Since i'm angry now, i had better write the cause of my anger down maybe it will calm me down.
On my way to work this morning, i was doing my usual bout of dozing inside the staff bus when i caught the news on the radio saying that the minister of education, in a forum between the government and the striking university lecturers said that there is no big deal in government officials sending their children abroad to school.I concluded it cant be possible. Why will an honourable minister of education of the Federal Republic of Nigeria say such a thing in public?.
I found out i was wrong when i heard his voice over the radio repeating such profanity again.
My spirit became sad within me. This is a man who is supposed to look out for the betterment and transformation of education in the country, yet he opens his mouth and say nonsense. This is a country where a lot of people are angry and sad, a country where most parents are toiling to send their children to school, eagerly waiting for them to graduate and start earning money so their burden can be eased, a country where education is not very condusive yet people struggle to read. Even with all these unpleasant circumstances, the overfed dunce still says rubbish just because he is privileged to have been appointed minister of education and is able to steal from the government coffers!
This was the same man that was reported to have spent 102million naira on his 25th wedding anniversary!
I have already sent my opinion to the radio station where it was broadcasted and i am going to repeat it. If its no big deal for government officials to send their children to foreign universities, the minister of education should go and withdraw his kids from the foreign univerisities he has put them as i'm sure he has and bring them back to nigeria to come and suffer along with the students here.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC SPEAKING
10 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC SPEAKING
In life, there are times when we have to stand in front of a crowd and speak. Be it in your office, with friends around a table, a business meeting or even in front of your family at a gathering. The importance of public speaking is never in doubt.
I can never forget my first time to speak to a large number of people in public. It was at a team building party for my project team in the office. I was to tell a joke! Even though I was cajoled into it, I was afraid and my major concerns were what if the people don’t find the joke funny or I make a grammatical mistake. Eventually, I summoned courage and I stood up and told the joke and was happy when everybody laughed and declared it the best joke of the day.
This scenario does not always apply to every public speaking especially when it is official. I was in a management meeting which was my first ever sometimes ago and a question about my department was directed to me. Despite the fact that the answer was right there in my head, I visibly drooped in my chair and had to take some moment before I could answer because all attention was on me. Here are some tips I’ve found and which has been useful and has helped make me a better public speaker. It helps control my nervousness so i can give effective and memorable presentations.
I am sure you will find them useful too!
1. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and be at ease with your surroundings.
2. Know the audience. Greet some members of the audience as they arrive. Make acquaintance with them before your presentation. Its easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
3. Know your material. If you are not familiar with it or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
4. Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.
5. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
6. Don’t apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problem you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience’s attention to something they hadn’t noticed. Keep silent.
7. Concentrate on the message, not the medium. Focus your attention away from your anxieties and outwardly towards your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
8. Turn your anxieties into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
9. Be fun. Even though the gathering is official, your audiences don’t want to be bored. Nobody wants to sit through hours of uninteresting speech so be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. You will be remembered!
10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence which is the key to effective speaking.
In life, there are times when we have to stand in front of a crowd and speak. Be it in your office, with friends around a table, a business meeting or even in front of your family at a gathering. The importance of public speaking is never in doubt.
I can never forget my first time to speak to a large number of people in public. It was at a team building party for my project team in the office. I was to tell a joke! Even though I was cajoled into it, I was afraid and my major concerns were what if the people don’t find the joke funny or I make a grammatical mistake. Eventually, I summoned courage and I stood up and told the joke and was happy when everybody laughed and declared it the best joke of the day.
This scenario does not always apply to every public speaking especially when it is official. I was in a management meeting which was my first ever sometimes ago and a question about my department was directed to me. Despite the fact that the answer was right there in my head, I visibly drooped in my chair and had to take some moment before I could answer because all attention was on me. Here are some tips I’ve found and which has been useful and has helped make me a better public speaker. It helps control my nervousness so i can give effective and memorable presentations.
I am sure you will find them useful too!
1. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and be at ease with your surroundings.
2. Know the audience. Greet some members of the audience as they arrive. Make acquaintance with them before your presentation. Its easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
3. Know your material. If you are not familiar with it or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
4. Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.
5. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
6. Don’t apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problem you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience’s attention to something they hadn’t noticed. Keep silent.
7. Concentrate on the message, not the medium. Focus your attention away from your anxieties and outwardly towards your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
8. Turn your anxieties into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
9. Be fun. Even though the gathering is official, your audiences don’t want to be bored. Nobody wants to sit through hours of uninteresting speech so be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. You will be remembered!
10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence which is the key to effective speaking.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
cOmE bAcK
This is my first post this year. I wish i had the time to be consistent but that looks like an impossible feat with a demanding job like mine. As it is, i have little time for anything else.
