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Idea generation

Explore books related to generating new ideas The Psychology Book , DK This is a book that isn't a cover novel but a reference if you are looking for something interesting to talk about in terms of human behavior. Referring to this book is a great way to read up psychology studies in a brief fashion.  It starts at the beginning to philosophical times before scientific approaches emerged. Towards the end, it goes into fields of psychology that are relatively new such as optimistic psychology, social psychology, and logotherapy.  50 Psychology Classics , Tom Butler - Bowden This book covers the top 50 most influential studies in psychology, which is what is discussed in your typical psych 101 courses. Not meant to be a cover to cover read but as a reference for ideas, or genuine interest. Studies learned in this book and "the psychology book" can be applied in real life context. Overall this is a useful guide. 48 Laws Of Power , Robert Greene Hard to read...

Drawing parallels

I am a liberal arts major from The Evergreen State College, where I studied photography and art history. My favorite photography instructor, Bob, made critiques a regular part of the class structure. In addition to critiques he emphasized the importance of editing. Since joining Toastmasters in November 2016, I see similarities with photography and speaking (communicating). In this article I will be drawing two parallels between photography and Toastmasters: critique and editing. Part I On the importance of critique Before I joined Bob's class, I hadn't experienced someone else "dissecting" my work. The first time the class critiqued my work I was initially surprised by the truth. My classmate said everything I had internalized while creating the photos - that they were lacking substance. Lacking content. Sure, the photos were developed perfectly and they were in focus, but the content just wasn't there, and I knew it all along. "I just don...

3 Unorthodox ways to calm your nerves before a speech

You are about to give t he speech of a lifetime , in front of an audience of 300 . Well, more like 13, but it feels like 300, and it's only an ice-breaker; yet heavy perspiration and heart-pounding suddenly occurs. For pride and integrity, you won't cower from fear; but if you vomit, do pride and integrity matter anyway. Under pressure, you forget that even professionals, including political figures and CEO's, suffer breakdowns before performing. Your heavy perspiration and heart-pounding, therefore, are not specific to newbies. Within our club's supportive community, members seasoned and novice use an arsenal of weapons to combat nervousness before speaking. Today, they share three of the most unorthodox yet effective methods with you.