Four ways to make people listen

Flipping through the pages of the November 2009 O Magazine earlier today, I found this piece interesting, and thought I should share it.

To get others to listen to you, John Gray, PhD says it all starts with noticing how others are reacting to you. The magazine highlighted four talking points summarized below.  (the original article can be found on pg 137.)

1. People may stop listening to your ideas because your advice always sounds like criticism. When making suggestion, you should ask questions like “would you like to know what I think?” Or “I have a different perspective – would you like to hear it?”


2. You may be loosing your audience to a discrepancy in communication styles. Point is, when communicating, try to match the speed of the person you are communicating with. If you talk too slowly to a fast-paced communicator, his mind may wander; if you talk too rapidly to a slower-paced person, he may feel flustered and tune out.


3. Next time your friends are drifting off while you’re pouring your heart out, let them know that you don’t expect them to say anything or do anything but that they should just listen because often times we share our feelings to reduce stress. This is especially true when it involves a female pouring out her heart to a male friend.


4. Lastly, if you want to be heard, if you want people to listen to you, you can’t go wrong by showing interest in what other people have to say and making them feel important. In other words, the better you listen, the more you’ll be listened to.

Read More

Nigeria Ranks 158th in the 2009 Human Development Report

The UNDP released its 2009 edition of the Human Development Report recently with Nigeria ranked 158th out of 182 countries below Uganda and Lesotho and ahead of Togo, Malawi and Niger.

Norway was ranked no. 1 on the list for the 7th time.

The Statistics for Nigeria are below:

1. Ranked 147th in Life Expectancy - 47.7years. Nigeria was just ahead of Congo DR, Guinea Bissau and Afghanistan.


2. Ranked 112th in Adult Literacy Rate - 70%. Ahead of Mali and Madagascar.


3. Ranked 114th in Human Poverty Index - 36.2 ahead of Mauritania and Burundi.


4. Ranked 8th in remittances with average of $US9,221 million representing 6.7% of GDP  (an indication that we have many Nigerians in 'greener pastures'). 42.9%  and 39.5% of the total remittances are from Europe and Northern America respectively.


5. Ranked 141st in GDP Per Capita ($1969)

Nigeria, along with Angola, Uganda, and Lesotho left the 'low' category and are now categorised as 'medium human development' group.

my Point of View: If Nigeria's aspiration is to be among the first 20 economies in 11 years from now, then our ranking here needs a paradigm shift. If our aspiration is based on current statistics, we may as well be dreaming. It would take a whole lot of efforts on the part of our leaders for this feat to be achieved. Efforts must be made immediately to improve basic statistics that affects living conditions today, this will guarantee our move towards achieving our desired state, at least.

About the HDI: The human development index (HDI) is a summary measure of a country’s human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions:

1. a long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth;


2. access to knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrolment ratio in education; and


3. a decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) US dollars.

Read More

Chimamanda Adichie warns of the danger of a single story

Found this on TED.

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

my Point of View: While we may not need to understand all the cultures of the world to get by in this world, it is important that we rid ourselves of the belief that our story is the only story and as such the only way to see the world. (This also applies to our personal lives) Knowing that we do not exist alone, is the very reason why we should be tolerant of other people's culture/story. Doing this, I belief, would make for a better and richer world. Watch the Video below.

Chimamanda Adichie is making Nigerians proud. Go girl!

Read More

4 Quick tips in Microsoft Office Word 2003

1. Convert Text to Table in MS Word – Assuming you had some bulleted texts with the words separated with commas on each line, e.g

Seun, Tolade, July 21
Dotun, Daniel, July 16
Coleman, King, July 7
Joseph, Aparati, March 26
James, Talmond, October 7

To convert the following series of text to table: select the entire text > click on table on the Menu bar: select Convert; Text to Table (see result below).

Seun	Tolade	July 21
Dotun	Daniel	July 16
Coleman	King	July 7
Joseph	Aparati	March 26
James	Talmond	October 7

2.  Performing calculations in MS Word: Assuming you had a table in Word with figures, you do not need to go to MS Excel to perform simple calculations or even apparently difficult ones. Amazingly, the way you type your formula syntax is the same in Word and Excel.

To work with formulas, click on the Table menu; select Formulas and there you go!

