Improve Your writing Skills
When the famed poet Shelley said, "Poets (read writers) are the unacknowledged legislators of the world", he was paying a befitting tribute to the people who transform the world through the word.
Jawaharlal Nehru made a name for himself as a seasoned politician but it was said of him that he would have made a bigger dent on the minds of the people as a writer.
The power of the printed word is a known and acknowledged phenomenon. "I read it in a book", is often used as a clincher in an undecided argument. Herbert Drucker has written a book "Communication is Power".
It indeed is! But those aspiring to go up the slippery pole of success in competitions of life, often blink away its importance. They either are 'innocent' of its importance, or worse, think that it comes naturally.
Get down to the business of writing and see the improvement in your overall personality.
The ability to communicate clearly in writing is one of the "most important skills you will ever master. It will help you to get your ideas across effectively and to get the results you want in your business and personal life. There is no mystery to good writing-it is a skill you can learn.
There are a few executives who have rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of correspondence with no more than a quick memorandum to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write papers (book reports, term papers, college applications), business papers (memos, reports, letters of inquiry, letters of adjustment), home papers, invitations etc. We are constantly called on to put words to paper. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put into the mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figure must be enormous.
Be brief
"THAT writer does the most, who gives the reader the most information, and takes from him the least time", wrote Charles C. Colton. This is an observation which everyone who writes should commit to heart, an observation to post above the desk of "every businessman who dictates a memo, of every housewife who pens a letter, and of every student who writes out a term-paper.
The purpose of writing is to communicate:
A thought, an idea, a sentiment, a fact. The more concrete and concise these elements in a communication, the more precise, the more rewarding they are to the reader. "Brevity is the soul of wit", said Shakespeare. This maxim warrants remembering, along with Mr. Colton's admonition, that we demand the least time from our readers.
Clear and Complete
Othe other hand, nothing can be more irritating and sometimes frustrating than the omission of essential detail Suppose, for example, the shirts you manufacture come in several styles, colors and sizes, but the order you have received in the mail gives no specifications. Or you are driving to visit a friend in the country and you come to a fork in a country lane; you consult the map he has sent you and he has omitted both the fork and the road you are to take.
Someone writes down a telephone message from your out-of-town friends, telling you they're going to be in the city and will drop in to see you; but the message contains no date, no time and nothing to indicate whether they are coming alone or with their children. And there are the instructions for setting up your hi-fi tape recorder which take for granted that you know what a "patch cord" is.
There is virtue in brevity, but you must never assume that your reader is as expert or as knowledgeable as you are about whatever it is you are writing. Brevity is not an excuse for lack of clarity. And clarity, above all, is essential to what you have to say on paper.
Certainly you want to avoid stiffness and rigidity in your writing (even when you send off an angry letter to the manager of your local cinema). At the same time, you wouldn't write a report on the market conditions in the "chummy" manner of a letter to a cousin or a college roommate who has just become president of an organization.
Lively Language
There has been more pretentious non sense written and spoken about style than about any other literary subject. As a result, half the unpracticed writers assume an unnatural pomposity when they settle down to composition, three-eighths of them are intimidated, and only the one eighth left over are independent enough to forget about style and write naturally
Just as you have your own way of wearing your clothes or drinking soup, so you have your own individual way of expressing yourself.
This does not mean that your natural way cannot be improved. Just as it is kind to tell a man who sucks up his soup noisily that his social acceptability will be enhanced by applying the silencer, so it is necessary for an inexperienced writer to be told what errors or ill-manners in writing to avoid.
Any writing interlarded plentifully with "goshes" and dashes and exclamation marks, for example, grates on the reader, and is therefore bad manners.
Any writing in which nouns are habitually qualified by two or more adjectives is too wordy and unlikely to express any meaning with precision.
There are certain basic rules of good writing which are almost universal in their application, and within the framework of which it is possible for writers of the most diverse gifts and styles to express themselves with individuality.
The main five rules are:
Prefer the short word to the long; Prefer the concrete word to the abstract word; Prefer the Saxon word to the Romance; Prefer the short sentence to the long; Use no word which does not directly contribute towards the sense you wish to convey.
Prefer the short word to the long:
The short word is generally better because it expresses your meaning more quickly and certainly. A deliberate search for short words leads to incisiveness in writing. How much better to say: "I couldn't come because it was raining", than "My attendance was rendered impossible by adverse meteorological conditions."
Prefer the concrete word to the abstract word:
In most writing it is possible to choose between concrete and abstract words. If you are:' writing about ideas, which are abstractions, you naturally have to use abstract words, but there is a deplorable tendency among many people to use vague abstract words where short concrete words would be better.
Prefer the Saxon word to the Romance:
The Saxon word is what is bred in the bone; it is racy, idiomatic and direct.
The Romance word is the genteelism assumed by Frenchified Englishmen. But good English writers still prefer, "wood" to "timber", "sail" to "navigate", "walk" to "ambulate", "sickness" to "invalidity".
