Author : Karen Duke
Long Used in Europe...Electric fires are growing dramatically in popularity in the United States. All sizes, styles, colors and types of electric hearth products are now available including stoves that mimic a wood or coal burner, electric fireplaces complete with mantels, inserts to retrofit into an existing fireplaces and wall-mounted electric fires that require no floor space and offer a fun, contemporary style.FLICKERING FLAMESTechnology continues to develop electric fires into a mesmerizing, believable fire. A visitor to your home may have no idea that the gently flickering flame is actually made by electricity!GOES ANY WHERE!Old, disabled chimneys are not a problem with electric fireplaces. No venting is required - installation literally is as easy as plugging in a television. And unlike vent-free gas products, electric fires have NO fumes. So if you have a room that could use a bit of extra charm, think electric! There's a size and style that's right for any size, any decor.WANT A FIRE WITHOUT HEAT?The dancing flame produced by an electric fire provides a warm, soothing glow in any room. Enjoy a "fire" no matter the season by using the fireplace with the heater turned off, then flip a button for variable heat settings to remove the chill.ECONOMICALNo special preparation is needed to install an electric fireplace. Electric fires use a regular household, 3-prong electrical outlet. Spare the expense of running gas lines and chimneys with a plug-in fire. They're cheap to operate too - about 2-3 cents an hour on the "flame only" setting, about 7-8 cents an hour when you run the heater. When you do the math for cost per btu for wood, oil or gas, you'll likely find that electric fireplaces, at 100% efficiency, may be your most economical choice to heat small rooms or to supplement central heating at a lower thermostat setting.SAFETYMost electric fires have no hot surfaces so they're a safer choice to use around pets, children and seniors. Add an electric fireplace to baby's nursery or grandma's room to keep the temperature cozy for them while lowering the thermostat in other parts of the house.HEATS GREATElectric fires provide enough heat (4500-5000 btu average) to serve as the sole source of heat for a room size of about 400 square feet. They're great for sun porches that lack central heat. They also may help you save money - turn down your central heating thermostat then turn up the electric fire in the family room, den, bedroom - where ever you find yourself cozying up on a chilly day.PORTABLESmall electric stoves that look like their woodburning counterparts are available in light-weight resin or wood construction that enable you to move them from room to room when needed. An electric fireplace insert can be used to convert your wood burning fireplace to electric, and can easily be slid out and stored away if the mood strikes and you'd like to burn real firewood, or if your power goes out and emergency heating is needed.Think of All the Places Where These Fireplaces are the Perfect AnswerWhere there is no operable fireplace or chimney.Bedrooms, bathrooms, nursery, sun porch, foyer or kitchen.Nursing Homes, high rise buildings: offices, boardrooms, reception rooms.Rental properties, condos & apartments.Small rooms that don't have large heating needs or where a little supplemental heat is needed.*This article copyrighted by THE FIREPLACE CHANNELKaren Duke is a fireplace, chimney and hearth industry expert of over 25 years in both the retail and service sectors. She is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep and has numerous hearth industry certifications. She is the founder and webmaster of http://www.TheFireplaceChannel.com and she is the co-founder and webmaster of http://www.TheVictorianFireplace.com, which is one of the largest online fireplace retailers in the world. She makes her home in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Karen's contact information can be found on either of the above sites.
Category : Home-and-Family:Home-Appliances
วันเสาร์ที่ 9 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551
วันศุกร์ที่ 8 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551
PPC Affiliate Programs
Author : Zac Radford
Ppc affiliate programs are very common to see on a website. Ppc
affiliate programs are can be very useful providing your website
with content & earning free advertising credits. By adding a
free search bar to your website, you can generate a lot of free
traffic for every search & click done. Here are some ppc
affiliate programs pro's & con's.
Pro With most ppc affiliate programs, after you join they will
give you a HTML code to place on your website for a fast & easy
setup. Once the free search bar is up and running you can start
earning credits towards ppc search engine advertising. Think of
the savings you don't have to pay for targeted ppc advertising
no more. On most ppc affiliate programs you earn $0.05 per
search and $0.10 per click done from the free search bar on your
website. Say you earn only $1.00 a day, I know that doesn't
sound like a lot but if your keyword is "web hosting" @ $0.01
per click for top position that's 100 unique targeted visitors
to your website to help you earn more ppc advertising credits &
buy your products.
Con Ppc affiliate programs can be blamed for one of the main
reason there so much click fraud on the Internet today.
Pro Ppc affiliate programs have worked harder then every to
put a stop to click fraud by tracing different ip address to
make sure all clicks are unique visitors. So the advertiser do
not get scammed for there money or earnings.
Pro Ppc affiliate programs provide your visitors with free
content and enabling search capabilities on your website
allowing visitors to do research or to help find something there
looking for. By using a quality ppc affiliate program you get
quality content that keep your visitors coming back daily to
find what they need.
