Department of English

Notes of Lesson 2014-2015

Engineering English I

All First Year B.Tech

Semester-I

Prepared by

Dr.B.Lakshmi
 VelTechDr.RR& SR Technical University
Department of English
Syllabus for Academic year (2014-2015)
Semester I

REGULATION C

Course Code: U1GEC01 L T P C

Course Name: Engineering English I 2 1 0 3
Common to all Branches

Preamble: This course expands students’ practical vocabulary, ability to communicate effectively in oral
English in a variety of situations with the help of pronunciation, intonation, grammar and sentence
structure and also trained them to participate in group discussion, presentation, discussion of current
events and problems-offering suggestions/ solutions/ opinions.

1. PRE-REQUISITES

Admission to B.Tech.Programme

2. LINKS TO OTHER COURSES

Fundamental to B.Tech.courses.

3. COURSE EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

 To enable all students of Engineering and Technology develop their basic communication skills in
English.

 To achieve specific linguistic and communicative competencefor them in order to acquire relevant skills
and function efficiently in a realistic working context

 To inculcate the habit of reading for pleasure

4. COURSE OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

 Respond orally to the written works, grounding their ideas in the text.
 Formulate open-ended questions in order to explore a topic of interest
 Engage in analytical and critical dialogue orally
 Engage in daily, meaningful reading tasks in English class and/or at home.
 Develop interpersonal skills on current problems and events
5. COURSE CONTENT

Unit I
Technical Grammar L- 7 + T-2

 Parts of Speech
 Time, Tense and Aspect
 Active and Passive Voice
 WH Questions
 Question Tag-Concord

Unit II
Information skills L- 7 + T-2

 Letter writing
 Formal and Informal letters
 Transformation of information and Transcoding (Pie chart, bar chart & classification table)
 Process Description
 Note taking
 Note Making
 Paragraph Writing

Unit III
Language Outline L- 7 + T-2

 Definitions and
 Extended Definitions
 Hints Development
 Checklist
 Dialogue Writing
 Report, its importance and Report Writing

Unit IV
Language Skills L- 7 + T-2

 Process of Communication and factors

 Verbal and Non-verbal Communication
 Listening Skills
 Reading Skills
 Speaking skills
 Writing skills

Unit V

Intuition skills
L- 7 + T-2
  Creative thinking
 Critical thinking
 Discussion of current affairs and events and problems-
 Offering suggestions/ solutions/ sharing opinions

6. BEYOND THE SYLLABUS

Prakash, P R, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, Macmillan India Ltd., Third Edition,
New Delhi, 2010.
John, Seely.The Oxford Guide to Writing and Speaking, Oxford University Press, New
Delhi2011

Murthy, Sudha. Wise & Otherwise. New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2006.

Gates, Bill and Collins Hemingway.Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in

the Digital Economy. New York: Warner Business Books, 2000.

Meenakshi Raman and Sangeeta Sharma, ‘Technical Communication English skills for
Engineers’, Oxford University Press, 2008.

7. RESOURCES

7.1 Required Resources

Bridge Course student notes

Text Books

1. Andera, J.Rutherford. Basic Communication Skills for Technology, Second

edition, Pearson Education,2007

2. Butterfield, Jeff. Soft Skills for Everyone, Cegage learning, Canada,2011

7.2 Recommended Resources

1. Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing: A Practical Guide for Students. New York:
Rutledge, 2011.

2. Morgan, David and Nicholas Regan. Take-Off: Technical English for Engineering.
Garnet Publishing Limited. New York: Longman, 2008.

3. Ganesan. S, Persis Mary T &Subhashini.B. Communication in English, Himalaya

Publishing House, Mumbai, 2009.
4. Pickett, Nell Ann, Ann A.Laster and Katherine E.Staples. Technical English: Writing,
Reading and Speaking. New York: Longman, 2009.

7.3 Web Resources

http://www.lonestar.edu/useful-websites-for-students.htm
www.english-for-students.com/
www.britishcouncil.org
www.sfsu.edu/~puboff/onestop.htm
www.uefap.com
www.eslcafe.com
www.listen-to-english.com
www.owl.english.purdue.edu

8.LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES

8.1 Learning and Teaching Modes

This course relies on lectures to guide through the material, tutorial classes to provide
students with class, and a sequence of written and online assignments to provide formative
assessment opportunities for students to practice techniques and develop their
understanding of the course.

8.2 Work Load

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately
with the course requirements.

Activity Quantity Workload

periods
Lectures 35 35
Tutorials 10 10
Assignments 5 5
Cycle Test 2 4
Model Test 1 3
University Exam 1 3
Total 60 periods

9.LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUMMARY

Hr
count TOPIC UNIT Mode of Delivery
1 Parts of Speech 1 Chalk & Talk
2 Time, Tense and Aspect 1 Chalk & Talk
 3 Time, Tense and Aspect 1 Interactive, PPT
4 Active and Passive Voice 1 Chalk & Talk
5 Active and Passive Voice 1 Interactive, PPT
6 WH Questions 1 Interactive, PPT
7 Question Tag 1 Chalk & Talk
8 Concord 2 Chalk & Talk
9 Letter writing 2 Interactive and PPT
10 Formal and Informal letters 2 Chalk & Talk
11 Process Description- 2 Chalk & Talk
Transcoding and Transformation of
12 information 2 Chalk & Talk
Transcoding and Transformation of
13 information 2 Interactive, PPT
14 Note taking 2 Chalk & Talk
Note Making
15 3 Chalk & Talk, PPT
Paragraph Writing
16 3 Interactive and PPT
Definitions
17 3 Interactive, PPT
18 Extended Definitions 3 Chalk & Talk
19 Extended Definitions 3 Interactive, PPT
20 Hints Development 3 Chalk & Talk
21 Checklist 3 Interactive, PPT
22 Dialogue Writing 4 Chalk & Talk
23 Dialogue Writing 4 Interactive, PPT
Report, its importance and Report
24 Writing 4 Chalk & Talk
25 Process of Communication and factors 4 Chalk & Talk
26 Verbal and Non-verbal Communication 4 Chalk & Talk
27 Listening Skills 4 Interactive and PPT
28 Reading Skills 4 Interactive, PPT
29 Speaking skills 5 Chalk & Talk
Writing skills
30 5 Chalk & Talk
Creative thinking
31 5 Chalk & Talk
32 Critical thinking 5 Interactive, PPT
Discussion of current affairs and events
and problems
33 5 Chalk & Talk
Offering suggestions/ solutions/ sharing
34 opinions 5 Chalk & Talk
Offering suggestions/ solutions/
35 sharingopinions 5 Interactive and PPT

10. TUTORIAL OUTLINE

Tutorial Count TOPIC

Introduction about different Parts of Speech

1
Sentence pattern
2
Time, Tense and Aspect/ voices
3
WH Questions/ Question Tag
4
Letter writing
5
Process Description
6
Checklist
7
Dialogue Writing
8
Creative and critical thinking

Discussion of current events and problems, Offering suggestions/ solutions/

10 sharingopinions

11. ASSESSMENT

11.1 Principles: Assessment for this course is based on the following principles

1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.

2. Assessment must measure achievement of the stated learning objectives.
3. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgments about student performance.
4. Assessment practice must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity
to demonstrate what they learned.
5. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

11.2 Assessment Summary

Assessment Task Type Weightage Course Outcomes

Task
1 2 3 4 5
 Assignment Formative 10%     
Cycle Test-I Formative & Cognitive 6%  
Cycle Test-I Formative & Cognitive 6%  
Model Exam Formative, Cognitive & 13%     
Summative
Attendance Face to Face Interaction 5%     
University Formative, Cognitive & 60%     
Exam Summative

University Graduate CO1 CO2 CO3 CO4 CO5

Attributes
1. Engineering     
Knowledge
2 Problem Analysis     

3. Design / Development     
of Solutions
4 Research based     
knowledge and
research methods
5 Modern tool usage     

6 Professional
engineering practice
and Society

7 Environment and
Sustainability

8 Ethics

9 Individual and team     

work
10 Communication     

11 Project Management
and Finance

12 Life-long Learning.

11.3 Assessment Related Requirements

1. An aggregate score of 50% is required to pass the course.

11.4 Assessment Details

Assessment Item Distributed Due Weightage Cumulative

Date Weightage
Assignment 1 3 rd
week 2% 2%
Assignment 2 6th Week 2% 4%
Cycle Test – I 7th Week 6% 10%
Assignment 3 th
8 Week 2% 12%
Assignment 4 11th Week 2% 14%
Cycle Test – II 12th Week 6% 20%
Assignment 5 14th Week 2% 22%
Model Exam 15th Week 13% 35%
Attendance All weeks as per the 5% 40%
Academic Calendar
University Exam 17th Week 60% 100%

1. All written assignments are to be submitted at the designated time and place.
2. Late assignment will not be accepted without a proper reason.
3. Written assignment will be corrected and returned in one week’s time.

12. TEACHING METHODOLOGIES USED

Traditional engineering educationlike Virtual Class room, LCD projector, , Video

Conferencing , Expertise Talk.
Asking students to formulate a problem from a lesson covered in a week’s time
Assignment, Class Test, Slip test
Asking students to use state-of-the-art technologies/software to solve problems
Applications, Use of Globerina software installed in the communication skills lab
Introducing students to applications before teaching the theory
Personality Development
Training students to engage in self-study without relying on faculty (for example
– library and internet search, manual and handbook usage, etc.)
Library, Net Surfing, Manuals, NPTEL Course Materials published in the website and other
university websites.
 Unit I

Parts of Speech

In grammar, a part of speech (also called lexical categories, grammatical categories or

word classes) is a linguistic category of words. In English there are eight parts of speech.

A list of parts of speech

A list of parts of speech in English grammar include the following:

1. Verb

A verb is used to show an action or a state of being

go, write, exist, be

2. Noun

A noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events,
ideas and feelings. A noun functions as a subject or object of a verb and can be modified
by an adjective.

John, lion, table, freedom, love ...

3. Adjective

Adjectives are used to describe or specify a noun or pronoun

good, beautiful, nice, my ...

4. Adverb

An adverb is used to modify a verb, adjective and other adverbs.

completely, never, there ...

5. Pronoun

A pronoun is used in the place of a noun or phrase.

I, you, he, she, it ...

6. Preposition

Prepositions are used before nouns to form a phrase that shows where, when, how and
why

in, above, to, for, at ...

7. Conjunction

Conjunctions join clauses or sentences or words

and, but, when ...

8. Interjection

Interjections are used to show surprise or emotion.

oh!, Good Lord

Tenses

Objectives

 To enable students frame grammatically correct sentences using the appropriate

tenses
 To learn subject/verb agreement in written and spoken forms of language

Definition: Verbs that indicate a particular time period are called Tenses. In
this context, verbs take different forms to denote the change in time,that is Past,
Present, and Future.

Present tense Past tense Future tense

Do Did shall/Will do
 See Saw shall/Will see

Play Played shall/Will Play

Present Tense can be divided into four types they are:

1. Simple present Tense (V1-S)

2. Present continuous Tense (am/is/are+V1+ing)
3. Present perfect Tense (has/have+V3)
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense (has/have +been+V1+ing)

1. Simple present Tense (V1-S)

Eg. I sing a song

She writes a Letter

2. Present continuous Tense (am/is/are+V1+ing)

Eg. I am singing a song

She is writing a letter

3. Present perfect Tense (has/have+V3)

Eg. I have sung a song

She has written a letter

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense (has/have +been+V1+ing)

 Eg. I have been singing a song

She has been writing a letter

Past Tense can be divided into four types they are:

5. Simple Past Tense (V2)

6. Past continuous Tense (was/were+V1+ing)
7. Past perfect Tense (had+V3)
8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense (Had+been+V1+ing)

5. Simple Past Tense (V2)

Eg. I sang a Song

She wrote a letter

6. Past continuous Tense (was/were+V1+ing)

Eg. I was singing a song

She was writing a letter

7. Past Perfect Tense(Had + V3)

Eg. Before I sang a song, the rain had started

She had written a letter

8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense (Had+been+V1+ing)

Eg. I had been singing a song

She had been writing a letter

 Future Tense can be divided into four types they are:

9. Simple Future Tense (shall/will+V1)

10. Future continuous Tense (shall/will+be+V1+ing)
11. Future perfect Tense (shall/will + have+V3)
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense (shall/will+have+been+V1+ing)

9. Simple Future Tense (shall/will+V1)

Eg. I will sing a song

She will write a letter

10. Future continuous Tense (shall/will+be+V1+ing)

Eg. I will be singing a song

She will be writing a letter

11. Future perfect Tense (shall/will + have+V3)

Eg. I will have sung a song

She will have written a letter

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense (shall/will+have+been+V1+ing)

Eg. I will have been singing a song

She will have been writing a letter.

Active and Passive

(1) The cat killed the rat.

 (2) The rat was killed by the cat.

The two sentences express the same meaning.

But in sentence 1, the form of the verb shows that the subject does something.

In sentence 2, the form of the verb shows that something is done to the subject.

In active voice, the person (or the doer) is given importance whereas in passive voice
the action is given importance.

There are three changes to be noticed when we change the active voice in to passive
voice.

(1) The subject in the active voice becomes the object in the passive voice.
(2) The object in the active becomes the subject in the passive voice.

