четверг, 24 января 2019 г.

Challenge 10


Hello, dear readers!

Unfortunately, it is my last challenge. Performing these a bit frightening but at the same time exciting tasks was a great experience for me, indeed! I hope I’ll continue to do such brave things in the future!

 Today I had to give a complement to a handsome barista. Well, I have some difficulties with giving complements. In fact, I feel at loss of words when I need to say something important to some attractive people! That’s why I put this challenge as the most difficult one in the end of my list.
So, coming back from University, I went to the café in which I like ordering a cup of coffee. A handsome boy is working here. Sometimes I sit in the café and I can’t but look at him. Can you imagine how nervous and electrolyzed I was when I came to the bar?
I took a deep breath and came to him. I smiled though all my body was trembling. I ordered a latte and then I said it. I said that he was handsome and resembled me of Nat Wolff, an American actor. Then he joked whether he needed a new job. We talked a little and then I took my coffee and thanked him.
Well, I was very happy after our little conversation!  


Thank for reading! Have a nice day!


вторник, 22 января 2019 г.

Challenge 9


Hi there!


“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
― Vincent Van Gogh



Today’s challenge is to initiate a conversation with an unknown person in a public place. Since my friend and I attended art school together, we decided to go to the Art Gallery in our city. We were lucky to visit the exhibition of Van Gogh and Claude Monet as they are our favorite artists. Though this exhibition ends at 27th of January, there were few people there. While my friend was looking at paintings, I came to the museum custodian. These old Russian ladies, who are sitting in the corner of the room in each museum, are extremely scary because they are always angry and have a don’t-touch-it look.
I was feeling nervous and my fingers were cold when I came to her. She looked at me through her big-lenses glasses, and I just smiled. It was strange, I guess, and then the woman was shocked. I started speaking – I asked her about paintings whether she liked them or not. Also, I asked her if she could tell something about them. But she was that unpleasant kind of woman who speaks a little and only to the case. That’s why our conversation was not long, and she sent me to the guide to get more information about the exhibition. Though she was rude, I thanked her. I was glad that I could have overcome my fear!
After I came to my friend, I saw her stunned face. She garbed my arm and started whispering some words of admiration to my ear. It was really funny! Besides, I was glad I could have overcome my fear!

Challenge 8


Good afternoon to everyone!
Is it easy to express your dissatisfaction to someone you don’t know? Are you ashamed to do it? Are you afraid of it?
As for me, I always find it difficult to express negative emotions about anything I don’t like. What ’s more, I’m afraid to say that something makes me uncomfortable if I don’t know a person. So, today’s challenge is about overcoming this fear. I had to go to a café, try some food, and then express my resentment to a waiter.
Well, I chose a pretty good café with a cozy design and quality services. I ordered a dessert and a cup of coffee that I like there. Though it was tasty as always, I had to leave the dessert half-eaten and then call for a waitress and say something unpleasant. And…well, it wasn’t easy. I felt scared to call for her at first (in some moment my voice even cracked) because… it’s uncomfortable to show your dissatisfaction. I was looking at her for some time, waiting for her to notice me. Then she came. I said that I didn’t like the pancakes. Uhhh…It was difficult to make my voice firm and persuasive when I was scared. But, feeling like an actor on stage, I succeeded to convince her that the dessert was not good.  As result of today’s challenge, I overcame my fear and got an extra dessert as an apology. That’s why I think, this challenge was useful as it helped me to avoid fear of expressing my negative emotions when I really need it.
Thank you for reading!
Have a nice day!

воскресенье, 13 января 2019 г.

Questionnaire "Your level of oratory" P.2

Sadly, but our Public Speaking Course is coming to the end.
 It was a very helpuful course. I learned a lot of useful information about writing and presenting a speech. I've done the same questionnaire that I did in the beginning of the year, and I'm ready to compare the results. 
Before: 44 pts.
After: 68 pts. 


