Different Types of Text

1.What is text?

Text is any piece of writing.
This could be a letter, an email, a novel, a poem, a recipe, a note, instructions for D.I.Y, an article in a newspaper or magazine, writing on a webpage or an advert.
All of these examples can be called texts

When you are reading or writing any text think about the purpose of the text or why it has been written.

2. What might the purpose of a text be?

An advert might be trying to persuade you to buy something.
A letter from school might be to inform you about something.
A novel might describe somewhere or someone to you.
A car manual might instruct you how to do something to your car.

Depending on the purpose of the text, different methods will be used to get the message across to the reader.

For more specific information on some of the different types of text see the Persuasive texts, Informative texts, Instructive texts and Descriptive texts factsheets.


Persuasive texts
A persuasive text is a text that really wants you to do something

An advert might want you to buy something.
You might write a letter to persuade a friend to go on holiday with you, or to try and get off a parking ticket.
Persuasive texts might use:
• repeated words
• text in capital letters
• exclamation marks
• rhetorical questions (questions where no answer is needed)
• an emotional one-sided argument
• humour
Examples:
SPECIAL OFFER! Buy today! Would you want to miss this SPECIAL offer? Phone NOW...

"I really think that you need this holiday. You have been working very hard lately and are so worn out. Just think of how nice it will be to lie on the beach in the sunshine."

Informative texts
An informative text is a text that wants to advise or tell you about something.

A newspaper article might give you information about a health issue like giving up smoking.
A website might give you information about a movie, band or something that you are interested in.
A handout from school might be advising you about what your child will be doing during the next term.
Informative texts usually:
• avoid repetition
• contain facts
• give information in a clear way - introducing the subject and then developing it
Examples:
Make a plan to help you try and give up smoking. Plan the date you'll give up, how you'll try to deal with temptations and a list of the reasons why you are giving up to keep motivated.

Autumn term: Your child will be covering simple fractions during weeks 1-6.

Instructive texts
An instructive text is a text that instructs or tells you how to do something

A recipe wants to instruct you how to cook something.
A leaflet with a piece of furniture wants to tell you how to put it together or take care of it.
Instructive texts:
• are written as though the reader is being spoken to -
(although the word 'you' is not usually used)
• language is direct and unnecessary words are left out
• often use 'must' and 'must not'
• sometimes use diagrams or pictures to help understanding
Examples:
Put all ingredients into bowl together. Whisk until fully mixed.

Go to the end of the road and turn left past the pub on the corner. Keep walking until you come to a park and then turn right into Hawker Street.


To learn more about writing instructions, look at the Skillswise Instructions module.

Descriptive texts
A descriptive text is a text that wants you to picture what they are describing.

A novel might want you to imagine the characters and see them in your mind.
A travel book will want you to see the country it is describing.
Descriptive texts usually:
• make use of adjectives and adverbs
• use comparisons to help picture it - something is like something
• employ your five senses - how it feels, smells, looks, sounds and tastes
Examples:
The morning air was crisp and sharp as Sean walked down the road.
The pavement was slippery and cold beneath his feet like a slimy wet fish.


To learn more about words to help you describe people, places and things look at the Skillswise Describing words (adjectives) module.

QUICK PLACEMENT TEST

Pada tanggal 22 Februari 2009 Perguruan Tinggi Widya Dharma menyelenggarakan placement test bagi sejumlah dosen di lingkungan perguruan tinggi ini. Test yang dimulai tepat pada pukul sepuluh pagi itu diikuti oleh dosen-dosen ABA WIDYA DHARMA, STMIK WIDYA DHARMA, STIE WIDYA DHARMA dan ASM WIDYA DHARMA, serta sejumlah guru dari SD PLUS GEMBALA BAIK. Test ini difasilitasi oleh perwakilan langsung Cambridge di Indonesia
Dari 34 peserta yang diharapkan mengikuti tes ini, ada 2 dosen yang berhalangan untuk hadir. Sebagian besar peserta mengatakan bahwa mereka mengalami kesulitan karena waktu yang sangat terbatas dalam menyelesaikan soal-soal yang diberikan. Para peserta hanya diberikan waktu 20 menit untuk menyelesaikan 40 soal bahasa Inggris yang dibuat langsung oleh CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY ini. Soal soal tersebut mengetes kemampuan bahasa Inggris peserta dari aspek Reading dan Grammar. 40 soal tersebut merupakan tahap pertama dari 2 tahap yang diteskan. 7 peserta berhasil lulus untuk tahap pertama ini dan berhak melanjutkan tes tahap kedua untuk menjawab 20 soal selama 10 menit. Ketujuh peserta yang lolos ini adalah Pak Bambang Wijaya, Bu Royani, Bu Lenny, Erwi Eka Asmara, Jimmy Welles, Bu Aminah, dan Bu Lina. Para peserta yang lulus ke tahap kedua ini diperkirakan memiliki Advanced atau Very Advanced Level of English Mastery. Selamat untuk para peserta yang lulus!

Ten tips on being a good Master of Ceremony

Are you going to be a master of a ceremony at a conference, award's night, seminar series, concert or similar event? What a wonderful honour, but a daunting one! Here are some tips to help you be brilliant.

Know your role. The role of a master of ceremonies is to keep an event flowing, to keep the energy of the audience up, to ensure that everything runs smoothly, to help the audience feel welcomed, to help speakers feel appreciated ... and so the list continues. It is not simply to watch the clock or to give information.

