We have partnered with BizLink Group as a facilitator and provider of language training programmes for their employees, whilst adhering to the company’s commitment to continued professional development of their workforce.
For the past three months, we have been engaged in the training and development of employees at BizLink Technology d.o.o., Serbia. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA, the company is currently a leading global supplier for interconnect solutions, covering R&D, manufacturing and selling wiring and connector modules for several industries.
While the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been harsh on all sectors and industries, we are committed to pursuing our mission. This partnership further expands our reach to enlighten and empower the regional workforce in prestigious organisations through training and Quality Education.
EXIT is the two-time winner of the “Best Major European Festival” award along with the continuous recognition by the global music stars, fans and media alike. Visit Serbia during summer as part of our TESLA Camp programme to avail the amazing opportunity to attend the EXIT festival!
Held each year at the 18th Century colossal Petrovaradin Fortress in the city of Novi Sad in Serbia, EXIT started as a student movement whose massive protests brought down the oppressive regime in Serbia. EXIT became the first mass event to gather all the people in Balkans after a long decade of divisions.
Celebrated as a place where hedonism meets activism, it is the social relevance of EXIT that has made it unique and globally recognized hosting world music stars at 50+ stages in nearly two decades since its inception in 2000. So far, EXIT hosted a worldwide audience of over 5 million visitors from 70 different countries.
More information about the festival can be found here: Exitfest.org/en
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Re-imagining Learning and Crowdfunding with Mike Channa - Huffington Post
Read the full interview on Huffington Post!
Every entrepreneur has a story worth taking an inspiration from. What is yours?
Once upon a time… ha! Having very humble beginnings, but ambitious dreams never leads to a straight forward path, but that doesn’t mean one should stop dreaming. I was set on that path as a young boy from a small village in North India, instilled with strong core values, which eventually led to travels around the world and finishing my Masters in Oxford, and that is the same path which has now led me to Serbia (not Siberia!). I was picking up bits from almost everything along the way, and that will never stop. The journey of entrepreneurship takes the toll; it is like a roller coaster ride. I have been put down and misunderstood countless times, the lack of support maybe tenuous, everyday can be a struggle... but that is what motivates and inspires the best out of us.
Over the past decade, I have been involved in all kinds of industries and helped numerous businesses and people, much more than myself. When the time was right or rather the needs were unavoidable, I established TESLA Learning Center and CROWDiscover, both of which now have a life of their own. In the midst of it all, I have been called a visionary; a dreaming fool, one-man army (here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits...); a Crowdfunding, Learning and Startup Aficionado; an Investor in people; a Hospitality and Management Consultant; Development Chef; Graphic and Web Designer… the list is rather long. At the end of the day, I might be nothing else but an entrepreneur, but everything else at the same time.
So here’s the catch - as humans we have a tendency to refine everything to make it comprehensible. If one can be a good father or mother, brother or sister, husband or wife or more at the same time, the same may apply to your work ethics. Don’t let the world define you by their titles, rules or put you in a box, break the box! Don’t limit yourself; be good at everything you do and whenever you do it.
Tell us about the latest trends in the education industry.
Businesses are ever-evolving, as they must. Although the education industry tends to be less trendy in terms of rapid change, innovation continues to have a powerful impact. Students are not only the consumers, but also play a vital role in evaluating information and formative assessment. The idea of ‘a classroom’ is evolving with focus on specially designed learning spaces and seamless integration of technologies. Concepts like flipped learning and centralised e-learning have been around for a while, but they have started going mainstream. Going forward, adopting and ensuring scalability of such methodologies will play a key role, and it is also at the core of our expansion plans at TESLA Learning Center.
Tell us more about the latest market trends concerning your area of expertise.
If we talk about crowdfunding, what started as an industry in its infancy has rapidly grown into a multi-billion dollar giant. It is perhaps by far the best global marketplace for buying new products or venturing into something new, as the industry thrives on creativity. Gone are the days when Kickstarter or Indiegogo were the default choice, as there is now a crowdfunding platform for every niche and segment. Companies are deviating towards a shared responsibility of success of a campaign, giving equal emphasis to the campaigner, and not just the backers. For product oriented campaigns, the process has become far more streamlined than before, but not necessarily easier. At CROWDiscover, we have a highly engaging and direct approach with the campaigners, as most of them tend to focus more on their projects, than the campaign itself.
How can our readers get in touch with you and collaborate?
We are always on the outlook for collaborators, franchising and investment opportunities throughout the business’s infrastructure, across the spectrum of our work. Although these businesses are relatively young, with our expansion plans on the horizon and plethora of opportunities, we would love to get connected to more like minded people. There is a lot to be gained in many aspects; both in terms of monetary and ethical terms, for everyone who wants to get keenly involved. “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do” - Steve Jobs. Further information about our work can be found on:
Join live classes to learn and improve your language skills in English, French and more as per CEFR guidelines.