Nevertheless, i'm going to try and put something up as much as possible even if it is a few lines.
So if i have any avid reader of my blog out there, please watch out!
Nevertheless, i'm going to try and put something up as much as possible even if it is a few lines.
So if i have any avid reader of my blog out there, please watch out!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEVIL
Waking up this beautiful morning, i felt contented and my spirit happy within me. After i was dressed for work, i said my prayers and asked God to see me through the day and to always make me happy the way i was this particular morning.
I never knew someone was angry!
Standing in front of my house waiting for a cab since i narrowly missed a ride to work, there comes the devil in a red shiny car and white flowing robe. Talk about the devil wearing white!
I told him where i was going to and he called a price i did not agree to. He later agreed to the amount i said and even though i hesitated before entering the car, i sat down and that was how
my encounter with the devil began.
On the way, i noticed he was throwing some glances my way that i cant put a name to, and since
i was in a good spirit, i ignored him and continuing singing and drumming on my laptop bag that was on my lap. I forgot what the bible said that "DO NOT BE IGNORANT OF THE DEVICES OF THE DEVIL".
The devil kept looking at me in a way that made my skin go cold and at times, he would shake his head and shape his mouth in a mocking way. And i started wondering within myself, what kind of a man is this. I looked at him properly, the car was neat both inside and out, the white robe he was wearing was immaculate and he has a big scar in the middle of his head. I guess that was where his horn were meant to be.
When we got to the last roundabout we were to negotiate before i get to my office, i directed the devil that he was going to the other side of the road, he looked at me derisively and hissed!. I looked at myself and i could not see what he was hissing at. I asked the devil if he has any problem and he said yes but i should just shut-up. I was dumbfounded. I told him not to tell me to shut up and that he doesn't have to work if he is not happy.
I was further stunned when the devil said its not my fault and started saying a lot of vulgar things i wont even bother repeating. At that point, all i wanted was to get out of the devil's car.
By this time, we were already in front of my office. i quickly payed him his money and asked for my change. That was when the next bout of attack began.
He opened his glove compartment which was in front of me and directly above my knee as if he wanted to give me change and the next thing i knew, i could feel his hands all over my lap. Need i say i was wearing a shirt and knee length skirt so there was no question of me having enticed him in anyway. I demanded what he is up to and i screamed at him, he removed his hands and continued fishing inside the glove compartment as if for change, and all of a sudden he started pawing me again.
It was then i lost it.
I held him in front of his cloth and started screaming and raining curses on him. To my dismay, all he did was laugh. He told me that since i'm grabbing him in front of his cloth, he will grab me too in front. I immediately released him, it was then i realise the best thing i could do was just get out of the car and let him go back to hell where he belongs.
He gave me my change, not from the glove compartment but from his pocket and as i was getting out of the car, he was moving thereby dragging my legs on the tarred road. I was so angry i banged my heavy laptop bag on his booth . The impact was so great that it made a loud noise and his booth was dented. Looks like i broke one of his rear lights too.
I saw him packed his car two blocks away from office, checking the damage to his car.
All i could tell myself was that i should not have entered that car. The holy spirit warned me in the way of my hesitation to take the cab but i guess i was not spiritualy alert enough!.
I never knew someone was angry!
Standing in front of my house waiting for a cab since i narrowly missed a ride to work, there comes the devil in a red shiny car and white flowing robe. Talk about the devil wearing white!
I told him where i was going to and he called a price i did not agree to. He later agreed to the amount i said and even though i hesitated before entering the car, i sat down and that was how
my encounter with the devil began.
On the way, i noticed he was throwing some glances my way that i cant put a name to, and since
i was in a good spirit, i ignored him and continuing singing and drumming on my laptop bag that was on my lap. I forgot what the bible said that "DO NOT BE IGNORANT OF THE DEVICES OF THE DEVIL".
The devil kept looking at me in a way that made my skin go cold and at times, he would shake his head and shape his mouth in a mocking way. And i started wondering within myself, what kind of a man is this. I looked at him properly, the car was neat both inside and out, the white robe he was wearing was immaculate and he has a big scar in the middle of his head. I guess that was where his horn were meant to be.
When we got to the last roundabout we were to negotiate before i get to my office, i directed the devil that he was going to the other side of the road, he looked at me derisively and hissed!. I looked at myself and i could not see what he was hissing at. I asked the devil if he has any problem and he said yes but i should just shut-up. I was dumbfounded. I told him not to tell me to shut up and that he doesn't have to work if he is not happy.
