Monday, October 29, 2012

How To Make Friends On The Internet?


Where To Make Friends
Part Two


How To Make Friends On The Internet?

Yesterday I forwarded the problem of making friends for middle-aged folks who had found themselves living in a new country, new city, in short, far from their birth nest.
Having traveled through a number of places of evident candidates for finding potential friends, I have peacefully arrived at the Internet.

Now, after having spent five years on the Internet, I may say that all Internet visitors are roughly divided onto two categories: those who show their faces names and addresses and the bigger part –who don’t do either of above mentioned.

They even don’t have names, just codes.

Anyway, to make friends at forums and newsgroups is real, provided you follow the rules. Some of them are:
1. Joint a discussion group, a forum or a newsletter.

2. In most of them you’ll be asked to tell about yourself. Do it.

3. Read carefully your fellow – writers’ mails.

4. Discover the writers working in the same or similar areas and contact them.

5. For a considerate reader, the character of their reply will display a lot. If you get a polite respond, bordering with the answer of auto responder, most probably this person just tries to be polite.

6. Important is also, if your new correspondent uses her Christian name or a nickname, weather communicates openly or strives to avoid naming herself.

7. Try to guess on the tone of a message weather the author is a man or a woman. The English tongue is sexless, so use your intuition, chiefly if you want to meet with a man-writer. A scarce, though.

8. Develop your relations very unhurriedly, stay away from bombarding your new acquaintance with more than one mail at a time.

9. Tell about yourself only when asked. Show your likes and dislikes cautiously.

10. You’ll be asked to criticize your friend’s stories. DON’T. Forestall this kind invitation saying that critiques are something you have never been good at.

11. You will also be asked personal questions. Answer shortly, avoid details. Respect you new friend time and patience.

12. Try to know something about your correspondent. We all love being asked about us. Ask only about something directly connected to the subject of her writings or trade.

13. Analyze the development of contacts, experiment with new subjects of your on-line friend’s possible interests. If you feel, that your relations do not have a tendency for progress, it might be wise to eliminate them and see how they will go.

14. The word of warning, if I may. Never use one text of message for a bunch of folks. You will most probably lose them all!

Well, I could have continued with the list of dos and don’ts, but try to find your way in it.

Instead of the Resume.
From my personal experience, I must confess that the Internet has been quite merciful to me, sending interesting, full of positive emotions people.
With them we exchange regularly e-mails, usual letters with photos and souvenirs.
One German guy with his family even came to me in Prague last year.

Keeping and developing good relations on the Internet demands your time, the most valuable we all have.
Invest yourself in your invisible Internet friendship and your life will always be full of joy and gladness.
George Rusky
georgerusky.net

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

How fast is your reaction?


One of the most effective ways to develop English-speaking skills, reaction and concentration of my students that I often use on my lessons is this.
The client/student hears the statement: "Czech beer is one of the best in Europe."Then I show her the table and say: "A-1", which means (see the table):
Support with a story that led to a similar result.
The student has a few seconds to think how she can support the statement.
She is not allowed just to say I agree/ that's right... but prove her opinion with several sentences.

As soon as she finishes, I give her another statement:
"Subway in Prague is a nightmare on Monday mornings!" and then immediately point at D-3 which is:
 Give advice to avoid a problem next time when a similar situation occurs

The student may offer to travel on Monday mornings by car.... Again, two-three sentences.I could give you more examples of using this method, but I think you get the point. -----


Resume. I have noticed that this drill has been extremely useful for the students who had gone thru this training.After a series of 7 drills they were able to react on various life situations fast, creatively and with much better English.Don't forget one important thing before you start using this method: equip your followers with an arsenal of words and expressions they might need for all language models in the table.
 George

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Introduction into English Grammar Tenses

Introduction into English Grammar Tenses

Video lesson.

                              To watch the video click here

Video script.
Hello and welcome to our video course
I am George Rusky and today I will tell you about English Grammar Tenses.

Dear Friends
There rare three basic groups of tenses: 
  • Past 
  • Present and 
  • Future, (as it is in many European languages )                                                                                 

In English each of these three has four grammar tenses.
Please, look at this:
  • Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect continuous tenses

Each of these groups, past, present and future has four tenses.


  • Past simple. Past continuous. Past perfect and Past perfect continuous
  • Present simple. Present continuous. Present perfect and Present perfect continuous
  • Future simple. Future continuous. Future perfect and Future perfect continuous

Altogether twelve grammar tenses.

In our first lesson I will tell you about the Present Simple tense with the verb to be.
Till next time
Bye-bye.
Georgerusky.net

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Where to make friends. 6 Places.


