EC MOTIVATION

All our actions are because of motivation. Now the question is, what motivates us? Is it a GOAL, or a PURPOSE or our EMOTIONS(FEELINGS)? Actually most of the time we act (or just don't act) because we want to FEEL good about doing something or having something or being something. But then this kind of motivation has no particular direction. It leads us nowhere. It's a waste of time and efforts. When we are motivated by a particular GOAL it gives us a sense of direction. For eg. A person thinks that -I am watching TV not because I want to feel good but because I want to improve my communication skills in English. Here the viewer has a clear goal in watching TV ie., to better EC skills. His/Her actions are not led by emotions but they are GOAL ORIENTED. But here also there is something missing and that is the reason for that goal. Why does the person want to improve his/her EC skills? A likely answer is for a better job/ a better profession/ a better life (by articulating my thoughts, beliefs,ideas and doubts) or for having better conversations with people. So the goals should have a purpose. But the most important thing is to be HERE and NOW ie., to enjoy and focus on the work you are doing.

When I thought of making a blog on English Communication skills my focus was fully on how it would help my vacation batch students to learn EC in a better way. Similarly when I went to have a discussion about the blog with the editor of a leading newspaper I focused on how the blog would help EC learners. In both these cases I was not focusing on any particular result or I had no fixed ideas of success/failure. So the motivation was inherent in the action. There was neither a fear nor a desire. So the demotivational factors were absent.

"If you are motivated by wrong reasons, you would also be demotivated by wrong reasons."

Suppose you are an actor and after a performance you get a lot of good comments. You feel very happy and energetic. But the next performance is not liked by many people and the comments are very discouraging. And you become unhappy and demotivated.

So it is important to get motivated by the right reasons, for the right reasons and in the right way. 

TO BE CONTINUED...

EC EXAMS

In state govt. job recruitment exams like PSC the pattern of questions in the verbal ability section(English) consists of basically two types of questions: Type A)Testing the knowledge in English-sentence-structures & Type B) Testing the knowledge in English words(vocabulary).

A sample of Type A questions:

He is the best speaker____ is available. (which/that/whom/what)....Ans. that

I would hurry up if I ____ you. (were/was/is/am)....Ans. were

A sample of Type B questions:

One word for a collection of ships: (pack/cluster/fleet/group)....Ans. fleet

The opposite of  'Ascend' is: (detract/derange/retreat/descend)....Ans. descend

A good strategy for exam preparation is:

• Read English newspapers daily; make a list of new words and get their meanings then and there with the help of a dictionary.
• Making a habit of reading English books and newspapers will make one familiar with different sentences and words. This practice will help in spotting the answers of multiple choice questions very easy, almost spontaneous.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

EC Expressions

Life is beautiful !

It's OK.

Wow! What an idea!

Sorry, I am really very sorry. Please forgive me...

Thank you very much indeed.

Are you happy now?

You have been so good to me.

...to be continued

LAW OF ATTRACTION in EC

Before coming to the main topic ie., the law of attraction let's first address ourselves as KINGS, QUEENS, EMPERORS, PRIME MINISTERS,PRESIDENTS etc. Why? Because that's precisely what we are in real life. Aren't we the rulers of our LAND OF THOUGHTS or MINDS? If not, then what is or rather who is stopping us from being so? We, ourselves...aren't we?
Now this Law of Attraction says that the matter in our thoughts ie., the key content, can attract the matter from the universe. 
Here we can imagine a thought as an electrical signal that has a particular frequency or a particular amount of energy. So what do we need for a particular thing/action/situation to materialize? Again energy of a particular type. So isn't there any connection in what is thought and what is materialized? This is what is called Law of Attraction.This law operates in Communication too. In this case our THOUGHTS, CONVERSATIONS and DISCUSSIONS are what drive the situations around us and thereby change/create/sustain the world outside.
 
So Law of Attraction in its most simple form says that the changes in the outside world begins with a change, even a small change, a slight change in your world, ie., in your world of thoughts or to be more exact, in your world of thoughts having a pattern which is also called BELIEF.

So ACTION in the mind forms BELIEFS which COMMUNICATE with the DYNAMIC ENERGY in the outer world and things happen like magic. This is the ABCDE of Law of Attraction.  

For those who don't believe in the Law of Attraction, there is another option..

TO BE CONTINUED...

EC MOVIE REVIEWS

Movies like The Dirty Picture, Hinglish Vinglish, Queen etc. have heralded a new era in Bollywood, that of women-centric films. Hinglish Vinglish stands apart from such movies for the reason that in this the protagonist is a middle aged, housewife always in sarees and never tries to outwit the other person using her bold language or manners. She is calm, graceful and understanding. She is the woman next door who can be seen in any part of the world.
Hinglish Vinglish directed by Gauri Shinde is a very simple movie with a very simple story told in a simple way. Simplicity is the trademark here. It's the story of a homemaker Shashi(Sreedevi) who is very good at making sweets and also selling them. But the family mainly her husband and her elder daughter think very low of her and treat her with disrespect. The reason for their superiority complex is their ability in English communication and the protagonist's perceived disability in EC. Shashi is going through a very low self esteem phase in her life when the movie begins because of her family's judgmental attitude towards her and then there is a twist in the tale. An opportunity comes her way to go to USA, all alone. She undertakes this mission also in her stride as a true Indian woman with a never-say-die attitude. And from this point the journey to self discovery and empowerment begins for Shashi, the human being (not Shashi, the mother/wife/housewife)
What is great about this small film is that the main character strikes a rapport with every viewer who has had to go through a similar "low in self respect" life because of a lack of confidence and power in their English Communication. And the problem worsens mainly because the people who are supposed to give a helping hand take it as an opportunity to run down the victim(of circumstances).
Every character grows through the movie. The underlying message is -let's stop being judgemental when someone tries to speak English or does something which he/she is not good at and also let's acknowledge, appreciate and at least say a few good words when someone shows a talent at something which lack in ourselves...in short, let's try to be humane... 

TO BE CONTINUED...

EC ICE BREAKERS

AN ICE BREAKER GAME FOR HAVING BETTER CONVERSATIONS

The participants write on the board/paper three things they like and three things they dislike but the keywords should all be mixed up in such a way that the audience or the other person(s) taking part in the conversation doesn't have any idea about what the speaker likes or dislikes. So the person asking a question about the keywords has to guess well and ask a question tag for eg. You like ICE CREAMS, don't you? or You dislike coffee, don't you? (In this case ICE CREAM and COFFEE being the keywords)
This game works very well with children. Adults I have noticed take a long time to write keywords about things they dislike. Some people say - I dislike nothing!

AN ICE BREAKER SPEECH FOR HAVING BETTER CONVERSATIONS

I am ____. I am not ____ (About your STATE)
I have ___. I don't have ____( About your POSSESSION)
I have ____. I haven't ____(About a PAST ACTION)
I can ____. I can't ____(About an ABILITY)

TO BE CONTINUED...

EC SLOGANS

GREAT WAYS TO SAY GREAT THINGS ABOUT GREATNESS

TO BE CONTINUED...