Building self-confidence is the key to Leadership. When in sixth grade, my shy, soft-spoken, niece Katie approached me and asked me the best way how to learn to speak and write Japanese to add captions to her Japanese action cartoon characters that she liked to draw. I told her to take and learn martial arts. Taking martial arts over the next six years, Katie built her martial arts proficiency and self-confidence to do anything that she decided to do and it helped her excel in both her school studies and other outside extracurricular activities. As a result, she has become a super-achiever leader… way, way beyond most women her own age.
8 of the best Spanish Idioms
No se pueden pedirle peras al olmo
you cannot ask an elm for pears
In short: you cannot ask the impossible.
Si mi abuela tuviera ruedas seria una bicicleta
If my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bicycle
This means if things happened differently, they would be different, so it’s silly to even suggest it.
Pájaro que comió, voló
bird that ate, bird that flew
A lovely phrase we don’t really have an English version of – it means a person who eats and then rushes off.
Al pan pan, y al vino vino
call bread bread, wine wine
A much more appetising way of saying call a spade a spade, as in to state something exactly as it is.
Mucho ruido y pocas nueces
a lot of noise, and very few nuts.
Meaning a lot of fuss, not much actual action. There could be a few English versions of this – much ado about nothing, or maybe all mouth no trousers are two contenders.
Al mal tiempo buena cara
To bad weather good face
This means if life gets tough, stay happy – a bit like the English if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Poco a poco
little by little
The English equivalent might be ‘one step at a time’.
Más perdido que un pulpo en un garaje
More lost than an octopus in a garage.
We saved the best until last – this phrase means to not have a clue.
Explore more Spanish with an online program of flexible Spanish Courses and soon you’ll be using these phrases like a native. And remember to add any Spanish idioms you’ve come across in the comments – we’d love to see them.
5 tips to help you avoid awkward networking
Networking is a fundamental part of building a career, but it can be a daunting prospect introducing yourself to strangers.
Yet the challenge is worth overcoming; successful working relationships can help you move companies, grow new skills or even bring in new business. To help you on your way, we’ve got 5 top tips to avoid the sweaty-palms and nervous chatter of awkward networking events.
- Do your research
If you’re going to an event, research it. Try to find out who will be there, so you’re aware of who you might like to approach and who might interest you. You may also find that there are people there who you’ve met before, which will help to ease you into conversations.
- Arrive on time
You don’t want to arrive too early – being one of only a few people standing in a large space is always uncomfortable. But equally, you don’t want to arrive too late or you will feel the pressure of having to walk into a crowded room, whilst figuring out where to place yourself and who to talk to.
- Balance the conversation
If the thought of talking a lot makes you feel nervous then find ways to balance your conversations; ask open-ended questions that encourage the other person to talk, so that awkward silences are kept to a minimum. If you’re feeling a little unconfident then playing the listener will give you time to step back, relax and consider what you want to say next. It also leaves a good impression.
- Take a break
At a busy and potentially long networking event it is perfectly acceptable to take a break. Even the most experienced and confident networkers will want some time to escape the room. Don’t wear yourself out, else you might find yourself not paying attention to people. Find some space outside for fresh air, get a drink and use the time to reflect on how things are going, so that when you re-enter, you feel ready.
- Don’t be too serious
Networking is your chance to sell yourself and expand your horizons, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be dull. Share some anecdotes or appropriate jokes, and have a laugh with other people in the room – everyone knows it’s a little bit awkward.
Want to learn more networking? Join Business Fundamentals: Effective Networking. Or if you’re looking to develop your communications more generally, have a look at our Communication skills courses and programs page.
Open, online CPD: supporting different modes of study
Matt Cornock, Online CPD Coordinator at the National STEM Learning Centre writes about supporting different modes of study and designing online courses with extended availability in mind.