As you can see they are more pros then cons when it comes to
ppc affiliate programs. If you already have a website and it
doesn't have search capabilities you're missing out on free
advertising & building customer appreciation by providing them
with a free service allowing them to get what they want when
they want it. Ppc affiliate programs is an easy way to help jump
star your online business.
Paid Results
Category : Biking
Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers
Author : ebook2k6
Everyone knows how popular the Michael Jordan shoes are. People from all over the world throng to the shops to buy a pair; children save their monthly allowances to be able to afford one and wherever sales are declared, the places are mobbed. Cashing on this high demand for these lovely sneakers, now a cheaper variety is floating in the market coming from Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers. These suppliers act on the tremendous leverage the market gives them and have produced genuine replicas that are available at a fraction of the cost.Of course, when you deal with replicas it is very important that you understand that this is not the original you are buying so you will not have exactly the same features that you get with the originals. However, the Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers can provide you with great quality at a very nominal price. In fact the sales of these replicas are so high in places that local manufacturers are trying to make replicas of these replicas!There are many advantages when you buy the replicas over the original though I am not in any way saying that you should choose the replica over the original. The advantages are that first of all you get it at a much reasonable rate it is affordable. The Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers have duplicated it well with the local raw- material which makes it viable for them to sell these sneakers at a fraction of their original cost. This is indeed great news for those who have limited finances and still want to look trendy. It takes a really well trained eye to differentiate between these lovely replicas (www.urbanhotlist.com) and the originals.The other advantage is its availability. These shoes, unlike the original Jordans, are available in most shoe shops where anyone can pick up a pair. The Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers (www.urbanhotlist.com) supply these shoes as replicas and not under a fake name or something which makes it completely comfortable to be sold anywhere. Like the sale of a copy of Channel dress or an Armani replica. They are available and saleable as Jordan sneakers. It is important to know in this case that the replicas are genuine. And this is not as easy as you would think because the replicas are not really a brand name. And anyone can replicate these shoes and not all the replicas are good replicas.The companies that produce good replicas are mostly based in China and one amongst the best there are the Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers who not only produce great quantities but also very good quality shoes. So you need to go to only genuine shops on line or off line who can to a certain extent guarantee a certain level of quality. Otherwise, you will risk investing in bad quality shoes which will not serve to any purpose.Hong Kong Jordan Suppliers are among the best replica suppliers in the market today. There are few places which boast of direct contacts with these Chinese suppliers and you are lucky if you get in touch with them as only then you can get good looking Jordan replica sneakers, which are almost as good as the originals.
Category : General Advertising
All of a Sudden-Performance Problems Resolved With Performance Coaching
Author : Richard L Williams
How many times have you heard someone say the words, "It happened all of a sudden?" In my career as a manager, executive, consultant, psychologist and even a two-year stint as a human resource manager I can't begin to count the number of times people have complained that something happened "all of a sudden." Do things really happen suddenly, or do they usually begin slowly over time, gathering momentum. For example, consider performance problems with employees—do they begin "all of a sudden" or do they usually start gradually as small disturbances and gain seriousness and complexity over time? If you've been a manager for even a few months I'm sure you'll agree that few problems actually happen "all of a sudden." Most escalate over time gaining not only complexity, but also seriousness.So why then do so many managers claim that performance problems happen "all of sudden?" In my experience it happens because of three reasons. The first is that some managers are literally unaware of their employees' problems. Perhaps they have distanced themselves too much from their employees to be aware of what is going on, or they have turned a "blind-eye" to what is really going on in the work place. In any event, a manager must be close enough to his or her employees to know what is going on. Without that closeness, there is little chance of preventing small problems from festering into large ones.The second reason is managers who believe that problems can fix themselves if they left alone. This is called problem self-resolution. Now think about it, how many times in the day-to-day managing of people can you turn your back on a problem and expect it to go a way? Granted, in some rare situations some problems may fix themselves, but in most situations what happens to the problem? Doesn't it begin to grow? Doesn't it get more complex? Doesn't it begin to involve more people and more processes? The truth is that problem self-resolution is a cancer that can be the downfall of a manager. It's necessary and important to delegate the appropriate tools and responsibilities to your employees. You cannot sit back and merely hope that the problem will somehow magically fix itself. That rarely ever happens in business today.The third reason is managers whose temperament is non-confrontational, thus they are fearful of having conflict with employees. So as a result they tend to avoid situations where they need to discuss performance problems with employees. These situations avoided over time can cause minor problems to grow into major problems. Confronting a small issue with an employee is much easier and far more effective than procrastinating then having to confront that same employee with a large issue at a later time. Part of being a manager is having the courage to confront issues when it's timely, necessary and appropriate.So what does this mean? And how does this relate to you? It's far easier to deal with and resolve small problems than it is big problems. Small problems typically involve a few people and one or two processes. Large problems involve many people and a lot of processes. Many times a small problem can be resolved in a few minutes through performance coaching, but a big problem can be so complex that it can literally take weeks, months and even years to resolve. Then, consider of the cost of resolution. Waiting, for whatever reason, can be very expensive.From my experience with retails stores, I've observed how front-end bag expense can begin as a small problem as baggers and checkers fail to pay close attention to the number of bags used for each order. If items per bag decrease over a four-month period from an average of 6.5 items per bag to 5.5 items per