Archive for March, 2008
03.31.08
Posted in Templates Info at 4:38 pm by admin
A heart rate monitor is a gadget that grants exercise equipment
users the ability to keep in line their own heartbeat whilst
exercising. It ordinarily comprises 2 units, A receiver on the
wrist and a chest strap. The chest strap utilizes electrodes to
monitor your pulse and if the gadget is tied in to your training
machine, its screen will indicate your heart rate to you.
Receivers for heart rate monitors usually arrive in the shape of
digital watches that assess a pulse by figuring out the time
before blood pumps through your veins in the wrist. Cardiac rate
monitors are turning out to be more and more an essential and
most commercial grade fitness machines have got a pulse rate
monitor as part of the package.
If you have heart or blood pressure disorders, owning a heart
rate monitor whilst keeping fit is essential. You will not
simply be able to find out in what way your pump takes care of
hard work, you will also be able to control your pulse by
modifying speed settings on the exercise machines. Some
treadmills and elliptical trainers arrive with a built-in
heart-rate management system, which automatically slows down the
exercise machine if your heart beat is overly upward. This is
really useful, as it fends off a good deal of heart-related
ailments that happened at one time or another with people
getting in shape harder than their heart could manage.
Even with no cardiac disorders, it is still a good idea to use a
heart rate monitor now and then. This way, you shall be able to
track how your system deals with intense exertion. To make sure
you are in good health and there will be no disorders
subsequently, you should make a daily pulse-rate graph for a
single week or two, while training at the same intensity degree.
You will observe if there are extreme pitfalls or ascensions in
your pulse rate, but the best thing to do would be to show this
report to your doctor, who will immediately notice any
forthcoming problems.
If you are contriving to buy a quality heart rate monitor, one
of the common makers available is The Polar company. Polar
technology has been around for two decades now and the company
has achieved the status of being the industry leader in the
heart rate monitors field. They have various series for heart
rate monitors, ranging from initiates and intermediates to
professional athletes. You can also choose your heart rate
monitor from different categories, depending on what your needs
are: Cardiac Rehab, Jogging, Cycling, Swimming (this includes a
waterproof monitor-watch), Fitness, Weight Management and so
forth.
Heart rate monitors are an advance in working out at home, as
they might help to avoid numerous heart problems. Always pay
attention to your heart rate monitor and try not to push your
heart over the limits. Consult a doctor about what the normal
pulse rate should be for your body type, in an effort regime.
Combine this data with an exercise machine that supports heart
rate measuring systems and displays them on their console, or
even better, one that adjusts its speed to your pulse rate.
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Posted in Living With Marketing at 9:04 am by admin
Copyright 2005 Richard Meredith
One of the best way to increase your sales is to offer your potential customers a special offer. It could be trial offers, discounts, purchase awards, etc. Below are ten sizzling offers you could use to sell your products like crazy.
1. You could offer your potential customers a free sample of your product. If the sample proves what you claim, there is a high chance they will buy it.
2. You could give your potential customers a free trial of your product or service. Tell them you won’t bill them for 30 days.
3. You could offer your potential customers a rebate after they buy your product or service. They will feel they are getting a good deal.
4. You could offer your potential customers a monthly payment plan. Tell them they can pay for your product or service with three easy monthly payments.
5. You could reward your potential customers if they buy a specific number of products. Tell them if they buy 3 or more products, they will get one free.
6. You could reward your potential customers if they spend over a specific dollar amount. Tell them if they spend over $100, they get a 10% discount.
7. You could hold a holiday sale for your potential customers. Tell them everything on your web site is discounted up to 50% on Thanksgiving Day.
8. You could hold a buy one get one free sale for your potential customers. Tell them if they buy one product, they get another product for free at the same value.
9. You could hold a special $1 sale for your potential customers. They’ll come to your web site to buy your product for only a dollar, but may buy other products.
10. You could offer your potential customers a bonus coupon when they buy one of your products. It could be a coupon for another product you sell.
About the Author
Richard Meredith is the author of the critically acclaimed ebook “The BLACK BOOK of Online Business”- the must-have source book for anyone doing business online… or even THINKING about it!
http://www.straight-talkmarketing.com
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03.30.08
Posted in Assistance at 9:44 pm by admin
What resume format should you use when putting your job accomplishment bullet points together?
Specifically, how should you structure the text in your resume to get the best and biggest positive impact that will result in more interviews?