Making friends today is getting more difficult than ever before.
I’ve asked tens of my clients how and especially when they had made friends. From all my respondents about 70 % found their classmates at a basic school
About 11% agreed and added high schoolmates and university mates.
The next making friend institution was work, clubs, common trips, recreation activities, and the like.

This quick and amateurish survey won’t hold any serious critic, but even done unprofessionally, it gives a general overview of the subject of making friends.
Indeed, as we come back to the days of our childhood, we can agree, that the whole process of forming our buddies, was not at all complex.
Try to remember your first day at school. Wasn’t that the same?
After a while, some of the initial making friend’s steps had been remained and strengthened, while others went through some changes.

The end of the process of forming and developing close relations can be considered the graduation from the school. I believe that this period is the one that really makes friendship strong and long- living.
I’ve even met a couple of former classmates who then got married.

Most of my respondents agreed that university studies hadn’t brought much chances to make new friends.
Why?
Most probably, there’s not much that draw students together.
Lectures? Hardly so. Big auditorium, voluntarily attendance, individual tests.
Students have few chances to meet and become friends. Agree?

Work. Is it a good place to make friends?
Well, yes and no. First of all, who with?
The one who occupies the same position as you do? Possible.
Don’t forget, however, that in this competitive world everyone has a chance for a promotion, which may destroy good terms.
Your superior? Good, if only she doesn’t think you want to ‘dig a hole for her’
and overtake her position.
Your subordinate? If you are not scared of losing your ‘chair’.
Someone from another company, operating on the market in the same industry?
Forget it! You’ll be immediately figured out as a potential double agent.

So, what?
Are we doomed to die alone?
Almost so. Yet, there’s a slight ray of hope.
Consider these places where it is still possible to gain some acquaintances with the hope that they may become your friends.

1. Clubs.
This is where birds of the feather rub shoulders. Membership gives you, sort of guarantee that you may meet the one you’ve been looking for.

2. Education centers for learning new skills: language courses, writing courses, mountain climbing training, playing games and other activities where folks of similar interests go.

3. Church is another great place to meet nice people. In many congregations church-goers dine together, organize trips, visit exhibitions, discuss various life problems.

4. Dating agencies. I, personally, dislike this way of meeting new people and have no experience of that kind, but it looks these businesses are getting quite popular.

5. If you live abroad, cafés, restaurants run by your compatriots where English is spoken. Places full of potential, with lots of openings to meet someone.

6. Our list of making friends ‘establishments’ will definitely not be complete, if we pay no attention to the Internet, this ‘Monster’ of knowing all.

But, this is a topic of our next talk. Let’s call it:
”How To Make Friends On The Internet?”
So, till next time!
George Rusky

Thursday, October 18, 2012

12 steps for finding a great mentor


Today I will tell you how to find a mentor and what qualification a mentor of your dream should have.


First you have to determine clearly in which area of human expertise you would like to achieve top results and if you can do without help. To be successful we need

By going to people who are ahead of you in the personal or professional arena you can save months (maybe even years) and thousands of dollars to learn what you need to learn all by yourself. To be successful, we have to find people who have already paid the price to help us learn the things, that we need to learn to achieve our goals.

The mentors you choose should be people you respect, admire, and want to be like. The advice you seek should be guidance regarding your character and personality and specific ideas on how you can do your job better and faster. Remember, you can't figure it all out by yourself. You must have the help of others. You must find men and women who will guide you and advise you on the road of life, or you will take a long, long time getting anywhere.

So, for a good mentor-protégé relationship, you must be wide open to the influence and instruction of the other person, and at the same time, the mentor must be genuinely concerned about your well-being and your ultimate success. These are the two essentials.

Your ability to choose your mentors can be a crucial step toward achievement in all areas of your life. So here are 12 steps for building successful mentor-protégé relationships:

1) Set clear goals for yourself in every area of your life. Know exactly what you want to accomplish before you start thinking of the type of person who can help you accomplish it.

2) Determine the things you will have to do in order to achieve your goals, the obstacles you will have to overcome, and the roadblocks you will have to surmount.

3) Identify the areas of knowledge, skill, and expertise you will have to acquire in order to overcome the obstacles existing between you and your goals.

4) Look around for the most successful people in the areas in which you will need the most help.

5) Join the clubs, organizations, and business associations these people belong to.

6) Once you have joined these organizations, become actively involved and volunteer for responsibilities. This will bring you to the attention of the people you want to meet faster than anything else.

