Thursday, July 23, 2009

Taking a freshman to college...

Each fall, as parents help new college freshmen pack and move into a college dorm, the question on their minds is, "Is he ready?" Thanks to a unique, down-loadable book, Portable Parent, www.portableparent.com, parents can now send their students with information they need before the students think to ask. Parents can even insert their own wisdom in it, to make sure certain ideas are covered. "Instant information, with a parent's insight, 24/7".

Topics such as what to bring to college, time and money management, tips on doing laundry and making friends (a big concern of new students), how to lengthen or shorten a term paper, finding private scholarships, student travel sites, getting textbooks less expensively, and much more are included. Best of all, the book will not add an ounce to the mounds of luggage to be lugged to your student's room!

A student reviewer for Portable Parent commented,
"Hey - it's like a parent that you can get information from when you want it.... even at the times of morning that you need advice but don't want the lecture you'd get about calling at that time of night!"

www.portableparent.com

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Diversity and idea generation

A client of mine who wanted advice on facilitating brainstorming groups recently asked if brainstorming groups should have people with similar backgrounds in them. Research has shown, I told her, that the more diverse the group, the greater the number of ideas that will be generated. Diversity can be from different places in the same (or other) country, age, race, sex, professional or educational background.

Another group of my clients who are from other countries come for help with improving their American pronunciation. As they improve their communication skills, we are also sharing information about our native cultures. "In my country, we...." is often heard. Often other groups' beliefs and ways of doing things are a real surprise to us, and we all learn about another way of dealing with a problem.

Whether focusing on improving pronunciation or brainstorming skills, diversity makes a difference!