Online CPD courses from the National STEM Learning Centre encourage learners to actively participate, explore ideas together and take the time to reflect on their practice. An increasing number of learners are joining later, into the extended availability period, and are not able to draw upon our expert educators and mentor support. From our research, we’ve found that these learners are less likely to contribute to course discussions and so are missing out on a valuable learning process for professional development.
To address this, we’ve embedded a number of approaches which enable late starters to draw upon the social learning experience. For example, mentor video diaries and educator recordings help learners find their way through the course discussions, highlighting key learning points and issues within specific contexts that may resonate with them. We also convey the value of active learning with tasks that learners can do independently, such as self-audits, reflective writing and practice-based activities.
The flexibility of online CPD empowers our learners to decide how and when they study. We are open about when our mentors are available, to allow learners to choose what form of study they wish to engage with. Whilst learners could join the next mentor-supported run, they may choose to take a course together with colleagues to draw upon an immediate, offline, peer network. It’s clear that our course designs should continually evolve and be flexible, so that all our learners feel supported in their development journey.
Further details in: Engagement in MOOCs by pre-prepared vs just-in-time learners
Category
Research insights
Behind the Scenes at the Royal Palaces: Meet Lord Onslow
Bringing history to life on screen isn’t always easy, especially with something as visceral as food and feasting. To help people experience dining at court in way that’s truly vivid we used ‘historical interpreters’ who appear in a cameo role each week. So, what does it take to transform into a historic figure? We thought we’d ask Past Pleasures interpreter TJ Holmes, who played the part of Lord Onslow, a great favourite in the court of King George I, who had a reputation for being a good drinker and a lover of chocolate, a popular food in the Georgian period that was associated with power and kingship (get a sneak peak of Lord Onslow with his personal account of life at Georgian Court).
Reading Open Online Courses (OOC) team: TJ, can you tell us how you became involved in Past Pleasures?
TJ: I applied to join PP’s team of interpreters at a period when the company were seeking new recruits for the reopening of Dover Castle. Henry II’s Great Tower there had just been given a superb medieval makeover, so I arrived at an exciting time.
OOC team: We made A History of Royal Food and Feasting to bring the changing tastes of successive generations of royalty and the splendour of their palaces to a broader audience and the learners who have taken previous runs of the course commented that Lord Onslow ‘brings history alive’. Why do you think historical interpretation is such an effective way to share history?
TJ: Thank you, learners! It’s easy to think of history as the stuff of dusty old books, and books are of course key to its exploration. In trying to breathe life back into it, though, historical interpretation strives to give audiences a more vital and sensory understanding of the past. And, for those who visit sites and experience live historical interpretation, it is wonderfully immersive and interactive too.
OOC team: What’s it like filming in costume in the places where history happened, such as Hampton Court Palace? How did this add to your performance?
TJ: It’s a treat and a privilege. Past Pleasures pride themselves on the historical accuracy of their costumes, and wearing them at a site like Hampton court, which is so richly steeped in history, does make you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. It certainly elevates your performance! And the clothing and location are, of course, prime resources for interpretation.
OOC team: What other historical figures do you play?
TJ: I have played a rebek-wielding troubadour, a dung-spattered medieval zoo-keeper, an assortment of mail-suited knights, a highwayman, a counterfeiter, Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys, the ever-popular Judge Jeffreys and many more. Variety certainly is the spice of life!
OOC team: Can you describe Lord Onslow to us in a sentence?
TJ: A courtier and bon viveur who likes to think of himself as a bit of a raconteur.
OOC team: How did you prepare for the Lord Onslow piece?
TJ: I was provided with a resource pack by Past Pleasures which I duly gobbled up and supplemented with some further reading. I then tried to find the most palatable way of getting the most important and interesting parts of my research across. This meant trying to find a through-line so that ideas followed one another in a fluid and conversational manner. It’s also helpful to stay open to what happens in the moment, though, and to benefit from the director’s guidance.
OOC team: Your performance of Lord Onslow is very charismatic and amusing – what was the thought process behind this portrayal?