Benefit from our experience in teaching students worldwide for many years.
A wide variety of courses are available, coupled with flexible scheduling and tutoring from highly qualified teachers.
We hope you are keeping yourself safe during these testing times. Join our classes now to use the downtime wisely. For more information, get in touch with us!
Student Base | A Niche Social Networking Platform for Students
At TESLA Learning Center, nurturing innovation and challenging excellence is at the core of everything. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce one of our biggest projects till date. The venture is called Student Base - https://www.studentbase.online
Following the launch of TESLA's International Student Recruitment Hub, we have been working tirelessly on this project, which will shape the next era for TESLA Learning and connect a vast number of students from all backgrounds with each other, with access to the best learning resources provided by educators, institutions and industry experts worldwide.
We envisage it to become the go-to network for international students, so they have a place of belonging, instead of other generic and cluttered social networking platforms. As a niche social network, it is targeted specifically on international students interested in studying abroad or students already studying abroad.
We will share more information as the project develops further. Please feel free to pre-register on the platform by clicking the link and signing up with your email. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback, thanks!
On this Christmas eve, we are glad to announce the launch of our International Student Recruitment Hub!
Stemming from our ethics of prioritising the interests of students first, the hub connects students from all parts of the world (especially Asia) to the best universities and institutions in various regions, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Serbia, Germany, France, Spain and more. For more details, please contact us at: [email protected]
In the past generations, educated people developed stronger communication skills that are commonly used today as essential talents for surviving in a world, where all social and business interactions were highly personal. Letters took days or weeks to arrive, and newspapers and magazines discussed events that were often days or weeks behind what was happening in the world in real-time. Importance of communication skills was highly prized and considered a source of news, education, and entertainment.
In today’s world of instant communication, we often don’t bother asking why is communication important or with learning strong communication techniques and substitute emoticons, slang, abbreviations, short texts and sound bites instead of developing the skills to express what we really mean to say. We can say we don’t value the importance of communication skills that much.
Highly successful people - in business, social and personal relationships - inherently understand the importance of communication skills, which is why some people enjoy success while others continually encounter difficulties expressing themselves and understanding others without generating conflict, misunderstandings, and mistrust. Today’s digital devices capture too much of our attention and cause us to shortchange personal conversations while worrying about our virtual relationships. Fortunately, we can all learn how to improve communication skills in our personal relationships, social interactions and workplace activities.
What Is Effective Communication?
What is communication? We often talk endlessly about our own interests and points-of-view without considering what other people hear. If the person shows signs of disinterest, confusion or frustration, it’s time to change our communications approach. This might involve managing our stress to hear what other people are saying or defusing other people’s emotional baggage to foster more effective communication.
Clear Expression Is Critical:
When trying to talk and listen effectively, it’s critical to develop empathy with each person whom we engage in conversation. If you’re an engineer, don’t use technical terms and jargon when talking to someone who doesn’t understand the lingo. Instead of getting the message, this person is likely to tune out or consider the speaker to be pretentious or boring.
It’s also important to consider another person’s emotional and mental state when talking to him or her. Someone who’s preoccupied at work won’t appreciate being told about last night’s social escapades but might respond well to time-saving suggestions. Someone who just received unsettling news is unlikely to absorb complex instructions at work from a supervisor.
A better way to convey essential information is to take time to commiserate and ask the person to talk later or access is written instructions to complete the work on time. This technique will often help the person who received bad news recover quickly to focus on work-related essentials.
Stress and even ebullient emotions can compromise our communication skills by causing us to exaggerate problems or not give them due consideration.
Multitasking makes it impossible to listen actively and respond appropriately.
Nonverbal cues can be misinterpreted as disinterest, suggest what we’re saying isn’t true or imply tacit approval of disregarding the message.
Nonverbal cues change what other people say to us, so it’s critical to focus on them and not on daydreaming, composing text messages or thinking about other things when conversing.
Using negative signals, such as tapping feet, crossing arms, avoiding eye contact and shaking the head, makes other people react defensively.
Even when we don’t agree and need to tell other people, it’s important to listen actively and take time to consider what was said before expressing our opposition.
Clarifying Messages and Reflecting on Meaning.
