Diplo Learning Corner

Get your brain in motion

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Eight ways to open a speech

www.diplomacy.eduMr.MediaTraining (The blog of Brad Phillips) has published an interesting series of posts on “Eight ways to open a speech”. Here is the list:

One: The Startling Statistic
Two: The Anecdote
Three: Ask a Rhetorical Question
Four: Ask a “Show of Hands” Question
Five: Speak With Your Audience
Six: Build Off The Conference Theme
Seven: Mention Something In The News
Eight: Use Humor

If you want to know more and read the full article with many examples consult the series of posts on mrmediatraining blog

Foreign Ministry inaugurates new digital blog

The Italian Newsagency AGI has just published the following article on the ISDI corner Blog:

“(VELINO) Roma, 10 mag. – As of today the Foreign Ministry has a new learning and media interactive online tool. The blog is called the “Isdi learning corner – get your brain in motion”, and has been created by the ministry’s Diplomatic Institute (Isdi). This initiative has been implemented to provide a series of information and directives about the resources of interest available on-line that will contribute to the professional and personal growth of the ministry’s diplomats and administrative employees. The objective is also to share the contents with other foreign institutes and diplomatic academies. The website is in fact in English. The ISDI “learning corner” is divided into various categories (books, announcements, creativity, leadership, etc…). It does, however have innovative characteristics for an “institutional” blog and users will be allowed to post comments on-line concerning the contents and suggest subjects to be discussed or interesting ideas. Furthermore, the website is open and can be visited and used by everyone, so much so that there are no restrictions as far as joining it is concerned. The blog is part of a series of initiatives that the Isdi is implementing to better exploit new technology and particular the social media, which are increasingly becoming the most popular sources of information and training. vel .”

Diplomatic Reporting at the age of Wikileaks

Amb. Roberto Toscano, former Italian Ambassador in New Delhi and Teheran, and Lecturer at the Italian Diplomatic Institute, has been interviewed on some aspects of Diplomatic Reporting.

First Question is: “What can we learn in terms of diplomatic reporting from Wikileaks documents?”

Second Question is: New Technologies should be used to report more or to report in a different way?

Third Question is: “What diplomats should keep in mind when writing a report?”

Incompetence

More on Diplocalendar 2012 that explores in both a serious and lighthearted way, some elements of interpersonal relationships and management that can help in daily activities.
The subject for the month of May is Incompetence.
To err is human and we all make mistakes. When someone makes nothing but mistakes, perhaps that person is simply not suited to the job…

Brain Rules – 12 principles for Surviving and Thriving

John Medina, molecular biologist, is the author of a “MUST HAVE” book titled “Brain Rules. 12 principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School“.

Here are the 12 Principles:

1. Exercise: it boosts brain power
2. Survival: the human brain evolved too
3. Wiring: every brain is wired differently
4. Attention: we don’t pay attention to boring things
5. Short-term memory: Repeat to remember
6. Long-term memory: Remember to repeat
7. Sleep: sleep well, think well
8. Stress: stressed brains don’t learn the same way
9. Sensory integration: stimulate more of the senses
10. Vision: vision trumps all other senses
11. Gender: male and female brains are different
12. Exploration: we are powerful and natural explorers

Making speeches

A couple of famous and inspiring quotations concerning speeches:

“A speech is like a love affair, any fool can start one, but to end it requires considerable skill” (Lord Mancraft).

“Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening” (Dorothy Sarnoff).

Priorities matter; sequence, too.

“You cannot achieve everything, certainly not at the same time. There are only so many hours in the day, only so many issues that any person can be expert on, only so much access that you can enjoy, only so many decisions that an organization can make. Priorities matter; sequence, too, can be terribly important. The key is to focus – something that takes real discipline, since in a typical day you might be confronted with more than a dozen issues, as many phone calls, several meetings, and inches of paper to read.”

(from Richard N. Haas, The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur. How to be effective in any unruly organizations, Brookings Institution Press, 1999)

Teaching Teaching and Understanding Understanding

“Teaching Teaching & Understanding Understanding” is a 19-minute award-winning short-film about teaching at university and higher-level educational institutions.
It is based on the “Constructive Alignment” theory developed by Prof. John Biggs.
The film delivers a foundation for understanding what a teacher needs to do in order to make sure all types of students actually learn what the teacher intends.

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