Example:

Raman killed Ravanan

S V O

Ravanan was killed by Raman

1. Simple Present Tense.

He writes a letter — Active
A letter is written by him — Passive
2. Present Continuous Tense.
She is drawing a picture.
A picture is being drawn by her.
3. Present Perfect Tense.
He has brought some fruits.
Some fruits have been brought by him.
4. Simple Past Tense.
 He built a house. — A
A house was built by him — P
5. Past Continuous Tense
He was writing a novel — A
A novel was being written by him.
6. Past Perfect Tense.
He had given her a book.
A book had been given to her by him.
7. Simple future Tense.
We shall watch the progress — P
The progress will be watched by us — P
8. Future perfect tense.
He will have finished the work before 6 p.m. — A
The work will have been finished by him before 6 p.m.
Note : Only the above eight tenses can be converted into their passive forms. The
present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future
perfect continuous don’t have their equivalent in the passive form.

Impersonal Passive Form

Sometime, the subject is omitted when we change from active form to passive form

Example:

We elected Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was elected President of India.

They voted him to power.

He was voted to power.

FRAMING ‘WH’ QUESTIONS

 Wh- questions differ from questions beginning with auxiliary verb forms such as:
is, are, am, do, does, has, have, can, will, must.

Instead, the pronouns who, where, what, why and how are used to embed the question
clause into the main clause.

There are eight wh-questions, which, what, who, whom, whose, when, where and why
and to this list we usually add how as they are all used to elicit particular kinds of
information.

Who, what, which and whose can all be used to elicit information about the
subject or object of the sentence.

Whom can only be used to elicit information about the object of the sentence.
Although using whom would be grammatically correct, we normally use who instead
because it doesn’t sound so formal.

When which, what, who or whose refers to the subject, the question word comes
before the verb without the use of the auxiliary do.

which or what?

When there are only two or three possibilities to choose from, which is normally
preferred.

When there are an unlimited number of choices, what is used.

whose

Whose indicates possession, and like which and what, can be used with or without a
noun as a question word.
 E.g. Whose coat is this?

Whose is that red car across the road?

when, where, why and how

These question words elicit an adverbial expression and ask for information about time
(when), place (where), reason (why) and method or way in which something is done
(how).

E.g. When are you getting married?

Where does your fiancée come from?

Why didn’t you get married earlier?

How was your holiday?

Question tags

A tag question is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a TAG

QUESTION, and the mini-question at the end is called a QUESTION TAG.

1) Positive and negative tags

Positive statement, negative tag? Ex: It is hot, isn’t it?
Negative statement, positive tag? Ex: It isn’t warm, is it?
never, nothing, none, neither, nobody and no one are negative
constructions.
Ex: Nobody is coming tomorrow, are they?
He never says that, does he?
A negative question tag is always contracted.
2) Auxiliary verb
If an auxiliary verb is used in the statement, the same auxiliary is used in the question tag
Ex:
• She is married, isn’t she?
• You can stay, can’t you?
• He might come, mightn’t he?
• I ought to go, oughtn’t I?
• We shan’t be late, shall we?
• You didn’t want it, did you?
• They haven’t paid, have they?
• You don’t like chocolate, do you?
3) No auxiliary
If there is no auxiliary in the sentence (affirmative sentence in the present simple tense),
the correct form of do/did is introduced in the question tag.
Ex: He comes every Friday, doesn’t he?
You went to the supermarket, didn’t you?
4) Subject
After the auxiliary verb we introduce the subject, always in the form of a personal
pronoun:
Ex: Mary is your friend, isn’t she?
Mary is

Subject/Verb agreement (Concord)

The verb should agree with. its subject in number and person.

A subject is what we talk about.

A subject may denote a person, Place or thing.

Verb denotes state, possession or action. The subject in the sentences must agree
with the verbs. For the correct usage, the following rules are suggested.

Rule 1
 When the subject of the sentence has two or more nouns or pronouns connected by
and, a plural verb is used.
Example:
She and her sister were absent.
Two and two make four.
Rule 2
When two or more singular nouns are connected by or, either/or, neither/nor take a
singular verb.
Example:
The mobile or the cover is on the table

Neither she nor I was present

Rule 3
When two singular nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb must be
singular.
Example:
The poet and musician is dead.
The poet and philanthropist is coming for the function.
Rule 4
The words each, each one, every one, every body, anybody, anyone, nobody,
somebody, some, no one, either and neither are singulars and take singular nouns.
Example:
Each of these boys are intelligent
Everybody remembers me.
Rule 5
 It two nouns are joined by with or as well as, along with, besides, in addition, the
verb agrees only the first subject, and must be singular.
Example:
She, as well as her friends, has gone out.
The file, with all the papers, is missing.

Rule 6

When a phrase is used between the object and verb, the verb will agree with the
subject not with the noun or pronoun in the phrase

Example:

One of the students is absent today.

One of the pens is missing.

Rule: 7

Certain nouns, though singular in form, are considered plural and take the plural
verb

Example:

These scissors are good.

These fro users are made of the people are waiting for the minister.

Rule 8

There are several nouns plural in form but singular in meaning and take the singular
verb nouns such as civics, mathematics, measles and news require singular verbs.

Example:

The news is collected from many plan physics is an interesting subject.

Measles is an infectious disease

Rule 9

In sentences beginning with ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ the subject follows the verb. As
there is a dummy subject, the verb agrees with what follows.

Eg

There are many advantages.

There is a solution to this problem.

Rule 10

Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but they are considered
singular and take a singular verb, such as ‘group’, ‘team’ , ‘committee’, ‘class’ and
‘family’;

Example:

The committee prepares the report.

The group attends the conference.

But the same word take the plural verb, when each member is considered as an
Individual.

Example:

The audience were delighted with the performance.

The committee believe in action.

Rule 11

Expressions such as ‘with’ , ‘together’, ‘including’ ‘accompanied by’, in addition or

‘as well’ do no change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is
singular too,

Example:

The principal, accompanied by his staff goes to the auditorium.

All the gates, including the main gate are open.

 Unit II

UNIT IV

WRITTEN SKILLS

Letter writing:

Letter is the most common form of written communication. We write

letters to communicate with other people.

Letters are of two kinds:

Formal and informal (Friendly and business letters)

There are some common things that are to be followed in a letter

Heading
Date
The greeting or salutation
Communication or message of the letter
The subscription or courteous leave taking
Signature
The subscription on the envelope

There must always be a heading when we start a formal letter E.g; letter for
application
Leave letter, letter to the editor… and so on

Date must be written for future reference and so that the sender can remember the
message. The address must mention the sender’s address first and then the
receiver’s address>

e.g:

Gupta

Nehru Street

Manjal

Gujarat

Ram / designation if any

Nehruji Street

Takal

Bihar.

Nest step is to write a greeting or salutation

Dear sir/ madam (Use names if necessary)

Body of the letter

Message can be communicated in splitting it into three paragraphs to four
paragraphs. The first paragraph is an introduction, the second and third paragraph
is message, fourth is the conclusive paragraph.

Then in the below we state the subscription or courteous leave, we use yours
faithfully or yours sincerely,

Then we add our signature

Finally we close it by the subscription of the envelope use if necessary.

Informal letters:

An informal letter has not much rules but it is informally written.

The informal letters starts with date in the right hand corner and then dear. There is
no word limit and in the end the subscription used is yours lovingly, yours truly …
and so on. Then the signature of the person. Finally the subscription on the
envelope.

Kinds of letters

Formal

Letter to the Editor

Complaint letter

Letter of application

Accepting invitation and declining invitation

And so on …………

Formal Letters l

Imagine that you are the purchase manger of a company. Write a letter
stating requirements of computer peripherals for your company.
Write a letter to the editor of a news paper bringing out the problems of
drainage near your area.
Write a letter to a factory requesting them to permit you to undergo in-plant
training during the summer vacation. Give your academic achievements,
project and other details necessary for the training.

Informal letters:

Write a letter to your brother about the vacation tour a Australia

Write an experience of yours at the kargil war

Sms or E-mail communication

An E-mail is an electronic method of sending messages. Mails are the fastest

mode of delivering messages. All forms of letters or answers are sent through
mails.

Sending a mail nowadays isn’t Difficult.

To: receivers mail I.D

From: Senders mail I.D

Subject: Write in short the crux of the message.

CC: If sending too many mail id’s

Bcc: If sending too many mail id’s

Attachments: we can attach files from the computer if necessary like a resume. It
may be attached from an already existing written matter in the system.

Body of the mail:

The body of the mail can be written in accordance to the form of letter

Noting whether formal or informal letter.

Dear Sir,

The content of the letters

Finally thanking you

End the letter

E-mails are not considered whether they are one word or one pages

These days all communication are done through mail your birthday or your
appointment or your dismissal.

Short forms are used in communicating In E- mail

AFAIK: as far as I know

* AFK: away from keyboard * ASAP: as soon as possible
* B4: before
* B4N: bye for now
* BFF: best friends forever
* BFN: bye for now
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------

Note making

Note making is condensing a paragraph into short by taking the important or key
words and making it precise in a systematic way.

Note are taken following these points:

1. Read the passage carefully

2. Identifying the key points
3. Reducing or condensing the main points before writing .
4. Organize the condensed form and represent in a systematic way.
5. Omit examples, use when they are really important
6. Select a topic and write it on the top of the note.

Short forms for using in notes

Men - Instead of personnel

Cop - Police men
Cut - Reduction
Hike – Increase
Move – Attempt……

We use no. of alphabets to denote each and every point

e.g:

1 Anasthetics

drug causing numbness

 insensibility
painless surgery

a. Drug causing numbness

b. Insensibility

c. Painless surgery

B. surgery

Definition
Notetaking is practice of writing pieces of information, often in an informal or unstructured
manner. One Major specific type of note taking is the practice of writing in shorthand, which can
allow large amounts of information to be put on paper very quickly. Notes are frequently written in
notebooks, though any available piece of paper can suffice in many circumstances – some
people are especially fond of post- It notes, for instance. Note taking is an important skill for
students, especially at the college level. Many different forms are used to structure information
and make it easier to find later . Computers, particularly tablet PCs and personal digital assistants
(PDAs) are beginning to see wide use as note taking devices.
The Cornell note-taking system is a wide widely-used note taking system devised in the
1950s by Walter Pauk, an education professor at Cornell University. Pauk advocated its use in
his best selling How to Study in College, but its use has spread most rapidly in the past decade.
Contents
*Overview of method
*Why take notes?
*Five Rs of Note Taking
Overview of Method
The student divided the paper into two columns: the note-talking column (usually on the right
) twice the size of the key word column (on the left). The student should leave five to six lines or
about two inches, at the bottom of the page. Notes from a lecture or teaching are written n the
note-taking column ; notes usually consist of the main ideas of the text or lecture, and long ideas
are paraphrased. Long sentence are avoided; symbols or abbreviation are used instead.
Relevant question should be recorded as soon as possible so that the lecture and question will be
fresh in the student’s mind, or key words are written in the key word column. The student also
writes a short summary on the last four lines.
 The student then covers up the note-taking column to answer to the questions/keyword in
the key word or cue column. The student is encouraged to reflect on the material and review the
notes regularly. The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing
notes.
After the notes have been taken, the student write a brief summary at the bottom of the
pages, This helps to increase understanding of the topic. When studying for either a test or quiz,
the student has a concise but detailed and relevant record of previous classes.
Why take notes?
1. Summary – helps you to see an overview of an entire topic by the end of it.
2. Memory – aids retention of the information. If you have to double process something, ie
not only listen or read but listen/read and record, you are more likely to remember.
3. Revision – gives you the material to pin your revision on or to guide further reading.
4. Concentration – mean you have to concentrate on what is being said or read, and you
are being active rather than passive. If You are not actively engaged you can easily distracted.
These four elements together = Active learning.
Five Rs of Note Taking
1. Record. During the lecture, as many meaningful facts as possible are recorded.
2. Reduce. As soon after class as possible, ideas and facts are concisely summarized in
the Recall Column. Summarizing clarifies meaning and relationships, reinforces continuity, and
strengthens memory.
3. Recite. Most of the page is covered and the student tries to recall as much of the lecture
as possible, using only what has been written in the Recall Column. This procedure helps to
transfer the facts and ideas to long term memory.
4. Reflect. The student’s own opinion is distilled the notes. This also has effect of training
the mind to find and categorize vital information, leading to more efficient memorization.
5. Review. The student review the notes briefly but regularly. Because of the highly
condensed nature of the notes, the student remember4s significant amount of material.
Outline Style
Below you will find skeleton of an outline as well as a sample:
Title/Date: The major topic or subject.
A. Major division or category within the topic.
List important statements.
1. History, facts, experiments, first researcher
2. second researcher, other experiments.
a. Supporting facts and details
b.
c.
3.
 B. Second major division in the topic area.
1. facts, new perspectives, research
2.
Sample – Outline Form
If your notes are neat and as close to outlined as possible, you’ll have a much better chance
of turning them into a good set of questions. These notes were taken at an introductory
psychology lecture. The topic was learning.
LEARNING
A. Behavior Modification – First Researcher B.F. Skinner
1. Main principles:
a. Experimenter must wait for a behavior to occur.
b. Behaviors reinforced tend to increase (Note: Term is reinforcement, not reward)
c. Behaviors ignored tend to decrease
d. Behaviors punished may be temporarily suppressed but may increase, punishment
can be reinforcing!
2. Tracking positive plan :
a. Specify the desired observable behavior.
b. Choose an effective reinforcer.
c. Measure current level of desired behavior.
d. Watch for slightest increase in the desired behavior.
e. Give reinforcer as fast as possible.
B. Classical Conditioning – First Researcher Ivan Pavlov
He noticed dogs salivating when a bell rang that signaled feeling time.
1. Focus on automatic reflexes.
Summary Method
Here is a sample of the above information in summary form:
Learning
B.F. Skinner, working with pigeon, was the 1st researcher to use Behavior Modification. He
said that the experimenter must wait for a behavior to occur & then reinforce that behavior.
Without reinforcement, behavior tend to decrease, but punishment may increase the behavior
since it is reinforcing. Mostly, the desired behavior needs to be reinforced as quickly as possible.
Ivan Pavlov was the 1st researcher to study Classical Conditioning. He noticed that the dogs
in his lab would salivate when he rang a bell, even w/o the presence of food. CC focuses on
automatic reflexes.
Mapping Method
Finally, a brief sample of the above information in the visual, mapping form:
 From notes such as these it is easy to develop practice questions that come close to what
the instructor will ask. Note: Using your own abbreviations for frequently repeated words can be
helpful. Just make sure you can remember what they stand for!
Reading skills for academic study: Note-taking
Exercise 1
Read the following text and make notes.
HOW CHILDREN FAIL
Most children in school fail.
For a great much this failure is avowed and absolute. Close to forty per cent of those who
begin high school drops out before they finish. For college the figure is one in three.
Many others fail in fact if not in name. Type complete their schooling only because we have
agreed to push them up through the grade and out of the schools, whether they know anything or
not. There are many more such children than we think. If we raise our standards much higher, as
some would have us do, we will find out very soon just how many there are. Our classroom bulge
with kids who can’t pass the test to get into the next class.
 But there is a more important sense in which almost all children fail: except for a handful,
who may or may not be good students, they fail to develop more than a tiny part of the
tremendous capacity for learning, understanding, and creating with which they were born and of
which they made full use during the first two or three years of their lives.
Why they do Fail ?
They fail because they are afraid, bored, and confused.
They are afraid, above all else, of failing, of disappointing or displeasing the many anxious
adults around the, whose limitless hopes and expectation for them hang over their heads like a
cloud. They are bored because the things they are given and told to do in school are so trivial, so
dull, and make such limited narrow demands on the wide spectrum of their intelligence,
capabilities and talents.
They are confused because most of the torrent of word that pours over them in school
makes little or no sense. It often flatly contradicts other things they have been told, and hardly
ever has any relation to what they really know – to the rough model of reality that they carry
around in their minds.
How does this mass failure take place ? What really goes on in the classroom ? What are
these children who fail doing? What goes on in their heads? Why don’t they make use of more of
their capacity?
This book is the rough and partial record of a search for answer to these questions. It began
as a series of memos written in the evening to my colleague and friend Bill Hull, whose fifth-grade
class I observed and taught in during the day. Later these memos were sent to other interested
teachers and parents. A small number of these memos make up this book. They have not been
much rewritten, but they have been edited rearranged under four major topics: Strategy; Fear and
Failure; Real Learning; and How schools Fail. Strategy deals with the way in which children try to
meet, or dodge, the demand that adult make on them in school. Fear and Failure deals with the
interaction in children of fear and failure, and the effect of this in strategy and learning. Real
learning deals with the difference between what children appear to know or are expected to know,
and what they really know. How Schools Fail analyses the ways in which schools foster bad
strategies, raise children’s fears, produce learning which is usually fragmentary, distorted, and
short-lived, and generally fail to meet the real of children. These four topics are clearly not
exclusive. They tend to overlap and blend into each other. They are, at most, different ways of
looking at and thinking about the thinking and behavior of children.
It must be made clear that the book is not about unusually bad school or backward children.
The schools in which the experiences described here took place are private school of the highest
standards and reputation. With very few exceptions, the children whose work is described are
well above the average in intelligence and are, to all outward appearances, successful, and on
their way to ‘good’ secondary school and colleges. Friends and colleagues, who understand what
I am trying to say about the harmful effect of today’s schooling on the character and intellect of
children, and who have visited many schools than I have, tell me that the schools I have not seen
are not a bit better than those I have, and very often are worse.
TRANSCODING OR TRANSFORMATION OF INFORMATION

