Five Ways to Stay Focused on Your Goals

Finish what you started

You probably have heard the saying, "So many things to do and not enough time to do them." Even though that may be true, you still have to complete them all, especially if these things help you to reach your goals. To make it easier for you, just take 1 thing you have to do and complete that task until it is done. When it is done, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and it will motivate you to move on to your next task.

Organize to make things easy and simple

Take a moment to put things in order. If people write to you or send your orders in the mail, make 3 piles. Put the letters that need to be answered right away in the 1st pile. Letters that can be answered at a later date you can put in the 2nd pile and letters that have orders in them; you can put in the 3rd pile. Doing things like this in other areas of your life will help you keep things in priority and keep you focused on your goals.

Change the way you look at things

If you find yourself at times having a negative attitude, you must realize that the way you look at things can make all the difference when it comes to reaching your goals. Even when obstacles stand in your way, maintaining a positive attitude, not a negative one and knowing that things can and will get better, will help you stay on track in reaching your goals.

Understand goals will take time to reach

Everything in life, if it is worth it, will take time. This goes for the goals you set for yourself. When you set goals, you should set 2 types of goals - a short-term goal such as 6 months and also a long-range goal, such as 3 years. You must realize that you are not going to reach your long-term goals in 2 weeks. Whatever your goals may be, only through hard work, determination and keeping yourself focused, this is the way you will eventually reach your goals.

Study and read articles on motivation

Reading articles, books or even listening to cassette tapes on motivation is a must if you want to keep yourself focused on your goals. Many successful people will tell you that even when they wanted to give up, a paragraph in a book or something a motivational speaker said to put them back on the right track and helped them reach their goals. No matter how excited you are about your work, with so many distractions and things that may be going on in your life, you can easily find yourself losing focus on your goals and what you want to accomplish. So if you want to stay focused on your goals, take these 5 points and put them into action today.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is a person’s ability to be self aware, manage emotional feelings and information, detect emotions in others and manage human relationships.
Skill sets for building Emotional Intelligence are

1.      Self-Awareness

2.      Self Management

3.      Social Awareness

4.      Relationship Management

 

Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the first skill set in building Emotional Intelligence. High self awareness is identifying the sensations one feels and to be able to name which emotion is happening at any given time.
Components of Self-Awareness are:

1.      Emotional Awareness: Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects

2.      Accurate Self-Assessment: Knowing one’s strengths and limits

3.      Self-Confidence

 

Self-Management

Self-management is the ability to use the awareness of one’s emotions to stay flexible and direct behavior positively. This second step is to regulate feelings and manage them so they do more good, both to self and others, than harm.

Components of Self-Management are:

1.      Self-Control: Managing disruptive emotions and impulses

2.      Trustworthiness: Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity

3.      Conscientiousness: Taking responsibility for personal performance

4.      Adaptability: Flexibility in handling change 

Social Awareness

Once we have become honest and intentional with our emotions, it is time to look outward. After all, nobody in life will listen to us unless they feel we have listened to them. Emotional intelligence is both tuning into our own feelings and tuning into the feelings of those around us. Empathy is being able to see from another’s perspective. Empathy begins with listening.

Components of Social Awareness are:

1.      Empathy: Sensing others’ feelings and perspective and taking an active interest in their concerns

2.      Service Orientation: Anticipating, recognizing and meeting needs

3.      Offer appropriate assistance

4.      Political Awareness: Reading a group’s emotional current and power relationships

 

Relationship Management

Mastering the abilities of self-awareness, self management, and social awareness pave the way for more effective relationships. This fourth component, relationship management, is about interacting with people and being adept at managing emotions in others.

Components of Relationship Management are:

1.      Influence: Using effective tactics of persuasion

2.      Communication: Sending clear and convincing messages

3.      Conflict Management: Negotiating and resolving disagreements

4.      Collaboration and Cooperation: Working well with others towards shared goals

Watch Out Before You Speak

Communication in any form is used for exchange of information. The links called words make communication work. Without words it’s difficult to imagine how we could have come so long in the history of human evolution. Word is not only a 4-letter thing, but it is something deeper than that.

Whenever a word is uttered it is due to synchronization of lip movement and tongue movement. To get out that word from our mouth, a lot of thinking and analysis has been happening in our sub conscious mind. We don't realize it because all this happens in less than one millionth of a second. Most of the times, we don't think over what we have uttered. Word is not only a link, but it initiates response from the listener.