bag, the front-end manager has a small problem. But if he or she ignores the problem for any of the three reasons described above the problem could grow to a larger problem in succeeding months. If the problem did grow to an average of 4.5 items per bag, then the front-end manager would have a substantially larger problem to solve, which would take a longer time to fix.If the front-end manager was monitoring items per bag on a regular basis and were aware of the decline from 6.5 to 6.0, then he or she could begin an intervention to identify the causes of the performance problem and solve it early, rather than waiting until the problem was much larger. Waiting several months while even more people form bad habits would make the solution much more difficult as compared to jumping in early and resolving the problem while it was in its infancy. Stated in another way: early can be simple, quick and cheap; later is often complex, difficult and expensive.It's been my experience that, "There ain't no such thing as all of a sudden." Very few performance problems begin as large problems. Most begin as manageable issues solved by simple performance coaching. I liked the statement so much that I've quoted it many times in the years since that class. The statement is right: "There ain't no such thing as all of a sudden." In management, problems tend to begin as small manageable issues. Then, if left alone, and unsolved they grow into major problems that drive managers nuts. As managers it's our responsibility to identify those problems while they are small and in their infancy and then deal with them quickly and decisively. That's what makes good
managers great.Dr. Richard L. Williams is a business consultant specializing in performance coaching, quality improvement, team development, and leadership development. Be sure to check out our website or reach us at 888-262-2499.
Category : Self-Improvement:Coaching
How many times have you heard someone say the words, "It happened all of a sudden?" In my career as a manager, executive, consultant, psychologist and even a two-year stint as a human resource manager I can't begin to count the number of times people have complained that something happened "all of a sudden." Do things really happen suddenly, or do they usually begin slowly over time, gathering momentum. For example, consider performance problems with employees—do they begin "all of a sudden" or do they usually start gradually as small disturbances and gain seriousness and complexity over time? If you've been a manager for even a few months I'm sure you'll agree that few problems actually happen "all of a sudden." Most escalate over time gaining not only complexity, but also seriousness.So why then do so many managers claim that performance problems happen "all of sudden?" In my experience it happens because of three reasons. The first is that some managers are literally unaware of their employees' problems. Perhaps they have distanced themselves too much from their employees to be aware of what is going on, or they have turned a "blind-eye" to what is really going on in the work place. In any event, a manager must be close enough to his or her employees to know what is going on. Without that closeness, there is little chance of preventing small problems from festering into large ones.The second reason is managers who believe that problems can fix themselves if they left alone. This is called problem self-resolution. Now think about it, how many times in the day-to-day managing of people can you turn your back on a problem and expect it to go a way? Granted, in some rare situations some problems may fix themselves, but in most situations what happens to the problem? Doesn't it begin to grow? Doesn't it get more complex? Doesn't it begin to involve more people and more processes? The truth is that problem self-resolution is a cancer that can be the downfall of a manager. It's necessary and important to delegate the appropriate tools and responsibilities to your employees. You cannot sit back and merely hope that the problem will somehow magically fix itself. That rarely ever happens in business today.The third reason is managers whose temperament is non-confrontational, thus they are fearful of having conflict with employees. So as a result they tend to avoid situations where they need to discuss performance problems with employees. These situations avoided over time can cause minor problems to grow into major problems. Confronting a small issue with an employee is much easier and far more effective than procrastinating then having to confront that same employee with a large issue at a later time. Part of being a manager is having the courage to confront issues when it's timely, necessary and appropriate.So what does this mean? And how does this relate to you? It's far easier to deal with and resolve small problems than it is big problems. Small problems typically involve a few people and one or two processes. Large problems involve many people and a lot of processes. Many times a small problem can be resolved in a few minutes through performance coaching, but a big problem can be so complex that it can literally take weeks, months and even years to resolve. Then, consider of the cost of resolution. Waiting, for whatever reason, can be very expensive.From my experience with retails stores, I've observed how front-end bag expense can begin as a small problem as baggers and checkers fail to pay close attention to the number of bags used for each order. If items per bag decrease over a four-month period from an average of 6.5 items per bag to 5.5 items per bag, the front-end manager has a small problem. But if he or she ignores the problem for any of the three reasons described above the problem could grow to a larger problem in succeeding months. If the problem did grow to an average of 4.5 items per bag, then the front-end manager would have a substantially larger problem to solve, which would take a longer time to fix.If the front-end manager was monitoring items per bag on a regular basis and were aware of the decline from 6.5 to 6.0, then he or she could begin an intervention to identify the causes of the performance problem and solve it early, rather than waiting until the problem was much larger. Waiting several months while even more people form bad habits would make the solution much more difficult as compared to jumping in early and resolving the problem while it was in its infancy. Stated in another way: early can be simple, quick and cheap; later is often complex, difficult and expensive.It's been my experience that, "There ain't no such thing as all of a sudden." Very few performance problems begin as large problems. Most begin as manageable issues solved by simple performance coaching. I liked the statement so much that I've quoted it many times in the years since that class. The statement is right: "There ain't no such thing as all of a sudden." In management, problems tend to begin as small manageable issues. Then, if left alone, and unsolved they grow into major problems that drive managers nuts. As managers it's our responsibility to identify those problems while they are small and in their infancy and then deal with them quickly and decisively. That's what makes good
managers great.Dr. Richard L. Williams is a business consultant specializing in performance coaching, quality improvement, team development, and leadership development. Be sure to check out our website or reach us at 888-262-2499.
