If you are going to be in Bristol this summer, there will be some wonderful sights.
Two of the regular favourites will be the Harbour Festival and the Balloon Fiesta in July and August.
However, following on from the Gorillas, we have new visitors in the city this year. Click on the image below to find out more. Then book your tickets to Bristol…
There is a brilliant book called The Chimp Paradox, written by Dr Steve Peters. I strongly recommend you buy it and read it.
He helps many people, including members of Team GB, to fulfill their potential.
This won’t be my last post based around his mind management system as I think it deserves more, but I will start here…
Imagine you are 100 years old, on your deathbed and you have one minute to live. Your great-great-grandchild asks you the following question -
‘What should I do with my life?’
Don’t take too long (you only have one minute left) and give your honest, first answer.
Now click on the image to watch a short trailer video for the book.
As you may well have guessed, the advice you gave your great-great-grandchild is really advice for yourself. This is what you believe is important. so are you taking steps to achieve it?
Some people can be very self-conscious when speaking and even more so when it is in a second language. Although eventually this can be overcome, there are those that advocate the use of an avatar or mask while confidence is being built.
Obviously this is not for everyone, but you can read more by clicking here.
You can also click on the image below to see a Voki I did back in 2011 as an example. It seems I didn’t have so many grey hairs then…
What do you think about using an avatar in this way?
As regular readers will know I am a big fan of Sir Ken Robinson and his views on education. I share his opinion that much of what happens harks back the Victorian era, the need to produce a large-scale workforce with skills specific to those times and in keeping with the resources available in that period of history.
When I found out he had spoken again recently at TED, I was keen to hear what he had to say. I was not disappointed…
Please click on the image below to listen to his presentation. There are no comprehension questions – just listen and think about what he has to say.
Following on from the musical theme of yesterday’s post, we have the Eurovision song contest tomorrow. This will be broadcast live from Malmo and in many ways is no longer a song contest (Ding-a-dong won in 1975), but more a chance for subtle and not so subtle political statements to be made.
Do you watch this competition? Will Cyprus and Greece give each other the maximum 12 points? Does it matter?
Does singing your song in English improve the chances of winning as a larger audience will understand the words, or is it better to use your own language to gain the votes?
Click on the image below to read about and listen to songs from the Eurovision for endangered languages and perhaps hear a song in Breton or even Sami.
I often see lists with titles like ’50 places to visit before you die’ and ’20 pasta dishes to try before you’re 50′.
Then I saw ’1000 songs everyone must hear’ in the Guardian and I was surprised by some of the choices.
I asked some of the people I work with for their Top 10 lists for songs they think everyone should hear at least once in their lives. It might be because it has personal significance, it might have been groundbreaking or it might simply have been a great piece of music.
There is no right or wrong, these are personal opinions, but it creates some interesting lists and some fantastic listening as well.
Click on the picture below to see this list and copy and paste the links to listen to the songs. Do any of the choices surprise you? Now we have shared with you, what about your favourites – can you create a top 10 as well?
You can also click here to download our list - Top 10 songs
15,000 years ago there were worms. Not only were there worms, but we were calling them worms.
Researchers at Reading University have uncovered 23 such words. These words are ‘ultraconserved’ meaning that have remained the same for a very, very long time.
A cognate is a word that sounds and means the same in different languages. Please click on the image below to see these ancient words and hear them spoken.
Would you say that the Kartvelian pronunciation of the verb ‘to spit’ is onomatopoeic?
I have already done posts for the other days of the week over the last year or so with just the weekend remaining. For those who might doubt me you can see them here -
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (which was a bit depressing), Thursday (which was tricky) and then, as you might have guessed by now, Friday.
Now it is the turn of Saturday and I will start off with a poem that reminds me of my son when they are doing ‘exciting writing’ at school.
However, let’s not dwell on the chores of the week- click on the image below of someone who has just realised there is no ‘exciting writing’ on Saturdays and listen to the song…
Have you tried Lucidchart?
There are freemium and paid for options available and it offers online sharing and collaboration creating organisational charts, mind maps, flow charts and a number of other useful applications.
Why not take a look at a flowchart of the Beatles song ‘Hey Jude‘ by clicking on the image below? Do you ever work online on documents with other colleagues?
© Ryan Pike | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Interpersonal skills are vital if you want to be able to communicate effectively. Indeed those people with a good understanding and command of these skills tend to be happier and more successful in both their personal and professional lives.
So what are interpersonal skills? They include areas of communication such as listening, problem solving and making decisions. Can you think of any others?
I think that first impressions are an important aspect, because the way people perceive you during that initial encounter may well have a considerable impact on your relationship with them.
Before you click on the picture of Bristol below to read an article about this, what ways can you think of that will help anyone make a great first impression?