Hiring managers hire someone because they have a problem that they need solved. Therefore your resume needs to clearly illustrate your accomplishments, proof of the problems that you’ve solved.
When you are putting your resume together and are typing your bullet points describing each job you’ve held, remember that you’re not putting together a job description.
You need to type your bullet points to describe your accomplishments and achievements, not simply state what you did in that position.
A good way to accomplish this is to structure each point with the following format:
Problem, Action, Result.
Here it is explained in more detail:
Problem: Explain a problem or situation that arose in your job.
Action: Explain the action that you took to deal with and solve the problem or situation described above.
Result: Explain the result of the action you undertook to solve the problem or situation described above.
Specifically, let’s say you are a sales manager and you have a group of sales staff who aren’t meeting their sales quotas. You decide to retrain the staff in sales techniques to improve their sales skills and as a result profitability increased by 15%. Here is how you could structure the bullet point in your resume:
Took 5 underachieving account managers and upskilled them in modern sales techniques resulting in increased profitability of 15%.
The problem you faced was underachieving sales staff, the action you took was to retrain the staff, and the result was an increase in profitability of 15%.
Doesn’t this sound better and more impactful than simply saying “Managed sales staff” or something similar to this?
Not only does the first example contain far more detail, it uses action verbs such as “upskilled” and uses specific numbers to describe the number of staff in question and the specific result of the action, an increase in profitability of 15%.
In short, your bullet points should include as much detail as possible and should use action verbs that explain not what just what you did in the job, but what you accomplished.
Hiring managers want to read about your accomplishments not simply a rehash of your job description.
Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional recruiter who wants to help you find your dream career.
Free newsletter: Separate yourself from other job searchers by signing up for his free monthly newsletter: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/dream-career-finder.html
Free 5-day course: Sign up for The Effective Career Planner, Carl’s free 5-day course: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.html
Please feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website but please don’t change any of the content and ensure that you include the above bio that shows my website URLs.
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Posted in The Hardware Way at 9:23 pm by admin
Build quality:
Some head units are flimsy and weak. Some are built to last. Usually the best way to determine this is by the weight of the unit. Also, check to see if anything doesn’t “fit”, or if there are parts that are cheap or flimsy. The truth is this: The bigger name units tend to be better. Also, the more expensive units tend to be better. This isn’t always a big deal for everyone, but I believe that build quality is very important.
Basic Head Unit Features:
Power output:
Most head units have built-in amplifiers. These drive the speakers. Some head units do not have internal amps, and therefore, require the use of an external amp. Head units without amps are usually high-end models. Anyway, power is measured in WATTS. We’ll talk more about watts later, but for now, just see more watts as more volume. Most head units (unfortunately) are deceptive about the power output. Usually, the power output spec on a unit will say “50Wx4 MAX output”. This means that when the laws of physics are on your side, it’s a clear day everywhere in the world, the planets are aligned, the bass hits really really low and hard, and for about a tenth of a second, yeah, your head unit will put out 50Wx4. However, most of the time, your head unit is probably putting out a quarter of that. It’s not that the head unit manufacturer is lying, it’s just that they are exaggerating the truth, AND MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW BETTER. So, anyway, many people put a lot of importance on a head unit’s power output. I don’t because head unit amps suck, and no serious car audio person uses the head unit’s amp anyway. Most head unit brands have about the same power output anyway. 9 times out of 10, an aftermarket head unit will put out more power than your factory head unit, and as such, will sound better.
RCA Preouts:
These are used to connect external amps to your head unit. These are the same red and white cables that you use for your home system. Basic head units usually have one set of preouts (front left, front right). Some head units have two sets (front left, front right, rear left, rear right), but most decent head units have 3 sets (front left, front right, rear left, rear right, subwoofer left, subwoofer right). One quick note about subwoofer outputs: Sometimes they’re called “non-fading” outputs because they are not effected by the head unit’s fade control (front to back balance). If you’re not planning on adding an external amp, you don’t need to worry about RCA pre-outs. If you want to add an external amp (or amps), I would always recommend getting a unit with three pre-outs.
RCA Pre-out voltage:
Usually this spec is next to pre-out spec. It is measured in VOLTS (which we’ll go over later). Basically, the higher the voltage, the LOUDER the music will be at your amp. Don’t look at this as “free power” because it is not. In addition, the higher the voltage, the less noise that will be introduced to your system. Again, this spec doesn’t matter if you don’t plan on using an external amp. If you do plan on using an external amp, try to find the HIGHEST voltage you can. 2 volts is basic, 4 is standard for a good unit, sometimes you’ll see units with 5 volts. I know Eclipse units have 8V(!) pre-outs. In short, more voltage=less noise and cleaner sound.
