Every day we present our thoughts and ideas to business prospects, teachers, parents, organizations, friends or even the one in line next to us. Our first interaction will leave a lasting impression…so make it the best one! Since 55% of our message is non-verbal, make sure your body is relaying the same message as your mouth. Whether you are giving a sales presentation to a large number of individuals, sitting across from two people at a table, or trying to raise funds for a worthy cause, use the following tips to ensure your non-verbal signals bring the success you are looking for. The more positive and confident your interactions, the greater your success in building a relationship that could last for years. Following are signals that can either enhance, or destroy, future relationship:

Your energy. Be aware of the energy you are transmitting! Is it motivating, positive, exciting, confident, worrisome, pre-occupied? Set a positive tone with your facial expressions, sincere eye contact and friendly, yet controlled body language. Non-verbal signs of defiance, angst, fear or frustration could propel the listener to the other side of the room, even if your words are saying something entirely different from what your body is projecting!

• Hands. It is said that eyes and hands are open and closed according to the person’s present state of mind. They tell so much about you. Hands should face palms up with fingers open (welcoming them to come in to your “space”) or at your side. If you are new at speaking and feeling uncomfortable, hold a pen in one hand. Having one hand in your pocket briefly is acceptable but both hands in your pockets gives the impression of either being arrogant, lacking confidence or hiding something.
• Pointing. Pointing a finger or a pen in someone’s general direction immediately puts them on the defense. When asking an individual a question or to sign a paper, hold your pointer or pen like you would if you were writing, at an angle. It seems like a very small matter but can give a strong message subconsciously.
• Touching. A friendly touch on the shoulder is often meant as a welcoming gesture, however, note their response. If they recoil, smile and back away. Touching sometimes reminds individuals of an unpleasant experience and is not anything personal against you. We just always want to be respectful of their reactions.
• Eye contact. In the U.S., eye contact is a necessary for honest, productive conversations. In some other countries, looking someone in the eye could be considered disrespectful. Good eye contact gives the impression that you are trustworthy, confident, credible, and serious about your conversation or presentation.
• Your eyes. Avoid darting eyes, scanning people’s shoes, or any eye messages that give the impression you are not completely engaged in a conversation with them.
• Statements or questions. When people raise their voices at the end of a statement, it sounds like they are questioning themselves rather than making a statement. The listener may think, “If you are not sure what you are talking about, why should I take you seriously?” Result? You can be overlooked in business meetings, presentations or as a valuable part of the team. Approximately 80% of voiceovers on television are done by men because of their lower pitch lends to their credibility. Soft or high-pitched voices can give the impression of not being capable or able to manage the task as successfully as someone else.
• Letting others finish your sentences. If individuals in your audience interrupt, your first mode of defense is to raise your volume slightly. If that does not work, hold up your index finger while slightly raising your volume. If they still didn’t get (or heed) the message, raise your hand in the “stop” position. As a last resort, hold your hand up in the “stop” position and say, “Excuse me, I wasn’t finished yet.” This act should keep you in control and maintaining your composure.
• Adjust your mode of speaking according to the type of group you are talking to. Be more energetic if talking to someone of like manner and do not overwhelm someone with a strong voice if they are quiet and reserved.

Non-verbal messages can diffuse hostility by maintaining a composed demeanor. Restraining your own body language when someone is angry with you can actually have a calming effect on them. Keep your voice low and limit gestures while preserving a relaxed posture to discourage others from a potential rant.

Bottom line: always check to ensure your body is saying the same thing your mouth is. You goal is to have the most clear, concise, confident message possible.  

If you are not being treated with love and respect, check your price tag. Perhaps you have marked yourself down. Learn to value yourself. If you don’t, no one else will! Jump off the clearance rack and get behind the glass where the valuables are kept. Author Unknown.  Today I look in the mirror, take my lipstick and write “Priceless” above my head. Take a picture and look at it daily from now on!

Maybe you grew up in a home or school where you weren’t valued, causing those old tapes of rejection to keep playing in your mind. Or you were in a relationship where you experienced physical or emotional abuse and now need to rebuild your life, seeing yourself as God sees you. You establish your worth by what you accept!