1. Во время выступления я обычно стараюсь ''публично мыслить'', чтобы слушатели следили за ходом моих рассуждений. YES
2. Я знаю, как настроиться и с чего начать создание своего спича.YES
3. В своих выступлениях я, как правило, сопоставляю противоположные точки зрения, факты, концепции.YES
4. В процессе аргументации, я обычно ввожу заведомо абсурдное утверждение, приписав его реальному или возможному оппоненту.NO
5. Я часто применяю проблемную подачу тезиса, например, в форме вопроса.YES
6. Написав текст выступления, я делаю паузу и возвращаюсь к нему позднее, чтобы взглянуть свежим взглядом и отредактировать.YES
7. Работая над текстом спича, я использую приёмы для активизации творческого мышления.SOMETIMES
8. Для выступления я выбираю наиболее убедительные и красноречивые аргументы, отбрасывая все менее значительное (оптимальное количество аргументов равно 3).YES
9. Для того чтобы вызвать эмоциональное сопереживание аудитории, я провожу анализ материальных и духовных интересов слушателей.YES
10. Планируя своё выступление, я знаю, как эффективно простроить работу.YES
11. Я четко ориентируюсь в системе ценностей конкретной аудитории и апеллирую только к весомым для нее ценностям.YES
12. Начиная свое выступление, я использую зачин (''крючок'') для активизации внимания аудитории.YES
13. Уже во вступлении я четко формулирую основную мысль (тезис) моего выступления.YES
14. В течение всего выступления я несколько раз повторяю тезис (основную мысль).NO
15. Во вступлении я отвечаю на немой вопрос слушателей ''А какое это отношение имеет ко мне?''.YES
16. В выступлениях на историческую или биографическую тематику я последовательно перехожу от одной микротемы к другой.YES
17. С целью активизации мыслительной деятельности слушателей я использую проблемную постановку вопроса.YES
18. В положительно настроенной аудитории я приберегаю самый сильный и веский аргумент напоследок.SOMETIMES
19. В заключении я четко обобщаю все вышесказанное.YES
20. Я связываю конец моего выступления с началом.
21. При перечислении фактов я использую слова-организаторы: во-первых, во-вторых и т.д.
22. В начале своей речи я использую клише типа ''Для начала…''YES
23. В конце выступления я использую слова типа ''Подводя итоги…'', ''Суммируя вышесказанное…'' и т.д.YES
24. В начале моего выступления я называю основные положения, которые я собираюсь развивать в основной части моего доклада.YES
25. В заключительной части моего выступления я еще раз перечисляю основные положения моего доклада.YES
26. Если мое выступление является частью серии выступлений по одной теме, то я делаю ссылки на свои предыдущие выступления.SOMETIMES
27. Если я собираюсь выступить по этой же теме еще раз, то я непременно упомяну об этом в своем выступлении.YES
28. В своей речи я прибегаю к различным повторам (тождественным, синонимическим, перифрастическим).SOMETIMES
29. Во время выступления я пользуюсь словами типа ''как мы знаем'', ''как мы помним'', ''что мы знаем'' и т.д.
30. Во время выступления я пользуюсь словами типа ''забегая вперед, скажу'', ''как будет указано далее'' и т.д.SOMETIMES
31. Для подтверждения высказанных теоретических положений, я привожу фактический материал.YES
32. В целях экономии времени в течение выступления я подбираю яркие факты, которые могут заменить часть рассуждений.YES
33. Я подбираю фактический материал таким образом, чтобы он был близок и понятен слушателям, соотносился с их образовательным уровнем и интересами.YES
34. Я использую примеры из личной жизни, чтобы вызвать эмоциональное сопереживание  аудитории.
35. В своих выступлениях я избегаю таких общих фраз как ''некоторое количество'', ''очень многие ученые'', ''большая сумма''.YES
36. Я всегда использую цифровой материал в сравнении, в сопоставлении с прошлым или планируемым.YES
37. В ходе выступления я не использую более трех цифр подряд без применения наглядных пособий.YES
38. Для того чтобы цифры лучше воспринимались на слух, я их округляю.YES
39. В выступлении я рисую словесные картины, чтобы аудитория не только слышала, но и ''видела'' как разворачиваются перед их мысленными взорами положения моей речи. Для этого я использую такие фразы, как ''Представьте себе, что у вас…'', Предположим, что вы…'' и т.д.YES
40. В заключительных словах моего выступления, я эмоционально обращаюсь к аудитории.YES

I think, I've done a good job. Still, there is something to be impoved in any speech or performance. 


суббота, 22 декабря 2018 г.

Some more corrections

1) The first version of the speech, without corrections 
Hard work. What do you feel when hear this word? Does it sound unpleasant or uncomfortable for you?
I believe, many of you, sitting here today, have the same problem – we are afraid of hard work. We don’t like it. Any time we hear the sentence “you have to write a speech, do several tasks and then post them in your blogs till Monday”, we want just throw up our hands helplessly and say to ourselves “Oh…it’s starting again!”
What is our biggest problem? Is it a time pressure and great difficulties? Unbearable demands of work? Or is it something else?