Identify the core groups in your audience. Welcome individuals and groups, not just by title but with specific information. For example, "To those of you who have travelled all the way from Newcastle, a big welcome."

Mention the audience's needs. Show you know where the audience is at. For example, if you are the master of ceremonies at a breakfast seminar you might say, "I know some of you are hanging out for your first coffee of the day, so we are going to start with breakfast."

Mention the viewpoint of the audience. The audience may be listening to a speaker at a function and have cynical views or objections in their minds about what may be presented. Sometimes if you, as the master of ceremonies can bring that objection out into the open, they can let go of it. You might say something like "You might be sitting there thinking that this is all very well but it will take too much time. You'll enjoy our next speaker then, as Ian has some fascinating statistics on how quickly the task can be done".

Keep to time – be confident. Some master of ceremonies I have worked with have found it very difficult to stop speakers going over time. In advance decide how, as the MC, you will let people know when their time is up. Then do it! Don't be scared – it's your job and speakers expect you to do it. At one event I spoke at, the mistress of ceremony was adamant, in advance, that I didn't need to worry about time as she would tell me when I only had 5 minutes to go. But she never told me about 5 minutes or when my time was up and I was left wondering how long I'd spoken for. It was a 15 minute speech and after (I discovered later) 22 minutes, I finally gave up waiting for her and stopped. It was very uncomfortable and I will always time myself in future. You are there, as the master of ceremony, to keep the time.

Keep your audience's energy up. If your audience has had to listen to a dull or boring speaker, you need to bring their energy back up. It is your job to warm them up and get them enthusiastic for the next speaker or event on the program. Using humour by telling funny stories or getting the audience involved in an activity can help here.

Thank the speakers specifically. Thank the speakers by picking up on what they've said and feeding it back to them. Don't just say "thank you" or "thank you for your time" or "what a wonderful speech". Instead be specific. For example, "Jane, those stories you told about how Michelle's exercise program saved her life have helped me understand just how important it is that I exercise more. In fact, I'm going to make sure I go for a walk when we've finished here today. Thank you for being so inspiring".

Help motivate the audience to want to hear a speaker. Your job as the master of ceremonies is to explain to an audience the benefits they are going to gain from listening to a speaker, so that the audience is motivated to pay attention. This is good for the audience and good for the speaker. For example, you might say, "Some of you have come especially today to find out what the mediation program is about. Sun-Lee, who will be talking next, will explain all the steps so that you can use them to sort out any problems you may be having at work." Making it amusing can also help here.

Talk personally to the audience. Avoid overuse of the third person, and instead talk personally to the audience. For example, instead of saying "People are killed everyday on the roads because of driver fatigue", you might say, "As a driver, you may be killed not because you have made a mistake but because the person in the car next to you was tired and dropped off. Would you rather live? Is there any danger that you might be too tired to drive safely?"

Sound welcoming. Some masters of ceremonies read a sheet of paper to announce and formally welcome guests. Please do it from your heart and with a sincere and genuine sense of welcoming. Smile, name people personally, say why it's good they are here, look people in the eye and have warmth in your voice. Welcome people rather than announce them, and do it without reading it word for word. Connect with your audience. being a master of ceremony is a hard job but done well can make an enormous difference to a function. Do it well and enjoy the success.

Being a Master of Ceremonies at a wedding: Ten tips on how to be a good Master of Ceremonies

You've been invited to be the master of ceremonies at a wedding. What an honour. It is an important job. You know the master of ceremonies can make or break the wedding reception, and you need to be good. Here are ten tips, out of the many available, to help you be a brilliant Wedding Master of Ceremony.

Keep everything flowing smoothly.It is often your job to mastermind the entire wedding reception. You need to know exactly what is to happen when, where and with whom. However, things are always in danger of going haywire at a wedding reception. When events don’t go to plan you have to provide a way for everything to continue to run smoothly. This may be by your filling the gaps in the programme or by getting someone else to do it. But whatever happens make sure the wedding reception flows smoothly. You are to smooth everything over.

Keep everything and everyone to time.How easy it is for a wedding reception to drag on. People speak far longer then they should, the bride and groom are late arriving, the knife for the cake cutting goes missing, the bride's mother faints ... there are any number of possible events that can stop the ceremony going to time. As the Master of Ceremony at the wedding your job is to make sure everything runs to time. If this means you go to the kitchen 15 minutes before the cake is due to be cut to ensure the knife is available and the cake ready, then you go to the kitchen. If you need to talk to everyone in advance about the length of their speeches and how to help them stick to time, then you talk to all speakers in advance. You do whatever you need to keep to time.

Get the introductions and protocol correct.The Wedding Master of Ceremony is often responsible for announcing who people are and introducing them before they give a speech or a toast. Make sure you have sufficient information on all the relevant people, and that you know what they are doing and when. Ensure you get the titles and protocol correct for all the duties including the introductions. For example, the Master of Ceremonies announcements may include introducing a toast to the bride and groom, calling upon the groom and bride to respond, inviting the parents of the groom to speak, inviting the bride and groom to the dance floor for the bridal waltz, and so on. Work out carefully, in advance, exactly what is expected of you. Your Master of Ceremonies duties can vary from one wedding to another. No two weddings are identical and not everyone wants a traditional wedding. (Also, it is important if you are not also the Best Man that you know which duties the Best Man will take responsibility for and which ones you, as the Master or Mistress of Ceremonies, will do. )

Leave everyone feeling proud of the "happy couple". Emotions are a very important part of your job. As the Master of Ceremonies at a wedding it is very important that everything you do is geared to two emotions: pride and happiness. You need to ensure everyone at the wedding, particularly the parents and siblings of the bride and groom, glow with radiant pride throughout the wedding ceremony and wedding reception. There are many ways to do this, e.g. telling positive stories about them, finding others to tell relevant stories about them, praising the bride and groom, commenting on good features that are happening... do what you can to leave everyone feeling proud of the couple and proud to have been at the wedding.