Ayo	50
Dan	75
Chid	81
	206

3. In the same vein, you can create Charts in MS Word

Select your data; click on Insert; Picture; Chart

You have all charts classification as in Excel.

4.  AutoCorrect: If there is a word / sentence you use often, and you don’t want to go through the pain of retyping the text whenever you need it, let’s say your initials to be replaced with your name, you can add it to your AutoComplete selection.

To do that, go to Insert menu; AutoText; AutoText; Type your entry in the space provided > click on Add button.

Next time you start typing the word, MS word gives you the option to automatically complete the entry. Simply press the Enter key or F3 on the keyboard.

Read More

An Easy Way to Print Envelopes in Microsoft Word 2003 and older versions

An Easy Way to Print Envelopes in MS Word

Printing envelopes can be pretty easy in MS Word. I imagine that you would find this tip useful when you don’t have your addresses typed into MS Word /Address Book or when you are just creating single envelopes (for mass mailing, it is advisable to use mail merge – this would be discussed in my future posts). Printing addresses on envelopes gives that professional touch to your work and ensures that you don’t waste your ‘limited’ time writing delivery addresses.

Here’s how to print Envelopes in MS Word.

I assume that MS Word is already opened.

Step 1:

Go to Tools on the main menu > Letters and Mailing > Envelopes and Labels

(this action opens the Envelopes and Labels dialog box)


WINDOWS SHORTCUT KEY is ALT + T + E + E (the Windows shortcut still works for Office 2003 and newer versions)

Step 2:

If the focus is not on the Envelopes tab, click the Envelopes tab

(Please note, the dialog box has two tabs, one for envelopes and the other for labels. By default, the Envelopes tab is active when you open the dialog box)



Step 3:

Type your address in the text box beneath ‘Delivery Address’

(If you already have your address in a document, you could just select the address before opening the dialog box, this action automatically includes the selected address in the text box)



Step 4a:

If your printing and envelopes options are correct, click on Print to print your address on the envelopes.



Step 4b:

If your printing and envelopes options are wrong, click on Options.(This opens the Options dialog box. The dialog box has two tabs, one for Envelopes Options and the other for Printing Options – See diagram below)














Step 5:

On the Envelopes Options select the appropriate Envelope size; accept the default settings for the Delivery and Return Address.



Step 6:

Click the Printing Options tab, select the appropriate Feed method (the way the envelope is placed in the printer);



Step 7:

Click Ok to exit the Options dialog box



Step 8:

Click on Print on the Envelopes and Labels dialog box.

Read More

Get rid of that belly fat

Want to have that great belly?   This exercise is great abdominal work - out for your excess belly fat whether you are a new mom or not.

Even when you think your abdomen is aphrodisiac, its good to keep it that way by exercising. I tried it, it was intense but great.



Try it at home for just 10 minutes.  This could give you 'That Posh Look' you earnestly desire.

Let me know what you think!

Email a friend.

Read More

IMF-World Economic Outlook proposes steps to move Africa forward

The October 2009 edition of the World Economic Outlook published by the IMF says growth in Nigeria will slow to 2.9% in 2009 and expected to rebound to 5% in 2010. For Africa as a whole Real GDP growth is expected to decline to 13/4% in 2009 (it averaged 6% between 2004 & 2008) before accelerating to 4% in 2010. The reason for the slump in growth is as a result of collapse of global trade and disruptions in global financial markets.

On the outlook for the Sub-Saharan African region, the report says "poverty could increase significantly as real GDP per capita contracts in 2009 - the first decline in a decade - unemployment rises, and the region suffers from a lack of extensive social safety nets."

Going forward, the report proposes that Africa must:

• move ahead with a series of reforms to strengthen the region's resilience to external shocks and growth prospects,


• promote the development and implementation of sound and transparent public policies  - which include improved capacity for public financial management, creation of fiscal room for the enhancement of transport, health and education infrastructures and introduction of well targeted poverty reduction programs,


• business environment should be further reformed to facilitate private sector growth especially those that bothers on start-up costs for new enterprises,


• banking supervisory capacity is to be strengthened and the scope of financial sector regulation and supervision should be expanded, and


• some countries should also make efforts to further integrate their economies with the rest of the world.