Information comes in a variety of ways, not in the form of verbal statement,

not all of them very familiar. Tables and statistics, charts of different types are
important ways in which facts are presented to you and you have to interpret them
into verbal statements. On the other hand, it is also necessary to present facts in the
form of tables, charts or graphs. The conversion of verbal statement into tables,
charts or vice versa is what is called “Transfer of Information.” Such transfer of
information becomes easy when you have some practice in reading and interpreting
information in the form of graphs, pie charts, and tables of statistics quickly and
accurately.

Bar Chart

A bar chart or bar graph is a chart with rectangular bars with lengths proportional
to the values that they represent. The bars can also be plotted horizontally.

Bar charts are used for plotting discrete (or 'discontinuous') data i.e. data which has
discrete values and is not continuous. Some examples of discontinuous data include
'shoe size' or 'eye colour', for which you would use a bar chart. In contrast, some
examples of continuous data would be 'height' or 'weight'. A bar chart is very useful
if you are trying to record certain information whether it is continuous or not
continuous data.

Pie Chart
A pie chart (or a circle graph) is a circular chart divided into sectors, illustrating
proportion. In a pie chart, the arc length of each sector (and consequently its central
angle and area), is proportional to the quantity it represents. When angles are
measured with 1 turn as unit then a number of percent is identified with the same
number of centiturns. Together, the sectors create a full disk. It is named for its
resemblance to a pie which has been sliced. The earliest known pie chart is
generally credited to William Playfair's Statistical Breviary of 1801

Process Description

Process description is a procedure that outlines the steps for performing a

task(s). It should tell someone how to do something not just what to do. It breaks a
task or tasks into discrete sequential steps. It uses short and passive voice/action
statements. Try to limit each step to a single activity. It is written as a narrative. The
description should be in the impersonal tone. The present tense is usually used.

1. Process involved in the purification of gold.

There are three ways in which gold is purified. They are flotation,
amalgamation and cyanidation. In the first method, a frothing agent is
added to produce foam. A collecting agent is used to produce a film on
the gold, which then sticks to the air bubbles. Gold is then separated
from the top. In amalgamation, the ore, mixed with water to form a
pulp, is collected on a copper plate covered with mercury. The
mercury is then removed, partly by squeezing it out and partly by
distillation. The cyanide process is now widely used. In this process,
a weak solution of sodium potassium or calcium cyanide is used to
dissolve the gold. The gold is then precipitated by the addition of zinc
dust. The gold thus obtained is smelted and cast into bars.
PARAGRAPH WRITING

Paragraph writing is organizing thoughts into a coherent piece of writing can

be a daunting task. The best way to pin those ideas down and put them into a form
that others can follow is to use an outline.Before you start writing a paragraph, you
need to decide two things. What are you writing about? What do you want to say?
The purpose of any paragraph is to express an idea. Most paragraphs consist of a
few related sentences.

You can write a successful paragraph by starting off with a plan. The key to doing
a successful paragraph is to break down the writing into short, simple steps.

 Subject of your paragraph

Write down the subject of your paragraph. To express your subject, write
only a word or phrase. Who or what are you writing about?

 Pre-writing for your paragraph

Begin by brainstorming. Brainstorming doesn't involve writing complete
sentences or paragraphs. Brainstorming involves coming up with ideas using
words or short phrases.

 One popular way to to create pre-writing ideas is to ask yourself questions

about your subject.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself:

What do I know about this subject? How does this subject relate to me? What
do I like or dislike about this subject? What words best describe it?

1. Write a paragraph describing the uses of solar energy.

Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular because it is sustainable, requires
little maintenance and is cost-effective in the long run. Typically, solar energy is
captured and converted into electricity via photovoltaic (PV) cells. There are also
larger solar power plants that collect the heat from the sun, which is subsequently
used to produce steam for powering a generator.

UNIT III

Language Outline

DEFINITIONS
It is a method of explaining something in brief.
1. Amplifier - a device for amplifying or increasing something especially sound
or radio signals.
2. Calculator – a small electronic device for performing calculations with
numbers
3. Coolant – a liquid that is used for cooling an engine, a nuclear reactor,etc
4. Printer- a machine for printing text onto paper.
5. Sensor –a device that detects light,heat,pressure,etc

EXTENDED DEFINITION

Extended Definitions
 An extended definition is a short passage that attempts to explain a complex
term. Some terms may be so important, there may be so much complexity due to its
technical description, or they may be so difficult to understand that an extended
discussion or explanation is vital for one’s understanding.

Example:

An algorithm is a finite description of a finite number of steps required to

accomplish some well-defined tasks.

Computer memory is one of the three basic components of a computer which

stores information for future use, both data that will be operated on as well as the
programs that direct what operations must be performed.

Helicopter is a type of aircraft with large revolving blades but no wings. It can take-
off and land in a very small area, and remain in one position in the air.

Influenza is an acute, highly contagious infection of the respiratory tract, which

occurs sporadically or in epidemics and lasts up to a month.

Dialogue Writing

Writing good dialogue takes practice and patience. There are ten tips to write
dialogues:

1- Read dialogue aloud. It’s meant to be heard, after all. This will help you to listen to
the voices of your characters, noticing the flow and movement of their words.

2- Don’t use dialogue to convey large chunks of information (exposition). People don’t
sound like this: “Since we arrived here at four, to watch for Martin Goodfellow, the
murderer, I’ve felt hunrgy.” It’s okay if readers don’t know exactly what’s happening at
all times – trust them to understand the story because they are intrigued by the voices of
your characters.

3- Dialogue should sound real, but that doesn’t mean dialogue on the page is exactly like
snippets of dialogue you overhear. You don’t need all the Hellos, Goodbyes and boring
small talk of daily life. Cut it out.

4- Good dialogue should move the story forward, convey character and feel full of life.
The best place to see great dialogue is by attending (or reading) plays, watching movies
or even just switching on the TV.

5- If you want your character to say, “I need you,” think about the words they would
actually use. Perhaps they’d say, “I can’t- Do you have to catch the early bus?”

Jane Espenson writes, “Want to write an emotional moment? Increase your quotient of
stumbles and restarts.” She writes scripts for TV (shows like Buffy and The Gilmore
Girls) and her insight into writing dialogue is helpful to think about here.

6- Learn how to write the correct punctuation for speech. It’ll be a useful tool for you as
a writer, making it easier for you to write the dialogue you want, and it’ll help your work
look professional when publishers read it.

7- Another technical dialogue tip: he said and she said read just fine. Don’t worry about
repetition, most readers glide over he said/she said as if those words were punctuation.
Too many of these: exclaimed, gasped, screeched, postulated, reasoned, argued,
pondered, mouthed, etc… and your dialogue will be overwhelmed by the words around
it.

8- Have people argue with people, or have people saying surprising, contrary things. If
everyone is agreeing with each other, your story will feel flat.
9- Think about how each of your characters sounds. Make each voice distinct – this can
be subtle or dramatic. Perhaps one character likes to use a certain word or short
phrase, so make sure the other characters don’t use that same word or phrase. It’s a small
distinction, but useful. More dramatic distinctions are up to you!

10- People don’t have to answer each other directly. Sometimes what’s not said has huge
meaning.

REPORT WRITING

Purpose of a report

A key thing to keep in mind right through your report writing process is that a report is
written to be read, by someone else. This is the central goal of report-writing. A report
which is written for the sake of being written has very little value.

Before you start writing your report, you need to have in mind the intended audience. In
the narrowest of possibilities, your report is meant for reading by yourselves, and by your
advisor/instructor, and perhaps by your evaluation committee. This has value, but only
short-term. The next broader possibility is that your report is readable by your peers or
your juniors down the line. This has greater value since someone else can continue on
your work and improve it, or learn from your work. In the best case possibility, your
report is of publishable quality. That is, readable and useful for the technical community
in general.

Structure of a report

The following should roughly be the structure of a report. Note that these are just
guidelines, not rules. You have to use your intelligence in working out the details of your
specific writing.
 Title and abstract: These are the most-read parts of a report. This is how you
attract attention to your writing. The title should reflect what you have done and
should bring out any eye-catching factor of your work, for good impact.

The abstract should be short, generally within about 2 paragraphs (250 words or
so total). The abstract should contain the essence of the report, based on which the
reader decides whether to go ahead with reading the report or not. It can contain
the following in varying amounts of detail as is appropriate: main motivation,
main design point, essential difference from previous work, methodology, and
some eye-catching results if any.

 Introduction: Most reports start with an introduction section. This section should
answer the following questions (not necessarily in that order, but what is given
below is a logical order). After title/abstract introduction and conclusions are the
two mainly read parts of a report.
o What is the setting of the problem? This is, in other words, the
background. In some cases, this may be implicit, and in some cases,
merged with the motivation below.
o What exactly is the problem you are trying to solve? This is the problem
statement.
o Why is the problem important to solve? This is the motivation. In some
cases, it may be implicit in the background, or the problem statement
itself.
o Is the problem still unsolved? The constitutes the statement of past/related
work crisply.
o Why is the problem difficult to solve? This is the statement of challenges.
In some cases, it may be implicit in the problem statement. In others, you
may have to say explicitly as to why the problem is worthy of a
BTech/MTech/PhD, or a semester project, as the case may be.
 o How have you solved the problem? Here you state the essence of your
approach. This is of course expanded upon later, but it must be stated
explicitly here.
o What are the conditions under which your solution is applicable? This is a
statement of assumptions.
o What are the main results? You have to present the main summary of the
results here.
o What is the summary of your contributions? This in some cases may be
implicit in the rest of the introduction. Sometimes it helps to state
contributions explicitly.
o How is the rest of the report organized? Here you include a paragraph on
the flow of ideas in the rest of the report. For any report beyond 4-5 pages,
this is a must.

The introduction is nothing but a shorter version of the rest of the report, and in
many cases the rest of the report can also have the same flow. Think of the rest of
the report as an expansion of some of the points in the introduction. Which of the
above bullets are expanded into separate sections (perhaps even multiple sections)
depends very much on the problem.