Build up happiness. Help the bride and groom to leave feeling very happy. As their Master of Ceremonies the bride and groom will want you to help them take away a wonderful set of memories that will last them a lifetime. People cherish their wedding photos for years and years; they still talk about their wedding 10, 20 or 30 years later, and they want everything to go well so they can savour each moment. The happy memories matter. The Master of Ceremony needs to have the couple’s happiness as a major focus.

Encourage laughter. Relax the wedding guests. Relax the bridal party. Relax everyone there by using humour so people laugh. You may for instance tell funny stories, or encourage others to do so, about the couple. This can keep a wedding light and enjoyable. Don’t make the stories too embarrassing though, the Master of Ceremonies is not there to humiliate anyone, even if the groom is your best mate!

Help the guests feel comfortable and connected. One of the difficulties with wedding ceremonies and receptions is that the guests don’t know each other. One of your tasks as the Master or Mistress of Ceremonies is to help the guests feel comfortable and connected. Very often guests can feel awkward and alone: bring everyone together. Help everyone get to know each other. This is even more important if it is a cross cultural or cross religious wedding.
Make sure everyone knows what is happening.So often I’ve been to weddings, as a guest, and had no idea what is happening next, or where I am to go or what I am to do. As the Wedding Master of Ceremony don’t let this happen to your guests. Don’t leave your guests standing around not knowing what to do next. Tell them what is happening each step of the way.

Don’t crack irrelevant jokes. Master of Ceremonies who are new to the role, often make the mistake of thinking that they have to tell a whole series of jokes. They don’t. There are other ways to produce humour. If you do tell jokes make sure they do not offend anyone. Pick them very carefully indeed.

When alcohol is present be prepared for anything. Sadly, people who drink too much alcohol at wedding receptions can cause a nightmare for the Master or Mistress of Ceremony. However, the Master of Ceremonies (usually along with the Best Man) is responsible for managing crowd behaviour. You become the unofficial bouncer. My worst memory of a wedding reception was when a small number of guests, myself included, took to the dance floor. A man behind me was inebriated. He decided to come up close and starting shoving himself at me, as if he were dry humping. It was disgusting and revolting. Fortunately, with very little fuss he was taken aside and “encouraged” to go home early. It is your job as the Master of Ceremony to avoid such incidents from occurring and if they do to deal with them swiftly and discreetly so there is as little embarrassment for the bride and groom as possible.

Five easy Ways to Overcome Nervousness in Public Speaking

Nerves can ruin public speaking. They can stop you from giving presentations, and leave you afraid of speaking in public. We've all experienced nerves at some stage or other and they aren't always a bad thing – for instance, nerves can keep us alert to danger; they can remind us to check for potential errors before we hand in a report, or they can keep us charged up so we meet a deadline or a plane on time.
However, when we experience nervousness in public speaking, our presentations can be ruined. We may experience blushing, sweating, heart pounding, shaking, a dry mouth, stomach butterflies, trips to the toilet, or go blank, lose our place, drop our notes, mumble, become inaudible, sound squeaky or overall fail to give a good impression. If you get these problems prior to giving a speech or during a speech no wonder you have a fear of public speaking.
However, it is possible to overcome public speaking nerves and anxiety. Here are just five of the many steps that may help you. They have been selected from interviews with seven women on the CD set "Confidence for women in public speaking". They can apply to you too.

Adopt an audience focus. Many people who are nervous about public speaking are often, in my experience, self-conscious. They spend a lot of time worrying about themselves. They think the audience is going to be very critical, that the audience is out to destroy them or trip them up, that the audience is going to analyse them and find fault in everything they do. All of this self-focus increases anxiety and panic in public speaking so they freeze. Instead, focus on the audience. After all, the audience is actually most concerned about themselves. They sit there wondering how they’re going to cope with all the new e-mails that will arrive while they’re there, they wonder whether they’ll get back in time to pick up the kids, they’re anxious in case they can’t keep up or they have to do something humiliating or embarrassing. You can, therefore, forget yourself and focus on the audience. Forget the concept of audience attack! Instead make then feel welcomed, ensure they are comfortable, reassure them, have eye contact with them, interact with them, make the speech relevant to them, and so on. When you take the focus off yourself anxiety will lessen. Too much self-focus kills confidence and increases nervousness. When you focus on the audience everyone benefits.

Put yourself in the present moment. Anxiety and nervousness are often related to concerns about the future, about what will happen, about what may go wrong. Thoughts such as, "What happens if the audience asks me a question I can't answer?" or "What happens if the audience falls asleep?", or "What if I go blank?" all increase your anxiety and nerves, and take you away from what is happening right now. Instead of worrying about what may happen later become fully involved in what is happening in the present moment. Chelsea, aged 10, was the youngest person on the CDs and was a big star in her school play. When I asked her how she managed to pull off such a successful performance, she replied, “I didn’t really think of anything else, just what was going on in the moment.”