The word, which we have uttered, acts on every part of the listener's body. Like if you share a joke using a group of words, you make the listener to laugh. He may pound his hands and fist and then calm down. The very word which you have uttered has allowed him to flush his emotions out in the form of laughter or smile. If you talk about a tragic incident, the listener may close his eyes for a second and offer his condolences. Words uttered vibrate on the mind of the listener. It acts on his mind. Selection and thought prior to communication is very important.

Sometimes we say things which we shouldn't have or we carelessly utter unwanted words (mind you I am not talking of abuses). These things may affect the other person emotionally and mentally. For us it would have been just a matter of second to wag our tongue, but for the listener it is going to be the only thing at the back of his mind. By using unwanted words or speaking more than necessary, we not only hurt someone, but we also add a spot of dust to our social image. Your future interaction with the person may be based on that single word. Using proper words while talking is just like selecting the items from the supermarket. You select the best brand from the specific domain, where your item is found.

So watch before you speak because the actions of the listener may be louder than your words!

Effective Presentation Skills

Anyone who understands some principles about presenting will be a more confident speaker. Some of these principles are:

Knowledge of the subject

The more you know about the subject to be presented, the more confident you will be.  Deal with material that is fully researched for preparing your presentation.

Advance preparation

How you initially organise the amount of information and knowledge on the subject matter is equally important.  Often people put off preparing the speech until the time to deliver it has almost arrived. Effective presentation relies on adequate preparation.

Prepare points to convey

It is important to be clear on the number of points that you want to convey. People will only remember few points; you cannot expect to present a lot of ideas in a short period of time.  You may find it helpful to write your key points and select the ones that you regard as most important.

Duration of presentation

The length of time that has been allotted to your presentation has critical implications for what you select for the content.  This will influence the degree of detail that you can deal with. Consider the amount of time that the presentation will take, including any question time.  Twenty minutes is the ideal length of time for a speech that will keep an audience listening.

Structure of presentation

Your responsibility to the audience is to be clear, accurate and analytical.  A strong structure is one of the most vital points to distinguish a good presentation from an average one.  In order to keep the listeners interested and involved, you must arrange facts and ideas in an effective manner.

Choice of words

An audience’s ability to understand is effected by the vocabulary we choose. Long words are harder to understand than short words. Eliminate words or phrases that may be inappropriate, insulting or stereotypical. Avoid overuse of similar words. 

Know your audience

The composition of the particular audience can be known by considering the questions such as: what is the demographic background of the audience in terms of age, gender and work experience; do some members of the audience already know something about the subject.

Know the venue
The better you know the venue, the more comfortable you will be.  If the presentation takes place in your own classroom, or in the conference room of the company where you work, preparations will probably be less complicated. 

Purpose of your presentation
Your level of comfort may be influenced by the occasion and purpose of presentation.  Prepare your presentation according to the occasion and purpose such as a formal occasion for an interview or a casual, informal gathering for an annual day celebration.

Overcome anxiety

A certain amount of anxiety and tension before addressing a group is natural and even energising.  What you need to do to succeed is to turn the experience around and focus on the positive implications of giving a presentation, rather than on the negative ones.

Keep eye contact

By eye contact with the listeners you make the audience feel that you are addressing it. This will make a point across that you like them; you are honest, open and direct.

Use a variety of gestures
Do not fidget with your notes, play with your clothes or put your hands in your pockets.  Use your hands to describe and reinforce your verbal message.  Avoid pointing at the audience.

Be aware of your posture

Stand straight, with assurance, chest up, shoulders relaxed. A little movement is helpful so long as you do so with clear purpose. 

Be aware of your voice

Speak louder than normal and try to vary the pitch of your voice. Project your voice to the back of the room, not down at the table in front of you.  Speak slowly enough for the audience to capture the meaning of what you are saying.

Dress appropriately

Do not wear clothes that distract attention from what you are saying. Dress comfortably and appropriately. 

Face your audience

Your facial expression should reinforce your message. Smile from time to time. The warmth that you will emit can affect the listeners’ level of interest or attention. 