Category : Self-Improvement:Coaching
Divorce--How to Beat the System
Author : Ed Sherman
Of course you want to get your Judgment--that's the goal of your legal divorce--but you don't want to go through the adversarial legal system to get it. You don't want to get all tangled up with lawyers and courts, because the system is designed to work against you.You don't go through the legal system, you go around it. You work outside the legal system to make arrangements and reach an agreement with your spouse.By doing things yourself, you have far more control and far better solutions. Working outside the legal system is the way you get a low-conflict, low-impact, higher quality divorce.To stay outside the legal system, do not retain an attorney. Neither spouse should retain one. The key word is "retain." We're not saying you should never get help from an attorney if you want it, just that you should not retain an attorney unless you have no other choice. If you follow the steps in my series of divorce articles, you may not need any help at all from an attorney. If you do, you will know how to keep it limited and under control.Retaining an attorney means turning over both your responsibility for your case and control of it. The attorney represents you. You sign a retainer agreement, then you pay $1,000 to $5,000 "on retainer" and your attorney has now taken over control of your case. This is what they mean when they say, "I'll take your case."And they do take your case--right into the high-conflict, low-solution legal system. They have to; it's the law.Because you don't want to go into a system that works so hard against you, you must not retain an attorney unless you have no other choice. You should retain an attorney if you are facing immediate threat of harm. You need an attorney if you:
Believe your spouse poses a danger to you, your children or your property;Can't get support from your spouse and have no way to live;Think your spouse is transferring, selling or hiding assets.
In such cases, you should get a good attorney right away; otherwise, you only want an attorney for information, advice and maybe some drafting and paperwork.The attorney retainer is the poison apple--don't bite it.If you feel uneasy about not retaining an attorney, don't worry; in the rest of my articles, you are going to learn very effective things you can do for yourself and how to get help if you need it.There are three different kinds of cases that respond to self-help techniques:
No agreement between the spouses is needed;An agreement will be fairly easy to work out; An agreement is needed but it may not be easy to work one out.
No agreement needed or spouse not involved. In some cases, an agreement between the spouses either isn't necessary or is not possible. In some cases, this is because there are no children, very little property, few debts to worry about, no need for support--in short, nothing to agree to. There are also cases where the Respondent simply will not participate and will not file a Response. Respondent is either long gone or simply doesn't care. This case will be relatively easy to complete.Agreement needed. Most couples, however, do need an agreement or should have one. If you have children, you should work out a good parenting plan in a written agreement. If you have income or property worth protecting, or lots of debts to be paid, or if you need to work out spousal or child support arrangements, you should definitely have a written agreement. If Respondent is involved and cares how the divorce is going to be arranged, you should have an agreement.Agreement will be easy to work out. If you think it will be no problem for you and your spouse to work out an agreement, the rest of this lesson is about the many advantages of a good agreement.Agreement may not come easily. This describes the situation for most couples going through divorce. If, like most people, you don't think you can deal with your spouse, don't worry--see my articles on how to deal with disagreement and negotiate a settlement. You will learn that the things you can do to help yourself are far more effective than anything a traditional attorney can do for you. You will learn about the obstacles to agreement and how to overcome them, how to negotiate effectively with your spouse, and where to get help if you have trouble with the negotiations.Advantages to an agreementThe marital settlement agreement (MSA) is your key to avoiding lawyers and the legal system, but that's not all--it has many other important advantages. Your MSA actually becomes your Judgment. It is either attached to and incorporated in the Judgment or the Judgment will be written to include all the terms of your agreement.With a good MSA you get total control over your Judgment because you decide all the terms ahead of time. Without an agreement, you can't be sure exactly what some judge might do. The MSA has far more depth, detail, flexibility and protection than a plain Judgment. Almost anything that's on your mind or in your lives can be included and resolved any way you like.Some states, like California, have simplified procedures that allow you to get your divorce without going to court--if you have an agreement. Without an agreement, you almost certainly will have to go to a hearing to get your Judgment.What's most important is that you get a better divorce outcome when you work out an agreement. And with an agreement, people tend to heal faster and it just plain feels better.The agreement you are about to negotiate is very valuable and worth working very hard to get. If you work it out with your spouse outside the system, you beat the system!The Main Message: To beat the legal system, you don't go through it, you go around it. These are your keys to the high road:
you and your spouse work out an agreementoutside the legal systemwithout either spouse retaining an attorney.