Let your errors build your skills and experience. We all make errors when public speaking. It is our reaction to such errors that matters not the errors themselves. Melissa, a 29 year old mother of two and small business owner, used to go over and over in her mind the one time she had “fluffed” a presentation. She presumed that she would therefore “fluff” all future presentations. There was no evidence for this. She had some good presentation skills. One flop does not mean permanent failure: it just means that you had one flop! No-one, however skilled and confident, can go on stage, speech after speech, and always have 100% success. Talk to successful presenters and they will all be able to tell you of the time that a speech hasn’t worked, or they lost their place, or someone fell asleep. Such experiences are normal. What matters is what you do with them. I remember giving a speech to a local council once. It was after lunch. I looked around and sure enough there was one of the older guys, not just asleep, but snoring! What I needed to learn was how to wake him up without embarrassing him, and so I invented an exercise where everyone had to turn to the people next to them and talk to them. In other words, the man next to him woke him up for me! If you learn from your errors then your experience will build your public speaking confidence and skills.

Invest your time in practising being confident. It is very easy to increase our panic and nervousness by what we do and what we imagine. It is equally possible, therefore, to increase our confidence and reduce our anxiety by what we do and imagine. For example, Melissa initially said she was terrified of speaking at a national conference, as she was sure the audience was going to pull her to pieces. No wonder she was scared if this is what she imagined would happen. In contrast, when she began visualising the audience sitting together as small groups of friends while she was sending them her love, her anxiety and palpitations eased and were replaced by a relaxed sense of calm; and the conviction, that yes! she could do this – she could speak successfully at the conference. Invest your time practising being confident.

Do your homework. We live in a society where we have been trained to expect instant results, instant confidence, instant happiness, and instant luxury. Yet life is not really like this, this is just a fairy tale dreamt up by advertisers who want you to buy their products and services. If you want to instantly cure your nervousness you may be disappointed and give up too easily. If you are willing to do your homework and practise the strategies to overcome your public speaking panic, then success is yours. I am a confident and successful speaker but I still do my homework and work to get myself in the best mind state for each speech. Do your homework and the rewards will be yours.

Say goodbye to nervousness in public speaking. Your confidence is already there waiting for you.

Eleven Things to Avoid in Public Speaking

1. Doing the same thing all the time: variety is more interesting.
2. Reading the notes word by word: it stops you looking at the audience and can contribute to your nervousness if you become scared of losing your place.
3. Having too much detail - select your key messages. Make it easy for the audience to learn your primary message.
4. Using too many technical terms: use everyday words that the people in your audience will relate to and use. Technical terms, bureaucratic phrases and jargon that you might speak on a daily basis may not be familiar to your audience. Do not let technical language form a barrier between you and the audience. As a very simple example, your audience may not say "This is an employer of choice", rather they might say "I want to work here."
5. Sounding dull, disengaged or tired: have energy. If you don't have the passion and enthusiasm for your topic - how can you expect your audience to? Inspire your audience with your own passion and enthusiasm.
6. Pacing up and down: stay still sometimes, move sometimes.
7. Sounding flat: put some light and shade in your voice.
8. Mumbling: make sure you're easy to hear. An audience gets very frustrated when they can't hear a speaker. Be clear. Be audible.
9. Relying too heavily on visual aids: you are important - make sure the audience sees you and not just your power-points.
10. Standing fixed to one spot. Don't let adrenalin freeze you to the spot. Move and move early.
11. Avoiding looking at the audience: have eye contact with your audience. Give the impression that you are looking at each person - do not skim over their heads nor fix on one or two people.

Ten Tips on Making Your Presentations Interesting

Vary what you do.

It is usually more interesting for an audience if they can't predict the next slide, activity or item of content. Vary what you do.

Vary your audio-visuals.

Use slides which are varied, e.g. a cartoon, followed by bullet points, then a photograph, then a quote, then a statistic, and so on!

Start with something unexpected. Starting a speech or presentation with "Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for having me," may not be interesting. Instead you might like to try by starting with something less predictable, e.g. a hands-up activity, a quote, a stunning statistic, etc.

Speak in an interesting voice. Avoid a monotone. Have light and shade in your voice. Sound interesting.

Involve the audience. A passive audience is more likely to become disinterested than one involved in the presentation.

Move. It's usually more interesting to watch a presenter who moves his/her body and has energy and spark, than one who is fixed solid. This doesn't mean fidgeting or pacing up and down so you become distracting. It does mean avoiding the temptation to fix rigidly to the spot or to hang on to the lectern.

End early. End a few minutes early rather than going overtime. Audiences generally get restless, no matter how good the presentation when it runs overtime.

Use props. Props can evoke curiosity in an audience. Being able to see a piece of working machinery, a model, or a funny costume, for example, may bring sparkle to even the most technical presentation.

Tell humorous stories. Humour can bring presentations alive. Make sure, though, that if you're going to tell jokes that they are relevant and not offensive to anyone. Personal stories can be safer than jokes but please! make sure they make a point relevant to your speech.

Ask questions. Engage your audience at an intellectual level. Pose questions for them to answer - whether out loud or in their heads. They may enjoy the challenge.