Today I’d like to speak about hardwork, namely, how we see it, how we should see it and what we should do to start working hard.

Hard work is always a stress and pressure. Since school we consider any work as our duty. And if work is a duty, we have to fulfill it in a good way to get noticed and praised.  Alfred Binet believes that any activity is a complicated process of our working brain that includes several important components – first, person is aware what he has to do, secondly, he force himself to perform the task, then, he considers the way how to do it and, finally, picks up the necessary operations for the task. The better result we want, the more effort we should make – and there comes our fears. We are afraid of being mistaken.

Nevertheless, if a person has a plan of action, even a hard work doesn’t seem so difficult and tiring. For example, my uncle and his friend studied in the same university, but one of them reached his life aim whereas my uncle was discouraged in fear of a wasted time and some difficulties.


You should remember, a hard work is not your enemy but it is a key to success. Also, it does not matter who you are and where you come from – everyone is equal before life. If you want to succeed in some scope of action, you should fight your demons – laziness, weariness and resist different temptations. Everything is possible if you are ready to work hard. There are so many examples of people who completely changed their lives only spending more time on work. Even though, our abilities are limited. Some month ago Miles Hilton-Barber was shown on Tv. Watching this man sailing around the world, no one can imagine him to be completely blind. When he was 18, he studied to be a pilot but he started losing his sight and lost it at the age of 20. However, he didn’t give up on his dream and through a hard work became a traveller.

So, what should we do to push ourselves and start working? Our biggest problem is that we see it as a hard work. But we have to find it helpful and pleasant. We should find it motivational, too. For instance, if you face with a heavy project, imagine that it is only a piece of a puzzle that will help you in the future career. Then, make your work more enjoyable. Sometimes it’s better to carry on some things together – do the boring task with your friends. 

Finally, though the phrase “hard work” has the word “hard”, it doesn’t mean something impossible. The only thing we should be aware is that everything is possible. Just be loyal to your dreams and hold your course. If you work hard, you’ll achieve success!



2) The structure of the speech:

  Hard work. What do you feel about it? Is it unpleasant or uncomfortable for you? (attention getter)  I believe, many of you have the same problem - we are afraid of hard work. We don’t like it. Whenever we get difficult home tasks, we are ready to throw up our hands helplessly and say "Oh...it's starting again!" What is our biggest problem? Is it a time pressure? Unbearable demands of work? Something else? (link)
These questions lead me to my thesis:  hard work is not your enemy but it is your friend.(thesis) 
Today I’d like to speak about hard work, namely, how we see it, how we should see it and what we should do to start working hard. (preview) 
First,  hard work is always  stress and pressure. (main heading) Since school we consider any work as our duty.(point support).And if work is a duty, we have to fulfill it in a good way to get noticed and praised. When I was a child, my grandmother always told me that everybody had responsibilities to fulfill, even schoolchildren. That’s why I had to work hard because I felt I was always evaluated by her. I used to working very hard because I still feel this pressure on me.       
Besides, the harder our task is, the harder our brains work. (point support)Alfred Binet believes that any activity is a complicated process of our working brain. First, a person is aware what he has to do, secondly, he forces himself to perform the task, then, he considers the possible  strategies and then picks up necessary operations for the task. The better result we want, the more effort we should make – and there comes our fears because we are afraid of being mistaken.

Secondly, hard work is also a key to success. (main heading)If you want to succeed in some scope of action, you should fight your demons – laziness, weariness and resist different temptations. Everything is possible if you are ready to work hard. (point support) Even though, our abilities are limited. Some month ago Miles Hilton-Barber was shown on Tv. Watching this man travelling all over the world, no one can imagine him to be completely blind. When he was 18, he studied to be a pilot but he started losing his sight and lost it at the age of 20. However, he didn’t give up on his dream and through a hard work became a traveller. 



Thirdly, if you don't know how to start working, learn the techniques. (main heading)The first step is to find hard work helpful. It should be motivational, too. (point support) For instance, if you face with a heavy project, imagine that it is only a piece of a puzzle that will help you in the future career. Then, make your work more enjoyable. (point support)Sometimes it’s better to carry on some things together – do the boring task with your friends.  


