Here are four ways to "quiet your presentation anxiety"

It can be unnerving for some youngsters to walk to the front of a room, or go up on stage, and make a presentation to twenty or thirty people, forget a few hundred, in the audience. Is there a way to quiet their anxiety? Yes indeed, writes Selena Rezvani on the Forbes website.

Rezvani, who recently had to present a workshop to more than a thousand women around the globe at a "webinar", says she began feeling the pressure as the event neared.

As the registration numbers climbed prior to the event, so did my anxiety. I fussed and fretted — and it wasn’t until I found a list I’d jotted down last year that I got my focus back; that list contained four strategies that I’d focused on and upheld during my best presentations.

Rezvani then shares those four strategies:

• Don’t be self-centered!
• Find your right rehearsal level
• Get right to it
• Think connection, not perfection

These are all excellent tips, which Rezvani elaborates on in her article. Check it out here.

• UPDATE (June 15, 2013): Here is a must-read piece by Vivek Wadhwa, a Stanford University scholar, which I happened to see on LinkedIn today: "How To Go From Being a Disaster—To a Great Speaker".

• UPDATE (September 20, 2013): Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte, an American company that specialises in "turning ideas into persuasive presentations", has this important advice to offer:

Let’s clear something up: you, as the presenter or speaker, are not the most important guy/girl in the room.

Just because you’re on a stage or in front of a crowd does not make you the savior everyone has been waiting for. (This applies whether you are addressing a conference of ten thousand or holding a team meeting with three people.)

Recognize that you are Yoda, not Luke.

The most important people in the room are your audience: make them the heroes of your story. Defer to them, because if they don’t engage and believe in your message, you are the one who loses. Without their help, your idea will fail. Become the mentor in their story and whisper guidance in their ear, empowering them to be the agents of change and achieve greatness.

Read Duarte's post in its entirety here: "Like Yoda You Must Be" (I hope you have watched the Star Wars movies, or know about this cultural phenomenon.)

• UPDATE (November 7, 2013): If you are serious about becoming good at public speaking, you should think seriously about enrolling for this free online course offered by the University of Washington on Coursera: "Introduction to Public Speaking, by Dr. Matt McGarrity". (To learn more about Coursera and Massive Open Online Courses, read this post: "How would you like to take the world's best courses, online, for free?")

A serious attempt to give poetry the space it deserves

Mint Lounge has just launched a fortnightly series that is sure to warm the cockles of the hearts of poets and poetry lovers everywhere. "Poetry Pradesh", which will bring readers "stories about publishing, writing, and preserving poetry", is a serious attempt to give space to an art form that many Indian publications ignore.

In the inaugural column published earlier this month, Rajni George admits that selling poetry is tough. She writes:

Being ignored as well as sometimes blindly adored by the masses is the birthright of poetry. Even dedicated readers do not always have time for it. Out of everyone reading the books pages, a few might read this piece.

However, George asserts, poetry is still a vocal player in its tough corner of the market and she then puts the spotlight on a small group of publishers who, as she says, comprise India’s independent poetry scene today.

Read the piece in its entirety here: "Limited edition".

You can also savour two poems here, one by Adil Jussawalla, and the other by Tenzin Tsundue.

• You may also like to read Aakar Patel's scintillating explanation of why Gulzar and Javed Akhtar need to be considered among the  great poets of Urdu, alongside Mir, Ghalib, Iqbal, and Faiz:  "The list isn't complete".

• UPDATE (July 1, 2012): In the second column in the "Poetry Pradesh" series, Gayatri Jayaraman puts the spotlight on the lack of poetry archives in India. Also on offer: Two poems from Adil Jussawalla's archive.

A prime example of an illiterate sentence

OCCASIONAL RANT NO. 2:

In "The Fantastic 40s", its cover story on June 24, The Economic Times on Sunday features Mumbai trauma surgeon Anand Patil in a sidebar with this ghastly faux pas in the caption:

"New goals for life: For eg: To run all five great marathons of the world."

Here's the problem: "e.g." is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "exempli gratia", which means "for example". So you CANNOT write "for eg".

• Also read: "What's the point of an education if you remain illiterate?"