Digital time correction:
This is used to simulate a perfect stereo environment. If you’re at home listening to music, you want to situate yourself in the middle of the two speakers to get the best sound. The same is true in the car, EXCEPT that it’s a hell of a lot more difficult. Usually, the passenger side speaker will be farther from your ear than the driver side. Since sound travels fairly slow (comparfed to light), you’ll have one ear receiving a portion of sound before the other ear. The digital time correction delays the music slightly so your ears will be perceiving the same music at the same time. This is a very important feature if you are planning an SQ system.
Crossover:
This feature is incorporated into many components in a car audio system. If your head unit doesn’t have it, don’t worry. Just be sure your amps have it. Basically, this makes sure the right speakers are playing the right sounds. I will go into more detail about crossovers later.
Equalizer aka EQ:
This feature allows you to tweak the sound. The most basic EQ is a two-band, and controls BASS and TREBLE. Some head units have 3-bands, BASS, MIDS, TREBLE. More advanced head units have 5-band EQs. If you are serious about tweaking your sound to perfection, you won’t use your head unit’s EQ; You will get an external unit, and some of these units have 30 bands! I will go into much more detail about EQs later.
Theft Deterents/Security Features:
There are a few options when it comes to head unit security:
Detachable Faceplate:
The most common method is a detachable faceplate. Basically, you remove the faceplate of the unit (where the screen and controls are), and the unit won’t function. This will deter thieves, but please don’t leave the faceplate in your car. Thieves know most people do this, and will still break into your car, find the faceplate and steal your head unit.
Password:
Some other units have a password function. When the unit is disconnected from power, then reconnected, the unit will require some sort of password. The unit will not function until the password is provided.
Key CD:
A few units use a key CD. Basically, the first time the unit is used, the unit will ask for a key CD. You insert any CD, and the unit will now designate that CD as the key CD. If the power is disconnected, the unit will ask for the key CD before it will function again.
Black out face:
When the unit is off, the head unit has a completely black face with no visible buttons or controls. Come on. Criminals aren’t so stupid that they can’t see that the head unit still has its face attached.
Hidden faceplate:
This is common for DVD players with screens, and one unit that I used to own, the Alpine CDA-7998. Basically, the face folds into the head unit, and looks exactly like a unit with the faceplate removed. Neat, but the unit is still vulnerable.
In short, all of these tactics are imperfect. Pick the one that makes the most sense to you, however most units only have a detachable faceplate feature.
CD Changer controls/Optional equipment interface:
This is a feature that allows you to connect other peripherals to your head unit. These peripherals are often CD changers, digital music players, satellite radio units, and video equipment. With this feature on your head unit, you’ll be able to add additional capabilities to your stereo system in a convenient way. However, most of these interfaces are only compatible with the same brand. In other words, you’ll need an Alpine head unit with the Ai-net interface connected to an Alpine CD changer with the Ai-net interface.
Remote Controls:
Some head units have remote control capability. This is a handy feature because you can control the headunit without taking your eyes off of the road.
OK, so these are some of the features of head units. Now, let’s look at the specs of specific types of head units.
Tuner Features:
Most head units have AM/FM capability built in. Check out this information on getting the best AM/FM performance possible.
Presets: This feature allows you to save your favorite radio stations, and instantly recall them at the push of a button.
HD Radio: A new radio format that is close in sound quality to CDs. Basically, a radio station broadcasts their usual programming, but with an additional signal that can be received by units with “HD radio” capability. The availability of units with this feature is still small, and most radio stations haven’t yet embraced the technology. I do expect this technology to take off, however because the sound quality is better, and not everyone wants to pay for satellite radio.
RDS: AKA “Radio Data System”. A new feature for FM radios. This technology makes it possible for radio stations to transmit text to your receiver. This text can be used to show the station title or the artist name, and other information.
FM Sensitivity: The ability of your unit to tune into a weak signal
FM Selectivity: The ability of your unit to reject interference from other stations.
FM Stereo Seperation: The ability of a tuner to recreate the proper left/right channel sepearation.
CD Players:
CD-R/CD-RW Playback: This feature guarantees that your unit will play a CD-R or CD-RW that was made with a CD recording device.