Written Communication Skills

Written communication is a primary category of communication. It is about sending message through written words through various media. It can be in several forms such as letters, e-mails, notices, display boards, placard, posters, memos, prospectus and many more.

Essentials of Written communication skills include:

·         Message should be coherent

·         It should be concise

·         Emphasis should be on particulars of the message

·         Clarity of the written message is most important

·         Jargons should be avoided

·         Completeness with comprehensive coverage should be there

·         Brevity should be there

·         It should be accurate

·         It should provide facility for further reference

·         Message should not be confusing due to improper or un necessary usage of words

·         It should not be complicated with irrelevant information

·         It should not be misrepresented with wrong facts and figures

Advantages of Written Communication

·         It is more reliable

·         Influence of self interest and attitude is minimum

·         It has capacity of being stored

·         It is suitable for lengthy matters to be communicated

·         It improves organisational efficiency

·         It provides information for decision making

·         It is best for long distance communication for geographically far off locations

·         It is very useful where documentation work is involved

·         It can reduce mistakes and errors based on earlier records

·         It will not carry gossip

·         It will record evidence of confidential information conveyed

·         Message will not suffer from danger of being distorted

Limitations of Written Communication

·         It can involve confusion and misinterpretation

·         Personal touch will be absent

·         Two-way communication will not be quick

·         It is slow communication

·         Scope  for interaction is limited

·         Immediate feedback will not be there

·         Devices of communication can have technical problems

It is very important to plan communications as per the purpose, urgency, location and medium of communication and with the right information that is required to be communicated.

Verbal Communication Skills

Oral communication is also called as Verbal communication. Speech is the earliest common medium of communication.  Human relation is the fundamental element in this form of communication.

Verbal communication skills can be improved upon by ensuring the following:

·         Open speech with a smile

·         Maintain clarity of message

·         Keep up brevity of the message

·         Choose precise and most appropriate words

·         Sequence the message properly

·         Avoid using jargons

·         Maintain friendly atmosphere

·         Use personal greetings

·         Show appreciation

·         Show personal interest

·         Make the listeners feel important

·         Show empathy towards listeners

·         Use appropriate language

·         Maintain appropriate personal appearance

·         Use right body language

·         Use sense of humour according to the situation

Advantages of Verbal Communication         

·         It saves time

·         It saves cost

·         It is effective

·         It can be used in emergency situations

·         It involves accuracy and speed

·         It can be through devices in far away communications

·         Faster two way communication is possible

There are certain disadvantages too

·         It can be disturbed by noise around

·         It can be costly at times

·         Secrecy and confidentiality can’t be maintained completely

·         It can involve language problem

·         Devices of communication can have technical problems

·         There will be a problem of record and evidence for confidential information

Effective Listening Principles

Listening skills are very essential for personal enlightenment and appropriate response to situations in all walks of life. To improve one’s listening skills one has to follow certain principles. These are:

Look for areas of interest

Identify your areas of interest and seek information on those areas to improve the subject knowledge, entertain new topics as potentially interesting.

Overlook minor errors of delivery

Attend to meaning and content, ignore minor delivery errors. Be sensitive to any message in them. Do not focus on the personal attributes of the speaker.

Postpone judgement

Avoid quick judgements; wait until comprehension of the core message is complete. Quick evaluation and passing of judgement before the complete message is conveyed will lead to contrary meanings.

Listen for ideas

Listen carefully for ideas and themes and not only for facts and details. Identify the main points being communicated.

Take notes

Take notes for important ideas, themes, facts and details depending upon the topic and the speaker. Carry writing pad and a pen with you while attending any lecture, discussion, meeting or a conference.

Be actively responsive

Respond frequently with nods, or short responses through sounds of ‘uh’ ‘hmm’ etc to convey that you are listening. It shows that you are actively listening. Passive demeanour, few or no responses will put off the speaker.

Resist distractions

Maintain log concentration span and resist distraction, this will help in getting the complete message being communicated.

Challenge your mind

If the speaker uses difficult material to communicate, seek to enlarge understanding to broaden knowledge base.

Capitalise on mind speed

Use listening time to attend to implicit message as well as explicit message. Do not be preoccupied with other thoughts.

Assist and encourage the speaker

Ask for clarification or examples on difficult message conveyed, this will assist the speaker to understand that the message is not understood. Do not make distracting comments.