A skilled speaker who understands performance knows that sometimes, you say more when your mouth is shut! Photo credit Grantley Gibbons

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Michel Neray,  a professional speaker, consultant and founder of momondays as a guest Influencer on Womenlines panel, sharing his expert knowledge related to public speaking with Womenlines readers. Michel has helped thousands of individuals craft and perform ‘purposeful’ stories to become more effective leaders, salespeople, coaches, teachers, trainers, speakers, and influencers of all types. He also uses Purposeful Storytelling to more effectively differentiate, position and brand organizations in the market. In this article, Michel is sharing about the importance of writing down your speech and how to improve its delivery-

Some speakers never write anything down. As a consequence, they often appear as if they are winging it. They tend to go over time, ramble, or repeat their points unnecessarily and have three endings when one would have been more powerful. (Watch yourself on video if you don’t think this applies to you.)

If you never write anything down, you don’t give yourself the benefit of having your words and ideas stare you in the face — and you don’t get the opportunity to evaluate the emotional flow or logic of what you are actually saying, let alone refine key, memorable phrases or cut out entire paragraphs that don’t add value.

On the other extreme, some speakers meticulously write their entire talk out, and then read it or memorize it verbatim. That’s not a good idea either.

Here’s why… unless you are a skilled scriptwriter, with years of experience in writing for the spoken voice, chances are you write the way you were taught to write… complete with proper grammar and sometimes clever sentence constructions.

But you see, we listen differently than how we read, and we speak differently than how we write.

• When we write, we tend to add multiple, colourful and flowery adjectives before the noun or verb-like I just did here — which makes it challenging for a listener to keep track of what it is you are actually describing.
• When we read, our eyes scan back and forth constantly to improve comprehension. But, when we listen to someone speaking, we can only make sense of the phrase one sequential word at a time.
• When you speak in natural conversation, you probably mix, in short, truncated half-sentences or exclamations, which just look ‘wrong’ when written down.
• When you read, your eyes look down instead of being engaged with your audience, and you lose opportunities to add body language, facial expressions, hand gestures and act-outs — all the things that elevate your talk to a powerful performance.
• When you recite from memory, you may be able to train yourself to look at the audience, (if you are a skilled actor), but chances are your attention will be focused inside your head instead of in the moment.

Skilled performers know that we can often say more when we keep our mouth shut. But how do you write non-verbal communication into your talk?

Learn the ‘Chunk Trick’ and lose the notes.

In my moSpeaker masterclasses, I teach a technique I call the ‘Chunk Trick’. Truthfully, it’s not so much a trick as it is a 5-step process for outlining, editing, rehearsing, and engraining the flow in your memory!

Here’s how to chunk your talk:

1. Write out each distinct chunk of your talk (whether it’s a keynote, presentation or workshop) on separate index cards;
2. Label each chunk with a title or key phrase;
3. Play with your chunks by moving them around, identifying missing chunks and eliminating chunks that don’t add value;
4. Look for spots where you could add humour, performance-based act-outs, memorable phrases, and bridges between chunks;
5. Combine all the chunk labels on a single index card, and then using that one card as your only crib sheet.

OK, there’s a bit more to it than that, but hopefully, you get the idea. Chunking helps you develop story flexibility, refine your talk to the essential elements, visualize the audience journey, take a ‘whole body’ approach to your performance, nail your opening and your close, and perhaps most importantly, combine the benefit of writing with the power of performance.

Michel Neray

A professional speaker, consultant and is the founder of momondays, a monthly event that has grown to multiple cities. Through momondays and his consulting, he has helped over thousands of individuals craft and perform ‘purposeful’ stories to become more effective leaders, salespeople, coaches, teachers, trainers, speakers, and influencers of all types. He also uses Purposeful Storytelling to more effectively differentiate, position and brand organizations in the market.

www.momondays.com

1440 mins in a day, that’s all, use it mindfully friends!

As a woman, we don so many caps in our life. Majority of us have yearned that it would have been so great if we had more than 24 hrs. Then in between using the time for oneself, forget it…

Womenlines e-Magazine is here, publishing latest about health, parenting, entrepreneurship, self-growth and success stories of entrepreneurs. Womenlines is focussing on content which can help women to excel in life. Time is precious and as per saying whatever we see, read and eat it affects us. Media is full of news which can distract us, why to waste time reading and watching something which is not helping us anyway. God has sent us with all intelligence to achieve big things in life. So why we waste time in watching something which is nor going to give us something or following celebrities. Become a star yourself by using your talent in the correct way. What matters is how much work you are doing to polish that talent.

Subscribe Womenlines and get latest information related to health, entrepreneurship, mindset…get your focus on right things my friends and party hard on weekends then! Cheers to womanhood!!!

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting Excellence in Women!