7) Work, study, and practice continually to get better and better at what you do. The very best mentors are interested in helping you only if they feel it is going to be worth their time. You will have no problem attracting people to you when you develop a reputation for being up-and-coming in your field.

8) When you find a potential mentor, don't make a nuisance of yourself. Instead, ask for 10 minutes of his or her time, in person, in private. Nothing more. Remember, most potential mentors are busy people, and they may be opposed to someone's trying to take up a lot of their time. It's not personal.

9) When you meet with a potential mentor, express your eager­ness to be more successful in your field. Tell him or her that you would very much appreciate a little guidance and advice to help you move ahead. Ask for an answer to a specific question, for a specific book or audio program recommendation, or for a specific idea that has been helpful to him or her in the past.

10) After the initial meeting, send a thank-you note expressing your gratitude and appreciation for his or her time and guidance. Mention that you hope to meet again if you have another question.

11) Each month, drop your mentor a short note telling him or her about what you are doing and how you are progressing. Nothing makes a mentor more open to helping you further than your making it clear that the previous help has done you some good.

12) Arrange to meet with your mentor again, perhaps on a monthly basis, or even more often if you work closely together.

Over the course of your life, you will have many mentor-protégé relationships. As you grow and develop, you will seek out different mentors, the people who can give you the kind of advice that is most relevant to your current situation.

Successful people are very open to helping other people who want to be successful. This is especially true if they know you are willing to be a mentor to others who are younger and less experienced than you. The more open you are to helping others up the ladder of success, the more open others will be to helping you.

George Rusky

Monday, October 15, 2012

What is your true calling?

“Every calling is great when greatly pursued.” Brian Tracy
“There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well. Walter Reuther:
“Each person has their own calling on this Earth.” Billy Ray Cyrus ( Am singer, author, country music)
                   Dear Readers,
                       I wonder if you ever thought why so many people are unhappy and unsuccessful. What is the true reason for that?
  I think the reason is only one: these people don’t discover their gifts and talents that were given to them By the Lord, as I believe, or the universe or the parents or whatever you may believe in.
In other words, they do not want to discover their true calling. What they are here for! What is their mission!
       They are not quite pleased with what others prepared for them and always complain about their bosses or their jobs. They repeat the same activities every day and hope that one day things will get better.
        One day, however, people who are not following their true callings begin to feel helpless. They feel that there is nothing they can do to change things.
         But your aim in life is to become everything you can become and enjoy full expression of your gifts and talents.
---------
 If you do, let’s move to another point of our topic:  how to get rid of the problem and entirely change the situation.
           Discover your true calling.
Answer the question: "what is it that I love doing, spending time with, enjoy going to, most of all?"
Success comes from being excellent at what you do.
And you are excellent at what you do only if and when you love it!
Remember: The market only pays excellent rewards for excellent performance. It pays average rewards for average performance and below-average rewards for below-average performance.
       All really successful and happy people know in their hearts that they are very good at what they do. If you are doing what you really love and enjoy doing, you will always try to become better at it, you will always want to develop your skills and finally become a superstar in your area of expertise.
        You will go to courses, buy books, go to see top performers in your business.
        You will have a constant desire to learn more about it.
want to join the top 10 percent of people in your field.
be willing to start a little earlier, work a little harder, and stay a little later.
        Very often people ask me how they can get better at what they are doing, more successful.
And I always ask them: do you do what you really love doing?
Most of my responders say: “I have to do something, to get money and, you know…I hope things will get better one day.”
No, they won’t.
Because average performance leads to average results.

       Find your true calling! 
       Some say: ”I’m not sure, I don’t know’
Then I recommend, ask someone you trust, they can help you to define what you are good at.
Remember, we you here to do something wonderful with your life.
       You have talents and abilities so many that you could never use them all even if you lived a thousand years. There are no limits on what you can be, have, or do if you find your true calling, and start doing it with you hear passion and will.
      And here’s the last point of my talk:  What you should do to become successful and happy:
1. On a sheet of paper write down the answer to this question: ”What is my true calling?”
2. Define what you have to do to start doing it
3. Go to it!
Wishing you best of success
George Rusky
www.georgerusky.net

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Improve You Business Performance with English For Business Communication Manual

Introduction into                                                                    English for Business Communication

    A concise Manual of Basic English                
   For English-Speaking Business Executives
         By George Rusky 

Introduction into
English for Business Communication.