The points above are necessary steps for Nigeria in particular if we are to take advantage of the many riches of our land and very crucial for the government if it is to achieve its vision 202020. There is no better time than now to be fiscally prudent, to create an economy with sound infrastructure (especially education, healthcare, power and roads) and safe institutions.  I believe in this country!

Read More

Microsoft Office Tips & Techniques: Basic Shared Features

If you work in a corporate environment, then you probably have used any of the Standard Microsoft Office applications – MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Despite the ready availability and popularity of this group of applications, I am not sure we utilize up to 50% of its capabilities which are meant to simplify business processes.

MS Office tips and tricks would be providing you with ways and techniques to improve your knowledge of Office applications from write-ups on the fundamental tools to postings on how to complete seemingly difficult tasks. The goal is to ensure that you maximize the potentials that the application has to offer thereby leading to efficient and improved performance.

I hope you find this beneficial.

So here is the first edition of the tip & technique.

Enjoy.


Microsoft Office Basic Shared Features

Quick Introduction: What is Microsoft Office? (Most of us may be familiar with this already).

I would say it’s a suite comprising of a word processor (MS Word), a spreadsheet application (MS Excel), an E-mail client (MS Outlook ), a presentation application (MS PowerPoint) and in some fuller / professional versions – you could have a database management application (MS Access), MS OneNote, MS Visio, MS FrontPage, MS InfoPath, MS Publisher and others.

Things to note:

• The programs are all desktop applications which can be used on Windows and Mac OS X platforms.


• The software is designed to aid administrative, communication and other business processes and generally make your life easier and improve your day- to-day functionality.


• All the applications within the suite are interrelated and have many shared features (you would learn more on this in future posts) – the focus of the current post is on some the basic shared feature.


• Understanding the basic/shared features in, for example, MS Word means you would not need to go through the learning process in MS Excel.

Basic Shared Bars

Bar	Description
Title Bar	Names the application
Menu Bar	This is the second bar after the Title bar – it contains File, Edit, View, Format, Tools, Table, Window and Help Menus. The Menu Bar is like the powerhouse. Everything you need to get around any Office application is contained in the Menu
Standard Tool Bar	shows all icons and shortcuts to frequently used menu commands such as file operations (New, Open, Save), Undo, Redo, Copy, Cut & Paste, View etc
Formatting Tool Bar	Shows all the icons you need for basic formatting from Font type, Size, Alignment, tabs, bullets and numbering, borders and shading. The formatting toolbar can be of great help because it makes all your formatting needs just a click away.Formatting toolbar vary depending on the application
Task Pane	Always on the right hand side. Commonly and frequently used features are grouped on the task-pane for convenience. The item on the task changes in line with current action.
Status Bar	Displays page number / slide number and other document / presentation / worksheet properties.

Note: Pointing the cursor on any toolbar icon displays the name of the icon – this is true for all MS Office applications and some other Graphic User Interface such as Windows/Mac OS X based applications.

Figure 1



Basic Shared Controls / Short cuts (more on specific controls / shortcuts in future posts)

Command	Description
F1	Help menu (this control also initiates the Help Menu in Windows).
F12	‘Save As’ or ALT F A (does not work in Outlook).
Ctrl P	Print
Ctrl C, X and V	Copy, Cut and Paste.
Ctrl N	Creates a new blank document/workbook/presentation etc.
Ctrl O	Opens a document.
Ctrl Y & Z	Undo and Redo
Ctrl F4 or Ctrl W	Closes current document/spreadsheet/presentation etc
Ctrl Home	Navigates to the beginning of the page.
Ctrl End	Navigates to the end of the page
Alt F4	Closes application i.e. MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel.
Ctrl B, U, & I	Bold, Underline & Italicize.
F7	Runs spelling and grammar check.
Shift F7	Runs the thesaurus.
Ctrl A	Selects All

Please note: the list is not exclusive and this post was written with MS Office 2003 in mind. MSOffice 2007 is different with regards to the standard and formatting toolbars (they have been replaced with the ‘ribbon’) and looks really complex at a glance. By the way, the release of MS Office 2010 was announced by Microsoft Corporation in July 2009 with better functionality and improved user experience.

Read More