【推荐1】If you have to attend a party or other social events where a lot of people will be presents do you feel confident that you will make a good impression on others? Or do you feel shy? In any case, you should increase your confidence at social events.

Whenever you are meeting new people at any social event, you should wear proper clothes. Before you attend the events try to find out how other people will be dressing. If everyone else is wearing business clothes, you should, too. If the event is informal(不拘礼节的), you should wear informal clothes so that you can fit in.

If you are going to meet people from a certain business or profession, try looking through a few professional magazines or checking on the Internet ahead of time to get some conversation ideas that are related to their fields of interest. This can prevent you getting tongue-tied at the event.

When you are at the event, don’t worry about whether or not other people you are talking with like you. Instead, try your best to find reasons to like them. When you are making conversation with people, be sure to keep good eye contact, and make your facial expression soft. Nod to show you’re listening. Let your face and body relax so that you can make natural gestures.

After the event is over, take a bit of time to think of your social performance and the conversation you had with people. Tell yourself exactly what you did very well at the event. For example, perhaps you made a big effort to really listen to the people you were talking with, or you may have asked several people some good questions that really got them talking.

By doing so, your conversation confidence will gradually improve.

【推荐1】Schools across the world are trying to come up with solutions to keep students active. Some are replacing traditional classroom chairs with exercise balls or standing desks. At Ward Elementary School in Winston, North Carolina students have adopted a new program that requires riding fixed bikes while reading.

‘Read and Ride’ is the creation of school counselor Scott Ertl, who came up with the idea while he was exercising and reading at the gym. Believing it would be a fun way to convince students to become more active, he placed one in the corner of his classroom and encouraged them to use it during independent reading classes.

It was so popular that Ertl decided to add more bikes and offer the Read and Ride program to the entire school. Today Ward Elementary has a dedicated exercise room filled with bikes that can be used by students while completing their daily reading assignments.

Besides making reading more fun, the program also helps students exercise at a comfortable pace without the pressure that comes with regular sports-related activities. It is also a perfect way to release energy during days when the weather is not helpful to outdoor activities.

Most importantly, however, are the program’s academic benefits. A year after Read and Ride was introduced at Ward Elementary School, students actively involved in the program demonstrated an astonishing 83% reading proficiency. Those that had not taken advantage of the exercise bikes tested at a much lower, 41%.

Though the substantial improvement in academic achievement cannot all be attributed to programs like Read and Ride, experts believe they are a significant contributor. That’s because studies have shown that physical activity stimulates (刺激) brain cells and helps prepare it for learning. As word of the difference made by this easy to execute exercise program spreads, don’t be surprised to find schools across the country adopt ‘Read and Ride’ for their students.

【推荐3】When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But we often don't know what these really are, and how they operate.

Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible, it is short-term, and tends to backfire. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.

Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they associate you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have ended up in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place in leadership.

The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation. Today's work place is all about relationships.

Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they're recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor in the work life of most people.

The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence - knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.