Asserting Yourself Effectively
November 11th, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments Off
GMP Inspectors Training
Communications Skills in English
Sherry Li, Pharmacist
Taiwan Biotech Pharmacy
November 14th, 2011
A Glimpse at Asia
Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth’s total surface area (or 30% of its land area) and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world’s current human population. Asia differs very widely among and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia
China
China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers. The People’s Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China (CPC). The PRC exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau. Its capital city is Beijing.
The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, have their sources in the Tibetan Plateau and continue to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China’s coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometer long (the 11th-longest in the world), and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas.
The ancient Chinese civilization—one of the world’s earliest—flourished in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. China’s political system was based on hereditary monarchies, known as dynasties, beginning with the semi-mythological Xia of the Yellow River basin (approx. 2000 BC) and ending with the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. The Republic of China (ROC), founded in 1912 after the overthrow of the Qing, ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949. In the 1946–1949 phase of the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communists defeated the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang) on the mainland and established the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949.
The Kuomintang relocated the ROC government to Taiwan with its capital in Taipei. The ROC’s jurisdiction is now limited to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and several outlying islands. Since then, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (subsequently became known as “Taiwan”) have remained in dispute over the sovereignty of China and the political status of Taiwan, mutually claiming each other’s territory and competing for international diplomatic recognition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan’s name mean “sun-origin”, which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
The four largest islands of Japan are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku. Japan has the world’s tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II, which was brought to an end in 1945 by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. According to both UN and WHO estimates, Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in the world. According to the UN, it has the third lowest infant mortality rate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
South Korea
The Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People’s Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China (Taiwan) to the south. South Korea lies in a humid continental and humid subtropical climate region with a predominantly mountainous terrain. South Korea has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10,421,782.
At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into North and South Korea. After the invasion of South Korea by forces from the North on 25 June 1950, the resulting war between the two Koreas ended, but the border between the two nations is the most heavily fortified in the world. After the war, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country had transformed into a major economy, a full democracy, and a regional power in East Asia.
South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of sixteen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living. It is Asia’s fourth largest economy. The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; the People’s Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east.
The Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence which was marked by non-violent resistance and led by Mahatma Gandhi.
India is one of the fastest-growing major economies. It is considered a newly industrialized country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and inadequate public health. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India
Southeast Asia
South-East Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions: Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia, and Maritime Southeast Asia, which is analogous to the Malay Archipelago, comprises Brunei, East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, Christmas Island and Singapore.
Geographically Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are sometimes grouped in the Southeast Asia subregion, although such grouping is rare politically, since in political usage the definition of Southeast Asia is overshadowed by ASEAN memberships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia
The Successful Negotiation(win-win negotiation strategies)www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLz53M-n9uQ
Diffusing Verbal Criticism(Learn a 5-step process to respond effectively to verbal criticism)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXb3gQ5LoXY
Motivational coach speeches from basketball movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4f-L7-5hsw
Asserting Yourself Effectively
Assertive people feel free to express their feelings, thoughts, and desires. Assertive people are able to initiate and maintain comfortable relationships with other people. Assertive people know their rights. Assertive people have control over their anger. This does not mean that assertive people repress their feeling; it means that they control anger and talk about it in a reasoning manner. Assertive people are willing to compromise with others, rather than always wanting their own way and tend to have good self-esteem.
Assertiveness is a way of thinking and behaving that allows a person to stand up for his or her rights while respecting the rights of others. Nonassertive people may be passive or aggressive. Passive individuals are not committed to their own rights and are more likely to allow others to infringe on their rights than to stand up and speak out. On the other hand, aggressive persons are very likely to defend their own rights and work to achieve their own goals but are also likely to disregard the rights of others. Additionally, aggressive individuals insist that their feelings and needs take precedence over other people’s. They also tend to blame others for problems instead of offering solutions.
Assertive attitudes and behaviors are at the heart of effective communication. A person with an assertive attitude recognizes that each individual has rights. These rights include not only legal rights but also rights to individuality, to have and express personal preferences, feelings and opinions. The assertive individual not only believes in his or her rights but is committed to preserving those rights.
An assertive attitude is important in recognizing that rights are being violated. The passive person is so concerned with being liked and accepted that he or she may never recognize the need to advocate. The assertive person clearly expresses his or her rights or needs. They tend to face problems promptly and they focus on solutions rather than problems.