How to Cure of Blushing

One thing is for sure, Amy had told Rachel from the start that she could not speak to more than three people without becoming paralysed with fright and blushing badly. However, after her session she wrote to tell Rachel that she had ended up singing in front of 100 and was over her blushing. This is fact. Yes! But how was Amy able to ditch her blushing? Here's how ...
Amy told Rachel that she had already tried visualisation techniques and positive affirmations, without success. She complained that these techniques weren't practical enough for her. She had resigned herself to the idea that "this is how I am", and "I'm never going to be able to speak confidently in public". Sure enough, Amy did not find it easy to produce visual pictures in her mind. However, Rachel discovered that there was a successful alternative. It was a major breakthrough! Amy liked music and she could use this instead. What Rachel found was that not only did Amy enjoy music but also she could easily replay it in her mind, and when she did her feelings changed remarkably. Rachel encouraged Amy to go through some of her favourite musical memories. Amy remembered a particular time when she was sitting with her partner at the back of a concert hall listening to a beautiful piece of music over a glass of wine. As Amy recaptures this romantic musical moment you can hear her change: her voice softens and she relaxes. This was HER trigger for confidence. Once she had identified this music memory all she had to do was to keep replaying it in her mind whenever she thought of speaking in public. It put her in the right frame of mind so she could face a crowd without any fear of blushing. No, visualisations didn't work for her, but romantic music memories did. The trigger for her confidence was similar to visualisations but done in a different way to suit her. Overcoming stage fright can be as easy as that, Amy proved it. It really works!If you are not quite sure how it works or applies to you, no problem! The "Confidence for women in public speaking" CDs will make it crystal clear. They go through Amy's progress each step of the way until you hear her confidence blossom. What a huge difference this made to her and her career options. She was over her blushing and had never before imagined it was possible. But best of all this progress could be your progress.

Five Ways to Cure Your Public Speaking Stage Fright

Public speaking stage fright is mind numbing. It can stop you from giving presentations, from advancing your career and from getting your ideas and experience known. And, it can leave you terrified of giving a presentation in public.
The symptoms are well known: blushing, sweating, heart pounding, shaking, a dry mouth, belly butterflies, trips to the toilet, a fear of going blank, a fear of losing your place, paralysis, panic, anxiety, and more. If you get these problems prior to giving a speech or during a speech no wonder you have a fear of public speaking.
However, public speaking phobia can be overcome and stage fright cured. Here are just five of the many steps that may help you. They have been selected from interviews with seven women on the CD set "Confidence for women in public speaking". They can apply to you too.
Persist in searching for your trigger of success.In order to cure your stage fright you need to search for the best technique for you. There is no one right method that cures everyone. For example, on the public speaking CDs one of the women, Sam, overcame her stage fright by using a new breathing technique, which kept her body from seizing up and allowed her to control her voice and nerves. Another woman, Amy, needed a completely different type of help, she discovered that when she replayed positive music memories to herself, that they put her in the right frame of mind so she could face a crowd without a fear of blushing. For Melissa it was different again, what worked for her was sending feelings of compassion and kindness to her anticipated audience. All three had huge boosts in public speaking confidence and overcame their public speaking phobia. Each did it in a different way. Search for the right trigger for you.
Challenge your thoughts. Many people generate catastrophic thoughts about all the things that may go wrong if they have to give a presentation, and this makes them afraid to speak in public. However, these things rarely, if ever, happen. Amy, for example, a journalist in her mid-twenties, thought there was a significant danger of her falling over flat on her face. I asked her how many speakers she had seen fall over – none! How many speakers had she seen that were flat on their face – none! I asked her how many times she thought that I, as a professional speaker, had fallen over – none! She needed to challenge her thinking and ditch the junk. Do you? Do not believe something just because you think it. Just because you think something it doesn’t make it right or true. Our thoughts can dream up absolute nonsense and make it seem real when it isn’t. Our thoughts can be lies. Test your thoughts.
Become comfortable with anxiety – don't add fear of anxiety on top of the anxiety. One of the major problems with stage fright is being frightened of the anxiety itself. Sam, an IT manager in her early forties, was like this. She was so anxious of anxiety that this was worse than the anxiety or public speaking itself. She had added fear on top of fear. It is a great way to set stage fright in concrete so it feels as though it will always be there. I therefore suggested to Sam that a big step for her was to stop fearing the anxiety and to learn to feel comfortable with it. One way I got her to do this was to start talking to herself about her anxiety symptoms as if she was a professor studying them. For example, when she was sweating she could become curious about where all the water comes from. Does she keep a water well under her arm pit for the occasion or does it get taken from her bladder, and anyway how much will she sweat, will it be one litre or two? As I began talking like this Sam actually ended up laughing about her anxiety. Laughter is a great antidote for anxiety and fear. Learn to feel comfortable with anxiety and your anxiety will lessen. I have also used this technique very successfully to overcome severe panic attacks.
Remember and recall snap shots of confidence.Stage fright can lessen when you concentrate on the good times. Whenever you are feeling good, happy or confident take a snap shot of it in your mind. Remember all the details of it. Remember how you look, stand and feel when you are relaxed and confident. Remember how you speak, breathe and talk when you are happy and confident. Remember the colours, the sounds, and the feelings. Then revisit the snap shots over and over again. Replay them in your mind so often that you can go to them quickly and automatically. Concentrate on these while you are preparing a speech, rehearsing a speech, when you are travelling to a speech and while you wait to speak. In one of my snap shots I am standing by a new pond we'd built watching a dragonfly land for the first time on it. I was in raptures to think that the dragonfly had found our pond already. It was so beautiful with long lace wings and a blue body – and me? My smile reached right across my teeth, my eyes were bright and I was singing in my heart. I went to an after-dinner speech later that week and I imagined the dragonfly on the microphone. No stage fright had a chance because I was as happy as if I was still standing by the pond. If you remember and recall your snap shots of confidence as you stand at the lectern or microphone your stage fright won't stay either.
Transfer your skills. We are all confident somewhere in our lives. We are less confident in others. No-one has 100% confidence. No-one has 100% stage fright when speaking to people. Amy, for example, said she could easily manage to speak to three people without blushing, being anxious or worrying about being looked at. However, she also said she couldn’t speak in public to a large group. I asked her how big the group had to be before the problem became serious, and she said six! If I suggested to Amy that she spoke to nine she froze and became paralysed with stage fright. Realistically there is not a lot of difference between three, six or nine – they are all small groups. All Amy had to do was to work out what she did when speaking to a group of three and do the same when she spoke to six, nine or ninety. She simply needed to transfer her skills across to the larger group. The same may apply to you. There will be something that you can do with people that does not produce the symptoms of stage fright, whether it is talking to people at a dinner party, meeting people networking, or speaking out at a meeting. Learn what you do there. What do you say to yourself? Where do you look? How do you stand? Then transfer the skills you have to public speaking.
Say goodbye to stage fright. Your confidence is already there waiting for you.