TJ: Thank you kindly! His status within the court naturally informed the heightened level of etiquette and his cut-glass accent, and, whilst it’s hard to say precisely how our forebears would have sounded, there are period writings that provide excellent insights on matters of etiquette. Then we always try to inject some humour into proceedings to give the ball of learning a bit of extra bounce; the unofficial Past Pleasures motto is from William Schwenck Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame): “I can trick you into learning with a laugh”.
OOC team: You wear a magnificent wig in the video. How heavy was it? What is your favourite part of the costume?
TJ: Wigs can be quite heavy and hot, but hasn’t it always been the way that you must suffer for your style! I love the clothing of this period, especially the waisted coats which, like the stockings and britches, are tailored to fit the male form. It’s a refreshing change from today’s fashion for men which often favours concealing the figure.
OOC team: And finally, do you like chocolate as much as Lord Onslow?
TJ: I’d challenge him to a chocolate-swilling duel any day!
Want to meet TJ in character as Lord Onslow, and explore all things royal food? Join A History of Royal Food and Feasting today.
Courses the Coursera Team Loves
Jon W. Software Engineer
“Learning How to Learn from McMaster University and UC San Diego is one of the best courses, because it’s a great example of what Coursera has to offer! It’s a great way to prepare you for studying topics of all kinds on Coursera –– it’s meta like that.”
Jenny W. Product Manager
“Effective Altruism from Princeton is a great course for anyone who’s interested in becoming a more ethical person and who’s considering what it means to live an ethical life.”
Jade W. Learner Services Manager
“Leadership Through Social Influence from Northwestern University is my most recent course, and I’ve been recommending it to friends. Professor O’Keefe’s lectures are really engaging and interesting. I also had a great time taking Modern & Contemporary American Poetry from the University of Pennsylvania. That course has built an incredible community, and it was inspiring to join such a kind, dedicated, diverse group of people. It was a fun challenge for me to read, interpret, and write about poetry, as that’s not something I’m used to doing.”
Kyle C. Enterprise Content Expert
“The Executive Data Science Specialization from John Hopkins University was incredibly helpful in giving me baseline knowledge of what data science is and how it works. Giving Helpful Feedback from the University of Colorado Boulder was immediately applicable in my work; Digital Transformation from the University of Virginia helped me think about how to advise our customers, who are being digitally disrupted in their own markets; and Business Metrics for Data Driven Companies from Duke University was a great refresher on my early consulting days. What’s next for me? I’m currently working on Managing Big Data with MySQL from Duke University and Introduction to Public Speaking from the University of Washington.”
Alexandra U. Teaching & Learning Specialist
“I took so many courses, it’s hard to choose just a few to recommend! I really enjoyed A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment from the Indian School of Business because the videos were engaging and interactive. The instructor beautifully intertwined anecdotes and stories with research insights, making his video lectures interesting and applicable to real life. I also liked Python for Everybody from the University of Michigan because it gives you such great coverage of the basics and by the end of the Specialization, you’re writing complex programs that integrate with SQL and outputting fancy visualizations. The assignments were fantastic and completing them was immensely gratifying! But don’t just take it from me — find what interests YOU and dive in.”
Abigail H. Learner Services Strategist
“I recommend Project Management from UC Irvine. It’s a very practical course with interesting presentations. The ideas I learned were immediately applicable to my work.”
Sabah B. University Partnerships
“I’m a learner first and foremost, so I’ve taken quite a few courses throughout the years — even before I joined the Coursera team! I was in marketing and communications and had my own consulting business previously, so I focused on courses that taught me about business development and entrepreneurship. A couple that stood out for me were Excel Skills for Business Specialization by Macquarie University and Data-driven Decision Making by PricewaterhouseCoopers.”
Devon B. Talent Team
“I’m taking Learning How to Learn from McMaster University and UC San Diego! It covers the fundamentals of how your brain works and processes information. I’m also excited to have started taking Design Thinking for Innovation from the University of Virginia over the holiday break. A course that has been useful in my work is Successful Negotiation from the University of Michigan. It helped me improve my negotiating skills for when I’m communicating with hiring managers, agencies, and candidates.”