Who can say no to a weekly interestingness digest?

It is not often that I can be persuaded to subscribe to a blog by parting with my e-mail address and signing up to receive a weekly newsletter. I am picky that way. So far, I have only opened up my in-box to one blogger and that is Dr. Mardy Grothe. But, a couple of days ago, I chanced upon Brain Pickings, a veritable treasure chest lovingly handcrafted by Maria Popova, and after having studied the wonderful "pickings" on offer, I have just now signed up for the "free weekly interestingness digest". Who can say no to an interestingness digest?

What first attracted me to Brain Pickings was Popova's post about nine books on reading and writing. Many of my favourite books, including The Elements of Style, Stephen King's On Writing, and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, are on the list. There are some books here that were new to me: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott; How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One, by Stanley Fish; and Ernest Hemingway on Writing. (Flipkart — here I come!)

Of course, it's not just the list that I found interesting but what Popova had to say about each book and the excerpts she has chosen from each one. Here is her introductory comment on the The Elements of Style edition that is No. 1 on her list:

If anyone can make grammar fun, it’s Maira Kalman — The Elements of Style Illustrated marries Kalman’s signature whimsy with Strunk and White’s indispensable style guide to create an instant classic.

And here's Popova on How to Write a Sentence:

It belongs not on the shelf of your home library but in your brain’s most deep-seated amphibian sensemaking underbelly — an insightful, rigorous manual on the art of language that may just be one of the best such tools since The Elements of Style.

Surely you want to read more? And possibly sign up for the "free weekly interestingness digest"? Here you go: "New Year’s Resolution Reading List: 9 Books on Reading and Writing".

• Also read: "10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy". And you absolutely must check out Maria Popova's bookshelf.

• Illustration courtesy: Brain Pickings.

• UPDATE (August 10, 2012): My post on How to Write a Sentence: "Want to learn how to write a sentence? (Who doesn’t?)".

You are your... ATTITUDE

Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.

This quote, by retired American football coach, Leo "Lou" Holtz, who is now an active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker, was one of the many gems I received last night in an e-mail from Dr. Marty Grothe (I am a subscriber to his "Quotes of the Week" newsletter).

What he has to say about the importance of attitude is so apt, and so beneficial, that I am reproducing his piece in full, complete with homework assignment:

DR. MARDY GROTHE

"Would You Benefit From
an Attitude Adjustment?"
By Dr. Marty Grothe

Most people think that the word "attitude" refers to people's opinions or feelings. And while that is reasonably accurate, the primary definition of the word is "a position of the body or limbs, a manner of carrying oneself." In this primary sense, synonyms of the word are posture, carriage, pose, and stance—all words that refer to the characteristic position we assume with regard to the world about us.

So when I ask the question, "Would you benefit from an attitude adjustment?", I am speaking as a kind of chiropractor of the mind, and my question is suggesting that your mental alignment may be slightly off—and possibly even in need of a treatment. Okay, I realise the metaphor may be slightly forced, but bear with me for a moment as I pursue it further.

Just as our skeletal alignments can be "off," so can our attitudes about the world. We see it all the time with people whose emotional states are not in synch with the reality of their lives. Many worry when there is no rational reason to do so. Others are fearful when there is no good reason to be afraid. Some are tight-fisted and penurious, even when they are well off, or even wealthy. You get the picture.

If you're living a completely healthy, effective, and satisfying life, then you can skip over the rest of this section.

But if things are not going as well as you'd like, then it's possible you might benefit from an attitude adjustment.

So here's a homework assignment. Select a half-dozen trusted people and ask them to peruse the "attitude" quotations that appear at the end of this paragraph. Then, one by one, ask them this question: "Having read over these quotations, I'd like your feedback on how well my attitudes are working for me. In what ways are they serving me well, and where do I need to make some changes to function more effectively?"