How to Sound Confident in Public Speaking

If you are nervous when speaking in public and prone to stage fright you may sound hesitant, unsure or flustered. Your voice may tremble; you may speak too quietly; or mumble and rush through your speech too quickly. Here are some tips for you, therefore, on how to sound confident when public speaking. When you sound confident the audience is more likely to take note of what you have to say.

Make your diction clear. Precise, clear diction suggests decisiveness and confidence. Therefore, put effort and energy into your diction. There are particular sounds, such as t/d/k, which, when spoken at the end of your words, need to be crisp and clear in order for you to project confidence easily. For example, practise saying "Bake the cake", with the final K sounds being crisp. When people are nervous they tend not to form their words well. In contrast, when people are confident they do tend to form their words well. So if you speak clearly you will sound confident.

Maintain your voice volume. Confident people can be heard easily. If you speak too quietly people may think you are nervous even if you aren't. Or they may think that what you say is not important. Keep your volume up. Be easy to hear. Don't be afraid of the sound of your own voice. Speak up. Sound confident. If you find it hard to project your voice then order a microphone, or go and see a speech and drama teacher to learn how to project it more easily. Whatever you do, make it easy for your audience to hear what you are saying. An audience does not want to strain to hear you. Add volume to your voice and you will add confidence to your speech.

Pause. Don't rush through your speech. Pause, and pause often. It may seem like an eternity to you but to the audience a pause can provide the time they need to absorb and take in what you are saying. The general rule is the bigger the audience the longer your pauses need to be. Confident people pause and look comfortable during the silence. Pause and the audience will think you are confident whether you are or not.

Come to a full stop/period.Instead of rushing through your speech or presentation, clearly separate out one sentence from another. Sometimes people, when they are nervous, fail to come to a full stop/period at the end of a sentence. Instead, they insert an "um" or "er" between phrases or sentences and everything they say gets joined together. This lowers the impact that your speech will have on the audience. Trust that what you have said has been good enough and stop. Then wait before starting your next sentence. Do not fill in the space between sentences with anything other than silence. Confident people are comfortable with silence. The silence is your thinking time. Give yourself thinking time. Stop at the full stops/periods.

Control your speech rate. Nervous speech is usually fast speech. I have seen some speakers appear breathless because they are in such a hurry to get their speeches or presentations "out of the way" or "over with". Confident speech is often well-paced. Some confident speakers even speak quite slowly. They place importance on their words by slowing their speech down. The words that are said more slowly would often be considered the most important ones. Don't throw away the significant messages that you have by speaking quickly. Modulate your speech so that you sound confident and your words sound important.

Have an inflection that varies.It is very easy to flatten your voice out when you are nervous so it becomes a flat, boring monotone. Don't do this. Keep variety in your voice. Modulate your words so that the pitch of your voice goes up and down. In other words put "light and shade" into what you are saying. If you have something important to say make it sound important and interesting. A voice with modulation is more interesting than a monotone and will make you sound more confident.

Drop your voice at the end of a sentence.

When you are uncertain your voice may go up at the end of a sentence. An upward or rising inflection in the voice is usually used for asking questions. When your inflection goes up at the end of a sentence when it is not a question, i.e. when you are making a statement or giving a command, you are likely to sound uncertain or open to negotiation. Your so called "command" will sound like an option. For example, if you watch a TV newsreader, listen to what they do at the end of a sentence. If they want to sound confident and to make the news have authority and importance they go down at the end. I used to train the TV newsreaders to read the news – and they were certainly not allowed to go up at the end, not even when it was good or exciting news. Drop your voice at the end of a sentence for extra authority and confidence.