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Have you taken any of these courses? Do you have ones you’d recommend our team to take this year? Share your #CourseToSuccess with us on social media.
3 Things You Can Do To Start Moving Forward
Jan 31, 2019
By Maria T.
Life doesn’t always go smoothly. There are ups and downs, backward steps, and sometimes no movement at all. Every now and then, something happens that really throws you, something that makes it kind of hard to concentrate or start moving on with your life. And even if nothing terribly bad has come your way, sometimes it just feels like not many positive things have happened for you lately, or even for a while.
Whatever the reason, sometimes everyone wants to get some sense of forward movement. The good news is, there are simple things you can do to make this happen. Not everything in life is in our control, but some things are. Here’s three simple actions that can make a positive difference, and allow you to start moving forward.
1. Join A Social Group
Interacting with new people who share a hobby with you is a great way to invite some change into your life. Whether you’re interested in football, art, board games, reading, even just online gaming, there is probably someone in your town who shares that interest. And if there isn’t, there are countless online forums where you can discuss your interests and discover people who share them with you. Start or join a group in your local area or online, and see where it leads.
2. Start A Fitness Routine
People who don’t have a fitness routine often think that exercise is just about getting in shape. While of course exercise is great for your health, putting together a fitness routine is about more than that. A daily or even just twice weekly routine can activate you in a way that makes the rest of your day and week a lot easier. A good routine should leave you feeling ready for your day, more capable, more productive, and more energised. This can really help get you out a slump and start moving forward in your life.
3. Set Great Goals
It doesn’t particularly matter what your goals are, so long as they are meaningful to you. Setting goals gives you something to work towards, a sense of achievement, a feeling of control, and can help you organise your week and make worthwhile career plans. Sometimes it can be difficult to set the right goals, so check out this advice on how to choose the best goals for you.
By taking one or more of these steps, you can start moving forward and enter a new routine. This can be a great little boost for anyone feeling like life hasn’t been going so positively lately, or who just wants to make a change. So give it a go, you never know where it might take you.
Author: Alison Marketing
How You Organise Your Desk Says A Lot About You
Jan 28, 2019
By Aminata O.
Whether it’s at work or in your home, there is probably a desk in your life somewhere. Most people never even think about the way they arrange and treat their desk. But these little subconscious habits of ours are actually really revealing. How you organise your desk can say a lot about you, what you enjoy, what you don’t, and what you care about.
Take a look at your desk. What do you see? Photos of family? A plant? A pile of papers? Nothing at all? How are these things arranged? And what does it all mean?! Without getting too psychological, here’s a couple of desk styles and what they say about you (or the people around you!)
1. A total mess
Papers are everywhere. Notes are scribbled on top of other notes. Pens are located more by feel than by sight. The drawers are overflowing. Maybe you know where everything is (most of the time) but anyone who dares to look at your desk would struggle to spot your file storage system. This might not bother you at all, but every now and then you may feel the urge to become a little more organised. In the meantime, don’t lose your stuff in all that clutter!
2. Everything in straight lines
Not a single pen is out of place, almost everything is stored in neatly arranged filing boxes, and everything on the desk is parallel to everything else. You are as tidy and organised as possible. While this can be a great thing, it can also be a source of stress. If you feel a little anxious sometimes, relax, maybe try a little yoga, and remember that sometimes it’s just not worth focusing on small stuff so much.
3. A blank space
Looking at your desk, you see…nothing. No flowers, no old notes, no filing boxes or pen holders. And why should you? All you really need is your screen and maybe a pen and paper. You’re the kind of person who gets straight to the point and doesn’t mess around. You’re always maximising efficiency, and you enjoy knowing how to prioritise your time so you can focus more on the important stuff, like actually working.