CD-Text: This feature displays CD text information that is encoded on some CDs. This information includes artist names, song titles and album titles.
MP3/WMA/iTunes Playback: This spec assures you that certain digital file formats can be played back on certain units.
ID3 Tag Display: Displays text (such as song title and album name) encoded into MP3 files.
DAC: Digital to Analog converter. This device takes the digital signal from your CD, and turns it into an analog signal for your amp. The better your DAC, the more “real” your sound will be.
CD Frequency Response: The range of frequencies that the CD player can reproduce. It should at least cover the 20hz-20,000hz range.
Electronic Shock Protection: This feature prevents your CDs from skipping. If your head unit doesn’t offer this, don’t buy it. However, most players have it, and technology has gotten pretty good lately, so it’s unlikely that you’ll have any problems with skipping.
Signal to noise ratio (s/n): A measure of how well a CD player silences noise. The higher the rating, the less noise.
Zero Bit Detect mute: When the CD player detects a series of 0’s on the CD (such as between songs), it will automatically mute the output. This feature isn’t really important, but is often advertised.
Oversampling: The CD Audio format has a resolution of 16 bits, with a sampling rate of 44.1khz. What the hell does that mean? I really don’t know, but think of a digital picture. Zoom in really close to this picture, and you see pixels. Think of each pixel as a sample. When you increase the pixels, you increase the sharpness and quality of the picture. When a CD player has oversampling, it takes the 44.1khz, and turns it into a bigger number. More samples=More realistic sound. Confused? I know. I am too, but a unit with oversampling will sound better than one without. Of course, the good news is that pretty much every unit these days has this feature.
Tape decks:
Auto Reverse: A feature that will automatically play the reverse side of a tape at the end of a side.
Dolby noise reduction: There are many Dolby technologies incorporated into tape decks. Most of these features exist to lower tape hiss, and raise the signal to noise ratio.
Frequency response: Again, the frequencies the tape deck respond to. Normal human hearning is from 20 to 20,000 hz.
Wow and flutter: This spec tells you how stable the tape deck playback speed is.
Now that you know some of the features of head units, you are ready to buy the right unit for YOU.
Alan Bayer is an entrepreneur and Car Audio enthusiast. He currently resides in some lame suburb in northern California.
He owns an eBay business http://stores.ebay.com/honest-aebs-autosound/, and the website http://www.honestaebs-caraudio.com/.
I also have a newsletter at my website. Check it out!
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Posted in Home Improvement Infos at 8:28 pm by admin
Foggers (or misters, they are called both) create mysterious,
“dry ice” effects without the need of ice. These little machines
use a simple technique of high frequency, ultrasonic vibration
to create ultra-fine droplets of mist without heat, cold or
chemicals. Sometimes these are sold as a single unit, while
other times they are sold on floats of up to 9 units working
together. The single units are the right size for small
fountains but usually are too small for a pond. Ultrasonic
misters create a low level fog that fills in the area
surrounding it. That is why the glass bowls in which one often
sees them fill so well (they are made to be just the right
size). For ponds you will usually need a 3-piece to 9-piece
mister to create much of an effect. Also, since misters require
a certain depth of water in order to operate effectively, it is
a good idea, when locating one in a pond, to make sure you get a
float with it. The mister is made to fit to just the right depth
in the float so that fog is produced at optimum levels. When
this is the case, they can produce up to about 2700 ml (nearly 5
1/2 pints) of mist per hour. Some include LED lights, some do
not. Also, recently some have included automatic shutoff
switches. There automatically shutoff the mister if the water
gets too low.
Maintenance
Replace the water frequently.Scale and crud on the disk membrane
will affect performance. Clean the surface of the disk with a
soft cloth or cotton swab. DO not use detergent or cleansers. DO
NOT scratch the disk. After operationg about 3000 hours, it is
usually time to replace the disk. You should then follow the
manufacturer’s instructions. It is not necessary to use the
“tool” many disk replacement companies offer. A dime, a quarter,
or a screwdriver can be used just as easily. Note when buying
replacement disks that there are two common sizes: 16mm and
20mm. Make sure you are buying the correct size for your fogger.
Most rulers include both inches and metric measures. Most LED
lights are rated to last 80-100,000 hours, so most likely your
LED lights will keep running for years.after you have run the
mister for some time. If your mister includes a water ;evel
sensor to automatically switch off the unit if the water level
is too low, every now and then you must clean this sensor.