Once you ask the question, listen attentively. When the person stops talking, don't offer any reactions. Simply ask, "What else?" And then listen some more. Before you embark on the assignment, though, let your thinking be stimulated by these observations of the subject:

  If you don't like something, change it.
   If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.
         Maya Angelou

  A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances,
   but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
         Hugh Downs

  It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which,
   more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
         William James

  The last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude
   in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
         Viktor Frankl

  The essence of spiritual practice is your attitude toward others.
         Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

  Every extreme attitude is a flight from the self.
         Eric Hoffer

  Ability is what you're capable of doing.
   Motivation determines what you do.
   Attitude determines how well you do it.
         Lou Holtz

  Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently,
   but life itself would come to be different.
   Life would undergo a change of appearance because
   we ourselves had undergone a change of attitude.
         Katherine Mansfield

  A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others.
   Be a carrier.
         Tom Stoppard

  If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.
         Amy Tan

  If life becomes hard to bear, we think of a change in our circumstances.
   But the most important and effective change,
   a change in our own attitude, hardly even occurs to us,
   and the resolution to take such a step is very difficult for us.
         Ludwig Wittgenstein

• Want to know more about Dr. Mardy Grothe? Check out this Reading Room post which I published last September.

• Also read: "How mature do you think you are?"

Love music? Love the blues? You will love Shillong's Soulmate

Thank you, Shubha Mudgal, for introducing me to music and musicians that I did not know existed.

Mudgal, the noted singer of Hindustani classical music, writes a regular column called "Music Matters" (a clever title that) in Mint Lounge. It is from reading Mudgal's most recent piece that I learnt of Soulmate, the Shillong-based band, and Tipriti Kharbangar, Soulmate's lead vocalist.

That's Tipriti above, performing Voodoo Woman with Soulmate in the US last year. After you watch this video you will have no trouble understanding what Mudgal meant when she described Tipriti's voice as "gut-wrenching and intensely tuneful".

Tipriti also sings in Khasi, her mother tongue. Here's Mudgal's observation after listening to Soulmate perform Shillong (Sier Lapalang):

I had no idea what the words meant but there was this give-it-all-you-have abandon and sense of conviction in her voice that was both stunning and riveting at the same time. In fact, there was this lament-like quality about the song, but not a resigned lie-down-and-cry-your-heart-out kind of lament. It was a wild, uninhibited howl-like lament that brought down an attentive hush on the listeners.

Coming from an accomplished vocalist herself, that's high praise indeed.

TIPRITI KHARBANGAR. Photo courtesy: Baia Marbaniang/Ivory Cottage Creatives

Read Shubha Mudgal's column in its entirety here: "Talk to the Blues".

• UPDATE: Five minutes after I posted the link to this post on the Facebook wall of Commitscion Baniaikymaw Lydia Shanpru, who hails from Shillong, she returned the favour by sending me links to some Soulmate tracks on in.com. Thanks so much, Baniaikymaw. 

• UPDATE (June 22, 2012): Commitscion Nishal Lama not only commented on my Facebook link, but he also provided a link to Soulmate's music on MySpace: "Thanks for sharing this one. They are simply amazing. In fact, one of the best blues bands from India. I am lucky to have seen and shot a couple of their gigs in Bangalore. Tips and Rudy make an amazing couple. I remember Shubha Mudgal mentioning one more artist from Assam, Angarag Mahanta, in of her pieces in Mint. You should check him out too. Cheers!" And here's the MySpace link: "Soulmate".

• UPDATE (February 9, 2013): Mint yesterday featured Tipriti and Rudy in "Love Issue 2013". Read the article to know more about the couple: "Shillong sung blue".

DNA's headline blooper

Ramesh Prabhu

22 hours ago

Occasional rant No. 1:

Headline in DNA today — "Empower mothers to control children's sexual abuse"

"Control" as in, say, "control a child's access to the internet"? Meaning allow the child access to the internet but exercise control over the websites the child visits.

Is "control" the appropriate word in that headline? Shouldn't it have been written as "Empower mothers to prevent children's sexual abuse"?

 ·  · Share

• 
  

  Nikita Kothari, Suhani Jain-Sethi and 3 others like this.
• • 
    

    Ramesh Prabhu Also read: http://goo.gl/oseJ1.
    