 Background: This is expanded upon into a separate section if there is sufficient

background which the general reader must understand before knowing the details
of your work. It is usual to state that "the reader who knows this background can
skip this section" while writing this section.
 Past/related work: It is common to have this as a separate section, explaining
why what you have done is something novel. Here, you must try to think of
dimensions of comparison of your work with other work. For instance, you may
compare in terms of functionality, in terms of performance, and/or in terms of
 approach. Even within these, you may have multiple lines of comparison --
functionality-1, functionality-2, metric-1, metric-2, etc.
 Technical sections: The main body of the report may be divided into multiple
sections as the case may be. You may have different sections which delve into
different aspects of the problem. The organization of the report here is problem
specific. You may also have a separate section for statement of design
methodology, or experimental methodology, or proving some lemmas in a
theoretical paper.

The technical section is the most work-specific, and hence is the least described
here. However, it makes sense to mention the following main points:

o Outlines/flow: For sections which may be huge, with many subsections, it

is appropriate to have a rough outline of the section at the beginning of
that section. Make sure that the flow is maintained as the reader goes from
one section to another. There should be no abrupt jumps in ideas.
o Use of figures: The cliche "a picture is worth a thousand words" is
appropriate here. Spend time thinking about pictures. Wherever necessary,
explain all aspects of a figure (ideally, this should be easy), and do not
leave the reader wondering as to what the connection between the figure
and the text is.
o Terminology: Define each term/symbol before you use it, or right after its
first use. Stick to a common terminology throughout the report.
 Results: This is part of the set of technical sections, and is usually a separate
section for experimental/design papers. You have to answer the following
questions in this section:
o What aspects of your system or algorithm are you trying to evaluate? That
is, what are the questions you will seek to answer through the evaluations?
o Why are you trying to evaluate the above aspects?
 o What are the cases of comparison? If you have proposed an algorithm or a
design, what do you compare it with?
o What are the performance metrics? Why?
o What are the parameters under study?
o What is the experimental setup? Explain the choice of every parameter
value (range) carefully.
o What are the results?
o Finally, why do the results look the way they do?

While describing a table, we have to describe every row/column. And similarly

while describing a graph, we have to describe the x/y axes. If necessary, we have
to consider the use of log-axes.

If we are presenting a lot of results, it may be useful to summarize the main take-
away points from all the data in a separate sub-section at the end (or sometimes
even at the beginning) of the results section.

 Future work: This section in some cases is combined along with the
"conclusions" section. Here we state aspects of the problem we have not
considered and possibilities for further extensions.
 Conclusions: Readers usually read the title, abstract, introduction, and
conclusions. In that sense, this section is quite important. We have to crisply state
the main take-away points from your work. How has the reader become smarter,
or how has the world become a better place because of your work?

UNIT IV

LANGUAGE SKILLS
 Communication is the central human activity. We are now witnessing the emergence of an
advanced economy based on information and knowledge. Probably the most important skill for
knowledge workers in the new environment is the ability to communicate. This means to able to
listen and to express your ideas effectively in writing and in speech. In order to achieve desired
success, professional needs to assess and respond to communication situations that occur
constantly. The four main goals of communication are:
1. To inform – you are providing information for use in decision-making, but aren’t
necessarily advocating a course of action.
2. To request - for a specific action by the receiver.
3. To persuade – to reinforce or change a receiver’s belief about a topic and, possibly, act
on the belief.
4. To build relationships – some messages you send may have the simple goal of
building good will between you and the receiver.
Thus, effective communication is a prerequisite to being an effective professional. Effective
communication helps to:
  Anticipate problems
 Make decisions
 Coordinate workflow
 Supervise others
 Develop relationships
 Manage knowledge, ideas and creativity
 Create a clear vision and energize employees
 Promote products and service
The Communication Process
The first step to being a good communicator is to understand the process of communication.
Communication is a dynamic, transactional (two-way process) in which there is an exchange of
ideas linking the sender and receiver towards a mutually accepted direction or goal and consists
of seven elements. What follows is a technical viewpoint, however it is applicable to all modes of
communication and is effective in improving one’s assessment of a communication situation.
1. Sender (source): The process of communication begins with a sender, the person
who has an idea and wants to share it. The Branch Manager explaining new
product lines to the sales force, a computer programmer explaining a new
programmed to a co-worker, an accountant giving financial report to its superior are
all senders of communication.
 Noise

Channel
Source Encoder Decoder Receiver
Message

Feedback

2. Encoding: The sender must choose certain words or non-verbal methods to

translate the idea into a message. This activity is called encoding. While encoding
a message, one needs to consider what contents to include, how the receiver will
interpret it and how it may affect one’s relationship. A simple “thank-you” message
will be relatively easy. In contrast, to inform 200 employees of a bad news about
salary cut or bid on engineering plans to construct a 50 crore industrial building will
require much more complicated, carefully planned messages.
3. Message: For communication to occur, your receiver should first get the message.
A message is any signal that triggers the response of a receiver. Messages could
be verbal (written or spoken) or non-verbal (such as appearance, body language,
silence, sounds, sighs etc.)
4. Channel: How will you send your message? Should it be sent through an electronic
word processing system to be read on the receiver’s screen or through the printed
word or through graphic symbol on paper, or via the medium of sound? Briefly,
should one write or speak? The choice of channel or medium (written or oral) is
influenced by the relationship between the sender and the receiver.
5. Receiver: A receiver is any person who notices and attaches some meaning to a
message. In the best circumstances, a message reaches its intended receiver with
no problems. In the confusing and imperfect world of business, however, several
problems can occur. The message may never get to the receiver. It might be sent
but lie buried under a mountain of files on the recipient’s desk.
6. Decoding: Even if the message reaches intact to its intended receiver, there is no
guarantee that it will be understood as the sender intended it to be. The receiver
must still decode it — Attaching meaning to the words or symbols. It may be noted
that decoding is not always accurate. It depends upon individual experiences.
7. Feedback: “The meaning of your communication is the response you get”.
Ultimately the receiver reacts or responds to the communication sent by the sender.
The response could be based on clear interpretation of the symbols sent or it could
be based on misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the symbols sent. Whatever
 the response of a receiver to a sender is, it is called feedback. Some feedback is
non-verbal — smiles, sighs, nods and so on.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
After the discussion of the meaning and importance, and dimensions of communication it is
worthwhile to have a look at the means/media and types of communication. Specially after
considering the directions of communication, we can understand that there my be various
occasions requiring different types of communication. All communication cannot be of the
same type and cannot flow through the same means. Much depends on who sends a
message to whom and for what purpose. It must also be understood that a human being
has at his command a number of means of communication. We can have a look at them in
the following figure:
Media/ Means of Communication

Verbal Non-Verbal

Oral Sign language

Written Body language
Oral Communication

According to a research, an average manager in general spends only 9% of his/ her time in
writing, 16% in reading. 30% in speaking and 45% in listening.
Oral communication, which is face-to-face communication with others, has its own benefits.
When people communicate orally they are able to interact, they can ask questions and even test
their understanding of the message. In addition, people can also relate and co-prehend the non-
verbal, which serves far more than words. By observing facial expressions, eye contact, tone of
voice, gestures, postures, etc., one can understand the message better.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Words are not the only way we communicate. While we use language to communicate
explicit information and message content, we use non-verbal communication to convey relational
messages, including how we feel about another person as well as status and power. While one
can refuse to speak or write it is impossible to avoid behaving non-verbally.
One may continue to communicate through:
 Kinesics or Body language, that is communication through body movement, facial
expressions, gestures, posture etc.
 Paralanguage: Very frequently how something is said is what is said. The term
paralanguage is used to describe a wide range of vocal characteristics like tone, pitch,
speed etc. — vocal cues that accompany spoken language which help to express and
reflect the speaker’s attitude. Adept communicators know how to use these cues
effectively to help their listeners appreciate and understand content and mood.
  Artefactual communication: It is well-known that we react to people on the basis of
their appearance. The use of personal adornment like clothing, accessories, makeup,
hairstyle etc. provides important known verbal cues about one’s age, social and
economic status, educational level, personality etc.
 Proxemics: refers to the space that exists between two persons. Everyone is entitled to
a comfort zone. If anyone gets closer, it causes discomfort.
Basics of Body Language
BODY LANGUAGE: It’s not what you said

Body language or kinesics is a science of non-verbal communication. Body language is the

unspoken communication including your gestures, postures, expressions etc. that goes on in very
face-to face encounter with another human being. Body language is also known as Non-verbal
Communication and supposedly accounts of 75% of most conversations. Being able to monitor
how comfortable, interested, or focused a customer or coworker is, can be very useful. The other
side of the fence is important as well. Presenting the proper body language can go a long way
towards successful communication.
Because of the heavy communication requirements of most jobs recognizing and properly
utilizing body language, can make a noticeable difference at the end of each day. Your ability to
read and understand another person’s body language can mean the difference between making a
great impression or a very bad one! It could help you in job interview, meeting, business function,
or special date1.
The words of the conversation probably weren’t what we noticed as a direct lie. It was more
likely to be the body movements and signals that gave them away. Darting eyes, palms not
visible, shifting from one foot to another, hand covering mouth or fingers tugging at the ear are
clues.
All the clues are there. Our subconscious picks them up, and if we’re lucky enough to be
perceptive, decodes them and tells us that the words and gestures don’t match! Whenever there
is a conflict between the words that someone says and their body signals and movements, we
almost always believe their body!
So being aware of the cues and signals being sent to you by others is a crucial skill if you
want to understand a person’s attitudes towards you, regardless of what they are saying. Having
a slick resume and all the right answers to tricky interview questions won’t get you anywhere if
your body language gives an entirely different message.
Some of the obvious body language elements, which are easily apparent and noticeable,
are:
 Fidgeting show boredom and restlessness
 Crossing arms indicates an unwillingness to listen
 Tapping your foot, is distracting and a sure sign of boredom
 Doodling on paper shows you’re not paying attention
 Touching your face or playing with your hair can be a sign that you’re hiding something
 Looking away hesitating before or while speaking indicates that you’re unsure of what
you’re saying
  A fixed, unfocused stare shows your attention is elsewhere
 Voice
A good CV and all the right answers to the toughest interview questions won’t land you the
job if your voice gives off an entirely different impression. It is important to project yourself
confidently in a clear, controlled and steady voice that can be easily understood.
 Speak clearly in a controlled range of tones, avoid a monotone
 Always pause before speaking, this avoids instinctively reacting and saying the wrong
things
 Speak slightly slower than normal, don’t overdo it though
Vary your tone and dynamics, but try not to speak too loudly or too softly
 Don’t mumble or gabble on excitedly
 Keep your hands away from your mouth as you speak
 Watch your pitch and avoid a ‘sing-song’ tone
 Let your vice show your enthusiasm and keenness
Body Signals