Assertive listening goals are: (1) to let the other know that you want to understand his or her point of view; (2) to understand accurately what another is saying; and (3) to let the other know that he or she has been understood. Understanding is different from agreement. We can understand what another is saying but still disagree with him or her.
With nonverbal behaviors we communicate who we are and how we feel.
1. Eye contact. Eye contact means looking directly at another, focusing on his or her eyes. Direct eye contact is assertive. Maintaining eye contact while the other is speaking shows your interest in listening. There are times when you will want to minimize eye contact while others are speaking, perhaps to avoid revealing your reaction to what is said or to give you time to think. When this occurs, concentrate on note taking since this also gives the impression that you are listening.
2. Posture. The moment you walk into a room, your posture and carriage communicate messages about your confidence, how you expect to relate to others, your energy level and emotional state. An erect and relaxed posture while standing and sitting communicates confidence, self-control, energy and an expectation that you be taken seriously. When sitting, leaning forward slightly communicates interest and a sense of purpose. Leaning back communicates disinterest or disagreement. Crossing your arms and legs suggests a tense and closed attitude while uncrossed arms and legs suggests a relaxed and open attitude.
3. Facial expression. We say a lot through our facial expressions. Our face tells others the degree to which we are alert, interested, in agreement, or relaxed. It reveals the types of emotions we feel. It is best to keep your facial expression as neutral as possible.
4. Gestures. Gestures can be used to accentuate and support your message or to distract and discredit. If you have trouble controlling nervous and fidgety movements, channel your nervous energy by taking notes. Hand and arm movements can be used to emphasize what you say. Do not emphasize everything, however. Keep your gestures relaxed, fluid and moderate in size. Gestures which are too large make you look grandiose while gestures which are too small make you look nervous.
5. Dress Code. Whether we like it or not how we dress affects credibility. It also affects how we feel. Being extremely overdressed or underdressed in relation to others makes most people uncomfortable. Dress appropriate to the situation. If you do not know how to dress for a particular situation, ask questions of people who should know such things. The way in which you dress carries distinct messages about power. When dressing for business it is best to dress neatly, conservatively and as professionally as possible.
6. Tone of Voice. There are many aspects of voice that affect the impact your words have on others. The most important of these and the easiest to control are loudness and speed. Nervousness can make us speak too softly to be heard or so loudly that we distract from our message. Speak loudly and slowly enough to be heard and understood. It is also important to control how you end your sentences. Raising the pitch of your voice at the end of a sentence makes the sentence sound like question. A slight lowering of pitch at the end of a sentence makes it sound like a statement. Make your statements sound like statements in order to strengthen your message.
Writing in English (for ESL learners, to learn the skill of writing in English)
Writing is the 4th of the four language skills, and usually the one that we learn last, listening, speaking, reading, writing. Keep in mind, the English alphabet (Aa Bb Cc…), use of large letters (Capitals), spelling rules, punctuation, sentence variety, peer editing, plagiarism. Join a creative writing forum to practice writing at a coffeehouse in your neighborhood.
The Magic Seven Elements of Better Writing
1. Better writing is an extension of you, think what you want to say, why you’re writing, what you want to communicate
2. Better writing is clear, Reading makes a full man, but writing makes an exact man ~Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
3. Better writing has good grammar and spelling
4. Better writing considers your audience
5. Better writing is patient, writing is a process. Don’t expect to sit down and create a masterpiece overnight.
6. Better writing involves reading widely, reading takes time. There is no short cut to success.
7. Better writing chooses a good place and time to write
Twelve steps are: 1. start strong (a catchy title, a hook—opening of the article, a provocative opening sparks curiosity); 2. use strong nouns; 3. employ strong verbs; 4. use simple words; 5. use some glue (make your ideas stick together, transitions as first,however, on the other hand, and apply the rule of three; 6. cut clutter; 7. practice parallelism / adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, phrases, clauses; 8. produce powerful punctuation; 9. vary sentence lengths & patterns; 10. use active voice; 11. end with a bang; 12. finish with formatting.
Excerpted from “Write Like a Champion—including 12 steps to Better Writing” by Scott Dreyer


