Can do attitude

Can Do Attitude 

Advice From Polis Diraja Malaysia

The Malaysian Royal Police advise you and the general public to be cautious so as not to be cheated by Con-men in the following ways:

🔶 Do not answer the phone, no matter who they are, if the talk is about the bank card - Please hang up.

🔶 If they talk about you winning something - Please hang up.

🔶 If they talk about the Public Security Tax and the Inland Revenue Department -  Immediately hang up.

🔶 On all the text messages, do not click on any link - Delete all.

🔶 All phone calls begin with 08-111 - Do not answer them.

Leadership To Internship

During internship, one must possess the willingness to learn and adapt to a different situation.  Feedback given by the team or supervisors are meant to improve your skills and help you to see other perspectives. Feedback should not be seen as a ‘personal attack’ to your ability, or an offense to you.

In the past, the following attributes prevented certain interns ( especially those who have limited working experience and from foreign cultures) from learning or maximizing their time to gain more knowledge:

• My country is more developed than yours, I know what is best for your organization.

• This is how we do this task in my country/my university, I am unwilling to amend my task with your feedback.

• Your perspective and mine are different, I insist on doing this task my way. I won’t amend my task even though it is going to be used by your organization. Take it or leave it.

• Why should I follow your organization’s policy and procedures? I do what I want and how I want to do it.

• I have a higher degree/more experience in this field than you, why should I listen to you?

• I am not a follower, I do it my way, I don’t listen to feedback.

• Why should I explain to you about my actions? I am me  -- I demand freedom of speech, so my office and homestay behaviors are none of your business.

• Your other intern didn’t know how to do this task. I have done it very well for your organization. If you don’t like it, (foul words)!

• I won’t transfer the tasks ( such as videos on own channels, document on own google doc space) I have done during internship to your organization. It is my intellectual property, why should I follow office policy to transfer the ownership to your organization?

 

Interns who are relegated the responsibility to be team leader must read the article below to gain more perspective about leadership. Learn to manage diverse groups of people from different background, interests and with different levels of cooperation.

Be Punctual

One of the hardest intern behaviors to change during the internship is ‘being punctual’ such as showing up at least 15 min before 9 am when the office opens, properly dressed in office attire and having eaten breakfast to start the day. Some interns are consistently late for office,  jotting down attendance time which is earlier than the actual arrival and then arguing vehemently with the supervisors about attendance, leading to discontent and more unprofessional work behaviors.  Some rush to the office without their morning baths and breakfasts, so they feel lethargic.  While ‘curi makan’ ( local Malay term for ‘eating something when you should not be ‘eating’) can be done when no one is looking or in the toilet, the food crumbs left on tables, interns’ workstations, and the drops of fruit jam dripped onto the floor during the ‘rush hour’ have invited cockroaches and rats for parties in the office.  The office becomes an unsanitary environment for the working team.  

Research has shown that university students of the millennial age tend to sleep late because of social media and Net surfing. Many are also waking up very late, sometimes skipping classes.  The tardiness for activities and events without much accountability can become a habit by the time a student graduates.  This habit will not be a positive trait for a fresh graduate in the working world.

Still unconvinced? Watch this video and wake up early:

https://www.facebook.com/JayShettyIW/videos/2025804534400668/

Job Interview Tips

How We Train Interns

Why we train interns to clean and tidy up, cook, and manage laundry if they haven't done this before they come to us:

The 10 Best Quotes About Success From Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard Commencement Address

Author: Lisa Eadicicco

Date: May 26, 2017

Source: Fortune Magazine

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivered the commencement address to Harvard University graduates on Thursday, during which he proposed an ambitious challenge: create a renewed sense of purpose for the world.

The address touched on everything from defining moments in Zuckerberg's own career to global issues such as the threat that automation poses to the future of the workforce. Here's a look at the 10 most insightful quotes from the speech.

1. "Purpose is that sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead to work for. Purpose is what creates true happiness."

2. "There were all these big technology companies with resources. I just assumed one of them would do it. But this idea was so clear to us — that all people want to connect. So we just kept moving forward, day by day. I know a lot of you will have your own stories just like this. A change in the world that seems so clear you're sure someone else will do it. But they won't. You will."

3. "Ideas don't come out fully formed. They only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started."

4. "The idea of a single eureka moment is a dangerous lie. It makes us feel inadequate since we haven't had ours. It prevents people with seeds of good ideas from getting started."