Whether we intend it or not, our body language gives off very subtle signs which are
subconsciously interpreted by the other party. We likewise read the same into other people’s
behaviour. Imagine conducting an interview with someone behind a two-way mirror, we wouldn’t
have the benefit of responding to their facial expressions and would feel quite unnerved by the
experience. Every little frown or smile gives us the caution or confidence to make our next
statement and it is a sublime skill, which every human being has developed since childhood.
Some people are more receptive to body language than others, but as a candidate striving to
make a good impression, it is important to be aware at all times of the body language that may
give out a negative impression. Understanding body language is fairly simple and involves three
basic components: Distance, Posturing, and Focus,
Keeping the Right Distance: The most important aspect of body language for making a
person feel comfortable or uncomfortable is respecting their personal space, which is an invisible
circle around them. Each culture is different, but in every culture there are the same three
distances: public, personal, and intimate distance.
Other Non-verbal Posturing to Watch For:
 Covering of the mouth (they are “ keeping their mouth closed” even though they have
something to say)
 “Pious Hands” praying Hands or even a single pair of fingers pointing up (“I have
something to impart to you”)
 Fists, representing a willingness to fight for their position.
 Nervous/distracted behaviour: rapping fingers, twitches, humming, etc.
 Touching the nose
 Toying with hair or objects
 Hands on hips
 Open hands extended forwards
  In a disagreement someone stays and someone leaves. The one who stays “ stands his
ground.” The other is perceived as “loosing ground” , even if he won the verbal
argument! That’s part of what makes possession 9/10ths of the law.
Positive Body Language:
 Responsive/eager: leaning forward, open arms, nodding
 Listening: heading tilted, constant eye contact, nodding and verbal acknowledgement
 Attentive: smiling
Negative Body Language:
 Bored: Slumped posture, foot tapping, doodling
 Rejection: Arms folded, head down, subconscious frowning
 Aggression: Leaning to far forward, finger pointing, grinding teeth
 Lying: Touching face, hands over mouth, eyes averted, shifting uncomfortably in your
seat, glancing.
EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Effective written and oral business messages should be adapted to the purpose and
receiver of each message. The basic business communication principles also known as the
seven C qualities – provide guidelines for choosing content and style of presentation.
Complete
 Answer all questions asked
 Give something extra, when desirable
 Check for the five W’s and any other essentials
The complete message should contain all facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction
you desire. You can make your messages complete by answering all questions asked, giving
something extra when desirable, and checking for the five W’s and H (who, what, when, where
why, how) as well as any other essentials.
Concise
 Eliminate wordy expressions
 Include only relevant statements
 Avoid unnecessary repetition
A concise message includes all necessary ideas and facts in the fewest possible words
without sacrificing the other C qualities. You can shorten or omit wordy expressions by using
single-word substitutes, eliminating “which” and “that” clauses whenever possible, and avoiding
over-use of “it is” (or “was”) and “there is” (or “are” or “were”) for sentence beginnings.
The message should include only facts relevant to its purpose. Sentences should omit
pompous words, irrelevant details, excessive adjectives and statements the receiver already
knows. You can avoid unnecessary repetition of long names by using pronouns, initials, or
shorter names. The concise message helps emphasize important points and saves costly time
for both sender and receiver.
Consideration
  Focus on “you” instead of “I” and “ we”
 Show reader benefit or interest in reader
 Emphasize the positive, pleasant facts
 Apply integrity and ethics
Concrete
 Use specific facts and figures
 Put action in your verbs
 Choose vivid, image-building words
Good concrete writing and speaking include specific facts and figures, with examples.
Generally you should use active rather than passive verbs and place action in verbs, not in nouns
or infinitives. To help make messages vivid and specific you can use comparison, figurative
language, and concrete instead of abstract nouns, plus well-chosen adjectives and adverbs.
Clarity
 Choose short, familiar, conversational words
 Construct effective sentences and paragraphs
 Achieve appropriate readability and listen ability
 Include examples, illustrations, and other visual aids, when desirable
Make your message clear by using words that are familiar to your receiver. Aim for unity,
coherence and emphasis in your sentences and paragraphs. Have an average sentence length of
around 17 to 20 words and an average paragraph length of 4 to 5 lines in letters, 8 to 9 lines in
reports. The readability and listening ability level should be appropriate for your recipient’s
general educational level. To make figures stand out clearly, you may find tabulating to be useful.
Also, give your reader helpful examples with appropriate, easy-to-read headings or other visual
aids whenever you need to explanin complicated material.
Courtesy
 Be sincere, thoughtful, and appreciative
 Omit expressions that irritate, hurt, or belittle
 Apologize good-naturedly
A courteous communication is sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. In both written
and oral messages courtesy requires omitting expressions that irritate, belittle, or have
questionable humour. The courteous person also grants and apologises good-naturedly and
answers mail as promptly as possible.
Correct
 Use the right level of language
 Check accuracy of figures, facts and words
 Maintain acceptable writing mechanics
 Choose nondiscriminatory expressions
 Overall accuracy in business communication requires correct language level and accurate
facts, figures, words choices, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Nondiscrimination towards
people because of their gender, race, ethic origin, or physical characteristics is also essential.
When you sign your name or initials to the business message, you assume responsibility for
everything in.
LISTENING — A KEY INGREDIENT OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The
best way to understand people is to listen to them – Ralph Nichols
It is said that communication begins with listening. Lack of listening ability at all levels is a
major source of work-related problems. Communication cannot be effective unless, the receiver
listen with due attention or ‘participation’. It further shows that communication is a joint
responsibility of both the sender and the receiver. Participative listening is an essential condition
of effective communication. One cannot be an effective speaker unless one is a good listener -
one cannot speak unless on listens. It must, first of all be made clear that listening is a deliberate
effort. It is not the same as hearing. When we hear we do not have to make any effort. But for
listening we have to train our ears and ask ourselves why we wan to listen to something or
somebody. While listening we must discriminate, evaluate, appreciate and react.
Listening heads the list of essential managerial skills; it provides most managers with the
bulk of the information they need to do their jobs.
What Happens when we listen?
Listening is a process involving five related activities, which are as follows:
1. Sensing: Physically hearing the message and taking note of it. Reception can be
blocked by interfering noises, impaired hearing or inattention. One must tune out
distractions and focus on registering the message.
2. Interpreting: Decoding and absorbing what one hears. The speaker’s frame of
reference may be different from that of the listener, so one must try to determine what
the speaker means. Paying attention to nonverbal cues often increases the accuracy of
interpretation,
3. Evaluating: Forming an opinion about the message and sorting through the speaker’s
ideas.
4. Remembering: Storing a message for future reference. To retain what one hears, we
can take notes or make a mental outline of the speaker’s key points.
5. Responding: Acknowledging the message by reacting to the speaker in some fashion.
Thus, listening requires a mix of physical and mental activities, and it is subject to a mix
physical and mental barriers.
TIPS FOR EFFECIVE LISTENING
 When listening to an “uninteresting” subject matter, look for benefits and opportunities by
asking. “What’s in it for me?”
 Judge content — not the appearance or delivery of a speaker.
 Avoid making a judgement until the message is complete.
  Avoid listening only for facts by listening for central theme and ideas,
Be flexible when taking notes; take fewer notes and use different systems of note taking
depending on the speaker.
 Overcome the temptation to fake attention by working hard to listen and assuming an
active listening stance (for example, lean forward, make eye contact with speaker).
 Resist distractions by fighting or avoiding them; learn how to concentrate.
 Seek out difficult material rather than avoiding it.
 Keep an open mind when confronted with an emotional word with which you are
uncomfortable.
 Capitalize on the fact that thought is faster than speech. Use the thinking-speaking time
differential to summarise mentally, weigh evidence, and listen “between the lines”.
The biggest block to personal communication is man’s inability to listen intelligently,
understandingly and skillfully to another person.
RULES OF EFFECTIVE LISTENING

 Listen for ideas, not facts – ask yourself what they mean
 Judge content, not delivery, i.e., what they say, not how they say it
 Listen optimistically – don’t lose interest straight away
 Do not jump to conclusions
 Be flexible, adjust your not-taking to the speaker
 Concentrate – don’t start dreaming – and keep eye contact
 Do not think ahead of the speaker – you will lose track
 Work at listening – be alert and alive
 Keep emotions under control when listening
 Open your mind – practice accepting new information
BARRIERS AND GATEWAYS TO COMMUNICATION
Barrier — the Tendency to Evaluate
The major barrier to interpersonal communication is our natural tendency to judge, to
evaluate, to approve (or disapprove) the statement of the other people or the other group.
Although the tendency to make evaluations is common, it is very much heightened in those
situations where feelings and emotions are deeply involved. There will be just two ideas, two
feelings, two judgements missing each other in psychological space.
Note the following major barriers pointed out by experts, note that each has its root in our
tendency to evaluate based on our assumptions, interpretations or perceptions
 Undefined assumptions
 Badly expressed message
 Faulty perception
 Fear
 Inattention
 Premature evaluation
Gateway: Listening with Understanding

Real communication occurs, when this evaluative tendency is avoided, and we listen with
understanding. It means to see the expressed idea and attitude from the other person’s point of
view how it feels to him, to achieve this frame of reference in regard to the thing he is talking
about.
We usually feel that we listen well to people and yet the chances are rare that this is true. A
small exercise if done will make it clear as to how good or poor a listener we are. Just try to
restate someone else’s opinion, which we just listened to as the person explained to us. We
would find this extremely difficult. However, this exact understanding to he other’s frame of
reference is the gateway to better communication.
 Breathe slowly and deeply
 Relax and be comfortable
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written communication is so important that it is not possible to think of a business
organisation without it. The working of any organisation depends to a large extent on the
exchange of letters, reports, etc. There are various reasons for it and the most important reason
is that face-to-face communications not always possible because the workers of an organisation
may be widely spread over geographical distances. We have, therefore to depend on exchange
of letters. Modern technological distances have not decreased the importance of letters. Modes
of transmission have changed. But written communication remains as important as ever.
Advantages of Written Communication
 It provides records, references etc., on which important decisions rest.
 It builds up the legal defenses of the organisation through records, letters, instructions
etc.
 It promotes uniformity of policy and procedure and builds up proper guidelines for the
working of the organisation.
 It helps to improve the image of the company.
 It can be checked for accuracy. Oral communication may be changed or interpreted in
different ways but in written communication the message/ information is stated very
clearly or unambiguously.
 It is permanent.
 Responsibility can be easily assigned. (One may go back on the spoken words but not
so on the statement in black and white).
It looks formal and authoritative for action.
 It reduces the possibility of misunderstanding.
The ability to communicate clearly in writing is an important skill on can master. It helps to
get ideas across effectively and to get the required results in business and personal life. There is
no mystery to good writing — it is a skill one can learn — be sure that more painstaking the effort,
the more effective the writing, and more rewiring the results.
 We know very well from our own experience, that much that is handwritten and more that is
typed is only skimmed, and sometimes not read at all. Every day too much reading matter
(newspapers, magazines, leaflets, as well as letters) comes into our hands. Withal the duties and
responsibilities we have in our business and personal lives, there simply isn’t the time to go
through all those pages, which clutter our desks or cram our mail boxes.
Under these circumstances there is a need to turn out a more attractive, more interesting,
more tasteful product. We want to arouse and hold the interest of the reader of our
correspondence or communication.
Keep it Brief

The purpose of writing is to communicate a thought, an idea, a sentiment, or a fact. The

more concrete and concise these elements in a communication, the more precise, the more
rewarding they are to the reader. The manner in which you communicate information is
enormously important. It must be in pleasant form to command attention and arouse interest.
Make it Clear and Complete

On the other hand, nothing can be more irritating and sometimes frustrating than the
omission of essential detail. Suppose, for example, the shirts you manufacture come in several
styles, colours, and sizes, but the order you have received in the mail gives no specifications or
someone writes down a telephone message from your out-of-own friends, telling you they are
going to be in the city and will drop in the see you but the message contains no date, no time, and
nothing to indicate whether they are coming alone or with their children. Unquestionably there is
virtue in brevity, but a these examples who, we must never assume that your reader is as expert
or as knowledgeable as you are about whatever it is you are writing. Brevity is not an excuse for
lack of clarity. And clarity, above all. Is essential to what you have to say on paper.
Clarity, precision, and conciseness — each is of utmost importance to effective writing. But
what of style, the way in which you pen your correspondence, business or social? Certainly you
want to avoid stiffens and rigidity in any kind of writing; at the same time, you would not write a
report on the market conditions in Hong Kong in the “chummy” manner of a letter to a cousin.
As you write, concentrate on keeping your language active, clear and precise. Habitual use
of the passive voice, unnecessary words and vague generalities makes your prose flabby. The
simplest and best approach toward developing your own style in writing is to write as you speak.
This would seem to be an easy a task — but in realty it isn’t and requires lot of effort.
 UNIT V

CREATIVE THINKING AND CRITICAL THINKING

Objectives
After going through this chapter, you will understand:
 How to think and write creatively; and
 How to think and write critically.

Structure:
 How to be a Problem Solver
 Solve the root cause of problem
 On Achieving Goals: Defining What You Truly Want
 Stimulating an Intense Emotional Craving to Get What You Want: How to Be Self-
Motivated
 Communication Process for Compassion, Understanding, and Peace