4. Memories everywhere
Here’s a photo of your first cat. There’s a shell you found on a beach in Mexico. Here’s a trophy from a sports day you competed in when you were six. Your desk is a little collection of all your best memories and you can’t wait to collect some more. You’ve got a visual, creative spirit and imagination, and you’ve probably got a hidden talent for photography. Keep filling up your space with great memories, just make sure you leave some space on your desk for doing some work.
No matter how you organise your desk, it probably somehow reflects one of your unique characteristics that makes you you. Now, try not to get caught spying on other people’s desks!
Author: Alison Marketing
Weekly Digest #132: Dual Coding, Visual Note Taking, and Sketchnoting
1. To Remember a Lecture Better, Take Notes by Hand by Robinson Meyer via The Atlantic
Why should you take notes by hand? If you can’t imagine going without your laptop, or asking your students to go without theirs, then this interview with Mueller and Oppenheimer may change your mind. Mueller and Oppenheimer tell the story behind their research comparing note taking by hand and note taking on a laptop.
2. Tips & Tools to Improve Student Notetaking Skills by Curtis Chandler via MiddleWeb
One of the reasons note taking by hand can be superior to taking notes on a laptop is that it allows for a wider range of note taking strategies. Particularly, strategies that allow for doodling and visuals. This article reviews some of the research behind note taking and how to use different methods in the classroom.
Have You Forgotten Your Childhood?
By Yana Weinstein
Imagine if I asked you this question: “Are there large parts of your childhood after age 5 that you cannot remember?”. How would you answer: Yes, or no? Are you sure? And what might influence your answer? (Note that the “after age 5” part is important, because most of us do not remember much prior to that age).
It turns out that your answer to this rather straightforward question might flip-flop, and can easily be influenced by what you had been thinking about just prior to being asked. A group of researchers set out to see whether they could influence people’s judgments of their own childhood memory by giving them a retrieval task before asking the question above (1).
The method was very straightforward: Participants simply attempted to retrieve some childhood memories, and then answered the question about whether there were large parts of their childhood after age 5 that they could not remember. In the easy retrieval condition, participants tried to write about 4 different childhood memories: two from age 5-7, and two more from age 8-10. In the difficult retrieval condition, participants instead tried to write about 12 different childhood memories – six from each of the two time-periods, instead of only two.
The majority of participants were able to complete the retrieval task, regardless of whether they were asked to retrieve 4 or 12 childhood memories (the 8.5% of participants who didn’t quite get to 12 childhood memories in the time allotted were removed from analyses). But even for those who successfully retrieved 12 memories, the experience left them much less confident about their own memories. When asked the question “Are there large parts of your childhood after age 5 that you cannot remember?”, 46% of participants who had just successfully retrieved 12 different childhood memories said yes, compared to only 19% of participants who had just successfully retrieved 4 childhood memories!
This results was published 20 years ago, and yet, I still find it amazingly powerful. Not only is it so easy to manipulate what we think about our own memories, but it’s also a somewhat counterintuitive result: after all, participants who retrieved 12 childhood memories actually produced more information about their childhoods than did those who only retrieved 4 childhood memories – and yet, they are now less confident in how well they remember their childhoods.
How does this apply to leaning? The finding suggests that the more students are asked to retrieve, the less confidence they will have in their own memory for the subject – even when they are successfully retrieving. Of course, this does not mean we should discourage students from practicing retrieval! In the same paper, the authors found an easy fix: simply telling participants, before they started retrieving the 12 childhood memories, that people typically found this task difficult mostly neutralized the negative impact of the task on their confidence: in this case, only 27% of participants claimed to have forgotten large parts of their childhood (compared to 46% in the version where they were not warned that the task was difficult). Applying this back to education, it seems important to keep reminding students that retrieval practice is hard for everyone, and having to make an effort to retrieve doesn’t mean that their memory of a subject is poor.
References:
(1) Winkielman, P., Schwarz, N., & Belli, R. F. (1998). The role of ease of retrieval and attribution in memory judgments: Judging your memory as worse despite recalling more events. Psychological Science, 9, 124-126.