You can get advice from attorneys, you can get an attorney/mediator to help you work out your agreement, but you do not retain an attorney to handle your divorce unless the attorneys on both sides are committed to a collaborative process.Once you have an agreement, you have an uncontested case and there's nothing left to do but red tape and paperwork. If you don't need an agreement, so much the better; just do the paperwork and you're done.If you're having trouble reaching agreement, read my articles on this topic starting with The Five Obstacles to Agreement.
Copyright 2005 Ed ShermanEd Sherman is a family law attorney, divorce expert, and founder of Nolo Press. He started the self-help law movement in 1971 when he published the first edition of How to Do Your Own Divorce, and founded the paralegal industry in 1973. With more than a million books sold, Ed has saved the public billions of dollars in legal fees while making divorce go more smoothly and easily for millions of readers. You can order his books from http://www.nolodivorce.com or by calling (800) 464-5502.
Category : News-and-Society:Divorce
Of course you want to get your Judgment--that's the goal of your legal divorce--but you don't want to go through the adversarial legal system to get it. You don't want to get all tangled up with lawyers and courts, because the system is designed to work against you.You don't go through the legal system, you go around it. You work outside the legal system to make arrangements and reach an agreement with your spouse.By doing things yourself, you have far more control and far better solutions. Working outside the legal system is the way you get a low-conflict, low-impact, higher quality divorce.To stay outside the legal system, do not retain an attorney. Neither spouse should retain one. The key word is "retain." We're not saying you should never get help from an attorney if you want it, just that you should not retain an attorney unless you have no other choice. If you follow the steps in my series of divorce articles, you may not need any help at all from an attorney. If you do, you will know how to keep it limited and under control.Retaining an attorney means turning over both your responsibility for your case and control of it. The attorney represents you. You sign a retainer agreement, then you pay $1,000 to $5,000 "on retainer" and your attorney has now taken over control of your case. This is what they mean when they say, "I'll take your case."And they do take your case--right into the high-conflict, low-solution legal system. They have to; it's the law.Because you don't want to go into a system that works so hard against you, you must not retain an attorney unless you have no other choice. You should retain an attorney if you are facing immediate threat of harm. You need an attorney if you:
Believe your spouse poses a danger to you, your children or your property;Can't get support from your spouse and have no way to live;Think your spouse is transferring, selling or hiding assets.
In such cases, you should get a good attorney right away; otherwise, you only want an attorney for information, advice and maybe some drafting and paperwork.The attorney retainer is the poison apple--don't bite it.If you feel uneasy about not retaining an attorney, don't worry; in the rest of my articles, you are going to learn very effective things you can do for yourself and how to get help if you need it.There are three different kinds of cases that respond to self-help techniques:
No agreement between the spouses is needed;An agreement will be fairly easy to work out; An agreement is needed but it may not be easy to work one out.
No agreement needed or spouse not involved. In some cases, an agreement between the spouses either isn't necessary or is not possible. In some cases, this is because there are no children, very little property, few debts to worry about, no need for support--in short, nothing to agree to. There are also cases where the Respondent simply will not participate and will not file a Response. Respondent is either long gone or simply doesn't care. This case will be relatively easy to complete.Agreement needed. Most couples, however, do need an agreement or should have one. If you have children, you should work out a good parenting plan in a written agreement. If you have income or property worth protecting, or lots of debts to be paid, or if you need to work out spousal or child support arrangements, you should definitely have a written agreement. If Respondent is involved and cares how the divorce is going to be arranged, you should have an agreement.Agreement will be easy to work out. If you think it will be no problem for you and your spouse to work out an agreement, the rest of this lesson is about the many advantages of a good agreement.Agreement may not come easily. This describes the situation for most couples going through divorce. If, like most people, you don't think you can deal with your spouse, don't worry--see my articles on how to deal with disagreement and negotiate a settlement. You will learn that the things you can do to help yourself are far more effective than anything a traditional attorney can do for you. You will learn about the obstacles to agreement and how to overcome them, how to negotiate effectively with your spouse, and where to get help if you have trouble with the negotiations.Advantages to an agreementThe marital settlement agreement (MSA) is your key to avoiding lawyers and the legal system, but that's not all--it has many other important advantages. Your MSA actually becomes your Judgment. It is either attached to and incorporated in the Judgment or the Judgment will be written to include all the terms of your agreement.With a good MSA you get total control over your Judgment because you decide all the terms ahead of time. Without an agreement, you can't be sure exactly what some judge might do. The MSA has far more depth, detail, flexibility and protection than a plain Judgment. Almost anything that's on your mind or in your lives can be included and resolved any way you like.Some states, like California, have simplified procedures that allow you to get your divorce without going to court--if you have an agreement. Without an agreement, you almost certainly will have to go to a hearing to get your Judgment.What's most important is that you get a better divorce outcome when you work out an agreement. And with an agreement, people tend to heal faster and it just plain feels better.The agreement you are about to negotiate is very valuable and worth working very hard to get. If you work it out with your spouse outside the system, you beat the system!The Main Message: To beat the legal system, you don't go through it, you go around it. These are your keys to the high road:
you and your spouse work out an agreementoutside the legal systemwithout either spouse retaining an attorney.
