Lucky Every Day

By: Laurie Wilhelm

Good social skills are key to getting along with others and they help us to connect with the people around us. They’re not about conforming, but having a healthy respect for others.

There are many, many different elements to social skills and if you’re looking for an all-in-one, short-and-sweet, how-to lesson on them, you’re going to be disappointed. There’s no magic formula for good interpersonal skills, no Social Skills Potion #6.

Social skills encompass a wide variety of verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Fortunately, social they can be learned and, with practice, you’ll reap the benefits in your career and personal life.

Building Social Skills
Here are three basic non-verbal tips for improving interpersonal interactions.

Smile
First thing’s first: smile. Smiling is a great way to make people comfortable around you and make you appear approachable. Try it when you enter a room, meeting, or event and see how it automatically creates a friendly rapport.

It’s not like you should paste a phony grin or a forced smile on your face - we can all see through that. Just a simple, sincere, greeting smile that is welcoming and appealing. If you’re not a “smiler,” at least be aware of your facial expression.

Make Eye Contact
In Western culture, making eye contact shows an interest in someone and what they’re saying while avoiding eye contact can show disinterest or boredom.

Eye contact should be friendly, attentive and relaxed. It doesn’t mean staring intensely into someone’s eyes - this can be uncomfortable for the other person.

If looking into someone’s eyes makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to look directly into them. Try looking in that general area - their eyebrows or the bridge of their nose. At the very least, look at their face as opposed to your shoes.

Listen
This is probably one of the least developed social skills. Listening is different from hearing. Listening is making sense of and understanding what is being said; hearing is a physical ability. We tend to be good “hearers” but not always good listeners.

Listening goes beyond using your ears. It involves your entire face and even your body.

Your facial expressions let the speaker know that you’re listening and whether or not you’re following and understanding what he is saying. Focus on the person who is speaking by maintaining eye contact, nodding your head, using verbal cues such as “uh-huh” and “I see,” and standing or sitting still to reduce distractions.

Also, don’t interrupt. We tend to want to be the speaker and say what’s on our mind. You’ll have your turn to talk when the speaker is finished. Speakers need listeners and vice-a-versa.

Notice that these three tips don’t include talking. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk at all, far from it. These three skills have been isolated to emphasize their overall importance as good social skills.

Being aware of non-verbal skills is part of good social skills. If your goal is to have better interactions with others, simply keep these in mind.

Author Resource: Laurie Wilhelm manages the Express Yourself to Success website, a one-stop e-source with information and techniques on interpersonal and social skills, public speaking, networking and conflict resolution. Achieve your success by working effectively with others. Find out how you can boost your career and get a free white paper, What Everyone Needs to Know About Social Skills, by going to www.expressyourselftosuccess.com.

By Ann Marier

You are expecting a baby, and are in the process of getting the nursery ready. You love decorating, but at the same time you are looking into the more technical aspects of the nursery. You want to be alerted if the baby fusses while the baby is in the crib, and so you need a monitor. Thus, you might consider getting an Angel Care baby monitor.

About Angel Care Baby Monitors There are many different kinds of baby monitors that you can choose from, but Angel Care baby monitors are preferable to many parents because of the accuracy they provides. For example, a parent might get a baby monitor for a reasonable price, but not have it work correctly.

There are also some parents that decide they do not want any baby monitors, never mind Angel Care baby monitors. These parents have the nursery located next to their own bedroom, and think that they can hear the baby when it fusses in the night. However, when the baby is taking a nap, the parents should have a baby monitor so that they can be informed as to when the baby wakes up. Angel Care baby monitors are helpful because of their versatility. When baby monitors began on the market years ago, they were quite large, and as a result were cumbersome. Also, they had to be placed in close proximity to the baby, in terms of one in the nursery and one close by too. As a result, many parents regarded them as a new invention that they could do without.

The times changed, as baby monitors became more technological and less cumbersome. Some of these monitors still required being plugged into the wall, while others required a couple of batteries. Parents began to favor the battery powered ones, because they saved on electricity and could easily be placed in any room. When it comes to Angel Care baby monitors, they are easily manageable and affordable. However, there are a variety of different monitors that you as a parent can choose from, and the price of the baby monitors will vary in accordance with where you choose to purchase one.

For more information on how to choose the right baby monitor, search the internet. There are a variety of different websites that you can choose from when it comes to product reviews, and many of those reviews are written by parents. You are sure to find the right baby monitor with the proper research.

Ann Marier writes informative articles on general health issues providing helpful tips and advice. Her latest articles are about baby care including new born baby care tips.

Source:www.isnare.com

Are You pregnant? Then you will need to choose the right name for Your baby!

Preparing to welcome your child into the world is a wonderful, and sometimes confusing, process. One important decision that you will be making soon is what to name your child. As with any important life decision, you will probably spend time in reflection, ask friends and family for their advice, and, most of all, do your own research.

What does “research” involve in baby naming? As you may have noticed, there isn’t much, if any, scientific data on how to name your baby out there. That’s where The Right Baby Name can help.

The Right Baby Name has compiled statistical data on a name’s “uniqueness”, “goodwill”, and “fit”. Uniqueness refers to a name’s memorability and frequency. Goodwill refers to general public perception of a name’s class, economic, and educational implications. The fit of a name refers to how a name matches your family, ethnicity, and religion. There is also some data on the association of names with celebrities, Ivy Leaguers, academics, professional success - and even felons!

The Right Baby Name provides a variety of tools to help you pick names based on scientific information. This website offers name reports, a name comparison feature, and name list recommendations based on your criteria. The Right Baby Name book is available online and soon in major bookstores.

The “right name” for your baby depends on you and the future you envision for your child. The Right Baby Name company is happy to provide important and unique tools to help you make this important decision: statistical data on naming patterns, factors to consider in choosing a name and the potential effects of each name on your child!

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