Author: Rishi Jalan

blog | 2min Read

6 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators

Published on July 7, 2021

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6 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators

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Communication – The bond builder

“Wise men speak because they have something to say.” This age-old adage defines the core characteristic of effective communicators. Communication is the basic bond builder among humans & the more effective the communication skill is, the better the bond will be.

Communication can make the difference between success & failure. The power of effective communication can motivate others to action and inspire new ways of thinking. It carries the potential to change the world.

But, can Communication Skills be developed? Yes!

Developing strong communication skills is especially essential when it comes to building a successful life. Effective communication, being a skill, can be inculcated & nurtured. It can be sharpened by emulating a few techniques, practices, and by participating in Effective Communication Programs.

Most of the effective communicators share a few basic traits among them. We list here a few points that are easy to practice, and when done right, can be life-changing.

  1. Find resources & means to evolve
    Effective communicators are always on the lookout to improve. They are well aware of their strengths & weaknesses. They think in advance about what they intend to accomplish with their words & plan accordingly. They find resources & means to constantly evolve. Among so many, one of the means is joining a Leadership Workshop or an Effective Communication course.

  2. Prepare to Lead
    Effective communicators are prepared to seize opportunities & lead. They find new avenues to add value, clarity & inspiration with their words & accelerate success.

  3. Curiosity
    How? Why? What? What if? Asking questions helps to understand the situation better & involves the people around. Soliciting suggestions is a great trait that helps them move ideas. Curiosity questions lead up to deeper conversations. This would also open up opportunities for a conversation about those conversations. You would need to stretch yourself on each conversation, this way you would come up with a variety of responses to make yourself clear.

  4. Face situations
    Effective communicators are ready and raring to face any situation. Their self-confidence gives them the ability to stay on top of any situation & work it into their favour through effective words.

  5. Listening
    Effective communicators do not just like to talk – they love to listen as much. Their interest in people & their opinions is just as genuine. They always want the benefit of other points of view. People like to be interacted with, not lectured to. Listening is as much a skill as communicating is.

  6. Emotion Control
    The most important trait of an effective communicator is emotion control. Emotions have a way of leading a person’s thought process. Anger, Sadness, Happiness, Fear have a way of finding expression through words. A great communicator must have control over their emotions. Clarity of thought leads to clarity in words.
    Communicate better. Make a Difference.
    Developing the ability to understand others helps you to connect better & make a lasting impression. Words have the power to influence & change the world. Be wise – speak when you have something to say.

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blog Innovation | 3min Read

5 Reasons Why You Should Learn Robotics in High School

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5 Reasons Why You Should Learn Robotics in High School

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Technology continues to invade the mind of every innovator. Technology is the today and the tomorrow of our times. Today, writing software, building drones and robots are not the things that only scientists or business tycoons can do. In fact, most innovative tech-based tools being programmed are by the “true digital natives” – The Gen Z.

The importance of robotics is widely recognized. Learning robotics in High School can increase your ability to be creative and empower you to become a critical thinker. It is not just a field of study or a hobby to pursue but rather a necessary 21st century skill. By learning robotics, a whole new world of opportunities expands that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

But before you go, “Alexa, how to build a robot?”, here are 5 more reasons why you should learn robotics:

  1. Introduction to Programming
    Programming is often too complex but Robotics is simpler to understand and provides a more tangible introduction to programming. As a student, you can program your very own physical robot by learning from nature and applying the principles of nature (Biomimicry) into automation technology. eMotion Butterfly is one example of Biomimicry. The developers combine the ultralight construction of artificial insects with coordinated flying behaviour in a collective.
    So, you can build robots and have fun while learning valuable skills at the same time! Programming and robotics make students more likely to be successful innovative entrepreneurs in the future.

  2. Creative Thinking
    Robotics is the space that incorporates both creativity and fun simultaneously. You can have full control over devising your robot and be able to learn from what your robot can or cannot do. You have the opportunity to be a learner and an innovator at the same time. You can build something cool that interacts with the environment and program it to perform actions of your choice. Programming new features that help you push the boundaries of innovation and design is one of the coolest things to do in this generation. Don’t you agree!?