You can get advice from attorneys, you can get an attorney/mediator to help you work out your agreement, but you do not retain an attorney to handle your divorce unless the attorneys on both sides are committed to a collaborative process.Once you have an agreement, you have an uncontested case and there's nothing left to do but red tape and paperwork. If you don't need an agreement, so much the better; just do the paperwork and you're done.If you're having trouble reaching agreement, read my articles on this topic starting with The Five Obstacles to Agreement.
Copyright 2005 Ed ShermanEd Sherman is a family law attorney, divorce expert, and founder of Nolo Press. He started the self-help law movement in 1971 when he published the first edition of How to Do Your Own Divorce, and founded the paralegal industry in 1973. With more than a million books sold, Ed has saved the public billions of dollars in legal fees while making divorce go more smoothly and easily for millions of readers. You can order his books from http://www.nolodivorce.com or by calling (800) 464-5502.
Category : News-and-Society:Divorce
วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 7 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Myths of Public Speaking: #1 You'll Always Be Nervous
Author : Paul Evans
You may feel that you will always be nervous as a public speaker, but it's not true unless you have a disorder. I know some speakers who brag about still being nervous even after doing the same speech for ten years. Please. I don't need that kind of pressure. Part of the problem is that we fail to recognize the difference in excitement and anxiety. Discover the difference and your public speaking will take a turn to greater confidence.Excitement: This is an opportunity to help people.Anxiety: I hope I don't mess up.Excitement: This is a solid presentation that is easily applied.Anxiety: Is this a bunch of confusing garble? Will anyone know what I'm talking about?Excitement: This is a new crowd. They'll be getting the best material for the first time!Anxiety: This is a new crowd. If I blow it, I'll never be invited back.The more you speak the less nervous and the more excited you will (should) become. It's possible to reach a level of zero nerves and while sensing a positive confidence. This is what athletes and top speakers call "the zone." It's a place where the presentation flows seamlessly without conscious effort.These are the keys to making the switch from anxiety to excitement…#1. Speak for experience, not just speaking experience. Speaking does more than give you experience with your words. More importantly it will help you learn to handle various situations. You discover what to do when the audience doesn't laugh. When a point doesn't connect. When technology fails. When the room is not set up right. You will begin to realize that you are more concerned about these issues than the audience ever will be. And it relaxes you.#2. Live your message. Many speakers stay nervous over time because they have good information, but they don't live it. Deep down we know if we are being honest with the audience or not. If we're not, if we compile a stack of information and try to go in and act like an expert, we should be nervous. "Live your message" sounds cliché, but don't be fooled. There is an unmistakable difference between the speaker with real passion and contrived enthusiasm.#3. Grasp the value of your message to the audience. What are you giving an audience that they can't easily find elsewhere? That can emerge in the form of information, style, relevance, practicality, experience, and the like. When I speak I work extensively with the planner to make sure I will deliver what that particular audience specifically needs. That instantly increases the value of the talk. It's adapted, but not canned.#4. Reflect on each engagement positively. Process each event for what you can learn and apply next time. What to avoid and what to expand. Don't get so emotionally involved that you think things like, "I was so embarrassed! I'll never speak again." Our minds magnify encounters and make them much better or worse than reality. Refuse to get caught in the trap of negative evaluation.Practicing those four areas will give you confidence. You do not have to keep getting nervous. You will not be nervous for the rest of your speaking life. Ultimately it will come down to belief. Those who believe they will always be nervous will always be nervous. Those who don't believe, won't. And that's not oversimplified.Paul Evans helps over 24,000 people and companies each week with their Public Speaking He also publishes a multimedia newsletter for Presentation Skill Training.