HOW TO BE A PROBLEM SOLVER

Do you know that you can transform a problem into something wonderful and achieve
great things in life? Here’s a simple story to help you understand how you are responsible for
your success, no matter how many problems you have.
Once, there were two brothers who grew up in a poverty-stricken environment. They barely
had food to eat everyday, and sometimes they had to beg in order to survive. Their father died a
long time ago, while their mother’s income could barely feed them.
One day, the elder brother went far away to search for greener pastures. He said he’d be
back to help his family. He strived and persisted. He found a good job and worked part-time while
studying. Until one day, he graduated with honors. He was immediately hired by a large company
and became one of the top lawyers in that place in a short span of time.
He went home one day, eager to tell his family of the good news, and surprise them with his
accomplishments. At last, he could give them a good life, he thought.
When he arrived home, his mother was weeping. Alas! While he was away, his younger
brother joined a group of thieves and became a drug addict. “Your brother is wanted by the
police. We haven’t seen him for many weeks now,” his mother sadly told him.
It was interesting to note how the two brothers’ identical situation motivated them to do what
they did.
 The elder brother used his situation to motivate him to succeed. He said, “Because of my
situation, I was forced to persist and do all that I could to help my family. “ He believed that he
could create his own destiny. No matter how difficult the circumstances were, he believed that he
had the capacity to do the right thing in achieving his goals.
The younger brother used his situation as an excuse to become despicable. He was finally
caught and was asked why he did those crimes. He said, “Because of my difficult situation, I was
forced to become a criminal. If only I had enough money, I would have been a good person.” He
believed that he received what destiny threw at him, and that it was his fate to become a criminal.
Now if you have a problem, would you to be like the elder brother or the younger one?
The choice is yours. Your success does not depend on the type of life you have, but on the
way you handle or utilize your current situation to your advantage.
The traditional way of thinking says: “If I have resources, wealth, education, and
influence, I’d be a great person one day. However as that isn’t the case, I’ll have to accept my
fate”.
The radical and sensible way of thinking says: “If I have confidence in my abilities, wealth
and influence can be attained one day”.
The difference is that most people wait for good things to happen when they are down in life
in order to be happy; they never realize that when they use the confidence they have in their
abilities, happiness and good things would naturally follow. This is the greatest and most amazing
secret or key to happiness, wealth, and even relationships.
SOLVE THE ROOT CAUSE OF PROBLEM
You have a problem in your life you cannot remove. Let’s say, it is being overweight. You
have 20 kilos more than you want. You’re sick of the extra weight making you feel and look bad,
which motivates you to lose weight. You build the will power and determination to drop a few
kilos.
Through determination to solve your weight problem, two weeks later you jump on the
scales to discover you’ve lost nine kilos. You’re ecstatic! The tension you once had about your
weight eases. Because you feel more comfortable with your body – and your will power drained a
lot of mental energy – you return to old habits. You take less action to lose weight.
One month passes since you lost nine kilos, because it is difficult to exert will power to
maintain a strict diet and exercise regime, nine kilos finds itself back on you. You beat yourself up
over having a weird psychological problem as you feel helpless in forever creating a permanent
solution to your weight loss problem.
Weight loss problems occur everyday in diverse forms. Other common examples include:
managing anger, but we still blow up, getting a new job, but we remain in the old one; starting a
new healthy relationship, but we remain in a destructive relationship; communicating more
effectively, but we don’t communicate effectively. Why is this?
We fail to change ourselves when we solve a problem. Problem solving is responsible for
not solving the problem. We fail to change when we try to solve our problems because there is
oscillation between tension and resolution.
 In the tension-resolution model, tension is the problem. As the tension builds, you feel
compelled to resolve the problem. The problem becomes less intense, which reduces tension.
Because there is less tension to cure the problem, your behaviour returns to its original state as
you work less at solving the problem. The end result: the unwanted behaviour returns!
We get ripped back to our old habits because we solve the problem instead of changing the
underlying structure. Trying to solve a problem means removing something. We try to remove
anger, smoking, swearing, complaining, blaming, and negativity. We try to make something go
away rather than create what we want. It is easy to think problem solving will make you happy
when it only makes something go away.
The Path of Least Resistance
Energy flows along the path of least resistance. In Physics, objects travel through a system
following the path of least resistance. Like water in the Ganges River, our energy flows along the
easiest path.
It is human nature to be lazy. We want things to be easier, but does this mean we secretly
desire to sloth in front of the television? What it does mean is that we take the easiest path to get
where we want to go. Our energy flows along the path that provides the minimal amount of
resistance. Remember, “You got to where you are in your life right now by moving along the path
of least resistance.”
We try to fight the path of least resistance by using techniques like will power. We use will
power, affirmations, and positive-thinking to motivate us to change, but our attempts to solve the
problem fail to create a solution. In fact, the messages communicated have the opposite effect!
The subtle messages communicated from these traditional self-help skills is that “you find it
difficult to change so you lie to yourself”. The affirmations, will power, and positive-thinking create
a paradoxical effect: you do not change!
Take a look at intention manifestation, the law of attraction, metaphysics. Apparently, if
you continually reaffirm what you want and stay true to the universe, the universe will
automatically manifest your dreams. If you truly believe something, you don’t reaffirm it to
yourself. You don’t rise in the morning to spend 15 minutes chanting affirmations that the
universe will give you. The unconscious messages sent through willpower and positive-thinking
say you will not change or find it difficult to change.
Techniques that consume will power burn energy because we remain stuck in the
destructive tension-resolution pattern. The internal friction consumes our energy on fruitless
efforts as we spin our wheels in a stationary position. Energy is wasted that could otherwise be
put into tasks that move us toward our goals. You need to channel valuable will power and
determination into choices and decisions that take you to your desired future.
How to Create a Permanent Solution
A radical shift in choice towards fulfilling what you want leads to permanent change. For
example, in terms of managing anger, if you make the fundamental choice that governs your
behavior to be a calm person, you do not fight your anger by trying to resolve it; rather, you
change the structure of your anger to create a new behavior that brings what you want. Situations
that arise which test your anger lead you to create results and processes aligned with your
fundamental choice and desired outcome.
 People subject themselves to their circumstances as they live in a respond-react
environment. Problem solving “subjects you to the whims of circumstances”. In problem solving,
you wander (and wonder) through life’s maze where your environment is the walls. Your
environment dictates who you are and where you go.
Permanent change in human behaviour does not arise from problem solving where you rest
at the helm of life’s circumstances. Lasting change comes from a new underlying structure of your
being to guide your life. Instead of fighting change, you become the change because it is your
new path of least resistance. It becomes easier for you to do what you want and move towards
your goals than doing otherwise.
In Psychotherapy, individuals who fail to make an authentic fundamental choice of good
health don’t change. They revert to old patterns. They may say they want to change, but they
don’t. They fail to choose the empowering vision or they try to solve a problem instead of
changing the underlying structure of their life. Until you make the fundamental choice to become
healthy, for example, you will never be truly healthy.
The real solution to change is to have a clear vision of what you want and know your present
reality. This means knowing exactly where you want to go and where you are – without delusion.
Once you define what you want and where you are, you’ll experience tremendous freedom. You’ll
feel at ease. These two things give you a new structure from where your energy effortlessly
oozes to create what you want.
Artists are an excellent example of creating a solution and knowing the end result. People
think artists are spontaneous. After all, isn’t creativity analogous with spontaneity? Mostly, no. An
awareness of what you want allows your creative mind to compose processes that manifest your
desired solution. An artist stares at a blank canvas ready to start a new project. If he paints
without a vision of the end result, he will not know when the painting is complete. He will feel
unfilled and demotivated as the painting continues because he responds and reacts to the
present moment of painting. On the contrary, if he knows what he wants, he will paint to achieve
his vision.
ON ACHIEVING GOALS: DEFINING WHAT YOU TRULY WANT
Alexander Graham Bell said, “What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and
it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he
wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.” Napoleon Hill said, “The starting point of
all achievement is desire.” Abraham Lincoln said, “You can have anything you want – if you want
it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you
hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”
For centuries, mankind has explored this mysterious emotional state that gets him want he
wants. This power is not the law of attraction; rather, it is a power within you. The power is your
power. It is self-motivation. You control whether you are self-motivated. Self-motivation will give
you anything you want if you want it bad enough.
Think of something you once wanted so badly that nothing stopped you from getting it. This
is the passionate desire you need to achieve what you want. Contrast this passion to something
you thought “would be nice”. Maybe you wanted to learn the violin because you thought it would
be a nice skill. Maybe you wanted to learn a new language to explore cultures. Maybe you
wanted to go scuba diving for an adventure. Whatever “nice thing” you wanted, you didn’t achieve
it because you didn’t want it enough.
In trying to motivate yourself to learn a new language, perhaps you purchased some books
and CDs, but you never progressed further because you lack the emotional desire. We can take
steps forward to achieve what we want, but we fall short of our desire without the self-motivation
required to carry us through our full journey. Without self-motivation, we fail.
To achieve your communication and personal development desires, goals, and dreams, two
characteristics need emphasis. Both deal with passion and having a fire-in-the-belly attitude.
Firstly, you need to define exactly.
Setting the goals:
“You will suddenly realize that the reason you never changed before was because
you didn’t want to.” — Robert H. Schuller
The first step to achieve what you want in your personal development journey is to know
exactly what you want. You probably already think you know what you want, but I am pretty
confident you do not truthfully know. What you think you want could be: what someone else
wants; a facade to get another want; a vague desire which creates a slow, unenergized pursuit.
We often think we know what we want, but in truth it is not what we want.
When you do not define what you want with pure precision, you wander through life’s jungle
waiting for signs that validate your success. You have no proof you’re moving forward because
you don’t know what you’re moving towards. Eventually, you get devoured by obstacles that
demotivate you from trying to reach your mysterious destination. We can take steps forward to
achieve what we want, but we fall short of our desire without the self-motivation required to carry
us through our full journey.
Let’s say you want to be good at making small talk with anyone because you would love to
have the skill of being able to approach someone and start a conversation. Wanting to make
small talk with anyone, however, is not what you really want. What you really want is a host of
outcomes. That is you don’t want the skill of being able to talk to anyone for the sake of being
able to talk to anyone – your desire to talk with anyone has hidden motives. Successfully being
able to approach someone and start a conversation is a means of fulfilling that wish.
One reason you could want to make small talk with anyone is to be able to control your fears
when you meet new people. Another reason is to network more effectively so you can grow your
business. Another is to feel more secure around people. All these are emotional motives that
drive your desire to make small talk. When you define your wants in the correct light, you become
self-motivated to pursue that goal. The exercise is a mental and emotional catapult successful
people use to define what they want, become self-motivated, and achieve their goals.
Take a paper and pen, and draw two columns. You will want the second column to be twice
the size of the first column. This exercise is large and will take several hours. You may want to do
it in two sittings, but the process should be energizing so you might be able to get it done in a
single sitting.
 In the first column on the left, label it “What I Want”. Obviously, under this you will write
down what you want. Some people would write down goals as the heading for this column. Your
desires automatically become something you want without you sitting down and writing them as
goals.
To help you determine what you want, remove all constraints around your desires. Forget
about what you know or have. Stop letting the past limit your future. Remove financial,
intellectual, and relationship constraints. Success is not what you know or who you know; it is
how you think. You can overcome any constraint if you know how to think in an empowering
manner.
“Success is not what you know or who you know; it is how you think.”
It is absolutely necessary you do not reason to yourself what you want. The analytical part of
your mind can hurt the emotional part. The most common form of reasoning contains “buts”. For
example, “I want to work as a public speaker. But I am not good at speaking. But I don’t know
how to get started. But I won’t be able to make money.” All these constraints trick you into
avoiding your true desires.
When we reason with “buts”, we rarely have tried to find a solution. Using the example of
wanting to become a public speaker, someone who reasons they are not a good public speaker
rarely has looked into a solution of how they can become a better public speaker. Someone who
reasons they don’t know how to get started in public speaking, often never look into how to get
started. We have limiting thoughts based on limiting knowledge. It is strange how we remove
ourselves from our desires through this silly rationalizing process.
In determining your ultimate career, ask yourself what you would do if money was not a
consideration. Ask yourself what you would do if you had the necessary training. Ask yourself
what you would do if you knew the right people. Remove all constraints and find what greatly
turns you on.
Another thought to help you accurately define what you want is not to fall in the illusion of
wanting what other people want. Society has norms and expectations that can mould your
desires. Think deeply about what your goals really mean to you. Passion is more about caring
than finding the right thing. You will be surprised at the many things you can be passionate about
once you start caring.
As a verification step to know what you want, you can test to see if this is truly what you
want by running a mental theatre of what it will look, feel, smell, hear, and taste like when you
achieve the goal. Rather than ask yourself, “What are my goals?” ask yourself, “What would
excite me and why?” See what excites you by running through intense visualizations. The
experiences that excite you are what you want. They are your goals.
If you still struggle to determine your desires, remember to remove all constraints. Also, you
can stop the exercise for a few hours to allow your subconscious to work and define what you
want.
Once you have defined what you want, write these desires down on the piece of paper
under the heading “What I Want”. In the same column, and this optional, you can go one step
further by using the SMART method. Having written down what you want, next to it you write
down your want in a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Tangible form. Write no
more than five goals for now, unless you want to, because of the time it takes to complete the
exercise.

If you’re finished, well done. You have defined what you want. That completes the first part
of the exercise. Few people will ever do what you just did, which sets you apart from the masses.
The next step after defining what you want is to stimulate an intense hunger to get your
desire. This second step could be unnecessary, because if you really want something you will
have an intense hunger to consume it. Nonetheless, we experience demotivation from failure and
have our down-days for everything – so the second step boosts your self-motivation. If you do not
have hunger, you would hardly eat.
HOW TO BE SELF-MOTIVATED ?
“The starting point of all achievement is desire.” — Napoleon Hill
“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with
all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be
energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved
without enthusiasm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emotions play a vital role in goal-attainment.
An emotional state is characterized by a motivational tendency to the attainment or
maintenance of a particular, emotion-specific end-state. Some studies have further proposed that
the goal-directed nature of behavioral consequences of emotions is adaptive, thus portraying
emotions as solutions to obstacles and opportunities of physical and social survival.
As a basic example of the importance of emotions in goal-attainment, let’s say you are on
holidays visiting beautiful landmarks and you’re driving up a steep mountain. You get to the top of
the mountain and make your way to an eye-grabbing location that borders the mountain’s edge.
As you approach the mountain’s edge, you see the steep fall and quickly take a few steps back to
feel safe.
The emotion in this example is fear. It is a fear of danger to ensure you achieve your goal of
safety. If you had zero fear of falling off the cliff, the chances of you falling – and failing your goal
of safety – increase because you are closer to danger than if you stepped away from the cliff.
Your emotions help you obtain goals.
Pain – Pleasure Theory:
Behind each goal you have, there exists an emotional void you seek to fulfill. Aristotle said
the desire for happiness is the void behind all actions. Happiness is the ultimate void every
human being pursues. Nobody can be happy enough. Knowing you desire happiness, however,
is not much help when motivating yourself. There is little benefit in knowing you want to make
small talk with anyone to be happy. This is where the pain-pleasure theory of motivation comes
in. The pain-pleasure theory of motivation states that we either seek to gain pleasure or avoid
pain with anything we do. Pleasure involves chasing something. Pain has you run away from
something. The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain
and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.
The primary emotions and desires that bring about change fall into four categories:
1. Disgust – This is the pain component of the pain-pleasure theory. Disgust can occur
when you have had enough. You’re sick of something from occurring, which motivates
you to not let it occur again. Your pain leads to change.
2. Decision – There comes times in our lives that make or break us. These are fork roads
where we need to choose the path on which to travel. The fork roads often arise from
outside circumstances that force us to make a decision, such as a partner laying-down
an ultimatum that sets the conditions if you’re to continue in a relationship. Make a
decision and move forward in life. A wrong choice can be corrected at a later time.
3. Desire – We’re influenced by outside circumstances, but we must have an internal
desire – a purpose that originates from within.
4. Resolve – This state is defined by the decision to commit to a circumstance no matter
what. Nothing can replace commitment. When you know what it is you clearly want,
resolve will make it happen.
Pain, pleasure, disgust, decision, desire, and resolve – these are all powerful emotions you
need to control or they will control you. The question remains: How do you control these emotions
and actions to become self-motivated? How do you build the emotional strength for endurance
through the complete journey to attain your goals?
On a piece of paper where we started the exercise earlier on, you are now going to fill in the
second column. Label the second column as “Why I Want It”. In this column, you’re going to use
the technique of listing 20 reasons why you want what you do to trigger, spark, and amplify your
emotional desires to hunger for what you want. Come up with 20 or more reasons why you want
what you listed in the first column.
Take your time in coming up with the list. The list created from the hours of work will be your
psychological fuel for achieving your communication and personal development goals in the
weeks, months, and years to come. This is a source of inspiration. One should pursue one’s
goals with vigour.
If you have troubles coming up with good reasons for your goals, expand on ideas and ask
other people for ideas. You can also try to think in themes like: feelings you will experience, how
others will see you, physical outcomes, reducing pain, and increasing resolve.
Let’s say your goal is to avoid erupting in anger at family members during family conflict.
Here are 10 starter points you could use in the “Why I Want It” column:

