not had work for at least 30 min in that day, But he will work late hours to prove that he is the only dedicated consultant in this world and loses his personnel dignity and self-esteem. By doing this he proves he will work only to please others not his self conscious. “Be Bold and Be Happy to work for you if not admit to be a slave”

8. He will try to poke his nose in other peoples work and will create a nuisance for other consultants, but he will fell happy about that he has proved to be knowledgeable, but he doesn’t know he lost his dignity and self respect among his colleagues. “One who loses his self respect loses his dignity, One who loses his dignity will lose his credibility, One who loses his credibility, will lose his self esteem, One who loses his self esteem loses his life”

9. Develops a attitude “Never Help Any Body” , thinks he has hard learned lot of things and it not good to teach someone for free or even if he’s in trouble. This means he has not realized only when you give to other you will get from others. “Only river creates a flow. Even though ocean is big but still it’s stagnant. He proves to be stagnant”

Do you think these qualities creates a Refined Consultant !!!

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

My Experience!!

Dear All,

Living this consulting life so far, whether I have enjoyed consulting or suffered through hardships and mistakes it matters!

I will really feel happy to share my good experience to make you feel even good and my bad experiences to make you aware before you have a bad experience like me.

If you feel that my shared experiences helped you in some situation, Please reply to my mail id or post your comment on this b-log just to motivate me. For sure you will find my experiences to sharpen your professional life!

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan
regan.gpr@gmail.com