You DO have the power to reinvent your life! How? People tend to treat us the way we treat ourselves, or by what we allow. Those who do not treat you with love and respect must no longer be allowed to do so. Make healthy choices, seek out new friends, and read or watch anything that inspires or lifts your spirit. Look deep in your eyes in the mirror and speak kind, uplifting and encouraging words and affirmations to yourself! What is your value? God says “you are a pearl of great price.” That’s pretty awesome!

Start living and dreaming like the King of the universe is your Dad and wants you to be happy and fulfilled! Because He is and He does!

 Rita Rocker

What Are You Putting in Your Shopping Cart of Life? Are they healthy lifestyle choices that are good for you or unhealthy friends and habits? Today I assess where I am in life, what is good for me and what is a hindrance. I choose taking whatever steps necessary to fill my cart to overflowing with joy and abundance.

Just like reading labels can help steer you away from of unhealthy food and drink, putting clear labels on habits and relationships can also steer you to choices that nourish you and give you the strength and endurance to rise and thrive!

Ask yourself these questions. Do the feelings and habits I am hanging on to:

• Serve any worthwhile purpose for me? For my family? For my career?
• Help me move forward with my goals? Hold me back in an unhappy comfort zone?
• Work in my favor in any way? Why or why not?

If your emotions, thoughts, self-talk, life choices (relationships, jobs, activities) do not help you transform and move forward, move them to the dumpster and reach for the “good stuff” you truly deserve. What step can you focus on next to improve your life? Begin the process with small steps, one at a time, to get your mind moving in a new direction.

Let’s sing, dance and ride the roller coaster of life in high gear. Choose to live life to the fullest. Start now, right where you are, and make a brand new ending to the story of your life!

Rita Rocker

No one can look backwards and make a brand new start; however, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending!!!! (author unknown) Today I sever the ties to the past and, with great anticipation, steer myself down the road marked “beautiful.”

God is not hindered by our past, lack of education, age, financial situation, or any circumstance that we might use as an excuse to continue floundering in disappointments and frustration. Remember all the experiences that have prepared you for your destiny. Preparations for fulfilling your purpose are not just through higher education, building a hefty retirement, or amassing more worldly experiences. Some of life’s most difficult lessons hold the most life-transforming value. They may be the ones you hated the most but hold dearest to your heart for how you grew and your life changed.

Think of what burns passionately within you. What puts a smile on your face when you think about it? What hopes and feelings, even when they were put back on the shelf for a season, never really went away? Could that be your passion? Is your life’s purpose hanging on to you, maintaining a powerful grip, even if you don’t see how it could ever come to pass?

Take the broken pieces of your life, mix them with your unfulfilled dreams, and use them to create a beautiful new mosaic! You can create a new beginning, one step at a time. Go!

 Rita Rocker

Be happy for what you have while working for what you want. Helen Keller. In the midst of any thorns in my life’s garden, I choose to dance when it rains and remove all but the beautiful fruit I can grow.

 You truly are the only one who is in control. You choose which path you will walk along by the choices you make and how you respond to people and situations. Examine the beauty of a magnificent pearl. It is actually created because of the injury done to the oyster that contains it. The constant irritation of a sharp piece of sand causes the oyster to excrete a white pearly liquid to coat the sand and stop the pain. It is the gnawing pain that eventually prods the oyster to change its situation. The end result is a pearl of great beauty and value. You are just like that pearl, able to make something beautiful out of your experiences, if you let yourself.

However, releasing the pearl’s beauty to the world requires the oyster to be opened. Despite the hardness of the shell, it can be opened with ease. The shells are held closed by a single muscle called the adductor, and oysters are opened using a thin knife to cut that muscle. Once the adductor is cut, the shell easily falls open and a beautiful treasure emerges.

Sometimes our “releasing process” feels equally difficult, frightening and may be even painful, but the end result makes it all worth it! Step out, open up, and let your true beauty shine!

