Posted by admin on June 28th, 2008 — Posted in Publishing Hub
Public Speakers! Check Out These Most-Mispronounced Words.
Yes, it’s a living language–English is–but there still remain words whose correct pronunciation is less common than their mis-pronunciation! In addition to giving you the right pronunciation, I’ll throw in a simple rule or two so you can figure out others on your own and not be afraid of embarrassing yourself with Pronunciation Gaffes.
(As a therapist for thirty-some years, I hate to do this to you–use the “should” word, but I gotta do it here.)
A Rule: When you have two “c’s” together, the first C is pronounced like a K, the second like an S.
ACCEDE should be ak-SEED
ACCELERATE should be ak-SELL-uhr-ate
ACCESSIBLE should be ak-SESS-i-buhl
ACCESSORY should be ak-SESS-or-ee
ECCENTRIC should be ek-SEN-trik
FLACCID should be FLAK-sid
Only when there are double S’s are they pronounced with only the S sound. i.e. as-SESS.
Middle Eastern countries are very much in the news these days. It’s nice to pronounce a person’s country correctly. In the case of IRAQ and IRAN the I’s are not pronounced “eye”, but a short i, as in BIT. If you want to get fancy, it sounds both pretty and authentic if you can flip the R.
The A’s are broad: Iraq is not “eye rack” It is “i-ROCK”; Iran is not “eye ran”. It is “i-RON”.
Here are a few of the words I’m hearing commonly mispronounced:
CANDIDATE is CAN-di-date (Pronounce both D’s)
ECHELON is ESH-e-lon
ETC. (etcetera) is eht-SEH-ter-a (No K sound)
NUCLEAR is NOO-klee-uhr (Think of new and clear.)
PATHOS is PAY-thohs (Not thahs.)
PLETHORA is PLETH-or-a
VULNERABLE is VUL-ner-a-buhl (Sound the first L.)
SCHISM is SIZ-em
I hope this little foray to the dictionary will give you the confidence to use these very nice words with the certainty that you’re pronouncing them correctly.
Carole McMichaels, Speaker, Coach, Author: “Fearless Public Speaking: How to Get Rid of Your Stage Fright and Prepare and Deliver a Winning Presentation”, invites you to join her free newsletter on speaking in public. You may also get your free report, “7 Valuable Tips on Writing a Mind-Gripping Speech”. http://www.getridofpublicspeakingfears.com
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Posted by admin on May 31st, 2008 — Posted in Publishing Hub
If you write web content, it may be a mystery to you as to what “works” and what doesn’t work. You want people to read what you write, but are they understanding your content or clicking away soon after stopping on your page? If the latter, you stand to lose visitors and, ultimately, sales. Let’s take a look at how you can rework your site to one that attracts and keeps visitors.
Know your audience. Unless your site is geared exclusively to the scholarly crowd, gear your words toward a younger audience. Many web content producers know that language understood by 12 and 13 year olds is much more effective for attracting and keeping guests than anything else. This takes into consideration a couple of things: not everyone who visits your site is well versed in English, but they have enough of an understanding to read at a middle school grade level. If your goal is to reach the masses, you must consider a global audience particularly an audience where English is not their native tongue. In addition, unfortunately many Americans are - to be polite - lacking in certain abilities when it comes to reading. No need to stand on your platform explaining why it is this way - it just is.
Speak to your audience. Use “you” when writing. Too much talking about yourself is not very interesting. People want to know what you can do for them. Testimonials, however, can be effective especially if it discusses a problem and the resolution to the problem is shared. Create empathy!
Short and sweet. I already violated this particular principle by writing a lengthy paragraph and by including a long sentence previously. Oh, well…live and learn! Still, many people approach the internet as something to be scanned, not read. So, include plenty of white space and split up your paragraphs. Keep your sentences short too. Mrs. Grimsley, your 8th grade English teacher might not approve, but her students today will!
Use bullets, numbers, or bold. Make what you want to say stand out by bulleting, numbering or “bolding” the beginning of your sentences. In other words, lists work very well on the internet.