There is nothing exceptionally new or unusual in the English language that business executives speak.
English is still English whatever subject of the talk you may choose.
Granted, there are some communicative formulas that business executives use on their meetings, presentations, negotiations and if you want to become a successful English-speaking businessman, you should learn and practice these formulas regularly.
          In this report I have collected the most frequently repeated words and expressions that are used by business executives around the world, the phrases I have heard on business meetings, negotiations, presentations, etc.
           Dear readers,
   Armed with an arsenal of business communication tools included in this report you will be able to 
speak English with your business partners without any problems at all.

George Rusky

Contents

Introduction. 
General phrases for socializing                           

Part One. 
Chairing a Business Meeting.                                                                        
Part Two. 
Useful Phrases Used During Business Negotiations.  

Part Three. 
Business Language phrases for Presentations.         

Part Four. 
Telephoning                                               

Conclusion                                                                     1
--------------------------
To read the Manual
send me an email: georgerus@volny.cz



Tuesday, October 09, 2012

How to Become a Good Listener. Five Rules.


How to Become a Good Listener.
Listening is an active process. Here are some rules how you can become a better listener.
Rule number One.
Ask questions. Be the master of asking questions.
And never say you are asking because you are curious as the majority of my
conversationalists do.
Ask questions because you want to find out what your potential client wishes
to hear.
       Develop your art of asking good, well formed questions that will lead
you in the direction you want and at the same time, help people to express
themselves.
The best questions are the ones I call ‘wh’ questions: what, why, when,
where, who…”
In short the questions that need more than just:’ yes-no’ answers.
So, become a master of asking questions.

Rule number Two.
"Don’t interrupt"
How often we hear this: "Don’t interrupt, let me finish…"
It’s impolite in everyday, casual talks, it’s a ‘must not’ in business talks.
Do not interrupt a potential client, let her dominate the talk!
Go on with the conversationalist with nodding, showing your interest in any
ways you can think of trying occasionally direct smoothly the talk to the
destination you plan.

Rule number Three.
Define the key points of the story you hear.While listening, define what the biggest concern of your conversationalist and re-ask her what she has said, but say that in your own words.
It’s a very powerful tool of listening that shows better than anything else that you are
interested in what you hear.
Use the following short questions:

  1. "If I understood you correctly, you…?"
  2. 2. "Let me check whether I understood well what you have said…?" 
  3. "Do you mean to say that…?"
  4. "Or, the favorite question of Brian Tracy:  “How do you mean it?"

When you repeat the information correctly, the other person will be pleased
with her ability to explain and your skill of understanding all in the way that
it had been said.

Rule number Four.  Hold on!
Whenever you feel like adding something or trying to encourage your fellow
speakers, resist the temptation to do so. I have noticed that very often
instead of helping them to move on in the direction we want, they ‘jump’ into
another topic or just endlessly try to explain their point differently and fail to
find the right words and examples for it.
Be careful with providing this kind of support.

 Rule number Five.
Practice the three above described rules.
Yes, exactly so: "Take action!"
It’s never enough to be familiar with what should be done and how it must
be done. The crucial element of any activity is DOING.
Armed with the best possible knowledge of any existing subject, a man will
never become wealthy if he only enjoys his profound knowledge.
He must sell his knowledge, exchange his knowledge for another product.
So, take action!

George Rusky
Georgerusky.net

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Listening-Understanding English vs Speaking English

                                                                                  Русский язык
How many times you have heard the following phrase:
“I understand completely what he is saying but…
I cannot speak.”
Whenever I hear this statement of regret, I am always surprised by naivety of those people who say that.
Why?
Because listening and understanding are the skills standing very far from the skill of speaking.

Think for a moment of watching Rafael Nadal playing tennis.
Do you not understand how he hits the ball or how he moves on the court?
Or NBA super star Michal Jordan?
Do not you understand how he attacks a basket?
On the contrary, all is clear as day light.

One thing is forgotten, though.
You know what it is?
How many hours champions spend daily with practicing the same skills?  
Interested?
Eight-ten hours and more!
And scores of learners of English hardly spend two hours a week for English and want to become good speakers of English?
No way!

Almost every week someone asks me how she can start speaking good English?
I always ask her back what she thinks about practicing English every day for an hour or so.
Nine out of ten asked respondents normally answer negatively.
With such an attitude, will any one be able to speak good English?
Very often I say to my students something like this:
“You know, Martina, what is the difference between you, an English-speaking girl from Prague and an American girl of your age?
You listen, read, speak and write English 2 hours a week when you come to my lessons, and she listens, reads, speaks and writes English 10-14 hours a day.”
After such a resume, my listener feels discouraged and doomed to develop her English endlessly.