The English language has been immensely enriched by words from other languages, and it would be both impracticable and foolish to hamstring your writing by turning a recommendation into a hard and fast rule. Use your commonsense-but avoid pretensions.
Prefer the short: Sentence to the long: Here again commonsense must be used. A succession of short sentences can be choppy. A succession of long sentences sends your readers to sleep. The best arrangement is a nice balance of short and long sentences, with a general preference for the short.
Use no word that does not directly contribute towards the sense:
It is astonishing how many "passenger" words you will find in print. They contribute heavily to dullness. A good writer is like a marksman: he fires one shot from his rifle and hits the mark, or near it. The indifferent writer blazes away both barrels of a shot-gun, hoping that the "spread" will make up for his lack of accuracy.
In short, know what you want to say, and say it in the fewest words than can be used without baldness. The voluble are seldom really articulate. Precision of meaning is lost in the verbiage.Art of Facing Interviews
by Rajiv Mishra
The most commonly used tools for the selection process is the personal interview. An interview is a conversation with a purpose between two persons or groups of persons. They are done not only for the purpose of recruitment or selection for a post, but also to gather information from someone important.
Even through it is a two-way traffic, it is mostly seen that the employed is the one who asks questions and the interviewee is supposed to reply. Different purposes of a personal interview are – to rate a candidate for his physical appearance, education achievement and qualification, level of intelligence, background, interests and aptitude, There are different types of interviews, like:
Even through it is a two-way traffic, it is mostly seen that the employed is the one who asks questions and the interviewee is supposed to reply. Different purposes of a personal interview are – to rate a candidate for his physical appearance, education achievement and qualification, level of intelligence, background, interests and aptitude, There are different types of interviews, like:
1. Informal Interview: This is the type of interview that is conducted in an informal setting. The interview can be held at the residence of the managing director for the post of a legal consultant. Similarly, many senior level job assignments are finalized during dinner at some hotel or restaurant.
2. Formal interview: This is the interview that is conducted most commonly for recruitment of personnel. In such interviews the candidate is called for an interview at a particular location and time. The candidate is required to answer questions asked, based on the outcome of which he is rated for selection.
3. Patterned Interview: To maintain a uniform approach there are few interviews where a set pattern of questions are asked. In such patterned interview the choice of person conducting the interview is restricted and the selection criteria are also limited within a set frame.
4. Depth Interview: In such a interview, questions are based upon a specific area of the interviewee’s interest. In a depth interview the person has to answer in detail. The academic competence and knowledge is tested thoroughly in such type of interviews.
5. Stress Interview: For the selection of supervisor and executive positions, it is of equal importance to judge the suitability of individual competence based on stress endurance along with knowledge and intelligence. Therefore a candidate is required to appear for the stress interview. In such and interview a person is required to respond to a tress situation and the assessment is done on the basis of the response.
6. Group Interview: When we are required to perform a task in a group the selection is done in a group interview and the candidate along with a group is asked to solve a particular problem. The performance and behavior is, however, assessed and rated individually.
7. Panel Interview: For a senior level position selection, a panel of experts selects the candidate.
2. Formal interview: This is the interview that is conducted most commonly for recruitment of personnel. In such interviews the candidate is called for an interview at a particular location and time. The candidate is required to answer questions asked, based on the outcome of which he is rated for selection.
3. Patterned Interview: To maintain a uniform approach there are few interviews where a set pattern of questions are asked. In such patterned interview the choice of person conducting the interview is restricted and the selection criteria are also limited within a set frame.
4. Depth Interview: In such a interview, questions are based upon a specific area of the interviewee’s interest. In a depth interview the person has to answer in detail. The academic competence and knowledge is tested thoroughly in such type of interviews.
5. Stress Interview: For the selection of supervisor and executive positions, it is of equal importance to judge the suitability of individual competence based on stress endurance along with knowledge and intelligence. Therefore a candidate is required to appear for the stress interview. In such and interview a person is required to respond to a tress situation and the assessment is done on the basis of the response.
6. Group Interview: When we are required to perform a task in a group the selection is done in a group interview and the candidate along with a group is asked to solve a particular problem. The performance and behavior is, however, assessed and rated individually.
7. Panel Interview: For a senior level position selection, a panel of experts selects the candidate.
Personality and behavior traits are very important for performing well in interviews. Interviews, at times, become a hurdle between success and failure for persons just out of college. You have to present your competence for a particular job within a short period of fifteen to forty five minutes. The candidate is assessed for his behaviour, mannerism, attitude, IQ, stress enduring, capability, general awareness, knowledge of the subjects studied and mental frame of mind to take up the position for which he/she has applied. For a young student it is important that he prepares well for crossing this hurdle. He must be ready for the competitive written examinations as well as for the face to face interview
Listed below are a few interview do nots and usual reasons for failure in interviews that every candidate should keep in mind:
· The candidate should not lack self-confidence or appear shaky.