5. "It's good to be idealistic. But be prepared to be misunderstood. Anyone working on a big vision will get called crazy, even if you end up right. Anyone working on a complex problem will get blamed for not fully understanding the challenge, even though it's impossible to know everything upfront. Anyone taking initiative will get criticized for moving too fast, because there's always someone who wants to slow you down."

6. "In our society, we often don't do big things because we're so afraid of making mistakes that we ignore all the things wrong today if we do nothing. The reality is, anything we do will have issues in the future. But that can't keep us from starting."

7. "The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail."

8. "When you don't have the freedom to take your idea and turn it into a historic enterprise, we all lose. Right now our society is way over-indexed on rewarding success and we don't do nearly enough to make it easy for everyone to take lots of shots."

9. "We can all make time to give someone a hand. Let's give everyone the freedom to pursue their purpose — not only because it's the right thing to do, but because when more people can turn their dreams into something great, we're all better for it."

10. "Change starts local. Even global changes start small — with people like us. In our generation, the struggle of whether we connect more, whether we achieve our biggest opportunities, comes down to this — your ability to build communities and create a world where every single person has a sense of purpose."

Tarang Gupta's Advice for Interns

My learnings from eHomemakers’ internship

Tarang Gupta (INDIA)

23rd Nov-23rd December


It was an intensive training whereby I learnt the following aptitudes and skills:

· Never have a sloppy attitude. This will destroy your future. Always take pride in whatever you do. Finish a task properly, re-check your work again and again to avoid even small mistakes, because such small mistakes can bring many problems to the organisation.

· Always take responsibility of the mistakes you have made. Never ever blame or hide your mistakes by giving other people’s name. You made the mistake, accept that you are accountable to correct the mistake and learn from it.

· Be fair. Never mislead anybody. On the off chance that you don't know anything simply acknowledge it and attempt to give proper and relevant information. Do not bluff and do not inflate things for your own ego.

· Always listen to what your seniors/supervisors’ advice. Don’t argue with them and refuse to correct your mistakes. They spent their time to let you know your mistake so that you become a better person and achieve more in life.

· Take responsibility about the outcomes resulting from your activities. In the event that you have done something wrong and lead to undesirable situations, own up to it and solve the problems as opposed to making it into someone’s burden.

· Be organized. When you can’t find a document or an important email thread for a task because you didn't organize your information, you are wasting time trying to find the information. The more time you waste, the less you will learn as you will be involved in fewer tasks. Remember, you are here for a short time, practical training means learn to do as many tasks in as high quality as possible. Continuously compose work information in files and email folders. Never do your work in a heedless way, as this will lead to no or undesirable results due to inefficiency.

· Be tidy. Always clean up your desk and work station after you complete your work.

· Don’t think that cleaning and tidying up an office is low-level work. What you learn is what it takes to clean and tidy, the prioritizing, the team work and common sense. Just remember, as a fresh graduate, you will enter the job market at the entry level and the chances that you will become a supervisor of labourers for an employer is high.

· Take pride in every task you do and make sure you give your best to it.

· Use Common Sense.

· Don’t be arrogant because of your university degree.

· Observe and think logically.

· Records management must be managed for organizational information so that it is timely, accurate, complete, cost-effective, accessible and usable. Better information, at the right time, makes better business.

Listening Better

Why You Should Learn To Listen Better Even If You Are ‘Just’ Interning

Interns who haven’t worked before often have problems doing their work with quality or completing a task properly because they ‘forget’ the supervisors’ instructions.

Here are some funny clips from bad communication for not listening:

Communication Problems:

Video 1: Communication Skills

Video 2: Funny Bad Misunderstanding

Video 3: Sender/Receiver        

Video 4: What Could Go Wrong??          

People Forget Much About What They Have Listened

The normal grown-ups listen at no better than 25% productivity. Promptly in the wake of listening to a 10-point oral presentation, the normal individual comprehends and recalls close to 50% of information exchanged. One to two days after, short of what one fourth of information exchanged will be recalled. On the off chance that a speaker talks for more than 10 minutes, as regularly happens at classes, gatherings and business gatherings, productivity in listening may well be short of 25%.

Listening Is The Most Dismissed Correspondence Ability As Well As The Most Discriminating Administration Expertise.

Workers who don't know how to listen have cost organizations billions of dollars. Poor listening regularly represents email that must be amended, shipments that must be reshipped, miss-understandings, and the loss of essential customers.