Overall,  though the phrase “hard work” has the word “hard”, it doesn’t mean something impossible. Some people are afraid of it because they think there is pressure on them and the work demands a lot energy and effort. But, it’s only way to change your life. (short summary) The only thing we should be aware is that everything is possible. Just be loyal to your dreams and hold your course. If you work hard, you will be at the top of a mountain – that is life. (emotional appeal) Just do the first step!(action step) 


3)TheEffective use of language 

  Hard work. What do you feel about it? Is it unpleasant or uncomfortable for you? 
  I believe, many of you have the same problem - we are afraid of hard work. We don’t like it. Whenever we get
difficult home tasks, we are ready to throw up our hands helplessly and say “Oh…it’s starting again!”
 What is our biggest problem? Is it a time pressure? 
Unbearable demands of work? Something else? 
(concise language/the use of short sentences) 
These questions lead me to my thesis:  hard work is not your enemy but it is your friend.
Today I’d like to speak about hard work, namely, how we see it, how we should see it and what we should do to start working hard. 
First,  hard work is always  stress and pressure.  Since school we consider any work as our duty. And if work is a duty, we have to fulfill it in a good way to get noticed and praised.When I was a child, my grandmother always told me that everybody had responsibilities to fulfill, even schoolchildren. That’s why I had to work hard because I felt I was always evaluated by her. I used to working very hard because I still feel this pressure on me.       
Besides, the harder our task is, the harder our brains work. Alfred Binet believes that any activity is a complicated process of our working brain. First, a person is aware what he has to do. Secondly, he forces himself to perform the task. Then, he considers the possible  strategies. Finally, he picks up necessary operations for the task.(the use of short sentences, the use of frequent signposts) The better result we want, the more effort we should make. And there comes our fears. We are afraid of being mistaken. (the key words at the end of the sentence). 

Secondly, hard work is also a key to success. If you want to succeed in some scope of action, you should fight your demons – laziness, weariness and resist different temptations. Remember - everything is possible if you are ready to work hard. Even though, our abilities are limited. Some month ago Miles Hilton-Barber was shown on Tv. Watching this man travelling all over the world, no one can imagine him to be completely blind. At age of 20, he lost his sight. However, he didn’t give up on his dream of being a pilot.(the use of short sentences)He started working hard. Harder than he did before. (the key words at the end of the sentence). Now he is famous all over the world!



What should we do to push ourselves and start working? (the use of rhetorical questions.  Learn the techniques. (the sentences of different length)  The first step is to find hard work helpful. It should be motivational, too. For instance, if you face with a heavy project, imagine that it is only a piece of a puzzle that will help you in the future career. Then, make your work more enjoyable. Sometimes it’s better to carry on some things together – do the boring task with your friends.  

Overall,  though the phrase “hard work” has the word “hard”, it doesn’t mean something impossible. Some people are afraid of it because of  pressure on them and the work demands.(concise language/the use of short sentences) But, it’s only way to change your life.  The only thing we should be aware is that everything is possible. Just be loyal to your dreams and hold your course. If you work hard, you will be at the top of a mountain – that is life. Just do the first step!

Challenge7


Hi there!
How often do you communicate with your neighbors? Are you afraid of asking them for help?
Today my challenge is to ring the neighbors’ doorbell and then ask them for some sugar.
Well, I was a bit nervous when I came to the door. For some seconds I hesitated to push the button of the doorbell. When I did it, I felt more nervous as I waited for someone to come. Then, a host appeared – it was a woman aged over 35 years in a dressing gown. She had little round face and as it seemed big kind eyes. I’ve never seen her before. Maybe, she was a newcomer or a relative, I still don’t know.
I said her good afternoon and asked for some sugar that I run out of (actually, I don’t). She was very kind to me that’s why my anxiety disappeared soon.  She smiled gently and brought a small plastic bag of it. I thanked her for helping. After this little conversation, I was cheerful and satisfied with myself.
Now I think it'd be great to make friends with her!

Thanks for reading:)


четверг, 13 декабря 2018 г.

Challenge 6


Today’s challenge is to initiate a conversation with a stranger while riding a bus.
It was evening, and I was going home after the lessons. The bus was filled up that’s why it was almost impossible to find some free space. Also, it was quite uncomfortable to start a conversation with anyone when you had to hold on tight to the handrail. Speaking about my feelings, I felt a bit embarrassing and scared to start the conversation with the young man standing next to me. He was busy with his mobile phone reading the news. First, I decided to start my conversation with a question and asked what the next stop is. He answered me quickly and was quite again. I tried to get him talking by saying “it’s cold today, isn’t it?”. He agreed with me and nodded his head. After that, I asked him about the news. His face brightened and he began retelling me what he had read.  
It was a pleasant experience. Maybe, the next time I’ll also start a conversation with anyone in the bus.  

Thank you for reading this😎

Challenge 10