How to Overcome Your Public Speaking Fears

A key tip to overcome your public speaking stage fright
You probably already know the symptoms of public speaking stage fright. Blushing, shaking, sweating, butterflies in your stomach, nervousness, pounding heart, fear, and more. The good news is that these symptoms can be reduced dramatically so you can be calm and relaxed when presenting and speaking in public.
What you think, imagine and do can increase or decrease your nervousness. What could you possibly do that makes you nervous?
The commonest thing is that you spend your time saying negative things to yourself about how dreadful the experience will be, how many difficult questions you will get, that you'll go blank, that they are all looking at you, that they're out to trip you up, or even that you will trip up! Yes! I had one women I interviewed recently who was terrified of public speaking and she had convinced herself that she would trip up. Thinking like this paralysed her.Do you think like this? Do you think that successful speakers think like this? No of course not. Such thinking makes public speaking so much harder. So what can you do to overcome this kind of destructive, nerve producing thinking?
Know what you are thinking.
When it is negative - challenge your thinking.
Think like a confident speaker thinks.
You can challenge your thinking - what you think may well not be the truth. You don't have to believe it. The woman who was scared of tripping up learnt to challenge her thinking. She asked herself where is the evidence that I will trip up? What is the worst thing that will happen if I do? How many times have I tripped up? None. How many times have I seen other speakers trip up? None. By challenging her thinking like this she came to the conclusion that her thinking was the only thing likely to trip her up! That she was thinking nonsense. That it was her thinking making her frightened not the experience itself.
After changing her thinking she was able to move from only being able to present to a maximum of 3 people to singing Karaoke in front of a 100 really well!
When you say these kinds of things to yourself you are making your anxiety, panic or stage fright worse. Such thinking kills public speaking confidence.
Thankfully, it is possible to change this kind of thinking and think like a confident presenter.

PUBLIC SPEAKING TIPS

Key Message For You
Successful public speaking is a skill that can be learnt. Even if you are shy and nervous, new to it, or have technical topics to present, you can learn how to overcome your fear of public speaking, calm your nerves, and even enjoy speaking in public!
And you can learn how to get your message across in a compelling and interesting way so that your audience is never bored and they hang off the edge of their seats wanting to listen. The following tips will show you how you can learn the presentation skills you need, one step at a time.

GEDUNG ABA WIDYA DHARMA

Gedung ABA WIDYA DHARMA yang megah terletak di jantung kota Pontianak.

v d o

AKADEMI BAHASA ASING WIDYA DHARMA PONTIANAK

AKADEMI BAHASA ASING
Program Studi : Bahasa Inggris (DIII)

Dengan mancermati kebutuhan dan ketatnya persaingan di era globalisasi ini, ABA Widya Dharma merancang kurikulum yang responsive terhadap kebutuhan dunia kerja, yang disebut kurikulum “THREE-IN-ONE”. Kurikulum ini terdiri dari kemampuan utama (major Competency) yakni kemahiran berbahasa Inggris yang handal baik lisan maupun tertulis. Kemampuan kedua (Minor Competency) yakni kemampuan teknologi computer yang meliputi kemahiran dalam mengoperasikan computer dan internet untuk kepentingan studi atau peningkatan wawasan. Kemampuan ketiga (Selective Competency) merupakan kemampuan yang bebas dipilih oleh mahasiswa sesuai dengan minastnya, yakni bebas memilih kemampuan berbahasa Mandarin atau kemampuan bisnis. Proses perkuliahan dirancang dengan mengacu pada keunggulan (excellence) baik melalui interaksi dalam kelas maupun melalui E-Learning. Dengan bekal kedisiplinan, keseriusan, dan kerja keras yang tinggi, ABA Widya Dharma mampu mencetak lulusan yang unggul yang menguasai tiga kompetensi dan siap menyongsong masa depan yang lebih cerah dan menjanjikan.

PERTEMUAN DOSEN SEMESTER GENAP

PERTEMUAN DOSEN SEMESTER GENAP
PERGURUAN TINGGI WIDYA DHARMA PONTIANAK
29 Januari 2009

1. Pembukaan oleh MC
2. Doa Pembukaan oleh Sr. Christina Sri Wahyuningsih, S.Pd.
3. Perkenalan Pengurus Yayasan
a. Pelindung : Mgr. Hieronimus Bumbun , OFM, Cap.
b. Ketua : P. Widjaja Tandra, SH. MM.
c. Pengurus Harian : Drs. Petrus Rostandy, OFM, Cap.

d. Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi (STIE) Widya Dharma
Ketua : Gabriel Christanmas, S.E., M.M.
Pembantu Ketua Bidang Akademik : Hadi Santoso, S.E., M.M.
Pembantu Ketua Bidang Kemahasiswaan : Sunardi Ginting, S.E.,M.M.
Ketua Program Studi Manajemen : Frederik Antonius, S.E., M.M.
Ketua Program Studi Akuntansi :
e. Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika dan Komputer (STMIK) Widya Dharma
Ketua STMIK WIDYA DHARMA : Dr. Hartono
Pembantu Ketua Bidang Akademik : Kristina, S.T., M.Kom.
Pembantu Ketua Bidang Kemahasiswaan : Norbertus Priadi, S.Ag.
Ketua Program Studi Sistem Informatika : Soebandi, S.Kom.
Ketua Program Studi Teknik Informatika : Riyadi J. Iskandar, S.Kom., M.M.
Ketua Program Studi Manajemen Informatika: Soebandi, S.Kom.
f. Akademi Sekretari dan Manajemen (ASM) Widya Dharma
Direktur ASM WIDYA DHARMA : Drs. Paulus Kota, OFM, Cap.
Pembantu Direktur Bidang Akademik : Maran, S.E., M.M.
Pembantu Direktur Bidang Kemahasiswaan : Norbertus Priadi, S.Ag.
Ketua Program Studi Kesekretariatan :
Ketua Program Studi Manajemen Perkantoran: Maran, S.E., M.M.
g. Akademi Bahasa Asing (ABA) Widya Dharma
Direktur ABA WIDYA DHARMA : Drs. Bambang Wijaya
Pembantu Direktur Bidang Akademik : Marnangkok Pakpahan, S.Pd.
Pudir Bidang Kemahasiswaan : Sr. Christina Sri Wahyuningsih, S.Pd.
Ketua Program Studi Bahasa Inggris : Erwi Eka Asmara, S.Pd.