The Correct Order

Writing, Reading,Speaking, Listening 

In our school each of these skills is been taught to us and we have been fully engaged in it. The most taught skill was writing, but use it only 9%. And the least taught skill is listening but this is the skill which we use 45% during our communication. Listening is our most neglected communication skill. Few people receive any training in how to listen.

Most of us are very bad at listening because we aren’t taught this skill. But lack of training isn’t the only problem. As children we learned bad habits from our adult role models, especially parents and teachers. For example, we learned that it’s acceptable to interrupt or change the subject although the other person might still want to talk.

We learned not to look at speakers, to finish peoples’ sentences for them, and to be easily distracted. These are all bad listening habits that we observed taking place between adults. And when it came to communication between adults and children, it was even worse. We quickly got the message; children are seen but not listened to. 

Aspects Of Listening

Listening better, clips from:

Mteto Maphoyi

Julian Treasure

ATTENTION: A good listener will take effort to pay attention to what is being said and poor ones will fake it and let their minds wander.

INTEREST: A poor listener convinces him/herself that the speaker or speech is uninteresting. A good listener questions the usefulness of the speech and keeps up his/her interest no matter how dull the speaker or speech is.

MOTIVATION: If one doesn't have motivation, then no speaker can interest her. Good listeners know that listening can have good values and this, with the right attitude, is enough to motivate them

Attention

Most people listen actively for about 17 seconds at a time. Giving your attention doesn't come easily, you need to learn it.

Check list of what not-to-do just before determine how attentive a listener you are

• Are you easily distracted? (e.g., keep checking your smart phone or looking at your watch or your eyes darting around)
• Do you patronize the speaker by acting overly polite?
• Do you frequently catch yourself faking attention?
• Do you prematurely interrupt a discussion so you can make your point?
• Do you often tune people out so you can get some work done?
• Do you find yourself daydreaming, especially when the speaker is speaking slowly?
• Do you often find fault with what the speaker is saying?
• Do you catch yourself thinking of your own ideas before you respond to the speaker
  Listening isn't any easy assignment, but through practice we can learn to overcome habits of attentiveness. This will help to bridge the communication gap.

Effective Communication

 To get know more about ‘Effective Communication’ Tips, watch at this video:

Effective Listening Skills

 Two way interaction (listening and speaking) from both sides

• Presenting ideas in a logical order by the speaker

• Proper interpretation  of information through open minded perception

• Communicating according to the purpose of the user

• Acknowledgement of conception by the listener(to assure the speaker that the message has been transferred as intended)

The Two Strongholds Of Listening

To Improving listening skills watch at this video:

Improving Listening Skills

SELECTING

Computing While Listening

• Selecting is carried out by noting the essential points mentally and therefore, addressing the important issues

• Helps in producing rational responses that are relevant to the topic

• Selecting also involves moving towards an optimum formula that acts as a key for the logical as well as the emotional concerns of the individuals
• The potential of selecting determines the capacity of the individual of simplifying complications and obtaining a meaningful and effective solution

Order Of Listening

•  It is the process of organizing the main issues of the speaker and arranging them in a format which is brief yet explanatory

• Ordering is performed after selection

Ordering mainly involves knowing the set of issues that bother the speaker and gathering them into distinct sets where they are logically interconnected, whether there is one main concern or many parallel concerns and whether the concerns coincide with your own position on the issue.

Habits Will Change

• Once you develop the habit of consciously aiming to listen

• You will maintain better eye contact with the speaker

• You will discover you don’t often interrupt or change the subject until the speaker indicates the current subject has been exhausted

• You will find yourself asking relevant questions

• You will be more responsive and alert to what people are saying

• There will be fewer misunderstanding. You will have a conscious aim to listen

• You will be able to resolve disputes and settle grievances before they get out of hand

Learning To Listen

Attitude Is The Most Important: Realise the importance of listening and you should want to become better at this skill by yourself. Without the right attitude, no change can ever be achievable

Learning: Just like a beginner at anything, sport or activity, you must learn the techniques of good listening

Practice: Hone your skills just like any artist has to. Trial and error till it becomes automatic. Listening is handwork and there are physiological changes like increased in body temperature, heart beats and blood circulation

Listen and You Shall Hear

Studies show that the average person spends about 80 percent of his or her waking hours engaged in communication. This communication times is divided among four skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Do you know how you divide your communication time among these four basic skills?