However, not all is so bad.
Here’s my business offer to every one who wants to speak good English.
First, ask yourself the following questions:

  • “How badly do I want to speak English?”
  • “How fast do I want to start speaking good English?”
  • “How much am I ready to pay to become a good speaker of English?”
As soon as you answer these three simple questions, e-mail me and I will send you a detailed plan how you can become a good speaker of English.
George Rusky



Friday, October 05, 2012

Seven Benefits of English Learning Drills.


Drills as a method of better speaking English is hard to overestimate.
Even though this approach has gained less popularity among practicing teachers I had a pleasure to meet, I strongly believe it is one of the most powerful and effective methods of developing English communicative skills.
Let me show you how it works.

A student is sitting in front of the teacher and the latter starts the recording with the following phrase:
“Do you ever go to the theatre on Mondays?”
Another recorded voice adds:” Never”
A student then at once reacts:
“I never go to the theater on Mondays,” just to hear the right recorded answer that follows almost immediately after the student’s phrase.
Next question is shot immediately:
“Last Saturday?”
“I went to the theater last Saturday,” answers the drilled.
And so on.
You can record as many sentences on this pattern as you wish on all possible grammar tenses and word combination, in both active and passive voices.
The set of drills and the time depend on the level of the student.

What are the benefits of drilling? There are seven of them:
  1. A learner is forced to concentrate fully on the question.
  2. She hears the right version of the reply right after her answer.
  3. A trainee learns how to react quickly on the question.
  4. A learner works under time pressure: she’s got only a few seconds for the reply.
  5. A student is completely focused on the process of training, no time to relax.
  6. A student is able to imitate correct pronunciation of English.
  7. A trainee develops a good speed of speaking without spending much time on trying to find the right words and appropriate grammar construction.
Dear learners of English.
When I discovered the magic power of drills in English learning and started using them with those of my students who were smart enough to agree with this system, all of them had made significant improvement in all areas of English language communication.
Try the method of drilling and you will see good results in no time!
George Rusky
To know more about leaning English,
click: Georgerusky.net

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

The ' War ' of Tenses



Which English Grammar tense is the most important for us?

                  As you perhaps know, there are 12 grammar tenses in English:
Four past, four present and four future grammar tenses.
( To revise all, ask for my free e-book Discover the Secrets of Learning English Grammar Tenses)
I guess the frequency of used tenses depends entirely on our thoughts which could be about past, present or future. I, for one, more think about present and especially future: that’s where I am going to spend the rest of my days, therefore in my daily activities most often used tenses are present simple to describe what I do regularly, present perfect to tick what has been done, present continuous to plan future intentions and future simple to change plans if something unplanned occurs.
 Ok, how about conditionals?
There are four of them-zeroone –two- three conditionals.
How often do you say, for instance: “If I were/ had/could, I would….”?
 Why to regret about something that had never happened and then to daydream about something that might have been but never came into being?
Is that worth doing?!

Try to use zero and first conditionals for they are about present and future.
OK, just a few thoughts to share with you.
Thank you for reading.
Till next time in the air :-)

George

Monday, October 01, 2012

Future Belongs to Askers


Asking questions in English might cause a serious complication for those students of English who has never been taught how to do so.

No worries!
Here’s how you can develop a skill of asking great questions and enjoy listening to the answers.

First, let us define the categories of questions

Question one:Yes/no question. The one you answer either ‘yes’or ‘no’
e.g. Do you live in Prague?
Yes, I do. No,I don’t

Question Two: Special question. The one/ones asked with special question words:
What
When
Where
Why
How
Who
e.g. Where do you live?

Question Three. Alternative question. The one asked with the word ‘or’
e.g. Are you learning English or German?

Question Four. Tag question. The one asked with the ending after a coma.
e.g. You speak English, don’t you.

Now , here’s a question to you: “Which one is the simplest to ask?”
Surely, yes/no question.

So, if it is true, then let me offer you my system of practicing all kinds of questions.
You start with an affirmative sentence, e.g.

I go to work every day.
Yes/no: Do you go to work every day?

To ask special questions, you have to put question words in front of the yes/no question:
When         do you go to work?  
Where       do you go every day?
Why          do you go to work every day?

A bit different with ‘What’: What do you do every day?

More different with ‘Who’:
Who goes to work every day?  
 (not ‘go’! When ‘who’ is used in the question, we always put a singular form of the verb) 

With ‘how’ we use an adverb of frequency:
How often/seldom/ many times, etc. (for example) and then the same continuation:
How often do you go to work?

Always start with yes/no question. As soon as you have asked yes/no question, then follow my recommendations and you will be on the right track of becoming masters of asking questions.
 Remember: future belongs to askers!

So, ask questions!
Cheers