Again, this is easy to do but you should follow the
manufacturer’s instructions.
In the old days misters got a very bad rap because they didn’t
work long. But that is no longer the case. There have been
considerable refinements made to them and they should last
thousands and thousands of hours, especially if you follow
maintenance instructions. It is relatively easy to find disk
replacmenents nowadays. For more information on fountain misters
fountain misters
and pond foggers
and disk replacement, there are a number of online retailers
availlable.
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Posted in Great Gender Issue Tips at 7:30 pm by admin
The question of how to start growing a beard is fairly easy to answer.
Stop shaving.
It’s the issue of beard shaping, beard trimming and beard maintenance that is generally of concern moving forward.
Once you stop shaving for a few days, the first thing you’ll find out is whether or not you can actually grow a beard. What I mean is do you actually have the ability to cover your face with uniformly-grown hair or do you simply grow hair in tufts which ends up making you look like someone who just hasn’t shaved in a few days?
The second question is whether or not growing a beard actually suits you or not.
Some guys can pull it off, some can’t.
Once you’ve stopped shaving, I’ve found that it’s best to let it grow out for several weeks before you start trying to shape it. Once you’ve figured out how much facial hair you’re actually going to have, then you can start shaping, etc and can figure out what beard style suits you.
If you start shaving it too soon, you might end up taking too much off and end up shaving it all off once you realize you shaved didn’t get it right.
When it comes to growing a beard, perhaps the best way to maintain it is to get a beard trimmer. I use a beard trimmer for my goatee and its was a great purchase. A beard trimmer can make beard shaping, beard trimming and beard maintenance pretty simple.
A good beard trimmer costs perhaps $20 and will have several length settings which enable you to grow it as long or as short as you like and still keep it symmetrical and neat.
When growing a beard, you can decide how long you want to grow it and a beard trimmer will help you. With a decent trimmer with several length settings, you could grow it longer or you might select the shortest setting and go for the stubble look which suits some guys well.
One of the things you’ll have to get used to is the feeling of having a beard. You might experience a scratchy, itchy feeling once the hair gets longer or you might notice that your face feels warmer during hot weather given the insulating feeling hair can give you.
Or you may not notice any difference at all.
If you find that your beard is getting itchy, use the shampoo you wash your hair with to wash it to ensure it’s being kept clean. You might also look at using a conditioner, too. You might also find that the shorter you keep your beard, the less irritating it is.
The best part of course is that if after a few days/weeks/months of growing a beard you realize that it isn’t something you want to continue with, you can simply shave it off with no harm done.
If you get to this point, before you shave it off you might try to shave all the hair off except the hair around your lip and mouth, leaving a goatee, to see if this suits you instead of a full beard.
Temporary and permanent hair removal technology is evolving constantly and is relevant to both men and women who want to remove unwanted hair.
For more information on hair removal options, visit http://www.PermanentHairRemovalTips.com
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Posted in Great Self Improvement Tips at 1:48 am by admin
Dear friends the current study shows that there are more
than 50,000,000 registered domain names on the Internet
(approx.)(Reference http://www.whois.sc/internet-statistics/)
Even if we eliminate 30% non-commercial sites we are left with
35,000,000 sites. All these are trying to sell everything
from safety pins to space ships.
This clearly states the current state of the commercial
Internet, which is full of competition. So how
do you survive in this tough competition? There is a
common saying that in nature “survival of the fittest”
works as a rule.
Now it is time to reconsider this definition of being
“fit”. Let’s look at it this way. Internet is a place
where people have started looking for “solutions” rather
than mere information. All sorts of products in the form
of eBooks, CD’s, white papers, journals are available
as “instant downloads” in a few minutes.
The product categories range from solving personal problems
such as relationships, dating, health issues etc, Business
solutions, hobbies, travel.
But real problem is how YOU can tap into this huge market
and become financially secure?
The answer is creativity. Creativity is what makes things
easy. But unfortunately many people think that creative
thinking is as hard as climbing “Mount Everest”.
But here is good news. Recent study in psychology shows
that creativity is a habit just like all other habits.
Just look at yourself how easily you can walk, talk, laugh,
run, cry, hold thing with your hands, write, read…How?
because these have become a habit by now.
Same is true with creativity. When you tech your mind to
think creatively what you get is an attitude which will
never settle for cheap quality work.