The skills are listed in the chart below. Fill in the space below each skill with the number you think represents the percent of communication time you devote daily to each particular skill. For example, if you believe that the time you spend communicating is divided evenly among all four skills, you would write the number 25 in each column

	Listening	Speaking	Reading	Writing
Percent of daily communication time

The amount of communication time that the average person spends every day on each of the four skills divides this way: writing -9 per-cent; reading-16 percent; speaking-30percent: and listening-45 percent.

It comes as a surprise to most people that on the average we spend 45percent- or nearly half- of our communication time listening

Listening

Applying All Five Senses- People convey their message through body gestures as well. So, don't get distracted while speaker is speaking.

Give The Person Time-After you have asked the question, be quiet and wait for the speaker’s response. Don't speak or interrupt till the time you have heard the answer.

Silence Is Golden- Being silent indicates that you are ready to discover other party’s concerns, challenges and point of view. Do consider silence as your best ally.            

                                       

Take Notes- Take note of everything while the speaker is speaking. What did you notice while listening to the speaker, did the speaker strike you or not. You should encourage yourself to mention such details to the speaker later, this will help you get more information from the speaker.

Boost People To Talk About Themselves- People never get tired of speaking about themselves. As listening can be the best compliment you can pay a person. So start your reply with “I see’ or ‘Really?’ or “? “Ah…ha” or “And them what happened?”

Don’ thinks Ahead- People can understand that you are not interested just by judging your impatient gestures. So, don’t think ahead, human mind moves faster than voice. Be patient while listening.

Practice Creative Listening- Don’t fake attention, people can understand it. You need to ask questions, display appropriate body language like nodding head and moving forward.  Active listening conveys the message that you are prepared to listen to other side’s argument.

Doesn't Assume Too Much- We shouldn't make assumptions. Assumptions are based on narrow-mindedness and pre-convinced attitude. Assumptions are hypothetical and abstract conclusions.

LISTENING:

Not a Spectator Sport

Watch Your Posture

Posture refers not only to the position of your body but also to your mental attitude. Sitting upright makes you look and feel alert-with both body and mind ready to listen. Communicate with the speaker by using body language- make eye contact. Slouching in your seat is an awkward way to listen and discourteous to speakers. It also suggests you’re tired, lazy, dejected or uninterested.

Resist Distractions

Many distractions can be avoided. Don’t let your eyes-and ears-wander.  Both external and internal distractions can be avoided. Don’t think about any outside topics but instead concentrate on listening. Such thoughts will diminish your attention when listening to a speech.

Concentrate

Direct all your thoughts and efforts to the speaker. Concentration requires your exclusive attention and close mental application. Listening demands total concentration. Listening is primarily an activity of the mind, not of the ear. The human mind as an active processor of information and not a passive receiver.

Filter Out Negative Reactions

Control your emotions as you listen. Avoid reacting so strongly. To get the most out of your listening, judge the content rather than the delivery of speeches. Focus on finding out what information speakers are conveying in their speeches. That’s how you learn from listening. Be alert for loaded words and expressions, but listen also for the message that comes with them. Your own feelings can block your understanding of something you may really need to hear.

Be Sensitive

Put yourself in the speaker’s place and feel his or her feelings as though they’re your own. Some people are able to concentrate so intensely that they can tune out their surroundings entirely. For us to achieve such a high level of concentration, we need to focus our attention completely on what we’re doing. Freshen Up. Meditation is on way to improve.

Look For The Central Idea

Identifying the speech structure helps to recognize the central idea -- the sum and substance of the speaker’s message. That will enable you to pick out the appropriate fact that relate to and support the central idea. Be on the lookout for cues. Watch also for the summary that often comes at the end of a speech. That gives you a chance to get an overall view of what the speaker has said and to pick up ideas and relationship you may have missed the first time.

Take Few Notes

Trying to take notes on everything you hear hinders good listening. Excessive note-talking greatly interferes with listening by reducing concentration and understanding. Jot down just a few ideas to help in learning and remembering.

Listen Between The Lines

Words are accompanied by changing tones, volumes of voice, fluctuating facial expressions, hand gestures and other body movements. Body language may reinforce or contradict the speaker’s words. The meaning lies in the feelings of speaker and listener, not in the words.