Womenlines welcomes ANJI HALLEWELL as an Influencer of Positive Mindset on the Womenlines panel. Anji is a Natural Strengths Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hidden Lava.  In her sharing for this month, Anji is talking about the importance of not believing in self hype-

The more you work with human behaviour and the inner workings of the mind, the more fascinating it becomes. The learnings seem infinite; no matter how much you learn there is always more to know! I notice more and more, my self-included, how destructive we can be with our own desires, aspirations and dreams.

An acquaintance recently shared how they have been working towards a change in career. It sounded like things were going great and that she had built some quick momentum to get closer to her end goal. Yet, what she shared with me next was so counter-intuitive, it made me very curious to explore what was responsible for such a sudden change in direction. As it was now clear that any momentum she had built was in imminent danger of being wiped out in one decision. Yet, it may not be the exact same subject matter, but people all over the globe are replicating the same thing in their lives. You set your sights on going for something important to you, you make progressive steps towards it and then something changes to pull the rug out from underneath you. There is a tipping point that appears and if you allow it too, it takes you away from the very goal that you were working towards. 

I’ve experienced many tipping points in my life, of which I would best describe as wobbles, from romantic relationships to career changes of my own. One side of me has been very pro something and yet, something else kicks in to reverse that moment of clarity. Suddenly, fear and doubt kick in to override my desire; to stop me from achieving what it is that I felt compelled to do. This, my friends, is self-sabotage at work. It takes courage to step out of your zone of familiarity and decide to make meaningful changes in your life. And, even at the time, it is both exciting and terrifying simultaneously, but your desire outweighs your fear and it is that which pushes you through. It’s courage in its purest form.

As with my acquaintance, the early success acts as a proof of concept. If you apply logic, you would say that the small successes make it easier to continue down your newly chosen path. Well, sadly, the very forces that kept you in your area of comfort for so long are not going to give up that easily. Once you step away from it, your overprotective guardian, aka your resistance, will do what it can to draw you back in. I can imagine a condescending parental voice, “Come on. You’ve had your fun, now come back inside. You don’t know what will happen to you out there.” the voice of fear said. It’s ironic that making your dreams a reality is something that you fantasise about, yet you are totally capable of achieving them if you got out of your own way. Or rather, you knew how to get out of your own way! We know that it’s possible as others have successfully walked down their newly trodden path. They too will talk about courage and inner strengths that kept them on track.

The heart will whisper and the inner critic will bellow, but you needn’t listen to the loudest. The trick here is not to believe your own hype. So, choose courage over fear, purpose over doubt and truth over anger to stabilise the path as you carve it out.

Anji Hallewell

Coach, Trainer & Founder

+65 8408 5042

Glowing skin with a fit body- a dream for women from all age groups, isn’t it?

It is all about how much mindful you are about the daily care of your skin and what products are you using. Do you have any idea what are the ingredients of the product, which you are applying on your skin? Think about it!

BWL is a Singapore listed company for 28 years specializing in the development, manufacture and distribution of premium skin care products. BWL strongly believes that we all feel happy and confident if we look and feel good. Yet without care, our skins usually succumb to the wearing of age. BWL skincare and personal care products restore and recondition your skin thus transforming it to reveal you’re natural beauty. The fact that two women with incredible credentials Dr Dora Hoan and Dr Doreen Tan founded BWL, strengthen the credibility of BWL. What is unique about BWL is that company emphasizes on the usage of natural ingredients in all their products. Particularly skincare range known as Dr’s Secret. Jojoba oil, aloe vera, slippery elm and many other natural ingredients nourish your skin and give you younger look.BWL has been honoured with numerous corporate and brand awards over the years. The latest addition to their award bucket is the Gold award for the best investor relations campaign for PR Awards 2017.

Join for a Jumba session at BWL office and get beauty tips at the end of the session about how you can use skin care range to get a flawless skin forever-

Mondays

11:30-12:30

Venue: BWL Raffles, 55 Market St, Singapore 048941

Register for free at contact@www.womenlines.com

Get fit and also get beauty tips!

Womenlines as the digital marketing partner for ‘Health talk on the proper diet for women’s health at different stages of life’ by Clinical Dietitian Meenu Agarwal at Sea Front Condo on 6th April 2018 sharing key points from the talk-

Informative, enlightening and insightful- Health talk on the proper diet for women’s health at different stages of life by Clinical Dietitian Meenu Agarwal at Sea Front Condo on 6th April 2018 was straight from her heart!

“Outlook towards health has to change and prioritized in a women’s life” This is a passionate urge from Meenu to womenfolk around. A woman’s body goes through different stages and hence the nutrition needs are different.