It is far more better working creatively for 15 minutes daily
than wasting 4 hours creating cheap quality work. But
how do you develop a creative mind?
I will show you an example here to make it clear. Let’s select
a theme and expand it. I select “Photography” as a theme.
When I read the word “photography” I instantly remember
following words.
“Digital photography, cameras, camera lenses, photography
films, various equipments, learning photography, locations,
lighting effects, outdoor vs. indoor phitography, nature,
nude, wild life, sports, close-ups, industrial photography,
special effects, use of computers , and much more…”
Here you will see that I have expanded the word “photography”
in the form of “keywords” which any search engine will
recognize. So finding information on these topics for
research becomes much easier now and saves time. Each of the
particular keyword above can be again expanded to form
an entire ebook or info-product.
On top of this, keyword research tools on the Internet can
be used very effectively. Some of these tools are available at
Overture.com, wordtracker.info, altavista.com (prisma)
Next you can compare the list you have generated with the list
which these online tools generate. Minor editing will give you
a final list of topics to be converted into an info-product.
Once you get this habit of fractionating any given topic into
“keywords” many new streams of ideas emerge, which can be
used as raw material for further study. Analyzing any theme
in this way will definitely give rise to alternative ways
of presenting the same information in various forms.
What does this mean?
When you are ready with the final bunch of chapters, you can
convert that in an eBook, CD, an entire website, a free
eCourse sent via autoresponder, each chapter can be individually
treated as an article etc. Just fine-tune your lessons
for your own product or someone else’s product if you are
an affiliate and you can earn money with this.
That’s enough for now. I hope this help as a starting point
to start generating ideas for info-products.
Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya
Finally here is an eBook “Creative Product Creation” which
shows you in many different ways, how to generate ideas for
a best-seller info-product in 30 minutes flat. Grab your own
copy for an introductory low price TODAY. Visit
http://www.myfriendlyebooks.com/Product01/Creative.htm
for more information.
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Posted in Baker's Dozen at 1:05 am by admin
In any face to face communication, the conveyor talks or writes
while the recipient listens to or read the message. However,
what they didn’t know is that actual verbal communication
accounts to only around 10% (or even less) of the overall means
of conveying a message.
However, there is another form of communication based on
gestures or body movements which determine their true inner
feelings and thoughts.This art of non-verbal communication is
better known as body language.
Reading Body Language
Although spoken communication is a direct way to convey a
message, it can be masked. By reading body language of the
conveyor, you will understand the message in a truer sense or
form. However, this depends on the interpretation of the
recipient of the message.
With this in mind, it is important to familiarize yourself with
this art of non-verbal communication. This art is the ability
and skill of reading body language and to interpret the message
correctly. Wrong interpretation may have drastic, dramatic
implications.
Given the chance to come face to face to communicate with each
other, you may be able to realize and verify the truthfulness of
the message being conveyed.
Let’s pick a simple scenario to illustrate non-verbal
communication. Let us say a former officemate of yours called
you to propose a business partnership. This officemate is just
one of your casual acquaintances. He’s not exactly a confidant
whom you would treat as a close buddy. He asked that the two of
you meet somewhere and you obliged.
So you wind up meeting him in a coffee shop. After the usual
handshake (this is one type of body language), both of you took
a seat and ordered coffee. After a few exchanges of pleasantries
and recalling past incidences while you were still officemates,
you touched on the subject of his business proposal. While in
the process of presenting the proposed business, you
occasionally interrupted him with questions that he readily
answered. Subconsciously, while you continued to listen to his
proposal, you kept touching your nose with your index finger,
rubbing it once in a while as if covering the nose with your
hand.
After the proposal has been made, he asked for your comment if
his proposal merits your acceptance. He’s not asking for an
immediate answer or decision if you’re interested or not, giving
you enough time to study it. However, your first impression of
the proposal was somewhat inclined on rejecting it. Your main
reason was that you are not familiar with the line of business
he’s proposing, and to go into unfamiliar business simply does
not interest you.
But in spite of your negative perception of the proposal, you
didn’t want to disappoint your former officemate, at least not
at that moment. Before you gave the final word that you would
seriously study the proposal, you made some initial comments
about it to the tune that it may seem to merit your approval
although it really didn’t. While you were making your comment,
subconsciously and again, you touched your nose with one hand
while talking.
