Dear Charlotte

Now that Autumn is here I am getting excited about the thought of putting the clocks back and gaining that extra precious hour in bed.  It is also a timely reminder that Christmas will soon be on us. We have had a very busy October with a number of new clients, working with them to get the communications right in their business and using follow up coaching to make sure the learning is relevant and focused.  However I have still had time to write my newsletter for you.  I do hope you enjoy it.

This month:

Coaching Yourself   Continuing from last month another Three Ways to Become a Champion  from the work of Nigel Risner. 

Confidence:  Refocusing after setbacks 

English Grammar Corner: Taking the humour out of ambiguity

and finally a little puzzle to help stimulate the brain.

Enjoy

With very best wishes

Charlotte

Becoming a Champion - Coaching Yourself Part Two

Carrying on from our goal and vision setting of last month the next three Coaching Yourself hints from Nigel Risner are around being a lifelong learner.

Read every day: Read something useful, challenging or fun very day.  If you only spend 20 minutes with a book which motivates, excites and educates you, it will make a world of difference.  Your aim should be to read at least one book a month.

Attend a University on Wheels!  Do not waste learning opportunities when you out in the car alone.  Listen to educational, motivational and fun tapes or CDs while you drive.   Or if you need to unwind listen to soothing appropriate music by say Vivaldi, Mozart and Bach and if you need to lift the spirits listen to music with a faster beat.  All of the above is better for you than radio's continuous news or 'talk' programmes.

Use a Master Mind group. Surround yourself with a team of special friends.  They can be your support group and advisory committee.  Meet regularly - Bounce ideas off them, ask for advice, invite them to coach you!

All these ideas are to help you to be that 1% better at what you do.  That is the real difference between a good manager and a champion!

Refocusing after setbacks

How many times have you started a diet, a new way of thinking, or tried something new and then a setback occurs and you just go back to the way you were?

Don’t worry; you are not the only one! Setbacks and difficulties occur all of the time – they are a natural activity of life.

There are two ways of facing difficulties.  Either you change or alter the difficulty or you can alter yourself to be able to deal with it. Deal with difficulties correctly and it will enhance your confidence, deal with them incorrectly and they can do some serious damage to your self worth.

So what could be your response to issues and difficulties? When you are faced with any setback your ability to deal with it can be turned around into a position of strength by asking yourself positive empowering questions.

There is an unwritten rule that says: Ask your mind a stupid question and you will get a stupid answer!

So, if after setback you ask yourself something like, “Why does this always happen to me, I never have any luck?” Your mind will probably come out with, “Because you are useless and good things do not happen to you!”

Sound familiar? Instead, if you ask yourself a positive empowering question like, “What did I learn from this setback for next time?” Your mind will kick into solution mode and help.

Here are some rules to think about when setbacks do occur: Acknowledge that it has happened. Don’t hide from it. These things happen. So what?

What positive empowering questions can you ask yourself? What is good about this situation? How can I make the most of this situation? What can I learn from it? What are the facts about this problem? How can we make it a successful outcome?

Acknowledge that setbacks occur to everyone and you are not being singled out. View them as a challenge to overcome rather than an issue or problem. Think about the negative thoughts that you think on a regular basis after a setback.

What new empowering questions could you ask yourself to give some better answers! Write these down now and make them a habit. Changing a habit will take time so do not lose heart just persevere. You will be surprised at how easy it can be.

English Writing - avoiding double meanings.

This month our English writing corner is looking at the problems and pitfalls of ambiguity in our writing. Ambiguity usually occurs when you don't use commas properly or when the order of clauses or phrases gets muddled.  It can have very amusing results.

Here are some excellent examples for you to correct.

"No one was injured in the blast, which was attributed to a build up of gas by one town official."

"The summary of information contains totals of the number of students broken down by sex, marital status and age." 

"Drunk gets nine months in violin case"

One witness told the court that she had seen sexual intercourse taking place between two parked cars in front of her house".

How can these statements be corrected so their true meaning is clear?

These examples and others are described in our 'What Not to Write' book available from books@quicklearn.co.uk  £7.00 + postage and packing.  It really is an indispensible bible for all of us who want to write well and be understood.

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