Key points for every woman from the talk-

1.  Women who want to get pregnant should prioritize preparing their body to welcome and grow the baby inside them. Meenu’s hard-hitting statement for those women who want to plan their pregnancy -“Have you prepared your body to get pregnant. That’s the first accommodation for the baby. If we decorate the house to welcome baby before that woman has to take care of her body and make it healthy and strong to welcome the baby. New life is going to build inside her. Will you be able to provide sufficient nutrients to your baby?” For pregnant ladies, Meenu advised importance of Folate intake as it is important for neural tube development. Walking and deep breathing exercise are mandatory for pregnant women.
2. Menopause was the next topic which Meenu considers as ‘New birth of Women’. There are definitely challenges at this stage like high cholesterol, hot flushes, sudden sweating, dryness of skin, hair and many more. But instead of panicking, women should focus on the solutions and self-management. Be at peace with your body, wear light clothes, say big ‘No’ to ‘no-exercise’, add omega 3 fatty acid in the diet along with regular supplementation of calcium and vitamin D, keep yourself relaxed and enjoy your new phase.
3. Nutritional facts- Potassium is very important to save from panic attacks, Vit C has to be taken for better absorption of Iron in the body, Zinc deficiency can lead to infertility and diabetes, Vit A very important to maintain the integrity and function of skin and mucosal lining( the inner lining of airways, digestive and urinary tract), Vit D as supplement is mandatory for those who have low levels of Vit D in their body and for better absorption of calcium.She also explained how a deficiency of copper leads to the deficiency of iron in the body (resulting anaemia).

Meenu emphasizes that young women should not complicate their bodies by following a variety of diets to get their favourite number on weighing scale. The focus should be on attaining desirable energy levels through the proper intake of vegetables and fruits. If one is mindful of what type of food with what content she is taking, she can definitely maintain a desirable weight. Eating food with mindfulness and proper chewing can be very helpful in getting maximum benefits out from food we have eaten. Annual tests for fasting glucose, lipid profile, vitamin D, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium is must for every woman.

Most of the time, we live life without knowing and realizing it. But it hits us when we face any big problem, which may be life-threatening, related to the person or financial loss. Then we suddenly realize what we missed or what went wrong.Blame it on today’s lifestyle, competition to be always ahead of time in work, adulterated food, air pollution and an overdose of social media.

What is conscious living?

Conscious living is when your mind and body work together for a single thing. Most of the time, our mind cannot concentrate and wanders in different directions. It is also concentration, intention and keeping the purpose of the activity you are doing focused.The mind is like a monkey, it wants to be all over places and that too same time. It wants to think all the possibilities which are against you. It is always criticizing yourself.

 One of the definitions of yoga is “yogachitvrittinirodhe” means the purpose of yoga is to reduce activities of mind and attain peace.

 But conscious living is more than that, though the mind is active, focused and aware of the things that one is doing at the moment. Do you want to achieve healthy and balanced life? Then you can follow these points-

1.Conscious eating

You are what you eat, and you are how you eat too!

If you are watching TV, talking continuously, watching phone, replying messages, then you are taking those emotions in the stomach along with food. Although the act of eating is happening, your mind is busy with other stuff. It affects digestion as the energy required for digestion is disturbed by other things.

It is utmost important what we eat and how we eat.

2. Conscious speech/talk

Choose your words wisely, put your brain in gear, before you put your mouth in action. Words hurt more than actions. So, choose your words cautiously. Words can make or break a situation or relationship. If you are angry, frustrated before you say anything pause and think, it may save you from breaking the relationship or a deal.

Also, learn to appreciate things and people and it is for your own good as it helps to release positive hormones.

3. Conscious social media time

We don’t have a choice about Social Media, the question is how well we do it. Overuse of social media is really affecting the quality of sleep these days. We are in contact with friends, colleagues 24 hrs of the day, but losing personal contact with close and loved ones. Though it is important, be conscious how much you need it. According to the survey, 13% of productivity is lost due to social media distraction. You can make your own rules. A simple thing that can help us is to mute WhatsApp groups, disable Facebook notification, not checking messages after 10 pm etc. Check what works out the best for you.

4. Conscious spending time in nature

Time spent in nature heals your body, mind and spirit.

Simply taking a walk in the park gives an instant calmness and peace. Whenever I feel exhausted and tired a walk on the beach side energizes me. With our busy lives and degrading nature, we are staying indoors more stuck with electronic devices and everyday life issues. Conscious time spent in nature help to revitalize energy boosts immunity gets the doses of oxygen gives you happiness and increases your creativity.

So take your time to spend in nature. Appreciate, learn and feel gratitude what nature offers us without expectations.

5. Conscious habits

To change your life, change your habits…

And you can adopt positive habits like getting up early, exercising, conscious eating etc. Or you can develop negative habits like sleeping late, to be constantly on social media, procrastinating etc. As we have a choice, why can’t we make a conscious positive choice?Every small positive habit makes you a better person and it takes a great effort and self-discipline to make that conscious choice of habits.