It’s observed that during the entirety of your discussion, you
frequently made one move, touching your nose. Are you aware that
touching your nose is a gesture that means you’re not saying
what you really felt or meant? Studies suggest that saying
something while touching the nose is not reflective of what’s
being said. In this case, rubbing the nose is tantamount to
disapproval of the proposal presented to you.
Although there is no definite basis that this gesture is a sign
of disapproval or disagreement or rejection, it has a high rate
of probability. Only you know your real intention.
You may see this same gesture from other people if you were in
the shoes of your officemate. But keep in mind that there may be
other reasons. An itchy nose, a sinus that keeps bothering the
listener, mannerism, halitosis on either the part of the
conversationalist or the listener or both - anyone of these
could be the real reason.
Keep in mind that interpretation of body language has a high
probability rate but it may not necessarily be definite.
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03.29.08
Posted in Assistance at 7:58 pm by admin
Every time you turn on a radio or TV these days, you hear doom-
and-gloom news about the US economy. As a businessperson, it’s
hard NOT to get discouraged. However, we need to do exactly that
if we want to keep our businesses thriving.
Even if you have been hard hit by recent events (and who hasn’t,
one way or another?), it is still important that you put forth a
confident image to your customers. In fact, it is part of our
job as business owners to make sure that our customers don’t
lose hope. If you are confident in your business, your customers
will follow suit.
The first step to creating confidence in your customers is to be
confident yourself and focus on the positive. Don’t dwell on the
problems you might have — you can talk about your problems, but
think of them as obstacles that have been overcome, rather than
as disasters. For instance, don’t say to your customers, “Slow
sales have caused us to discontinue some of our items.” Instead,
say, “Recent events have given us the opportunity to reevaluate
our product line and focus on the products that are the most
important to you.” Look at the opportunities that a situation
provides, rather than the problems it causes.
You can also help reassure nervous customers by giving them
concrete examples of success. For some reason, real-life
examples are MUCH more reassuring than just giving hypothetical
“here’s what you COULD do” examples. That means that you should
not skimp on your real-life testimonials. Give your customers
plenty of stories of people who love your product or who
succeeded after joining your opportunity. If possible, give the
customers a way of contacting one or two of your satisfied
customers — talking to a real “success story” will do a great
job of calming shaky nerves.
A third way to create customer confidence is to simply “be
there” for them. Here’s a little story to illustrate my point: I
used to be afraid to go into my grandparents’ basement alone,
but if I was with someone, I was fine. Having someone else with
me reduced my nervousness.
You should try to be that person for your customers. By
providing good customer service, keeping in touch with your
clients, or providing community building services like
newsletters or discussion boards, your customers will know that
they are not alone in their purchase — they have someone to
turn to if they have concerns or questions. This is VERY
reassuring.
Just remember that your customers are people — which means that
will get scared from time to time. What we have to do is remain
calm and try our best to pass that feeling of calm along to our
customers. If we can do that, then, in no time at all, we will
all realize that the problems weren’t nearly as bad as they
seemed.
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Posted in Events + Entertainment at 10:58 am by admin
Want to expand your versatility on the guitar? Don’t use your head — use your neck!
We’re going to use a “G” chord and a G major pentatonic to illustrate how we can use 5 basic chord shapes to move up and down the neck of the guitar.
These 5 basic chord shapes are the open forms (played at the end of the neck near the tuning pegs) of the “G” chord, the “E” chord, the “D” chord, the “C” chord, and the “A” chord. Of course, when we play the chord shapes in different positions, the chord name will no longer be “E”, “D”, “C”, or “A”. In fact, the chord will be a “G” chord every time we play it — although we use the fingerings normally associated with the open “E”, “D”, “C”, and “A” chords.
At the Beginning — the “G” chord
We’ll start with the basic open “G” chord. The chord form is:
–ooo- open
|||||| 1st fret
——
|x|||| 2nd fret
——
x||||x 3rd fret
——
The pentatonics in this form of the chord are these:
E–0–3———————————————————- B——–0–3—————————————————- G————–0–2———————————————- D——————–0–2—————————————- A————————–0–2———————————- E——————————–0–3—————————-
Note that the third fret on the two “E” strings and the second fret on the “A” string follow the basic “G” chord form.