1. I want to be a good role model. 5. I want my family to love me as much as

2. I want my family to feel safe. possible.

3. I want to ensure we have open 6. I want my family to be relaxed and calm

communication and that no one is when talking to me; instead of being
scared of talking about certain issues provoked by my anger.
because of my anger. 7. I hate feeling the shame when people
4. I am sick of fighting with my family. in public see my anger.
 8. I want to increase intimacy with my
partner.
9. I want other parents to look up to me
with how I manage my emotions
towards my children.
10. I want my children to think back in 10
years time and be grateful with my
emotional management towards their
difficult behaviours.
 The above is a great example of things you can list in your goals. This will help you achieve what
you want. It has emotional power in hooking you to achieve your communication and personal
development goals. The given exercise works because you create a list to achieve your goals. The list
builds your pleasure, boosts your desire, and intensifies pain to make you persist until your goals arrive.
The exercise builds the amount of pleasure you get by changing and builds the amount of pain you get by
not changing.
Here are some quick-fire pieces of advice on how you can stimulate an emotional craving for your
goals:
 Dress for Success –
 Feed Your Mind
 Relive Past Success – Set a time limit .
 Teamwork – Team up with someone who wants a similar goal as you. This technique is
frequently used in exercise where trainers encourage newcomers to workout with a friend. When
you make your goals known to others – and when they have the same goals – the two of you
can work together towards a common cause. Each of you becomes more accountable for his or
her own actions because you don’t want to let the other person down. It’s vital the person is
supportive or they could demotivate you from setting and achieving your goal. Once you become
passionate and persistent towards a goal, not many events can stop you from achieving it. The
many methods and techniques above will stimulate an emotional craving and leave you hungry
to achieve your goals.
Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how to stimulate a passion to get it.

11.5 Communication — Process for Compassion, and Understanding

Once you have sufficiently gone through certain steps in the process, then you can use your
negotiation skills to persuade the person. If you try to persuade the person before you use, you will often
find the person resists you and ignores what you have to say.
When a person disagrees with you, refuses to comply with a request, or is angry at you, a poor
communicator tries to express oneself. The person seeks to be understood before seeking to understand.
An effective communicator who uses nonviolent communication seeks to understand the person, which in
turn leads to their own need of being understood. Once you understand others, they will want to
understand you.
The commonality amongst the situations mentioned earlier, and hundreds of situations you
experience throughout the week, is people’s desperation to be understood. Your angry partner wants to
be understood. Your friend wants to be understood and will have almost zero frustration once you
understand. Your children want to be understood, which will naturally compel them to talk with you about
intimate issues. Nonviolent Communication helps you understand people and have them understand you.

Non-violent Communication:
 Violence is widespread because, on one hand there is one person desperately wanting to be
understood, and on the other hand is another person they are in conflict with who wants to be
understood. The failure to see each other’s needs means neither has fulfilled needs. The result is an
outbreak of emotional or physical destruction. So much pain in the world is caused by misunderstandings.
The anger and frustration present in everyday situations appears to be irrelevant to deeper issues,
yet it is our little bursts of anger that contribute to a great scale of hatred. Our everyday outbursts of
anger, frustration, and misunderstandings has as much – but probably greater – impact on peace and
love than kind actions. If you cannot resolve your minor nuances in relationships that are supposed to be
intimate and love-filled, you cannot expect nations who have hated each other for centuries to resolve
major conflicts. To understand another person is a secret of peace. “Peace cannot be achieved through
violence,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson, “it can only be attained through understanding.”
Nonviolent Communication process is a very simple technique once you understand it. With
practice, you will become better at NVC and be more successful in your communication and relationships.
Over time, provided you continually practise the techniques and polish your skills, you will become
excellent at the process.

The Four Step Process

The process has four steps: observing, feeling, needing, and requesting. There are really eight
steps however, because you firstly apply the four steps to the other person, then you apply them to
yourself. Remember is better seeking to understand before being understood. The first four stages make
you understand people so you can be understood when you apply the four steps on yourself.

Observing:
Go through the four steps first on the other person otherwise he or she will not listen to you. Most
people identify a few problems in focusing on the other person. In such situations you forgo your own
needs, concerns, and emotions like anger. NVC makes you understand and express emotions in a
healthy way. A good emotional vocabulary is essential to Nonviolent Communication. Once you expand
your emotional vocabulary, you are capable to accurately express what someone feels and what you feel
to build understanding and connection.