The importance of communication skills affects everything we do, so it’s essential that what we say and interpret doesn’t get lost in translation. It’s not the only language that affects understanding but also emotional states, concentration and our determination to understand others and express ourselves clearly. Effective listening is the first step to increasing verbal communication skills. Subtle intonations, nonverbal cues, and vocal tone can change the meanings of words, which might be straightforward, sarcastic or simply confused. Avoid interrupting others until they’re finished talking, and try repeating what was said in different words to clarify any confusing terms. Effective ways of recapping someone’s words include, “Let me see if I understand” or “What I’m hearing is that…” Don’t repeat the words verbatim but express the concept in different terms to clarify the message.
Ask open-ended questions to further clarify the information.
Encourage other people in group discussions to express their opinions.
Ask follow-up questions to increase understanding.
Try to encourage converging views when possible such as accepting part of a proposal.
Summarize what was discussed and what actions will be taken.
Develop the middle ear muscles by listening to music like violin concertos, which can strengthen our abilities to detect the high-pitched tones that indicate extreme emotion.
Be aware of possible cultural differences among people of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, genders, religions and national origins because these speakers often express different nonverbal cues to reflect their emotional states.
This approach of clarifying communications and reacting to their meaning can be used in personal, social and business situations with some minor fine-tuning in the language used and adjusting the techniques for formal and informal settings.
Why is Communication Important?
Effective communication affects every conversation in the workplace, at home and in social one-on-one and group situations. Learning verbal communication skills can’t help but improve our written and digital communications because we develop a better understanding of what people are trying to convey even in short messages.
Workplace Benefits of Verbal Skills:
In today’s workplaces, communications occur between people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and nationalities in an increasingly global business environment. Learning how to understand and speak with diverse people will improve leadership skills, get more work accomplished, prevent conflicts and help to advance career prospects.
Personal Benefits of Communicating Effectively:
Personal conflicts often begin because of simple misunderstandings. Sometimes, conflict is inevitable, but good communication prevents many disagreements and helps to repair relationships when something goes wrong.
Social Benefits of Better Communications:
Learning to speak effectively and listen actively can help even shy people function more effectively in group and social situations. When in doubt, listening, asking questions and finding common ground are the fastest ways to become socially adept.
How to Develop and Improve Communication Skills?
Learning how to improve communication skills is an ongoing process that should grow and develop continuously instead of remaining static throughout our lives. We’ve all encountered people who are “set in their ways” and not open to new ideas, but even these people can be influenced by consensus-building techniques, active listening and clear, assertive communication techniques.
Effective communicators invariably enjoy better relationships, more fulfilling lives and greater financial success than those of us who never bother learning how to improve verbal skills.
Best practices for developing communications skills include:
Open Two-Way Dialog:
Learn to focus on greeting people enthusiastically with a warm handshake, hug or personal greeting. Put aside the electronic devices, and focus on the person and his or her words instead of appearing distracted.
Listen Actively:
Keep an open mind, and don’t let personal emotions and time constraints compromise active listening. Keep body language neutral or supportive instead of letting physical habits indicated impatience. Encourage speakers to express what’s on their minds, and don’t cut them off or make assumptions.
Remain Calm and Focused:
Even when disagreeing, show the speaker respect. Try to remain calm and focused on the conversation instead of thinking about other things. Consider the speaker’s emotional state, background, relationship and motive in speaking. Look for nonverbal cues and vocal tones that can change the meaning of words.
Seek Feedback:
Summarize what’s heard, ask questions and show interest and respect in what other people say. These techniques will make it easier to seek consensus, draw other people into the discussion and allay fears and shyness. Seeking feedback also lessens the impact when it’s necessary to say no or recommend a different approach.
Communicate Assertively
Leaving room for doubt invariably creates more problems than assertively expressing our opinions in clear terms. Sometimes, an opposition is unavoidable, but when we understand our own emotions and those of others, we can express our opinions clearly with no room for misinterpretations. This approach makes it easier to express difficult messages and negative judgments without damaging trust or personal relationships.
Effective speaking and listening depend on many factors such as body language, empathy, choice of language terms that the listener can understand and other nonverbal signals. However, the single most important skill for us to cultivate is active listening, which often means surrendering our devices and focusing all our attention on the people with whom we’re communicating.
Regardless of personal turmoil, financial worries or social concerns, we should always pay attention to the importance of communication skills. We should always try to show basic etiquette when communicating such as making eye contact, listening actively, responding appropriately, asking relevant questions when we don’t understand and remember not to send mixed signals such as turning away, looking at our watches or cell phones, folding our arms and showing negative expressions. When we try to understand what people are really saying, we can communicate more effectively and never end up in exaggerated misinterpretation scenarios.
Check this link: https://inlpcenter.org/importance-of-communication-skills - if you are interested in reading further about the importance of communication skills.
Get in touch with us to improve and master your communication skills!
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