I was further stunned when the devil said its not my fault and started saying a lot of vulgar things i wont even bother repeating. At that point, all i wanted was to get out of the devil's car.
By this time, we were already in front of my office. i quickly payed him his money and asked for my change. That was when the next bout of attack began.
He opened his glove compartment which was in front of me and directly above my knee as if he wanted to give me change and the next thing i knew, i could feel his hands all over my lap. Need i say i was wearing a shirt and knee length skirt so there was no question of me having enticed him in anyway. I demanded what he is up to and i screamed at him, he removed his hands and continued fishing inside the glove compartment as if for change, and all of a sudden he started pawing me again.
It was then i lost it.
I held him in front of his cloth and started screaming and raining curses on him. To my dismay, all he did was laugh. He told me that since i'm grabbing him in front of his cloth, he will grab me too in front. I immediately released him, it was then i realise the best thing i could do was just get out of the car and let him go back to hell where he belongs.
He gave me my change, not from the glove compartment but from his pocket and as i was getting out of the car, he was moving thereby dragging my legs on the tarred road. I was so angry i banged my heavy laptop bag on his booth . The impact was so great that it made a loud noise and his booth was dented. Looks like i broke one of his rear lights too.
I saw him packed his car two blocks away from office, checking the damage to his car.
All i could tell myself was that i should not have entered that car. The holy spirit warned me in the way of my hesitation to take the cab but i guess i was not spiritualy alert enough!.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
KnOwInG tHe SoUrCe.
Have you ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that failed? The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. "What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill." The man sent a bill that read: Tapping with a hammer ........$2.00, Knowing where to tap ............$9,998.00 .GRAND TOTAL......... $10,000.00 .
Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference. I pray GOD to always give us the insight to know WHERE TO TAP whenever we are faced with the dangers and WORRISOME SITUATIONS associated with the DECISIONS of today. May the good Lord always bless our effort When we know where to tap, (through His grace), may He lead and direct us on how to do the tapping.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. "What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill." The man sent a bill that read: Tapping with a hammer ........$2.00, Knowing where to tap ............$9,998.00 .GRAND TOTAL......... $10,000.00 .
Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference. I pray GOD to always give us the insight to know WHERE TO TAP whenever we are faced with the dangers and WORRISOME SITUATIONS associated with the DECISIONS of today. May the good Lord always bless our effort When we know where to tap, (through His grace), may He lead and direct us on how to do the tapping.
Friday, June 27, 2008
blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston , and walked timidly without an appointment into the outer office of the President of Harvard University.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, plain-looking country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge . 'We want to see the president,' the man said softly. 'He'll be busy all day,' the secretary snapped. 'We'll wait,' the lady replied.For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finallydecided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.
'Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave,' she said to him! (the president).
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to waste , but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.
The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.The lady told him, 'We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus.'
The president wasn't touched.... He was shocked. 'Madam,' he said, gruffly, 'we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.' 'Oh, no,' the lady explained quickly. 'We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.'
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed 'A building!, Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.'
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, 'Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?' Her husband nodded.The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
How often do we shun, deride or despise people just because they fall short of our transient material standards? How often do we ride rough-shod over people just because we think they have nobody or that they are not connected? And how often do we esteem people simply because of what we consider we may gain from them? You can often tell the character of people by how they treat those who they think are poor or powerless or can do nothing or are simply not politically connected.
Think on these things....
You never know who is on your way to change your world or impact on you positively. God transforms into man in different forms. It's only the meek that can spot him.
A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.
REMEMBER MATHEW 5:5.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, plain-looking country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge . 'We want to see the president,' the man said softly. 'He'll be busy all day,' the secretary snapped. 'We'll wait,' the lady replied.For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finallydecided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.
'Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave,' she said to him! (the president).
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to waste , but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.
The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.The lady told him, 'We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus.'
The president wasn't touched.... He was shocked. 'Madam,' he said, gruffly, 'we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.' 'Oh, no,' the lady explained quickly. 'We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.'
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed 'A building!, Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.'
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, 'Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?' Her husband nodded.The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
How often do we shun, deride or despise people just because they fall short of our transient material standards? How often do we ride rough-shod over people just because we think they have nobody or that they are not connected? And how often do we esteem people simply because of what we consider we may gain from them? You can often tell the character of people by how they treat those who they think are poor or powerless or can do nothing or are simply not politically connected.
Think on these things....
You never know who is on your way to change your world or impact on you positively. God transforms into man in different forms. It's only the meek that can spot him.
A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.
REMEMBER MATHEW 5:5.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
YoUr BrOtHeR's KeEpEr
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house! The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital , and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main Ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember, when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
Peace.
What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house! The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital , and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main Ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember, when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
Peace.
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