Category : Writing-and-Speaking:Public-Speaking
You may feel that you will always be nervous as a public speaker, but it's not true unless you have a disorder. I know some speakers who brag about still being nervous even after doing the same speech for ten years. Please. I don't need that kind of pressure. Part of the problem is that we fail to recognize the difference in excitement and anxiety. Discover the difference and your public speaking will take a turn to greater confidence.Excitement: This is an opportunity to help people.Anxiety: I hope I don't mess up.Excitement: This is a solid presentation that is easily applied.Anxiety: Is this a bunch of confusing garble? Will anyone know what I'm talking about?Excitement: This is a new crowd. They'll be getting the best material for the first time!Anxiety: This is a new crowd. If I blow it, I'll never be invited back.The more you speak the less nervous and the more excited you will (should) become. It's possible to reach a level of zero nerves and while sensing a positive confidence. This is what athletes and top speakers call "the zone." It's a place where the presentation flows seamlessly without conscious effort.These are the keys to making the switch from anxiety to excitement…#1. Speak for experience, not just speaking experience. Speaking does more than give you experience with your words. More importantly it will help you learn to handle various situations. You discover what to do when the audience doesn't laugh. When a point doesn't connect. When technology fails. When the room is not set up right. You will begin to realize that you are more concerned about these issues than the audience ever will be. And it relaxes you.#2. Live your message. Many speakers stay nervous over time because they have good information, but they don't live it. Deep down we know if we are being honest with the audience or not. If we're not, if we compile a stack of information and try to go in and act like an expert, we should be nervous. "Live your message" sounds cliché, but don't be fooled. There is an unmistakable difference between the speaker with real passion and contrived enthusiasm.#3. Grasp the value of your message to the audience. What are you giving an audience that they can't easily find elsewhere? That can emerge in the form of information, style, relevance, practicality, experience, and the like. When I speak I work extensively with the planner to make sure I will deliver what that particular audience specifically needs. That instantly increases the value of the talk. It's adapted, but not canned.#4. Reflect on each engagement positively. Process each event for what you can learn and apply next time. What to avoid and what to expand. Don't get so emotionally involved that you think things like, "I was so embarrassed! I'll never speak again." Our minds magnify encounters and make them much better or worse than reality. Refuse to get caught in the trap of negative evaluation.Practicing those four areas will give you confidence. You do not have to keep getting nervous. You will not be nervous for the rest of your speaking life. Ultimately it will come down to belief. Those who believe they will always be nervous will always be nervous. Those who don't believe, won't. And that's not oversimplified.Paul Evans helps over 24,000 people and companies each week with their Public Speaking He also publishes a multimedia newsletter for Presentation Skill Training.
Category : Writing-and-Speaking:Public-Speaking
วันพุธที่ 6 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Creating the Counsellor Mindset: Part Three
Author : Pedro T Gondim
Stage Three: Dealing with Challenging SituationsOne of the foremost challenges facing counselling professionals is to understand the complex role that diversity plays in their work. In counselling, each client's needs and objectives should be considered and used to guide the counselling process. These needs vary for each individual according to factors such as personality, culture, gender and age.Counselling with Difference
It is vital that counsellors working with issues of difference recognise the unique needs of their client and plan intervention accordingly. The counsellor must decide on the approach that will provide better responsiveness from the client, and therefore lead to a constructive outcome.Clients affected by systems of inequity in our culture are frequently subjected to acts of discrimination and prejudice. Counsellors need to understand the impact of such in order to analyse the depth to which a client may be culturally traumatised. Prejudice impacts on self-esteem and may evoke imbalances in a client's wellbeing. They may experience feelings of being left out of the larger group, feelings of powerlessness, loneliness and hopelessness.Working with Groups
Group counselling is a challenging and dynamic form of counselling that requires all-round professional skills from counsellors. It implies that any challenges a counsellor may find in helping an individual can potentially duplicate, triplicate, or vastly multiply – however, the more intricate the challenge is, the higher the rewards.Similar to mathematics theory, the dynamic interactions which occur within a group, along with the external influencing factors upon that group, pose challenges to controlling and interpreting group outcomes. When dealing with groups, the primary objective (whether a group is formed to develop a project or a group united by the need to tackle an analogous problem) is to ensure that the group is healthy and productive. As such, core communication skills which are based on interpersonal communication theory are applicable for groups – promoting good communication between group individuals creates a safe and productive environment for the group to work.When dealing with groups, there are several major issues that should be noted by professional counsellors, such as:1. Understanding power relationships – in other words – how the interaction between counsellor and the group's individuals impact interpersonal relationships;2. Consciously avoiding generalisations and stereotypes;3. Accepting that all people are multi-dimensional;4. Making judgements exclusively on situationally relevant criteria;5. Adopting communication patterns which minimise stereotyping and increase dignity and respect to induce more appropriate decisions (based on information relevant to the particular context) and;6. Consciously controlling group communication which is likely to aggravate negative perceptions by others.The Unfaithful Mind
Counsellors are also faced with situations in which their own personal perspective creates a challenge in their relationships with clients. A client's personality, behaviour or opinion may diverge from the counsellor in such a radical way that it becomes a motive for dislike or disassociation. It is a complex situation which requires the counsellor to reflect on their own capabilities of dealing with such situation.The risk of developing hatred against 'opposing' groups of society can perpetuate negative behaviour – a kind of traumatic response to what has been perceived as a threat. Recognising value in the individual is part of the process of developing the client's self-confidence through providing a supportive environment during counselling sessions.What is the solution? Primarily, the counsellor will need to reflect on whether he/she is able to restrain his/her own negative feelings towards the client and work together in a productive manner. If he/she decides that it is feasible, strategies need to be devised in order to avoid conflict and lack of alignment in the relationship goals. If the counsellor believes that it is not appropriate to deal with the client due to personal motives, there should be a contingency plan to refer that client to appropriate support and ensure that this process is done efficiently – without incurring in any psychological harm to the client.© Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. If you wish to republish or reproduce this article, please include this information in the end of the article. For more information about the Institute – please visit www.aipc.net.au/lz. To access our Article Library, visit www.aipc.net.au/articles.Pedro Gondim is a writer and publisher for the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. The Institute is Australia's largest counsellor training provider, offering the internationally renowned Diploma of Professional Counselling.
