Archive for the ‘Learners’ Category

Talking comic strips are perfect for language learners

  A mix of colorful visuals, speech bubbles and audio content is the perfect combination for language acquisition. You can use the talking comic strips to teach specific grammar points, introduce a new topic, summarize a unit, the sky is the limit. Students will love creating their own talking comic strips as well. The image that you see here in the left is one panel of  a talking comic strip. Click here  or on the picture to see and hear the full size talking comic strip  My talking comic strip provides a general explanation of how it was created using free web 2 tools Glogster/ Toondoo and Audacity a free open source software for recording and editing sounds.   Be sure to turn up your speakers to hear the sound. If you are interested in learning more about how to create cool content using free web 2.0 tools subscribe CoachENG newsletter at the top right hand side of this page. Thanks!  Read more about teaching with comic strips here.

Did you create a comic strip of your own? You are invited to share links to your comic strips in the comments box below! Thanks, Karen Eini

Let’s think for a minute.
In what sitations would accelerated learning make a big difference in your life?
For that big exam, that important speech, or major presentation ?

Accelerated learning is the ability to pick things up fast. It  is a really handy tool for rapid progression and the capacity to ‘get it’ and absorb new facts, skills and ideas rapidly means you will always have the competitive edge.

Would you like to learn how to filter out distractions and instinctively use ‘imaginative rehearsal’ to embed the learning instantly and deeply?
You can start right now and ACE that next exam!

Download the audio file to your MP3 and listen and get the results that you want!

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7  Public Speaking Survival Tips

I used to be terrified of public speaking - now it’s natural and fun.

Dry mouth, fast heart, sweaty palms, blank mind - yeah I’ve been there! It’s easy to fear public speaking. But I was never just content with overcoming fear. I wanted to be a great speaker. What I needed was a way of calming down and applying simple techniques and strategies to talk like a pro.

When I’d learned to relax (more of that later) I learned and applied the following four steps.

1. Reassure your audience - they need to know you know your stuff and you are human!
2. Hook them by being interesting and relevant. Tell them why what you are saying is relevant to them.
3. Inspire them by giving them information and ways of seeing that are new and applicable.
4. Leave them on a high by telling a story them encapsulates your central message.

How do you become confident enough to apply the four steps?

Here’s some tips some of which are practical some of which are to do with the way you think about your public presentations and also how you can start to change the way you feel about them.

Tip One

Breath your way to calm. When you breath out you relax that’s why people sigh when they’re stressed.

Breathing in without breathing out causes hyperventilation and worsens anxiety. Just before your speech take five minutes breathing in to the count of seven and out to the count of eleven (quick count-not seconds!). On the out breath hold it a second before breathing in again. This will produce quick and lasting calm. Remember extending the out breath calms you down.

Tip Two

You have a responsibility as the presenter but relax you don’t carry all the responsibility. Presenting is a team effort. Audiences are responsible for politeness, extending their attention and attempting to learn. It’s not all you-it’s a meeting of two halves. Never mind how they judge you. How do you judge them?

Tip Three

Use metaphor and stories. We all experience life metaphorically. The most technical logical person spends at least two hours a night dreaming! Talk detail if necessary but present patterns with metaphors. Folk from 4 to 104 love stories. Use em.

Tip four

Captivate attention by using words that evoke all the senses. Describe how things look, sound, feel, smell and taste. Paint pictures and sensations in their minds with your words.

Tip Five

Vary your voice tonality and speed of delivery. Keep them alert and engaged. Convey energy when need be and slow down when you need to ‘draw them in close.’ You are the conductor to their orchestra. And pepper your talk with humour. Your willingness to be funny shows personal confidence and confidence is contagious.

Tip Six

Tell them what they are going to get. What they are currently getting and then what they have got from you. Sell your sizzle!

Tip Seven

Watch and learn from other great speakers until compelling, relaxed speaking is a part of you.

Rehearse positively. You need to rehearse how your going to feel as well as what you are going to present. Don’t think about your forthcoming presentation whilst feeling nervous as this creates an instinctive association between fear and presenting. This natural negative self-hypnosis is very common with nervous speakers.

Hypnotically rehearse your speech whilst feeling relaxed. This produces the right ‘blueprint’ in your mind. In fact when you do this enough times it actually becomes hard to be nervous!

All great speakers know how to use great self-hypnotic rehearsal. Hypnosis changes attitudes and can bring emotion under control. I used hypnosis, to change my instincts around public speaking. Now I just can’t get nervous whether it’s 50 or 500 people. The world needs great communicators. Go for it!

Cure your fear of public speaking at HypnosisDownloads.com

Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.