The following box demonstrates the tab above and shows the basic chord form. The “c” is a note in the chord form, the “r” is the root note of the chord, and the “x” are the extra notes that, when combined with the “c” and “r” notes, make up the pentatonic.
xxcccx open
|||||| 1st fret
——
|cxx|| 2nd fret
——
r|||xr 3rd fret
——
Second Stop on the Fretboard - the “E” chord
To move down the fretboard, we’re going to use the barred form of the “G” chord. This is basically the open “E” chord; however, played at the third fret it gives us a “G” chord. The chord form is:
——
xxxxxx 3rd fret
——
|||x|| 4th fret
——
|xx||| 5th fret
——
Note how the third fret of the “c”,”r”,”x” pattern links these two chord forms, since they have notes in common.
The pentatonics in this form of the chord are these:
E–3–5———————————————————- B——–3–5—————————————————- G————–2–4———————————————- D——————–2–5—————————————- A————————–2–5———————————- E——————————–3–5—————————-
Following the same “c”, “r”, and “x” notation as above, here is the pentatonic pattern:
——
|xxx|| 2nd fret
——
c|||cr 3rd fret
——
|||c|| 4th fret
——
xcr||x 5th fret
——
Third Stop on the Fretboard - the “D” chord
We’ll slide on down a couple of frets to the next position on the fretboard. We’re now using a form similar to the open “D” chord.
——
xxx||| 5th fret
——
|||||| 6th fret
——
|||x|x 7th fret
——
||||x| 8th fret
——
The fifth fret notes link this chord form to the previous one.
The tab for the pentatonic of this form looks like:
E–5–7———————————————————- B——–5–8—————————————————- G————–4–7———————————————- D——————–5–7—————————————- A————————–5–7———————————- E——————————–5–7—————————-
Here’s the “c”,”r”,”x” pattern:
——
|||x|| 4th fret
——
ccr|xx 5th fret
——
|||||| 6th fret
——
xx|c|c 7th fret
——
||||r| 8th fret
——
Fourth Stop on the Fretboard - the “C” chord
Continuing down the fretboard — we’re now using a chord form similar to the open “C” chord. It looks like this:
——
x||x|x 7th fret
——
||||x| 8th fret
——
||x||| 9th fret
——
|x|||| 10th fret
——
The linking notes between this chord form and the previous are the seventh and eight frets on the G, B, and E strings. We’ll play the pentatonic for this form as follows:
E–7–10——————————————————— B———8–10————————————————– G—————-7–9——————————————– D———————-7–9————————————– A—————————-7–10——————————- E———————————–7–10————————
and the “crx” pattern is:
——
cxxc|c 7th fret
——
||||r| 8th fret
——
||cx|| 9th fret
——
xr||xx 10th fret
——
Last Stop on the Fretboard - the “A” chord
One more pass down the fretboard, where we’ll play the open “A” form of this chord. The chord pattern is:
——
xx|||x 10th fret
——
|||||| 11th fret
——
||xxx| 12th fret
——
The 10th fret from the previous “crx” link with this current chord form. We’ll play the pentatonic like so:
E–10–12——————————————————– B———-10–12———————————————— G——————9–12—————————————– D————————-9–12———————————- A——————————–10–12————————– E—————————————-10–12——————
The “crx” form of this pentatonic pattern is:
——
||xx|| 9th fret
——
cr||xc 10th fret
——
|||||| 11th fret
——
xxcrcx 12th fret
——
All Done — That Brings Us Back to “G”!
We’re now at the 12th fret, so we’ve completed the octave! We can now start over again using the patterns and shapes we began with.
For instance, the next chord pattern will be the original open “G” pattern — just played 12 frets further down the keyboard. The pattern is:
——
||xxx| 12th fret
——
|||||| 13th fret
——
|x|||| 14th fret
——
x||||x 15th fret
——
which is exactly what we began with — except the “D”, “G”, and “B” strings are no longer open. We can use the same patterns we used originally, we’ll just shift everything 12 frets down the fretboard.
Summary
So that’s how you can move up and down the fretboard using 5 chord shapes — the “G”, the “E”, the “D”, the “C”, and the “A”. Remember, even though we may be using a “D” shape, it’s still a “G” chord if we play it at the 7th and 8th frets!
Also, note how the “crx” patterns show you the linking notes between all each pattern and its neighbors.
I’ve used a “G” chord in this illustration — however, it should be apparent that by shifting things up or down a fret, you can work your way around the fretboard no matter what chord you’re following.
Joey Robichaux maintains the Free Sheet Music website at http://www.freesheetmusic.net
About the Author
Joey Robichaux maintains the Free Sheet Music site at http://www.freesheetmusic.net
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