Rita Rocker

A flower does not think of competing against the flower next to it. It just blooms! Today I make a list of all of my abilities, accomplishments and qualities. These are what I will nourish and see them grow strong!

Who isn’t delighted by a gorgeous rose, a beautiful symbol of love, romance, and life itself? It didn’t start out that way though. Nature’s storms pelt the little seed in similar fashion to what we experience in life. However, the turbulent moments in life are where roots grow deep and the seed starts to take the shape of a lovely flower IF, as the gardener, you nourish your seed (life) properly. In spite of the thorns (trials of life), the transformation has brought you from a tightly closed bud to a magnificent bloom.

When shopping for the flowers, you look at the photographs on the seed packages. They do not show you a picture of what the seeds look like in their current state, as dark, tiny, ugly seeds that do not showcase their true beauty and potential. The package shows the magnificent end result. Given the right nutrients and care, it will blossom into a vibrant and delightful creation. Likewise, when you look in the mirror, never see yourself as inferior, unlovely or defective–but as you truly are–a child of God’s magnificence!

Allow the seed inside you to grow, and only focus on the lovely picture of what you can become!

Rita Rocker

You’ve always had the power, even when you don’t feel powerful. You just had to learn it for yourself.  Glinda, Wizard of Oz. Today, I focus on looking within, allowing God’s abilities and strength to begin pouring out of me!

Do you feel like you have you lost your power physically and mentally? It is still within you! You’ve already been equipped with all you need to accomplish your calling. Determine if any self-limiting beliefs (can’t, won’t, afraid, broke) have hindered your success.

Here’s a good life lesson from the buzzard. In a pen that is 6’ x 8’ and entirely open at the top, the buzzard, in spite of its ability to fly, will remain an absolute captive of its circumstances. Why? A buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10-12 feet. Without space to run, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small cage even though the top is open for it to fly away.  How sad that its misbeliefs about its own abilities will keep it stuck! The buzzard was free to soar but did not even try!

Look at your life. Like the buzzard, are limiting thoughts and viewpoints keeping you bound even though the door is wide open for takeoff? If you’re stuck, change your approach and remember… “I get up, I walk, I fall down—meanwhile, I keep dancing!”  (author unknown).

Rita Rocker

Even if I’ve traveled in the wrong direction most of my life, it is NEVER too late to turn around! I start composing my life’s new chapter today!

As you stand at the crossroads of life, what is the most important area that you want to change?

• Feeling more peace, energy, happiness in life? Becoming physically and emotionally healthier by more exercise and the right food choices?  Feeling better about yourself through positive thoughts and positive self- talk?  Having more fulfillment in a career or relationships?
• Making simple changes in your demeanor and body language such as a more confident handshake, erect posture and good eye contact, and remembering to smile more?
• What would make you “feel” more confident in your newly transformed life? Will a class in public speaking, a makeover, enjoying a hobby, or joining an organization, committee or any kind of a fun association or service group where you will make new friends and gain new skills? Today, begin exploring experiences that add more happiness and confidence to your life.
• Set your mental compass for your new destination 1) personally, 2) professionally, 3) relationally. No fair looking in the rearview mirror. You go girl!
• Become aware of what kind of energy you are projecting. Is it positive or negative, forceful or supportive, energetic or tired, hopeful or hopeless, determined or deflated?
•  Set your mental compass for your new destination 1) personally, 2) professionally, 3) relationally. No fair looking in the rearview mirror. You go girl! 

  Rita Rocker

Fantastic information from elearnindustry!

5 Tips To Develop Mobile Learning Assessments – eLearning Industry http://t.co/jPGyb4El9q via @elearnindustry

Every day we present our thoughts and ideas to business prospects, teachers, friends, family, and organizations. Our first interaction can leave a lasting impression! Since 55% of our message is non-verbal, make sure your body is relaying the same message your mouth is. Whether you are giving a sales presentation to a large number of individuals or sitting across from two people at a table, use the following tips to ensure your non-verbal signals bring the success you are looking for. The more positive and confident your interactions, the greater your success in building a relationship that will last for many years. Following are signals that can either enhance, or destroy, future business.