Category : Reference-and-Education:Psychology
Stage Three: Dealing with Challenging SituationsOne of the foremost challenges facing counselling professionals is to understand the complex role that diversity plays in their work. In counselling, each client's needs and objectives should be considered and used to guide the counselling process. These needs vary for each individual according to factors such as personality, culture, gender and age.Counselling with Difference
It is vital that counsellors working with issues of difference recognise the unique needs of their client and plan intervention accordingly. The counsellor must decide on the approach that will provide better responsiveness from the client, and therefore lead to a constructive outcome.Clients affected by systems of inequity in our culture are frequently subjected to acts of discrimination and prejudice. Counsellors need to understand the impact of such in order to analyse the depth to which a client may be culturally traumatised. Prejudice impacts on self-esteem and may evoke imbalances in a client's wellbeing. They may experience feelings of being left out of the larger group, feelings of powerlessness, loneliness and hopelessness.Working with Groups
Group counselling is a challenging and dynamic form of counselling that requires all-round professional skills from counsellors. It implies that any challenges a counsellor may find in helping an individual can potentially duplicate, triplicate, or vastly multiply – however, the more intricate the challenge is, the higher the rewards.Similar to mathematics theory, the dynamic interactions which occur within a group, along with the external influencing factors upon that group, pose challenges to controlling and interpreting group outcomes. When dealing with groups, the primary objective (whether a group is formed to develop a project or a group united by the need to tackle an analogous problem) is to ensure that the group is healthy and productive. As such, core communication skills which are based on interpersonal communication theory are applicable for groups – promoting good communication between group individuals creates a safe and productive environment for the group to work.When dealing with groups, there are several major issues that should be noted by professional counsellors, such as:1. Understanding power relationships – in other words – how the interaction between counsellor and the group's individuals impact interpersonal relationships;2. Consciously avoiding generalisations and stereotypes;3. Accepting that all people are multi-dimensional;4. Making judgements exclusively on situationally relevant criteria;5. Adopting communication patterns which minimise stereotyping and increase dignity and respect to induce more appropriate decisions (based on information relevant to the particular context) and;6. Consciously controlling group communication which is likely to aggravate negative perceptions by others.The Unfaithful Mind
Counsellors are also faced with situations in which their own personal perspective creates a challenge in their relationships with clients. A client's personality, behaviour or opinion may diverge from the counsellor in such a radical way that it becomes a motive for dislike or disassociation. It is a complex situation which requires the counsellor to reflect on their own capabilities of dealing with such situation.The risk of developing hatred against 'opposing' groups of society can perpetuate negative behaviour – a kind of traumatic response to what has been perceived as a threat. Recognising value in the individual is part of the process of developing the client's self-confidence through providing a supportive environment during counselling sessions.What is the solution? Primarily, the counsellor will need to reflect on whether he/she is able to restrain his/her own negative feelings towards the client and work together in a productive manner. If he/she decides that it is feasible, strategies need to be devised in order to avoid conflict and lack of alignment in the relationship goals. If the counsellor believes that it is not appropriate to deal with the client due to personal motives, there should be a contingency plan to refer that client to appropriate support and ensure that this process is done efficiently – without incurring in any psychological harm to the client.© Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. If you wish to republish or reproduce this article, please include this information in the end of the article. For more information about the Institute – please visit www.aipc.net.au/lz. To access our Article Library, visit www.aipc.net.au/articles.Pedro Gondim is a writer and publisher for the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. The Institute is Australia's largest counsellor training provider, offering the internationally renowned Diploma of Professional Counselling.
Category : Reference-and-Education:Psychology
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