4. Perkenalan Dosen Baru
STIE : - Juli Suriatika, S.E., M.M.
- Lodi Yanto, S.E.
- Fernando, S.E.
- Noviantini, S.E.
STMIK : - Paskalia Kartini, S.T.
- Thommy Willay, S.Kom.
ABA : - Hermanto, S.Pd.

5. Pengarahan Dari Yayasan
6. Tanya Jawab
7. Doa Penutup

PEMBERKATAN GEDUNG BARU WIDYA DHARMA

Pemberkatan gedung baru Perguruan Tinggi Widya Dharma dilaksanakan pada tanggal 12 Januari 2009. Pemberkatan dimulai dengan upacara misa yang dipimpin oleh Bapa Uskup Agung Pontianak, Mgr. Hieronimus Bumbun OFM. Cap. Acara ini dihadiri oleh seluruh Pimpinan dan staff di lingkungan PT. WIDYA DHARMA.

Requirements and Procedure of Paper Writing

THE REQUIREMENT AND PROCEDURE OF PAPER WRITING FOR THE STUDENTS OF ABA WIDYA DHARMA PONTIANAK

The students of sixth semester and above can propose paper writing and should base on the following requirements and procedure.
The students should get at least 95 sks and the “Tugas Akhir” is stated in the KRS. (If less than 95 sks, the students should ask for dispensation),
The Language Research course should be at least C. If it is D, the student is allowed to propose the paper but must reseat for the subject.
At least two students and at most three students in a group write one paper, but the final scores for all students may vary according to the performance during the guidance. The final score is the combination of process evaluation (during the guidance) and the product evaluation (the paper itself).
Firstly, the students in a group choose the topic or problem, and may consult with the Chairperson of English Department or the related lecturers.
Then, the students compose the paper design which consists of the topic, background, problem, purpose, advantage/implication, hypothesis (if any), related literature, procedure of data collection and analysis, temporary bibliography (at least ten).
When proposing the paper design the students first fill out the paper design proposal form (can be obtained from the secretariat or copy from the guidebook) and enclose the copy of KRS and the latest academic record.
The paper design is proposed to the Chairperson of English Department and is reviewed by a team established by the Director.
The approved paper design should be multiplied should be multiplied in four or five copies: one for the secretariat for issuing letter of decision of supervisor, one for the supervisor, and each student must have one copy. The students will have Paper Guidance Card that should be signed by the Chairperson of English Department and the supervisor, then stamped at the secretariat.
The schedule and procedure of guiding the paper can be discussed with the supervisor. The students must come together when consulting the paper. The3 supervisor has the right to reject the consultation if the students come incompletely.
After finishing the writing, the paper should first be approved by the supervisor, then the Chairperson of English Department, and finally legalized by the Director.
After being approved and legalized, the paper should be multiplied in four/five copies: one for each student, one for the supervisor, and one for ABA WIDYA DHARMA.
The paper will be scored by the supervisor basing on the Scoring Criteria of product evaluation, and process evaluation.
The paper is weighed 3 (three) sks/credits.
The schedule of paper writing:
For the Even Semester:
Paper Design : from February to 30 March, at 12.00 o’clock.
Paper Writing : from February to 30 June, at 12.00 o’clock.
For the Odd Semester:
a. Paper Design : from August to 30 September, at 12.00 o’clock.
b. Paper Writing : from August to 23 December, at 12.00 o’clock.
The violation of the requirements and procedure of paper writing will result in the cancellation.
This is to be disseminated to the students for the sake of paper writing.

Pontianak, 1 August 2008
ABA Widya Dharma


Drs. Bambang Wijaya
Director

Rekoleksi di Tikalong

This is the picture of narcist persons of ABA WD community at the Hall of Gloria House at Tikalong.

Perkenalan saat acara penerimaan mahasiswa baru angkatan 2008/2009. Dari kanan ke kiri, Direktur ABA WD, pak Bambang Wijaya, Pudir III kemahasiswaan, Suster Monika, dan Kajur, pak Erwi Eka asmara.

Foto bersama (dari kiri ke kanan) Pak Marnangkok, Frans Safer, Erwi, Sr. Yusta, Bu Lenny dan Sr. Monika.

Perguruan Tinggi Widya Dharma Pontianak mulai akan menempati Gedung baru di jalan H.O.S. Cokroaminoto pada tanggal 12 Januari 2009. Acara yang dimulai dengan peresmian ini akan dipimpin langsung oleh Ketua Yayasan Widya Dharma, P. Wdjaja Tandra, S.H., M.M, dan diberkati oleh pelindung yaitu Uskup Agung Pontianak, Mgr. Hieronimus Bumbun, OFM, Cap.
Gedung baru ini akan digunakan sebagai pusat informasi dan kantor bagi para pejabat di semua unit PT Widya Dharma yaitu, STIE WD, STMIK WD, ASM WD, dan ABA WD. Gedung yang sangat representatif yang terletak di jantung kota pontianak ini akan menjadi ikon dunia pendidikan modern di Kalimantan Barat.

mulai kerja lagi

setelah liburan natal yang cukup singkat di tahun 2008, kemudian dilanjutkan dengan tahun baru yang lumayan berkesan akhirnya kita memasuki tahun 2009 yang penuh dengan harapan.
Bravo ABA WD