· The hello-effect of the candidate should be impressive to the interviewing board.
· Poor communication skills are an absolute put-off.
· Body language must not reflect negativity.
· The candidate must not lack the relevant subject knowledge.
· There is a difference between self confidence and over confidence. Even if the expectation level of the candidate is high, he should not exhibit arrogance.
· The candidate’s background and family history are important.
· The candidate must have reasonable amount of Knowledge about the company and the industry in which he has applied for employment.
· The candidate must not be improperly dressed or lack a sense of hygiene.
· If the interview board is harsh, the candidate must not lose his or her cool during the interview.
· The candidate must give a focused reply.
· Also, at time, the number of candidates is very large and board members are unable give sufficient time to each candidate for answering. Thus, answers should be as precise as possible.
10 Simple rules of Interview
Rule I-Behave as you are: A person facing an interview is generally nervous and does not behave as his or her normal self. He tries to follow the set guidelines that he has been told and in the process becomes very stiff and unnatural. Do not act, be yourself.
Rule II-Reach the interview site well before time: The early arrival at the interview venue will give you time to understand the office culture, the local etiquette and the expectation of the office and a chance to adapt to the particular environment. Reaching in advance also gives you the time to make yourself comfortable and more presentable by giving you time to freshen up. The settling time will help you to handle difficult situation properly.
Rule III -Try to know the company: The interview board expects you to know what the company is doing and what the industry norms the company is in are. Prepare from all sources such as the internet, company brouchers and other sources, if any. Try to find out the company’s area of operation and expansion /diversification plans for which they are recruiting people.
Rule IV-Be focused: The purpose of your appearing for the interview is that you are looking for a job. The questions asked by the board will at times derail your prepared answers and will take you to a different direction. Try to be focused about your strength areas and the requirements of the company concerned. Try to be as short and straight as possible while dealing with a controversial issue.
Rule V-Behave as if you are already in the job: When a person applies for the job of a front desk manager, the interview board will like to see him in that pretext and would judge him keeping that person in the mould of a manager. If he starts feeling and behaving like a manager, half the work is done.
Rule VI-Be genuine and honest: Never lie to the board members. It is very easy for them to judge the truth or falsity of any statement or claim. Besides, everyone would like to reward your honesty.
Rule VII-Never answer question about which you are not sure: If you are honest in staying that you do not know the answer, people will appreciate it more than if you guess something absurd.
Rule VIII-Wish all members before and after the interview: It has been noticed that many candidates do not feel it necessary to wish the members and many others skip it due to nervousness. It does not give a good first impression of the candidate if he does not wish the board members.
Rule IX-Mind your body language: It is extremely important to mind your body language in the interview as you meticulously plan the words you utter.
Rule X-Anticipate the probable questions:
When we are to appear for an interview we do have a clue as to what questions the board will ask. Say, a person has an education gap of two years mentioned in his CV. The board would like to know what the candidate was doing during that period. Similarly, a housewife applying for a teacher’s post will in all probability be asked about her routine for the day. Well-prepared answers for irritating questions will help you fare better in the interview.
‘Indians Knew the Laws of Gravity 500 Years Before Newton'
By Sushant Kulkarni for Sakaal Times (India) on 15 Apr 2010
Sir Isaac Newton supposedly conceived of gravity by observing an apple fall from a tree.
Ancient Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, in his book Siddhanta Shriromani, defined laws of gravity in the 12th century, 500 years before Newton defined them for us. The speed of light has been known to Indians since the Vedic period, centuries before it was calculated by the Western world.
Maitree, a group of professionals from Tata Consultancy Services and Bengaluru-based NGO Samskrita Bharati, have come together with a unique exhibition, Pride of India, to spread awareness about India's rich scientific heritage.
The exhibition in Pune on Friday April 16th showcased 150 posters, each explaining one Sanskrit shloka from ancient Indian scientific literature.
“The shlokas (verses) by ancient scientists and mathematicians like Bhaskaracharya, Baudhayana, Apastambha and Bhaskaracharya's daughter Leelavati have been showcased in the exhibition.” said Aashish Manjaramkar, exhibition coordinator. “Our aim is to tell that zero is not the only contribution that Indians have made to science and math.” he added.
Manjramkar commented, “Very few of us know that the speed of light was known to Indians in the Vedic period. A shloka says that the speed of light is 2202 yojana per half nimesha. A yojana is a unit of distance which is equal to 9.06 miles and half a nimesha is one tenth of a second. The figure is very close to the modern measurement of speed of light.”
“One of the shlokas in the exhibition describes a conversation between Bhaskaracharya and his daughter Leelavati, who also was a mathematician. The conversation beautifully explains the spherical shape of the earth and the gravitational force that keeps planets revolving in space,” said Manjaramkar.
Samskrita Bharati, which works in all major cities of India and also in 16 US cities, was established in 1983 and works for the promotion of Sanskrit as a spoken language. The organization regularly stages such events across India.