Feeling:
You need to be responsible for how you feel and not be responsible for how people feel. Firstly,
when you fail to be responsible for how you feel, you will blame, condemn, and criticize people. You feel a
victim of this world. You believe people are the source of your emotional and mental pain. You believe
other people need to change. We all need to be continually reminded to take responsibility for how we
feel because it is too easy to see ourselves as victims of people’s actions.
“Do not get entangled in a logical battle that cannot be won.” Do not get entangled in a logical battle
that cannot be won. You need to focus on feelings through empathy. An effective statement such as,
“You feel angry because you need…” shifts the conversation to what really matters: feelings.
 One or two empathizing statements will not be enough when emotions are intense. Just keep going
through the process and you will be amazed at the communication changes which take place. Follow the
feeling stage of Nonviolent Communication, and you will understand people – and have them understand
you.
Needing
The definition of a “need” says it is a requirement. For our use, it is also something you or the other
person wants like personal space, silence, or attention. When you verbalize a person’s needs and your
needs, two separated persons understand what it takes to resolve the problem and establish harmony.
Your first goal of the needing stage is to express the other person’s needs so both of you know what
he or she wants. Your next goal is to express your needs to let the other person know what you want.
 “When you hear me tell you to do work around the house, you feel overwhelmed because you
need rest…”
 “I see that you’re unhappy with the changes in the office? This makes you feel restless because
you need consideration…”
 “It sounds to me as though you’re worried about losing a friend. This makes you feel
brokenhearted. You need someone very close to you…”
 “I see that you’re excited about winning tonight! You feel energetic because you have a need to
win this important game.”
Once their needs get defined, they can be fulfilled, which is the purpose of the next step, requesting.
People will correct you when you observe without judgement or evaluation. Listen to what they say.
Empathically receive their hidden plea.
Drawing back to the common mistakes people have when they try to express their needs, the
lessons of responsibility in the feeling stage relate to the needing stage. It is common to blame and
criticize others when you try to state your needs. It is easy to complain about the person not doing what
you want.
For example, a manager needs the daily quota completed, but he blames and criticizes employees
in ways like, “You’re not working fast enough. I can’t afford for you to be working at this pace.” While the
criticism and vague statements is an entire communication problem, the manager has not said what he
wants. The manager may want to achieve the daily quota and have a good intention to help employees,
but this is not the received message. The employees feel attacked and remain bewildered about their
manager’s wants.
If you cannot express your own needs, it is difficult for someone to fulfill them. It is obvious now, but
the heat of conflict can burn your positive intent to follow the NVC process. You now know to express
your needs – and follow other stages of NVC – but it is easy to blame, criticize, and avoid the techniques
when anger gets the better of you.
In conflict, you probably feel attacked and mirror someone’s anger. This is not peaceful
communication. Deeply think about this concept of anger. The person does not make you angry; it is how
you react that makes you angry. The messages you channel in your mind after you observe a person’s
anger makes you angry. You “reason with yourself” what their shouting, swearing, and anger means. You
probably interpret such messages as signals of disrespect, they do not care for you, or they hate your
opinion. It is this rationalization that makes you angry.
 Many of us think we know our needs, but it is crazy how out-of-tune we can be. If you cannot
express your need in a constructive and direct way, it will always be a fight to effectively communicate. Be
aware of your needs and then it becomes much easier to manage conflict, control your responses, and be
nonviolent. Tune-in to your own needs and it becomes much easier to tune-in to someone else’s needs.
We see a deeper reason behind each word, gesture, attitude, and behaviour.
Requesting
This is the most powerful step to change a person’s behaviour. It aims to prevent future problems
from reoccurring. The exact request you make is dependent on what you want to achieve. The most
important technique to keep in mind when you make a request is to be specific (“Would you be willing to
talk with me for 10 or so minutes about this morning’s problem?”) Do not be general or vague (“I want you
to just look at it from my point of view.”). A request cannot be completed if it provides too much room for
error.
Once you apply the four steps of NVC on someone, you are ready to use NVC on yourself. To
continue from the provided examples for yourself:
 “When I hear you speak loudly, I feel scared because I need emotional safety. Would you be
able to not yell the next time we argue?”
 “When I see you walk away from me, I feel detached. I need physical closeness. Would you like
to cuddle when we’re alone and together?”
 “When I come home from work, I feel exhausted. I need to relax. Would you allow me to sit down
for 15 or so minutes after work?”
 “When I don’t hear your appreciation of my cooking, I feel depressed because I need to be
appreciated. Would you say ‘thank you’ or give another form of appreciation around once a
week?”
“Would you like…” is the typical way to make a good request because it does not order, threaten, or
blatantly advise the person. Keep in mind that if the person does not want to follow the request, you need
to go back through the stages to keep building empathy. It will be compassion first, persuasion second.
Be clear, be specific, and make it actionable. As an example, do not say you would like the person to
work harder. Instead, something along the lines of, “Would you be willing to complete the daily report by 5
p.m. each day?” - will lead to change when you show compassion, be specific, and follow the process.
1. The Map is Not the Territory
Our mental map of the world is the territory we deal with everyday. Instead of interacting with the
world, you interact with your map. How you treat people and yourself is dependent on the map you hold.
2. Every Behavior has its Appropriate Context
Unfortunately, the behaviors, phobias, and ways to communicate we have learned from experience
– that served us well then – limit our potential. We let the past dictate our future. Instead of using old
ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that served their purpose in old contexts, we need to adapt new
thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that are most beneficial for the present moment.
3. People Already have their Needed Resources
Unfortunately, and fortunately, you are human. While you may have the resources to solve your own
problems, it does not mean you are capable of solving them right now. Essentially, you need to learn the
skills, go through the experiences, discover a book, or whatever it may be, to awaken these resources
within you. You already have the ability to visualize, feel, hear sounds, communicate, and experience
other sensations.
4. Experience has a Structure
You have five senses that give you an experience: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. These five
senses hold the potential to change your identity and reality. Because your senses give birth to the
experiences you live every moment of life, each habit or skill arises from your senses.
For instance, recurrent painful memories typically are large, bright, and close-up. Painless memories
of previously painful moments are typically seen in black-and-white, a single frame, and at an objective
distance like in a photo, or even possibly combined with humorous music. Knowing the experience you
want and understanding the structures that give off the experience, help you establish an empowering
pattern.
5. If one Person can do Something, Anyone can Learn to do it
Someone who wants similar success to a person they admire are to learn and do what makes the
person successful, which leads to their own success. Successful individuals for centuries have modelled
successful predecessors.
6. Change what is not working
The old saying, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always
got” is so true. If you want something new in your life, you have to start doing something new.
Parents using unhealthy ways of disciplining their children are an apt example. Every action by the
child gets a consequence placed around it. To the parent’s disbelief, the child continues to push those
consequences. The parent thinks it is the child’s problem, but the parent is too ignorant and stuck in
habitual behavior to realize that what he or she is doing, is not working.
7. A Positive Intention Exists Beneath Every Behaviour
Fight to establish justice. Retreat to feel comfortable. These are all positive intentions.
However, a positive intention does not mean the behaviour is correct, healthy, or the best option.
Rather, knowing a positive intention or fundamental human need exists behind behaviours and
communication enables you to act resourcefully.
8. You Cannot Communicate
I have come across many people who think it is possible to not communicate. The idea that you
cannot communicate is one of the top communication myths. You always communicate and will always
continue to communicate. Your non-verbal communication illustrates the thoughts and feelings inside of
you.
9. The Meaning of Communication is the Elicited Response
You just gave a brilliant presentation to a board of directors about a new project. Or so you thought.
They rejected your idea. Why? There could be many reasons, but the underlying concept is the message
received is different from the message sent. People’s responses show you their meaning of your
communication. You become aware that you need people to verify their understanding of your message
which allows you to adjust future communication with them.
 “The better map you develop, the more choices you give yourself to create your desired reality.”
Every piece of feedback you receive is treated as an achievement because it takes you one step
closer to what you want. If something does not get you the results you want, it only means you need to
correct what you are doing. You need to change what is not working. You will eventually create the reality
you want by having the effective flexibility to change.
10. The More Choices, the Better
The fewer options an individual has, the unhealthier the person. Individuals limited in behaviour feel
victimized by circumstances that “give no options”. People stuck in negotiations are limited by their
constraining choice(s) because choice correlates to power, influence, and change. The more choices you
have personally, socially, and professionally, the more control you have over your reality. The better map
you develop, the more choices you give yourself to create your desired reality.
Criticism and failure will always be banging at your door to success. Unfortunately, most of us let
the two burglars get a foot hold within our lives and let them steal what mental goods we possess.
Criticism compounds criticism and failure demotivates you – resulting in more failure. We will always do
things that are inferior to what other people can do. The trick is to stop associating yourself with your
actions.
You will never be able to eliminate criticism or failure. The conditioning aspect of inferiority will
always exist. Therefore, to overcome the inferiority complex you cannot expect yourself to avoid failure,
dodge criticism, or achieve perfection. Overcoming the conditioning aspect of the inferiority complex
requires you to learn and move on while maintaining a goal-focused attitude. Again, you need to learn
and move on from criticism and your failures.
You and I will always have our critics provided we are not mediocre. Anyone who has achieved
anything notable, sooner or later receives harsh criticism. Should you desire to avoid criticism, go find a
dark corner where you can hide and achieve little. Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, said, “Criticism
is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
People criticize you in an attempt to improve your life, release their frustration, or because they have
their own problems. Feelings of inferiority, like criticism, can be used as a signal to grow and develop
yourself. Sometimes you can take the criticism as a sign of you progressing forward in life.
When you feel criticism is a signal of your unworthiness, only then does it begin to stimulate
inferiority, shame, and failure. Do not take criticism personally and think you are a failure. Justly deserved
criticism needs to be used as feedback to adjust your course of action as it guides you back on the path
of success.
The Three Factors of Criticism – Don’t Let These Get You Down
We all have been criticized. Some people suffer while other people flourish and experience great
levels of confidence, success, happiness, and intimate relationships. Why is this and what can you do to
overcome your inferiority complex?
The underlying reason some people feel inferior from criticism and failure, while other people flourish
under such feedback, is in their reactions to the three components of criticism. The impact of criticism is
determined by the power of the sender, intensity, and frequency. These three factors are not limited to
criticism. I would just about say the impact of all positive and negative messages is moderated by these
three factors.
 Think of a time when the power of the sender, intensity of the criticism, and the frequency you
were criticized made you feel inferior. If you can – and I suggest you do – make your selected memory
one related to your current feelings of inferiority. If you are a shy person, perhaps think of a time when
someone told you to stop talking because you have nothing good to say.
Once you have come up with one or several memories, ask yourself these questions:
 What were you thinking when the person made you feel inferior?
 What emotions did you experience?
 What self-talk followed the person’s negative feedback?
 How long did these feelings and thoughts last?
 How intense were these feelings and thoughts?
After answering these questions, if you reacted poorly to the negative feedback given to you in these
situations, you should now be more aware of how your feeling of inferiority developed. This is big. If you
have the inferiority complex or know someone with it, I hope you are getting excited about this insight.
“It is the thoughts and feelings you experience after the event that determine whether your inferiority
grows or dies.”
The powerful lesson we can learn from this is that people’s criticism and other types of negative
feedback has no power over you. It is not the events that make you inferior; it is your reaction to the
events. It is the thoughts and feelings you experience after the event that determine whether your
inferiority grows or dies. The conditioning aspect of inferiority partly manifests through the criticism of
others – if you let it – yet your reaction to the event usually determines who you become.
You condition yourself to feel inferior through self-criticism. You become your own worst enemy.
Your “self” gets smacked by your thoughts and self-talk. The failures become a part of your identity. You
become unable to disassociate events and experiences from your identity so you verbally bash your
mind.
Once you have initiated the thoughts, harmful feelings begin to follow. You begin to feel inferior. You
use your creative imagination poorly and begin to evoke images of failure, misery, shame, unworthiness,
and low self-esteem. All these negative messages you have accepted over time mould your self-image
and make you feel inferior. You eventually believe that you are in fact inferior. That is essentially how an
inferiority complex develops: through your creative imagination.
The Second Main Factor of Inferiority Comlex: Creative Imagination
All animals have been preprogrammed with a set of functions to help them survive. I am amazed at
the simple yet effective preprogramming given to birds. When the season changes these amazing
creatures can fly thousands of miles straight to a destination they have never been to before. In addition,
birds build nests without ever attending “Nest Building Course” or taking a course in civil engineering!
Like animals, we are preprogrammed with a set of functions that enable us to survive from threats,
allow us to gather food, and procreate. However, we have one huge difference to animals: we are goal-
driven. Humans have the option to select their goals while animals do not have this ability. Animals are
preprogrammed from birth to live a certain life. They survive and procreate. Humans are different. We can
create goals and set out to achieve them with our creative imagination. It is to be noted that creative
imagination is the key to after one’s self-image.
 The creative imagination is not so much about idea generation; though it is a wonderful technique to
generate ideas. Your creative imagination gives you the ability to dream goals and visualize them so
vividly that your nervous system cannot tell if your visualizations are reality. You can literally trick your
entire body into thinking you are experiencing a realistic event when in fact you are just using your
creative imagination.
Unfortunately, for many people they waste their creative imagination. It is as if they have a Crore
cheque in their wallet and they do not cash it in at the bank. In fact, it is more like they have a crore
golden nugget they do not convert to cash and they are burdened with the impossibility of getting through
life by carrying it around. They let this great opportunity go to complete waste. Unless you awaken this
inner giant, it will lay dormant, sleepy, lazily, and do nothing for you to be productive. It is your inner giant
that can create great happiness, success, and relationships – if you know how to use it.
The first common way your creative imagination is wasted is through aimless daydreaming and
fantasizing. This is letting it go to complete waste. Your mind aimlessly wanders off into a fantasy that
cannot be created or which you have no desire to experience.
“People unknowingly use their creative imagination to create their inferiority complex. They create
scenarios and thoughts of inferiority from their imagination.”
The second common way your creative imagination is wasted is using it to create bad events in your
life. This is where the inferiority complex is derived. People unknowingly use their creative
imagination to create their inferiority complex. They create scenarios and thoughts of inferiority from
their imagination. They imagine rejection, failure, criticism, shame, hatred, scarcity, and loneliness;
instead of acceptance, lessons, love, abundance, and togetherness. There is a huge difference here in
the parallels of thinking.
It is the images you evoke like failure, unworthiness, and shame that wastefully use your creative
imagination to bring further bad events into your life. If you experience fear, anxiety, or worry about what
other people think of you, then you make this common mistake and waste your creative imagination.
Let’s take a look at three common examples of the inferiority complex where the creative imagination
is wasted: napoleon complex, cultural cringe, and superiority complex.
Napoleon Complex
A part of Alfred Alder’s work of the inferiority complex developed the Napoleon complex which is a
specific feeling of inferiority about one’s height. Alfred Alder was said to have named the Napoleon
complex after the great military leader Napoleon Bonaparte who was driven from his insecurities of being
short.
People with a Napoleon complex “make up” for their inferiority through aggressive behaviors. They
have a superficial layer of toughness. On the outside they overcompensate for their insecurity. In terms of
height, they feel handicapped because of their smaller stature and attempt to “make-up” for this perceived
problem through aggressive behavior. A smaller stature is not necessarily a true handicap as it just a
perceived handicap where the individual uses one’s creative imagination to feel inferior.
Diagnosing this type of inferiority within you lies in identifying overcompensating behavior because of
a perceived inferiority. You would have the Napoleon complex and demonstrate overcompensating
behavior when you aim to put-down others who are taller than you. You would have that little extra desire
to do better than those who are taller than you. You would try and make taller people look bad. The worst
possible symptom of this feeling of inferiority is physically hurting taller people because of their stature.
This specific Napoleon complex is derived from one’s personal feeling of inferiority and fear that taller
people are better than you.
I know the Napoleon complex is a common and more general term used outside of physical height
where the individual overcompensates for a perceived handicap. Most of us do have a tendency to be
controlling and aggressive beyond the many possibilities of height differences. All of us have our own,
and often strange, reasons for feeling inferior that we dare not share with anyone else.
A common example of an overcompensating behavior is when someone feels threatened by an
attractive person. A woman would have the Napoleon complex when she feels threatened purely from an
attractive lady’s looks. If she feels inferior to a more attractive lady, she will overcompensate for this with
criticism, teasing, and displaying other insecure behaviours related to the attractive lady’s looks.
Ask yourself this: What is your attitude towards people who are better than you in certain areas of
your life? How do you feel towards people who are more attractive than you?How do you feel towards
people who are your superiors at work? Do you feel inferior to them? Do you feel they are better than
you? Do you need to “pull” them down from their podium by criticizing? Or do you become inspired,
excited, and thrilled to see their successes?
You must have very deeply thought about and answered each one of those questions. If you rushed
through the questions, go back and take your time to think and relive relevant experiences. Think deeply
about it!
“It is the images you evoke like failure, unworthiness, and shame that wastefully use your creative
imagination to bring further bad events into your life.”
Often unsuccessful, unhappy, and miserable people criticize others who are more happy and
successful. It disgusts me to see this happen. The critics are no better or inferior than those they criticize.
A young person achieves a goal at a much younger age than a miserable older person who criticizes how
“bad”, “wrong”, and “mistaken” the young achiever is. It absolutely disgusts me to see someone attempt
to pull another person down because of personal insecurities.
A great test to see how secure and confident a person is, can be conducted by complimenting a
person who is more successful than your “test subject” in an area you feel they may act inferior. For
example, if I wanted to see how confident a lady is about her looks, I could compliment a more attractive
lady on how her hair brings out her positive features. If the lady is insecure, she would likely find
something wrong with the lady and follow up my comments with something like, “But look at her shoes.
Ugh! She’s got no fashion sense.”
Cultural Cringe
The cultural cringe is an interesting area of the inferiority complex where people feel inferior due to
their culture. It could be because of genetic appearance, pronunciation of words, or other factors of the
human body that vary between cultures. A lady who was experiencing the cultural cringe about her
physical appearance, said how much she wished she could look like an Asian lady. She complained
about the features of her body being different and unusual. She hated her self-image and loved how
people in Asian cultures looked. Her idea that other cultures are better than hers made her feel inferior.
Feelings of inferiority damage your communication with yourself and others. You will hate certain
people, cultures, situations, and events because of the cultural cringe. Your subconscious will be so
poisoned with imaginary beliefs that are powerful enough to destroy your happiness, relationships, and
overall success in life.
Superiority Complex
The superiority complex is a feeling of superiority over other people.
A common technique people use to overcome their inferiority complex is to make themselves feel
superior. I frequently thought this was the solution to overcome feelings of inferiority and still, ashamedly,
catch myself trying to feel superior. (You will never completely remove thoughts of inferiority because it is
human nature to think the occasional disempowering thought. However, you do not need to feel inferior or
have an inferiority complex. The difference is whether you let the occasional harmful thoughts and
feelings grow in your life. You need to develop a positive self-image and reduce the negative aspects of
your self-image that try to enter your life.)
People attempt and fail to overcome feelings of inferiority by becoming superior. They “overcome”
inferior feelings by making themselves feel better than other people. Many people do not understand that
this solution is a temporary patch on a wound too big. It takes most people an experience of significance
superiority (such as achieving a desired goal you felt inferior about like earning a million dollars or being
popular with the opposite sex) to realize they still feel inferior.
“A temporary patch to solve the inferiority complex is to make yourself feel superior.”
Let’s face it, I think we have all fallen into the same trap. We think that to overcome our feeling of
inferiority we must feel superior. This ultimately only leads to more frustration and inferiority. I can
guarantee you this. If you must feel superior than you are still comparing yourself to the false measuring
stick you used to judge yourself when you were inferior.
Once you perceive yourself to be superior, you will constantly search for validation from other people
to prove to yourself that you are still superior. You will likely be a needy person who needs other people
to validate himself. If you are put out of place by being ignored and made to feel less superior, you will
attempt to grab back your “non-existent podium” of superiority by criticizing others and using similar
behaviors to lift your own status.
If a person’s need to compete against another is driven from the person’s insecurity to feel superior,
does a superiority complex actually exist? I think it does exist, but an inferiority complex is in the
background.
You are You
A secret to overcoming the inferiority complex is accepting you are who you are. I am certain you
would have heard people say to “Just be yourself”. I think that is awful advice. If you continue to be
yourself then you will continue to have poor habits, thoughts, feelings, and results.
Being yourself is completely different than accepting your uniqueness. A guy who knows he is
unique is still able to grow as a person and “not be himself”. He accepts his uniqueness, but becomes
more than he was yesterday. He will always be unique no matter what he does.
So hopefully now you accept you are a unique individual but I am willing to bet that you do not
believe it. I am guessing you consciously accept your uniqueness, but after reading this article you would
still compare yourself to the false measurement stick that causes inferiority. By measuring yourself
against these mystical standards, you do not accept your uniqueness.
 Next time you feel inferior, I want you to challenge those thoughts by finding out why exactly you feel
inferior. Having done so, acknowledge that the people you measure yourself against are not the true
measurement stick. You are your measurement. You are you. What you need to do is compare yourself
with who you were. Neuro-linguistic programming calls this a self-to-self comparison.
If you are shy in conversations, do not compare yourself to the extrovert, blabbermouth, social
butterfly who will not shut up. Compare your present shyness to your shyness one month ago. Derive
satisfaction from knowing that you are becoming a better person. No one will have experienced the same
situations, people, events, thoughts, and feelings that erected your feelings of inferiority. There are so
many variables that make you unique: family, friends, co-workers, upbringing, and the list goes on. It is
foolish to compare yourself to others.
Know that you do not need to arrive at your goal to enjoy yourself. You can enjoy the journey in
knowing that you are making progression and becoming more confident. In doing so, you are able to
accept your uniqueness.
About 90% of people have the inferiority complex so our perceived standard is a joke! You should be
able to see how silly we are to compare ourselves against these false measurements. You are not inferior
or superior to anyone – nor is anyone inferior or superior to you. We all are ourselves. You are you. Sally
is Sally. Remaining different and not complying to “standards” (which 90% of the population do not fit in)
is one major secret to overcome the inferiority complex