El arte de conversar

THE ART OF CONVERSATION

The art of conversation is a skill shared by most successful people. Good conversation promotes an image of self-confidence, intelligence, and wittiness.
People who always seem to rise to the top of their professions and are well respected by others who share the ability to converse with anybody in every situation.
People who seem to speak effortlessly and efficiently with others are generally well liked and highly successful.
If you need to improve your conversational skills, here are a few tips that can help you enhance your conversational skills and boost your image.
1. Always say what you think, not what you think others want you to say. Especially in a professional setting, learning to express your views and ideas in a positive, non-threatening manner will invite reactions and responses.
Effective leaders always say what they are thinking and express their ideas freely. Having the courage to speak your mind as well as listening openly to the views and ideas of others is a sure way to earn the respect and admiration of all those you encounter.
2. Listen carefully to what others are saying. People often interpret things said by others in a way that clouds their ability to hear what people are intending to say.
By giving your full attention to the speaker, you can hear what they intend for you to hear instead of what you want to hear.
The art of conversation includes the ability to listen to others as well as the ability to speak effectively.
3. Always assume that a speaker is saying exactly what they mean to say. Even if it seems unclear, try to find meaning and coherence to the words they are saying and give them the respect of hearing what they want you to hear.
In any conversation, the ability to give respect is just as important as receiving it. The art of conversation is a give and take between parties, not one speaker and one listener.
4. Any conversation can be broken down into three parts.
The first part is small talk. Small talk is dictated by social rules and includes polite greetings, inquiries about the well-being of others, etc.
Stage two is the end of the small talk and moving on to the purpose of the conversation such as business, the sharing of opinions and personal views.
Without the ability to express yourself efficiently, the conversation can easily slip back into small talk, lessening the chances of accomplishing the initial goal of the conversation.
The third part of a conversation is where the various ideas and views expressed can be merged into a satisfying end for all parties involved in the conversation.
The art of conversation is a learned skill that is common among successful, energetic people. If you are unable to effectively express yourself in any situation, you will likely find that you do not attract the attention and command the respect that is bestowed upon some others

Phrase of the day

Plain sailing

Meaning

An easy, uncomplicated course.

Origin

This is a nautical phrase and originally had the literal meaning of 'sailing that is easy and uncomplicated'. It isn't clear whether the allusion is to the 'simple, uncomplicated' meaning of plain or whether it referred to an easy-to-navigate sea, in the 'level, flat' sense.
A citation of it in this original naval meaning comes from Adam Martindale in 1683, in A Collection of Letters for Improvement of Husbandry & Trade:
"A Token for Ship-Boys, or Plain-Sailing, made more plain."
The first use of it in a figurative sense, meaning simple 'easy and uncomplicated' comes in Fanny Burney's Camilla, 1796:
"The rudiments, which would no sooner be run over, than the rest would become plain sailing."

Modern British Families

Father leaves for work in the morning after breakfast. The two children take the bus to school, and mother stays at home cooking and cleaning until father and the kids return home in the evening. This is the traditional picture of a happy family living in Britain. But is it true today? The answer is - no! The past 20 years have seen enormous changes in the lives and structures of families in Britain, and the traditional model is no longer true in many cases.

The biggest change has been caused by divorce. As many as 2 out of 3 marriages now end in divorce, leading to a situation where many children live with one parent and only see the other at weekends or holidays.

There has also been a huge rise in the number of mothers who work. The large rise in divorces has meant many women need to work to support themselves and their children. Even when there is no divorce, many families need both parents to work in order to survive. This has caused an increase in childcare facilities, though they are very expensive and can be difficult to find in many areas. In addition, women are no longer happy to stay at home raising children, and many have careers earning as much as or even more than men, the traditional breadwinners.

There has also been a sharp increase in the number of single mothers, particularly among teenagers. Many of their children grow up never knowing their fathers, and some people feel the lack of a male role model has a damaging effect on their lives.

However, these changes have not had a totally negative effect. For women, it is now much easier to have a career and good salary. Although it is difficult to be a working mother, it has become normal and it's no longer seen as a bad thing for the children. As for children themselves, some argue that modern children grow up to be more independent and mature than in the past. From an early age they have to go to childminders or nurseries, and so they are used to dealing with strangers and mixing with other children.

So while the traditional model of a family may no longer be true in modern Britain, the modern family continues to raise happy, successful children.

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Salman Rushdie

Few can have lived through a more dramatic change in circumstances than Salman Rushdie. Now in line to receive a knighthood for services to literature, back in 1989 he sought police protection and went into hiding. He stayed there for more than nine years.
What put Mr Rushdie in fear for his life was the order issued by Ayatollah Khomeini that he and all those involved with the publication of The Satanic Verses be put to death. Parts of the novel - such as the parallels between one of the main characters, a shady, businessman-turned-prophet, and the prophet Mohammed - were judged to be blasphemous.

The ruling by Ayatollah Khomeini led one Islamic foundation to put a bounty on Mr Rushdie's head. Soon afterwards, Britain and Iran severed diplomatic relations. Fury was vented at Mr Rushdie from outside Iran too. Several people died during protests by Muslims in the Indian city of Mumbai, and there were demonstrations in parts of Kashmir. Closer to home, there were angry protests and even death threats from some British Muslims.

Mr Rushdie was moved from one safe house to another thirty times. The threat to his life only subsided in 1998, when a new, reformist government took power in Iran and gave assurances that it no longer wished him any harm. But the fatwa has never formally been rescinded.

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The End of Illegal Gold Dealings.

Police launched the blitz codenamed "Chikorokoza Chapera" which means 'The End of Illegal Gold Dealings' following concerns over rampant smuggling of precious stones and environmental degradation in mining areas. They were collaborating with investigators from the central bank, the mines ministry and environmental authorities.
During the raids, officers burnt temporary homes used by the panners and recovered more than five-hundred thousand kilogrammes of gold and gold ore, and nearly five thousand diamonds. Police say the suspects were all released after paying or promising to pay admission of guilt fines.
Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have turned to mining following the collapse of commercial agriculture in the country. People dig or pan for gold or diamonds, risking their lives in shallow mines which frequently collapse.
The government accuses powerful politicians and businessmen of buying minerals from panners and smuggling them outside the country. Among those arrested were dealers from neighbouring Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique.

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