  3. Turning Frustration into Innovation
    A never-give-up attitude and perseverance is something that Robotics demands. Programming a robot is complex but think of the complex problems it can solve. Some suggest, to be called a productive member of society, one must be able to identify problems and find solutions that can replace humans in performing a range of tasks instantly. Problems that cause frustration can be solved with innovation and all that you require is creativity and guidance through the process.

  4. Foundation For A Bright Career
    Careers in technology are the fastest growing. Industries constantly look for individuals who can come up with innovative ideas and be equipped with the knowledge to design and create the technology needed. The future sees a tremendous growth in technology and innovation of social robots like Sofia. One way to build a successful career is to demystify a simple-to-understand technology like Robotics. You can build robots to address fears and tackle global emergencies.
    Just like the computers came around a century ago, and we never predicted that their intervention could bring about such massive development as they have in the areas of Communication, Education, Health care etc. Similarly, the foundation for Robotics is being laid down right now with great hopes to improve the future, so, ‘right now’ is definitely the best time to be a part of this bandwagon.

  5. Turn Knowledge Into Creativity
    Robotics is a field that allows you to channel competitive instincts in a positive way. You can exemplify technology directly by programming a robot while learning about science, maths, engineering and get an understanding of how these subjects are linked together. Your experience in trying to build robots gives appreciation of your capabilities and strengths. More importantly, you can even innovate more features for an existing robot that you know or are inspired by.
    Robotics is an exciting field of study. It is something that has the power to change the world. The ideas are transformed into real-world solutions. So, what sort of robot do you fancy developing?

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Uncategorized | 3min Read

College Application Checklist: How To Make An Impact!

Published on June 29, 2021

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College Application Checklist: How To Make An Impact!

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Finding your niche and something you are passionate about in high school isn’t the big question here. It is about making an impact using something you are incredibly passionate about. A common mistake several applicants make is that they make an impact, but use something they do not have strong opinions towards. Unless you pick something you are genuinely interested and invested in, there is no way to make an impact that satisfies you.

While applying to colleges in countries like the USA, and especially to colleges like Harvard, Stanford, or other top-tier colleges, one of the biggest challenges students face, apart from the GPA and grades, is the extracurriculars (ECs) that they want to include in the application. Whether it is sports, public speaking, theatre, or any other pursuit outside of school, students try to take their ECs to another level by participating in championships or applying for scholarships. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to do ten different activities and be good at them; instead, having just one activity you are highly passionate about can say a lot about you!

Having said that, it is not always easy to make an impact. Here are the critical steps to make an impact using your extracurriculars:

Step 1: Identify

The first step is to identify your niche and your passion. This step requires taking a deep dive into everything you have tried and done for as long as you can remember. Students often mistake doing what other students at top-tier colleges did to get accepted into them. However, it would be best to find something that makes you happy and something you can continue to do for your four years of high school. It does not have to be mainstream –you do not have to pick a popular sport or a musical instrument or appear in your school drama to get noticed. You can turn something as simple as organizing, calligraphy, or track and turn it into something that shows your determination.

Incidents as tiny as running a marathon in the second grade can make you think about your interest in track. Even growing a sapling for a school project can make you realize your love towards the environment, making it much easier for you to take up environmental issues as your extracurricular!

Step 2: Invest

The next step is to invest more time and hard work into your EC. Once you identify your interest, you must take time to explore different aspects and branches of the activity. It is often a trial and error method, and there may be times where you dedicate much time to something only to realize that it is not meant for you, and that is perfectly normal.

After investing time and interest into your activity, you will either realize you want to continue working towards it in high school, maybe even in college, or that you need to re-evaluate everything. In the second case, you’re back to square one, but it is not as bad as it sounds since failures are learning experiences too. After a couple of tries, or just one, you’ll know that it is time to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Impact

The last step is how you make an impact and take your passion to the next level. Once you have invested enough time and achieved the first two steps, you will know what to do, whether it is starting a petition related to climate laws, representing your state in sports championships, or even being the next Mary Kondo for organising, or taking part in marathons for significant causes, like fundraiser marathons and Keep The Beach Clean marathons. The last step is your canvas: you can paint it however you like. Make an impact.