    
    

    THE READING ROOM: 50 Facebook rants to make you think about bad English vs good English

    engageentertainenlighten.blogspot.com
    

    This blog is for students of Commits, a media college in Bangalore, where I teac...See More

    
    

    22 hours ago ·  · 1 · 
  • 
    

    Ankana Sinha Also Sir, correct me if I am wrong, doesn't using the word control also suggest that you are allowing it to happen but in a measured way?
    

    21 hours ago · 
  • 
    

    Ramesh Prabhu That is the point I am trying to make with my internet example above, Ankana.
    

    21 hours ago ·  · 1
  • 
    

    Ankana Sinha For once we agree ;)
    

    21 hours ago · 

How mature do you think you are?

"Maturity is the ability: to do a job whether you're supervised or not;
to finish a job once it's started; to carry money without spending it;
and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even."
~ Abigail van Buren (often misattributed to twin sister, Ann Landers)

(My view exactly — except I have never been able to articulate it as well as Abigail van Buren, who, way back in 1956, founded the extremely popular advice column, Dear Abby. To read the column, which is now being run by Abigail van Buren's daughter, go here.)

A tribute to the courage and commitment of a Tehelka photojournalist

Early in May, Tarun Sehrawat, Tehelka's staff photographer, accompanied the magazine's reporter Tusha Mittal to Abujmarh, the Maoists' stronghold in Chhattisgarh.

Tusha is 27 years old; Tarun was just 22.

Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury, in her "Editor's Cut" column of May 26, told us what happened in Abujmarh:

At one level, this is a glorious story of courage and commitment. Two weeks ago, these reporters had gone into Abujmarh, the unbreached citadel of the Maoists, walking 40 km on foot into remote and hostile terrain. They had nothing but a few bottles of drinking water and some packets of biscuits. But they refused to turn back when water and food ran out. They refused to turn back even when they saw notices from the Maoists warning of mines and traps ahead. They wanted to bring back first-hand accounts of life in the villages there and they stayed their course till they got the story they wanted.

Read the column in its entirety here: "Living in cities, we walk like tourists, unmindful of the hellishness of others’ lives, until it actually hits us".

Then, three days ago, Chaudhury gave readers the sad news. Sehrawat, who, along with Mittal, had contracted a ravaging fever while on the field trip, had lost his battle for life. (Mittal, thankfully, has recovered and is well, we are informed.)

In a magnificent tribute to Tarun Sehrawat, posted on the magazine's website on June 15, Tehelka has showcased not only the photographs he took in Abujmarh but also the pictures he shot for Tehelka over the years. Read the tribute here: "Tarun always made the most difficult choices with the lightest smile".

• Also read: Tarun Sehrawat’s death has exposed the callous attitude of media organisations, writes television journalist Neha Dixit

• Also read: "Journalists in the line of fire".

Are you revealing more than you should on Facebook?

You really, really shouldn't. Not unless you want to scupper your chances of getting a good job. Not unless you want to risk being fired from that good job.

A "revealing" article on the U.S. News & World Report website by Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter confirms what I believe and what I have been telling my students for years now: Recruiters and HR executives are trawling the Web, especially Facebook, to get the inside scoop on both job candidates and employees. There are at least two methods they employ, writes Barrett-Poindexter. They research you through a friend of a friend. And they use deep Web searches.

So is there anything you can do to protect yourself? The answer is yes. Here are Barrett-Poindexter's tips:

1. Don't trust privacy settings.

2. Avoid negativity.

3. Internet conversations are (somewhat) indelible.

4. Be careful what you share.

5. It's OK to unfriend.

The article elaborates on each of these tips. Study them here: "5 Tricks to Keep Facebook From Hurting Your Job Search".

• Thank you, Pallabi Mitra (Class of 2012), for the alert.

• Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, a Glassdoor career and workplace expert, offers helpful advice on a host of work-related topics. Check out her columns here.

• Also read: "Yes, recruiters are using Facebook and Twitter to screen candidates".

• UPDATE (June 29, 2013): From an article published in Bloomberg Businessweek two days ago: "Think before you post, especially if you’re looking for a job. Seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Yet despite all the advice and warnings to be cautious with social media, job applicants continue to get burned by their online profiles." Read the piece in its entirety here: Hey Job Applicants, Time to Stop the Social-Media Sabotage.