Select nice fonts. I love Times New Roman, but it is best used only for print. Instead, use Trebuchet, Arial, and Verdana as they are easier on the eyes. Give your visitors eye strain and they will look away…they will probably miss something too.
Grammar and spelling. Proper use of grammar as well as being careful not to misspell are critical parts to your writing. Do not rely on spell checks and a thesaurus exclusively as they cannot pick up every misused or misapplied word.
Get an opinion. Feedback from others will help determine whether your site is readable, friendly to the eyes, easy to navigate, etc. Don’t expect criticism to always be wrapped in niceness; take what is said as constructive criticism and then apply the changes to your site.
If you are new at web content writing, it is likely that it will take some time for you to “get in the flow” of writing web content. Of course, not everyone is able to fully grasp this method, so your best option may be to hire someone who can get the job done for you instead.
Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on just about any and every issue imaginable. You can preview samples from his high performing site at http://www.thearticlewriter.com
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Posted by admin on May 27th, 2008 — Posted in Publishing Hub
If you are like me and you write articles for a living, then you
know that you must get paid for all of your hard work. Payment
can come through customers who have hired you to write, through
pay per click advertising, or through banner or text ads you
place on your site next to your articles. Regardless of your
approach, a consistent and methodical plan is necessary to have
in place in order to make a living for all of your hard work.
Please continue reading for some helpful tips to help you
survive in this highly competitive business.
Submit Freely. Much of the work posted online bearing my
name is freely shared. I do not get paid for what I write. I
look at article marketing as a joint partnership between me and
the article directory. They get my articles for
redistribution and I get healthy back links to my site.
In addition, the article directory can make money off of ads
that show up next to my articles such as Google AdSense or
Yahoo! Publishing Network type ads. Furthermore, I get my name
out there and can point potential customers to the article
directories to show them how prolific a writer that I am.
Submit Jointly. Some of the articles I have posted online
are for clients. They have my name on them as my name is more
visible than their name. I write as a “contributing writer”
but I am a freelancer, not an employer. I get paid for my work
and they get some decent links.
Do Ghostwriting. The overwhelming number of articles I
write are ghostwritten. In 2005, I submitted 450 articles to
article directories, but another 1200 or so went directly to my
clients. When I submit articles jointly, I retain the rights to
having my name on the articles. When I ghost write, my customers
get what I write and retain full rights to the articles. Guess
who pays me more? Bring ‘em on!
Bill Immediately. You can write like crazy for paying
customers but still end up broke. How? By not billing customers
immediately. Whether you use direct billing, Paypal, or an
“agent” such as Guru, you are penniless until the first invoice
is paid. Come up with a plan to get your money as soon as
possible too. You don’t want to have to wait for weeks unless
you like being in the credit business!
Keep Marketing. I have busy times I have slow times.
During the slow times, I catch up on my paperwork and I write.
During slow times I submit many articles to the article
directories to keep my name out there. Regular submissions keep
me “front and center” and help build up SEO for my site. Yes, I
have my own site at www.thearticlewriter.com where most of my
best work is featured. Not every article, but those
articles where I have full rights to them and ones I want my
customers to look at when they review my portfolio.
So, that’s it. Five simple tips to help you make a living from
article marketing. If you are good at it, you will make a decent
living writing for others. I doubt you will get rich unless
article marketing ends up being a stepping stone to something
else — such as, writing your own Harry Potter style series of
books!
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Posted by admin on May 13th, 2008 — Posted in Publishing Hub
Pollution nowadays affects everyone,
The day makes not so lively.
It kills the nature gradually
I’m afraid for the coming day.
Why do you not afraid? Why do you not aware?
Everything around you is at your command
You are human that can make anything you want
So defend your right.
Our environment waits for you to move,
The nature call for you to give,
This mother earth needs a human to create,
Let us be the one to forgive.
Dirty air,dirty water, unpleasant surroundings,can you stay?!
Conserving and preserving is great
Fellowing the act is the best
So there’s no reason to sacrifice the day.
Wake up and rise,
What are you waiting for?
Your beloved nature cries.
Help it to survive.
About the Author: The author is a nature lover.He created this simple poem just to inform everybody.!! Godspeed you all!!
Source: www.isnare.com
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