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blog Productivity | 5min Read

Top 5 Ways Students Can Utilise Their Time Effectively

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Top 5 Ways Students Can Utilise Their Time Effectively

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Oftentimes, students find themselves perplexed about what to do with their time. Only recently exposed to the real world, these adolescents have to suddenly find a way to balance their social life, academics and personal time with only a limited amount of energy. Most teenagers have preferences regarding the aforementioned and so decide accordingly. Some succumb to the burden of parental or academic pressure and put their preferences aside to focus on their studies. During the time of the pandemic, these feelings have heightened even more and boredom has peaked. There’s nothing to do and with feelings of disorientation all around, all leads to one question: what do we do?

Answering this question mostly depends on the person, their inclinations and priorities. All others, even our parents and teachers, can really do is suggest. At the end of the day, we’re the ones who make the final decisions. So, to guide students through this phase of doubt and uncertainty, here are some suggestions::

Exercise

Working out may sound exhausting. I mean we’re already doing so much every day, why do we have to exercise? And if we’re trying to conserve our energy, isn’t spending it on physical activity the opposite? Well, it really depends on how much energy one spends. While some people like to do intense training, some are more into the mindfulness side of exercise like yoga. Even if one spends a lot of energy on physical exertion, it’s energy well spent since working out has many direct and indirect benefits. Not only does it help you reduce your risk of heart diseases and certain cancers, it also benefits your mental health – decreases stress! – and makes your brain sharper.

One actually doesn’t need to take too much time out for exercise, even 30 minutes a day is perfectly fine. They can try to incorporate it into their daily routine by making it more fun and tracking their progress for motivation. All in all, exercise is a quite beneficial practice and it helps you clear your head more than anything. So, it’s definitely one of the places where you should put your energy.

Hobbies

For those of us who don’t enjoy physical exertion whatsoever, there are other alternatives as well, such as trying out new hobbies. These can literally be anything. Playing the guitar, painting, singing, writing, designing etc. Another benefit is that you will most probably end up doing what you want to, not what you need to. Hobbies provide a creative outlet for all and are one of the best forms of expression. Truly engaging with something you enjoy and letting yourself go can reduce stress, and improve creativity and even your academic performance. These new experiences help teenagers step out of their comfort zones, which can actually allow them to find their passion. Plus, you become a much more interesting person if you have some hobbies. They enrich your perspective and let you leave a memorable impression on those you meet. Hobbies are a great way to spend your energy, and some barely require any, so you should definitely go out there and see what you like!

Building Your Profile

It’s never too early to start thinking about college. If boredom strikes earlier in your adolescent years for you, building your college profile might just be what you need to succeed. While studying or doing co-curriculars can sound draining, finding something you seriously love can make it so much more fun. The advantages and opportunities are endless once you start, block by block, you can create something amazing that will increase your future potential. And, through this profile you can put across your true, authentic personality. It takes energy, sure, but if you have fun while doing it, it is incredibly advantageous and hence, definitely worth it.

Socialise

The likelihood of your friends also being very bored is extremely high. Most probably, you’re not alone in your exhaustion and have other acquaintances and confidantes who feel the same way. Hanging out with your friends is extremely entertaining. You can do so much in online settings, play video games, listen to music and even watch shows through extensions such as Netflix Party. Most of the time, you end up making memories and inside jokes that live on forever. These irreplaceable moments are something definitely worth spending your energy on. Additionally, socialising can help with your mental health and self-esteem too. Spending time with people we care about often helps us get an external perspective and prevents thought-spirals! We dream, learn, grow and work as a part of a society while socialising. It can definitely act as an amazing alternative to spending your days lonely and bored.

Relax

It might seem counterintuitive to suggest this after the above options but sometimes, a lot of people just want to do nothing and that’s okay. Being by yourself and just relaxing is often the best thing you can do. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking some time out for yourself and no reason to feel guilty about it. Focusing on yourself and your health-mental or physical-may just benefit you even more in the future. Easing up reduces stress and anxiety but it also helps lower your heart rate and reduce chronic pain. This helps us eventually gain a clearer and calmer mindset, which can make us more productive and efficient. Further, just being alone for a little while can even allow you to find your real personality, separated from most external pressure. When you’re close to being burnt out, relaxing is the most productive thing you can do for yourself in the long run because you’re preventing future roadblocks by taking out time for yourself! It alleviates your stress, pain and confusion; sometimes the best way to utilise energy is to simply let it rest and build.