Listening to Questions  

   

THE DO’s:

• Concentrate on the individual who is asking the question, and look directly at the person

• Listen for both the content and the intent. Listen for what is meant by the question. Listen between the lines sometimes helps understand the intent of the questioner better.

• Acknowledge the question when the audience is large. Repeat the question if the questioner cannot be heard by all.

• Answer the question clearly, specifically, and briefly. Don’t tell the individual more than is wanted. Be brief.

• Verify the listener’s satisfaction. Sometimes the listener can misinterpret the speaker’s meaning

• Always be ready to corroborate the evidence and data that you include in your answer to questions. Let individuals from different sides of the room or auditorium ask questions.

• After acknowledging the question with a nod, a ‘thank you’ or a ‘umhmm’, be sure to look out at the whole audience to answer every question. Keeps it moving? Get as many different individuals involved as possible.

• Treat two questions from the same person. Treat the double-barreled question as two separate questions

• Admit you don’t have an answer if you really don’t have one. There’s nothing wrong with not having all the answer. Be honest. Or say, ‘I don’t know but I‘ll find out for you.

• Be factual and accurate. Too often a quick answer, unsupported by specific evidence, misses the goal completely. Use names of people when possible and permissible

• Be factual and accurate. Too often a quick answer, unsupported by specific evidence, misses the goal completely. Use names of people when possible and permissible

THE DON’T’s:

• Don’t grade questions by telling a questioner, ‘Oh, that’s a good question’. Simply answer the question.

• Don’t argue with anyone. State your response and end it there.

• Don’t allow one person to keep asking question after question. One or two questions from the same person are enough. Simply say, ’many others have questions. I’ll get back to you if there’s time’. Always be friendly.

• Be careful never to begin your answer to a question with any of the phrases from the questioner, you may unintentionally insult or embarrass the questioner and the audience.

• Don’t put your hands on your hips while you are speaking but especially while you are answering questions. This may be interpreted by the audience as talking down to them.

• Keep a friendly face and a pleasant voice. Don’t point one finger at your audience while you are speaking. It’s a scolding pose and preachy.

Professional Tips For Answering Questions And Objections

• Look- Be genuine and have active consideration to the person who is talking to you. 

• Ask open-minded questions. Ask questions related to the topics. You can help a person to open up by asking him/her a question. 

• Don't Interrupt- Always let the other person finishes his/her ideas or sentences, never interrupt the speaker in between. 

• Don't change the topic to show you care about what he/she was saying to prevent negative impression. 

• Receptiveness pays off- You should be responsive to the speaker. Smile, nod, frown in sympathy. Interrupt the speaker only if you need clarification

Taboos For Question And Answer Session

• Don’t grade questions by telling a questioner, ‘oh, that’s a good question’. Simply answer the question.

• Don’t argue with anyone. You only lose ground, when you argue. Just state your response and end it there.

• Don’t allow one person to keep asking question after question. One or two questions from the same person are enough. Say, “Many others have questions. I’ll get back to you if there’s time”. Always be friendly.

• Never begin your answer to a question with any of the following, “Well obviously….,’’ “ as I said in my talk….,’ ’As I said…’ These are all put down phrases and may unintentionally insult or embarrass the questioner and the audience.

• Don’t put your hands on your hips while you are speaking but especially while you are answering questions. This may be wrongly interpreted by the audience as talking down to them.

• Keep a friendly face and a pleasant voice for best results. Don’t point one finger at your audience while you are speaking. It’s a scolding pose and preachy.

The Way To Process You’re Listening

• Formulate yourself- Ask your self-questions to build up listening Skills 

• Recall that words are symbols- Don't let mispronounced words distract you 

Preview-Structure the listening with limitations in mind. Make presumption to yourself at the same time before you predict the purpose of the speaker


Three Lines Of Thought

• This will help you translate a speaker’s style into your own terms.
• What claims is the speaker making?
• What clues can I draw from, what I know about the speaker’s reputation?

What conclusions can I expect from this style?

A Few Styles And Possible Initial Assessments

Anecdotal

• I can expect jokes or pointed stories. Maybe I’ll be entertained

Complicated

• I’ll have to pay close attention to vocabulary and logic and may have to decode long, involved sentences. Mustn’t let myself get side-tracked.

Challenging

• I may need to adjust my frame of reference during the talk to meet challenges to cherished ideals or habits.

Emphatic

• Obviously the speaker has strong convictions about the subject, but what supporting evidence will he or she provide?
  
  Here are some listening skills exercises video: