Waiting for “Subway 52″ and don’t know how to get on? Fear of speaking can affect business success. You will eventually lose momentum to sustain higher achievements if you settle with the every day coffee and donuts.

In November of 2004, I launched OCI3MEDIA solely depending on online communication; such as email or instant messaging, to build clientele and maintain business growth. While triumphing over closing multiple contracts and a semi-successful year, I realize the fear of speaking was causing me to lose valuable opportunities for visibility in the business community. Stepping up to the plate and using vocal power only seemed like a dead end turn I needed to face. Conducting business phone calls even left my limbs shaking. Sooner than later I had to find a solution to transform fear of speaking into a “moving mobile billboard”.

Keep in mind that future profit potential of any business is assessed through effective speaking. You demonstrate verbally to potential customers what you can do and how you can help them. Having a professional visible presence is valued more than just sounding good on paper.

The Boiling Pot…

One day I received a call from the Executive Director, Shirlene Anderson of the Atlanta Fulton Family Connection who asked me to speak at one of their collaborative meetings and deliver an effective Web presentation that we worked so hard on for the organization. At that moment, the thought of speaking in front of a group of 60 partners caused my heart to beat rapidly and I broke out in pure sweat. Does this sound familiar? Fear had taken its toll on me.

Point Taken…

It can pose a major detriment to career advancement or to promoting your business

Finding You…

There are many excellent programs offered that assist individuals needing help to overcome this fear. One particular program I would like to mention is “Toastmasters” (www.toastmasters.org). At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. From my own experience to reduce the fear of speaking and improve business communications skills, a spiritual rodeo was in order. I had to seek a more profound level of guidance and focus on my walk with God in business along with a few reminders and steps you may find useful listed below:

1. Nervousness is natural and to be expected.
2. Learn to recognize the symptoms and manage them.
3. Be the expert – know your business.
4. Boost your self-confidence and motivation.
5. Gain experience – step out and just do it.

Returned Benefits…

1. New found confidence in business
2. A successful career

Ms L. Benjamin
http://www.articlesbase.com/ask-an-expert-articles/subway-52-moving-mobile-billboard-61540.html

It is a well-understood axiom of the business world that there are two ways to improve the bottom line of the business.  Stated simply, those two ways are to make money or to cut costs.  Now no business can cost cut their way to profitability.  But by the same token, waste and excessive internal costs for any business can eat away any profits that business is enjoying.  So to get ahead in a competitive business environment, both methods must be employed.

When a business turns its eye to cost cutting, there is a stated or unstated business objective that the business owners will discover significant bleeding of revenues that are going on within the systems of doing business.  So if those systems can be improved to eliminate that waste, the business would literally make money from the inside out because the overhead of the business would drop so dramatically.

The usual progress of such a cost saving campaign by a business is to find “the low hanging fruit” first.  By that we mean that in order to satisfy the demands of management, middle management will identify superficial savings in hopes of satisfying the requirement.  Hence switching from disposable cups to mugs or cutting back on break room amenities often go on the chopping block first.

Sadly, while there may be some superficial savings to be found in such places, the significant introduction of efficiencies for any business lie at a deeper level and take a more in-depth process of locating problems with how things get done internally.  The methodology of finding these “money pits” within a business is often called “Process Improvement.”  The concept of process improvement is to diagram a particular business process from inception to completion and document the stages it goes through, the handing over of authority for the process and to pin point places where inefficient methods are causing excessive cost in executing that process en route to the final stage of process completion.

Routinely, the areas of business structure that most often identified as being candidates for a process improvement examination are…

*         Excessive overhead between departments.  Departments within a business are notorious for taking on the atmosphere of a fiefdom and becoming resistant if not suspicious of other departments in the same company.  When that happens, department managers will introduce paperwork and unnecessary processing to cause “work” to move to his or her department from another or for completed jobs to continue along their path.  This excessive overhead can be costly at the department level and bog down the business as a unit enough to actually reduce the profitability of the organization.

*         Communication problems.  A business process moves through the organization as each department or entity adds value to the process through to the completion of the job.  However if communications between departments or people along the process chain are flawed, a process can grind to a halt and wait for hours if not days before the missed communication is discovered and the work is put into the cycle to be completed.  This slow down or break down in communications can be a tremendous drain on the company.  To correct the problem, modern tools of communication should be reviewed so each significant person along the chain is quickly made aware of work that needs to be done and can signal to the next agent that their step is complete and that the process is moving to the next stage. 

*         An inefficient IT infrastructure. Out of date computer programs that are not integrated with each other cause needless work to be done to take data from one system and moving it into the next computer program only to be entered again at the next stop along the chain.  Standardization and integration of data and systems will introduce huge efficiencies to the process.

By streamlining the process of moving a business requirement from inception to conclusion, we can remove much of the inefficiency and waste that has become inherent to that process.  We can introduce up to date integration designs both at the IT and process level to quickly move the process from one department to the next upon completion.   The outcome is a streamlined organization that is no longer “bleeding money” due to inefficiencies and as such is making money “from the inside out”.

Pompy
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/making-money-from-the-inside-out-719654.html

I’m really shy and have been dreading the general requirement of oral communication. What course would be best? The courses I’m thinking about taking are either small group communication or interpersonal communication. Advice is appreciated! Thanks!

It really depends on where you are. Since I don’t know what school your registered at, I can’t suggest any specific class. However, here is how to find out.
Check your school catalog, the book/brochure that lists all courses and their description. Look at the classes under "communication", or any related major. Then, talk to either the instructors whose class description looks like a fit for you. Or call the department office and ask the secretary. She shall be able to direct you to someone that can help you.
Good luck.

Conformal Near Omni-Directional Antenna Design for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)

Technical Abstract  

TST proposes R&D of a conformal, switched array antenna (CSAA); a steerable antenna capable of a nearly omni-directional field of regard (FoR) that exhibits modest gain over “omni”. Steering. This is achieved by RF switch-selecting of elements of the array which include dipole or monopole elements and delay lines. This gain increase enables the following improvements: reduction of UAV transmitter power requirements and the attendant heat loads, improved interference and jamming suppression and improved Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) performance. Also, reducing power and heat load lightens extends the mission duration. We anticipate realization of a gain figure of 10 or more dB higher than that specified in the solicitation. The CSAA has no active components requiring only switches, hybrids, delay lines and radiators. This enables use of corporate (rather than distributed) transmitters and receivers and obviates the expense of custom ASIC of a traditional phased array antenna. The proposed work will study and recommend radiator geometry, elements and arrays, switch devices, conductor and dielectric materials, coating materials and methods as well as attachment materials. We will develop a high fidelity simulation model of the baseline antenna system, and thereby demonstrate coverage patterns for main lobe and side lobe characteristics.

Anticipated Potential Benefits

The anticipated benefits for commercial applications include moderate gain tracking antennas that conform to automotive surfaces, and commercial aircraft, as well. The properties of low aerodynamic drag, steerability and low implementation costs are attractive for these applications. Not only will this result in improved communications performance (longer range links, more reliable connectivity and high capacity) the conformality will reduce drag and thus improve fuel economy. A phase 3 program is envisioned where the CSAA basic taxonomy is applied over a large range of military air and terrestrial platforms. In a “Network on the Move” (NOTM) concept, many elements of a regiment may be interconnected to form a robust network where any element serves as a switch and router. Physical connections are made or dropped as the network geometry changes. The CSAA may be truck mounted or even mounted as an integral part of a combatant’s helmet. The beams are steered via an embedded CPU and inertial platform (i.e., a laser ring gyroscope) to maintain pointing. Beam discovery and tracking are interesting challenges for a system design, but the robustness of such a network has a strong payoff. Where capacity increases are greatly enabled (by a factor of 100 or more over that needed for voice traffic), new on-board commercial services such as in-flight internet connections at DSL rates and above for many passengers may be supportable. The air platform antenna performance is the Key Enabling Technology for this win-win strategy to be developed. The remainders of the network elements, for the most part, have already been developed and exist in terrestrial internet switches, routers, standards and protocols. Early services such as email, document transfer, JPEG imagery and real-time high quality music may be enabled through visible internet radio gateways. As capacity grows connectivity at T-1 rates and above may be supportable. Since availability of cellular telephones over many continents is ubiquitous, it is easy to imagine its interconnection to commercial aviation. The cell phone user may then leave his phone in the ON state during flight and continue its use as though he/she were still at the airport or their office. The directional antenna for connection to cell towers is made practicable since an omni antenna can “see” too many cell towers simultaneously. Being able to select only a few towers within the antenna beam’s footprint enables reliable connections and suppresses interference from all of the other towers that may be visible with an omni antenna. In these ways, the high gain conformal antenna is a major enabling extension of the passenger cabin to the business traveler’s daily environment where computation, internet, email, voice communications and teleconferencing are enabled. The CSAA enables the air traveler’s IT. Commercialization must start with the technological feasibility determined through studies and laboratory measurement. The technical community must be informed as to the potential service extension. This awareness will engender the formation of standards committees so that an enlightened and focused set of protocols is established to then extend IP and cellular services to the air traveler. When this system is in use in the commercial community, the DoD will exploit the ensuing infrastructure for support of defense agendas. This model of DoD-backed technology investment that is embraced and implemented by the private sector and then used by DoD as part of our defense infrastructure has happened over the course of events in the US and on a global basis. The best examples of this circular process are GPS Navstar, IDCSP and related SATCOM systems, Internet itself and all of the secure intranets that handle Government traffic, etc. There may come a time when military communications with aircraft will use some commercial infrastructure for ubiquitous connectivity, and the conformal switched array antenna will be a key enabling technology.

Current tactical communications network connectivity among highly mobile forces deployed over the extended battlespace exhibits serious limitations on connectivity, capacity and security.  The extensive deployment of SINCGARS and EPLRS radios in the field requires longer ranges and more highly reliable connections than are currently enabled by line-of-sight distances for which these radios are designed. The UAV communications relay platform is desired to greatly extend the range of these radios by providing “bent pipes” to extend the communications and position reporting mission ranges.   The UAV platforms must enable connectivity by means of antennas and radio repeaters.  Since the UAV must be situated so that it can serve its designated area of the battlespace it’s visibility in all necessary directions is a critical requirement of the antenna design.  The realization of Omni-directionality is critical to the mission performance.  We propose to study an antenna design that provides this connectivity and enables enhancement of the radio links through the use of directional antennas that can be steered in all necessary directions over the battlespace. In contrast to a traditional Omni antenna, our approach provides substantial robustness to the links (better SNRs, lower interference and jamming vulnerability and lower intercept probability) but at the expense of some additional  system complexity.  This performance/complexity trade-off is central to the proposed study. 

Dan Glauber
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/conformal-near-omnidirectional-antenna-design-for-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uav-718325.html

If you want to be able to access the best new television technology, you need to sign up to receive satellite TV. Cable television is having trouble offering the latest advances like High Definition Television (HDTV) and you will find your selection very limited. With a Dish Network subscription, however, you will have all the HDTV choices you can hope for, plus plenty of programming and equipment to make standard definition television incredibly enjoyable. Dish Network even offers free receiver upgrades to make it easier to take advantage of the newer technologies. This is a great opportunity if you have been considering upgrading to a DVR receiver or HD receiver. And, with Dish Network’s history of innovation, you can be assured that, as a Dishnet subscriber, you will be among the first to experience future advances.

HDTV is quickly becoming a very popular format for watching television. It creates an incredible viewing experience with its very high resolution pictures, Dolby Digital sound, and wide screen viewing format. While most television providers have a limited HD selection, Dish Network is leading the HDTV market with over 29 HD channels and more than 200 hours of HD programming each day. This means you get to spend more of your television viewing hours enjoying the HDTV experience. You can catch all the important games on channels like ESPN HD and WorldSport HD, and then enjoy some relaxing movies on Universal, Majestic, or HDNet Movies. If you want to watch some educational programming, National Geographic, Equator HD, and Discovery HD bring nature, culture, science, and travel to your screen. And Dish Network also lets you access plenty of cartoons, games, general entertainment, and news.

If you think you will need to record some of your HD programming because there are just so many choices, a Dishnetwork HDTV DVR is the device for you. Dish Network offers a special Digital Video Recorder (DVR) that can record your programming in standard or high definition format. Of course, like all DVRs, this model makes the process of recording shows exceptionally easy, and it can store hundreds of hours of programs. Even your live viewing will become more enjoyable when you use the DVR to pause and replay your shows. Even if you aren’t yet ready for HDTV, you can take advantage of this great technology with a standard definition receiver with DVR.

Even though HDTV will likely become the standard television format in the coming years, you will not be disappointed with Dish Network ’s selection if you are not yet ready to make the leap. With hundreds of standard definition channels in more than 10 packages, you will be able to find exactly what you need. While the America’s Top entertainment packages tend to be the most popular, you’ll have other choices like DishFamily, Dish Latino, and America’s Everything Pak. All of these packages offer tons of entertaining and informative channels that will keep you captivated for hours. And, Dish Network has a huge selection of pay per view that includes adult channels, movies, sports, and events. For even more choices, you can select to add certain channels on a individual basis or add the DishGames package to take full advantage of your interactive TV. All of this enjoyment is available in the privacy of your own home.

Dish Network is guaranteed to improve your television experience because it will offer you more channels while saving you money. Whether you need the absolutely newest, best technology or you are satisfied to watch the great quality standard programming, you will find Dishnetwork to be the ultimate television provider.

The current Dishnet promotions are superior to anything offered by Directv, CableVision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Time Warner or any other cable TV providers. Your search has come to an end. Switch to the best quality home entertainment. Start now.

Julia Hall
http://www.articlesbase.com/television-articles/dish-network-is-guaranteed-to-improve-your-television-experience-100803.html

When the phenomenon of Online Dating sites started several years ago, it was no were near as popular as it is today.

All the stigma of Online Dating is gone. Online Dating has gone main stream and is, not only acceptable, but expected. Online Dating has become the primary tool of single people of all ages to generate an interesting and rewarding social life.

Just face it, we are busy guys. We just simply do not have the time, the energy, or the financial where-with-all to date several nights each week while we look for the one. You can sort through hundreds of profiles in a month for less money than you would spend on one evening out, thus, saving time and money.

We use the Internet to save ourselves time and money for a lot of things like investments, shopping, medical information, and communications. Why not make use of such a useful tool for our social and personal lives as well? You could find the love of your life. At the very least, you will meet some interesting people and possibly make some lasting friendships. It is easy to get started.

All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. You’ll need to search for Online Dating services that meet your specific needs. They are many and varied.

Join one or two. Then you’ll need to write a great profile, upload a recent picture of yourself and start making and answering contacts. That really is all there is to it, that and patience.

Do not wait any longer to start your new and interesting social life. Miss or Ms. Right could be only a few clicks of the mouse away.

Honesty is REALLY the BEST policy.

When you join an Online Dating service, you are looking for a girl that you can like, even come to love. That girl is looking for a guy that SHE can like or even love. What you aren’t looking for is a girl who would like your best friend or your idea of what the perfect guy looks like or talks like or thinks like.

So, in order to find the right girl for you and she IS out there, you need to be completely honest with yourself about yourself when writing the online profile, during the dating process and beyond.

The best way to begin writing your profile is to carefully analyze your past relationship(s). What was right? What was wrong? What things really made you like the last girl? Which didn’t?

Don’t assume that just because you hated that your last girl was so totally self-involved that she couldn’t see anything else, you’ll be able to overlook that quality this time. You won’t.

If you aren’t 6 ft 1 with a six-pack to be proud of, don’t claim to be. If you are a bar tender, don’t claim to be a lawyer with a six figure income. If you are 40 going on 50, don’t pretend to be 30 something.

Remember, the idea here is to find a girl who will like you exactly like you are. If you have lied in your profile, the first face-to-face meeting will remove all her doubt that you are a liar and probably a cheat, as well.

Lastly, once you have found a girl that you believe can be the one for you, for goodness sakes, cancel your membership to the Online Dating service. After all, you know and she knows that Online Dating services are intended for those who are looking, not those who have found or been found.

Holly Stevens
http://www.articlesbase.com/dating-articles/online-dating-tips-to-improve-your-chances-of-getting-a-date-64168.html

I’m taking an "interpersonal communications" class at the moment and we have to choose a thesis statement by Friday. I’m wondering if anyone has any ideas of what I can write my final paper on. This must be related to interpersonal communication (communication between two people i.e. relationships, nonverbal cues, personal distance, romance).

I’m a science major and if anyone has an idea that would maybe spark my interest I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

What about the impact of body language on communication or people’s ability to interpret body langauge/facial expressions?

Hotels typically lag behind other industries in terms of technology spending. Capital investment is directed toward adding better amenities or renovating the property in efforts to remain competitive or drive occupancy and ADR. Tech spending is on the rise, however, and one emerging area is digital signage.

A digital signage network generally consists of large flat panel LCD or plasma displays that are driven by networked media players, which are customized, application-specific pcs. They can be updated remotely over standard internet protocols and have robust scheduling software which allows hotels a unique new way of reaching out to their guests at the point of contact. The content they deliver is only limited to the creative ability of the designer. As a new communications medium, a digital signage network can be utilized to playback relevant information to the guests (weather, airline info, news, etc.), branding messages, promotional messages, or even third party advertising which can provide a new revenue source for the hotel.

Digital signage can also replace outdated electronic reader board systems and improve employee productivity. For many hotels, displaying the meeting schedule information can be quite a chore. Employees input the information in their sales and catering software and print out a copy every time it changes. After it is printed out, they distribute copies to display cases located throughout the property. In other cases, they may have to take the printed sheet over to another computer system and input the data again manually. The meetings or group schedule then gets distributed to outdated television displays and in-room systems.

While these methods may “work”, they are outdated and inefficient. It is unnecessary for employees to waste their time inputting meeting information manually. A digital hotel signage solution can interface with the hotel’s existing sales and event management programs, dynamically distributing the meeting schedules to flat panel monitors located throughout the hotel. Employees will no longer be required to spend time updating meeting schedules and they can focus their time and efforts on catering to their guests and groups.

Not only will the digital hotel signage network improve hotel employee productivity, but it will also have the capability of displaying attractive, compelling, and dynamic content. When groups enter the property and see digital signs that welcome them personally and include their logo, for example, they will feel at home. In addition, it will reinforce their decision to use that hotel as the host of their events.

Josh Coffman
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/digital-signage-solutions-help-improve-hotel-employee-productivity-121687.html

If you’re someone with adult ADD or ADHD, how often do you have circular conversations? You know the kind. You go ’round and ’round with someone, and you’re both saying the exact same thing, but you can’t make yourself understood? Isn’t that frustrating? Is it possible for someone AD/HD to have less stress in their communications?

The frustration you’re feeling comes from a sense of imbalance because you’re misunderstood. Feelings of “Nobody Understands Me” promote your sense of loneliness that we all feel at one time or another. You’re definitely not alone.

This can happen much less frequently when you learn a few simple things about communicating effectively.

Doesn’t it seem like some people just get everything they want? It’s probably because they’re good communicators. They aren’t worried about expressing their desires, and are very clear about them. So, they go through life much easier. For you, it’s not quite that easy.

For example, you call the doctor’s office and ask for an appointment. So, the receptionist asks you what’s a good time for it. You say, “Wednesday.” So, she says, “How about 8:45?” You tell her, “No, that won’t work. I take my son to school at that time.” So, she gives you another appointment time of 10:15, but you say, “No can’t do that, either. I have an appointment to get my hair cut.” When this goes back and forth a few times, aren’t you both frustrated?

Yes! What should you have said instead is, “I’d like an appointment on Wednesday between 1 and 5 p.m.,” none of the back and forth would have been needed. Boom! Appointment at 1:15, and you’re all set.

In business, clear communications are extremely important. Let’s say that your boss gives you a complicated project to complete for her, but when she explained it to you, you understood most of it and figured you’d just iron out the details as you went along. Bad idea! Ask questions and get answers that make sense before you even begin to assure that you are doing things right.

Employees need help to get their jobs done properly, too. If you have a task that you need completed, give the most complete directions that you can. Write the whole thing out on paper, if the task is particularly complicated. And the most important part is to let your employee know that they can come to you with questions anytime they feel unclear. This “open door” policy is helpful in seeing that a task is done properly and on time. Knowing you’re there for them will even increase your employees’ level of confidence.

The key is to be conscious of clarity when you speak or when you’re asking for things. If you can improve your communication skills, it will help you in every facet of your life.

Tellman H. Knudson
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/adult-add-and-cloudy-communications-129758.html