So, there’s a lot of choices but informing yourself about things like this is the first step towards becoming more and more efficient as each day passes. It may still be very hard to decide but all someone can really do is try. Don’t worry about failing, remind yourself that even that is a part of increasing your potential and at least, you attempted to do something you wanted to do. Putting yourself out there and trying out some of these might just increase your future potential a hundredfold. All it requires is for you to learn how to use your energy properly.

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Top Six Study Resources That High School Students Need To Know About

Published on June 23, 2021

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Top Six Study Resources That High School Students Need To Know About

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Coming into high school can be extremely stressful. It feels like the workload increases a hundredfold and the pressure of assessments can cause great academic anxiety. It doesn’t matter if you’re in ninth grade or twelfth, the absolute confusion is prevalent. Questioning literally everything you’re doing is completely normal and nearly every single student goes through the same.

Finding your own way of doing things can be hard, but something that definitely helps is online resources. The internet is an amazing place, you can learn about anything in the world within the span of an hour and students can seriously use it to their advantage. It’s the Digital Age after all. Plus, e-learning has grown so much more popular, especially during the pandemic. So, we present you with a list of educational resources that every high school student needs to know about:

Khan Academy

Most of us have probably already used Khan Academy. It’s a non-profit educational organisation that provides students with online tools to educate themselves. It has comprehensive video lessons and other supplementary resources and exercises. It provides courses in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics and more. You can learn about literally anything on the site and for free at that. Revision becomes much easier as you take external lessons outside of your classrooms, and are able to easily practice and apply the things you learn. You can learn at your own pace and personalize learning and it covers many subjects from grades K-12. High schoolers can even find free SAT practice questions and tests.

Duolingo

There are many cognitive benefits to learning a new language. It enhances memory, problem-solving skills, and intelligence. Duolingo is a language-learning website and app which provides a digital language proficiency assessment exam. It has enough materials for students to learn as much of a language. The bite-sized lessons are an effective and efficient way to learn a new language. It’s free of charge, though it does offer premium benefits for a fee. Learning with duolingo can be enjoyable and addictive. It gives fun exercises, through which you can earn points and level up.

Coursera

Doing courses online let’s you explore your limits and see what you really like. You can also revise and learn more about a subject in your syllabus to understand it fully. Coursera works with universities and other organisations to offer courses, degrees and certification in a variety of topics. You can be taught by professors from Ivy League universities and other renowned educational institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, Duke and Stanford. By taking these advanced courses, you can enjoy learning and pass your time in a productive way.

The Pomodoro Timer

If you need help focusing and managing your time in an efficient way, this technique may be perfect for you. The Pomodoro Timer Technique is a time management technique for people prone to procrastination. You can just just get started on a project without having to think about it too much. All that’s required is a timer and a to-do. The traditional technique is working in intervals of 25 minutes with a 3-5 minute break in between, and a longer, 10-15 minute break after 4 sessions (pomodoros). This is what makes the technique so effective and the tasks less daunting. One important aspect of this technique is that when you start your timer you have to direct your attention only to the task you’re doing. This helps combat distractions and break down complex projects into smaller, easier to handle pieces. It greatly increases productivity and gives you a sense of accomplishment, encouraging you to work more in the future.

SaveMyExams

This is a resource mostly for students studying in an international board and is incredibly helpful. The website has exam papers organised by topic and difficulty. Though it does cost money to unlock certain features of the website, it is definitely worth it to have it down as one of your favourite resources. It has topic questions and revision notes that let you hear up for your examinations and it lets you learn from the best. Entrusted by top schools like Eton, Winchester and St. Paul’s, this site puts together amazing resources that help students score brilliantly in their assessments.

Google Scholar

Until recently, this resource was not known about by many but it’s popularity has increased. It is a freely accessible research engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Using Google Scholar for research is extremely effective and saves time as it helps you readily locate academic sources.You can search about a wide variety of topics and materials including articles, books, research reports etc. The website offers a simple user interface and is open to the public. You can even save articles and citations you may want to use later. It is one of the best tools a student can use and has been wonderfully helpful for many.

All of these resources have aided so many people greatly. If you relate to these feelings of confusion and anxiety then you should definitely check them out to see if they could help you. It’s a great idea and comes highly recommended, so even going to the main website and reading about the resource would be a big first step.

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