These habits make your life managed, controlled, happy and healthy.

6. Conscious disconnection

Disconnect to connect… to connect to yourself, your soul and listen to your inner voice.

Disconnect from negative people, negative situation and negative thoughts which drain out your energy, which makes you feel low. Consciously choose the company where you feel positive, lifted and inspired.When you disconnect with all, then only you can make a connection with yourself and when you do that that’s the best connection you can make.

Save your time, energy and efforts with conscious living!

-Archana Amlapure

Founder-http://Www.ojasyog.com
http://Www.facebook.com/ojasyog
Instagram: ojasyoga0704
Linkedin: Archana Amlapure

As an entrepreneur you need an abundance of energy, isn’t it? Healthy snacks should be always within reach for entrepreneurs. Once you have a feel of energy levels after having healthy snacks then you will never touch the unhealthy ones. You can make a bag of all such snacks and keep it handy to use anytime.

Womenlines brings to your list of 5 must have healthy snacks around your working area, which will definitely provide you with an abundance of energy required throughout day.-

1. Dates– You’ve probably heard Djokovic would eat dates during the tennis sets. He’s not alone. A number of professional and amateur athletes advocate for dates as a part of their sports nutrition. Dates are high in natural sugars. The interesting part is that dates have protein too. 100g of dates have about 2.5g of protein.
2. Banana-  A banana is a combination of complex carbohydrates, natural sugar, amino acids and brain-boosting minerals. This makes it a beneficial food for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. With 3.5 grams of fibre and 1.5 grams of protein, it can also help ward off hunger for longer periods than foods with refined carbohydrates
3. Bengal Grams– It is an amazing source of protein, fibre, minerals, folate, and fatty acids that promote good health in numerous ways. Bengal gram helps increase the total energy in the body, which is why it is fed to horses too.
4. Peanuts– Peanuts contain vitamins, minerals, nutrients and anti-oxidants and thus are rich energy sources.
5. Black Raisins– Raisins are high in simple carbohydrates, mainly in the form of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. This makes them an excellent source of readily available energy. Because these sugars are already in their simplest form, your body doesn’t need to break them down further for absorption and use.

Have a happy snacking time:)!

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting Excellence in Women!

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Meenu Agarwal, founder of Food ‘n’ Wellness, a food, and nutrition advisory company based out of Singapore on Womenlines panel of influencers. This month she is sharing about how to manage Diabetes through diet-

The moment we get diagnosed with diabetes, we get scared that we may not able to eat our favourite food. This is farthest from the truth. We can enjoy all that we love to eat, but the portion size needs to be checked.
The key is to eat the variety of food from all the food groups.

Symptoms of diabetes-

Polydipsia: A state of unusually excessive thirst and a constant feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat.

Polyphagia: It is the medical term used to describe excessive hunger or increased appetite that is beyond response to strenuous physical activity.

Polyuria: A condition where the body urinates more than 3 litres a day, as compared to the normal one to two litres in adults.

However, the above symptoms are not always possible to detect, especially in Type 2 diabetes where symptoms appear gradually over a period of years. The other symptoms to take note of are:

• Blurred vision
• Slow healing of wounds
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue or extreme tiredness
• Genital itchiness

There are two stages where if detected, diabetes can be brought to control more easily

Pre-diabetes:

It means that the cells in your body are becoming resistant to insulin or your pancreas is not producing as much insulin as required. Your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes. It is a warning of a future development of diabetes but is also your chance of preventing the development of Type 2 diabetes through proper diet and exercise.

Gestational diabetes:

A form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, has the same symptoms as for other forms of diabetes. Sometimes the symptoms may not be noticeable, which is why women are tested for gestational diabetes between weeks 24 and 28 of their pregnancy. Gestational diabetes develops in about 3 to 5% of all pregnancies. It usually appears during the second trimester and disappears after the birth of the baby. If not controlled, complications can affect both the mother and the baby. GD also increases the risk of developing it again during future pregnancies and that of Type 2 diabetes later in life.

Preventive measures against diabetes:
• Get enough physical exercise in a day,
• Get quality rest.
• Keep stress out of your life.
• Have meals on time.

Dietary suggestions-
Reduce the intake of refined carbs like refined flour, white sugar, etc. and include more complex carbs like fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), low-fat dairy products and whole grains in your diet that take longer to digest.
Fibre moderates how your body digests and helps control blood sugar levels. Foods high in fibre include vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), whole-wheat flour and wheat bran.

Drink Plenty of water to avoid frequent Urinary tract infection which is commonly associated with Diabetes type-2.

However, once diagnosed with diabetes, professional scrutiny should be sought immediately to keep a check on further development.

Meenu Agarwal

Founder of Food ‘n’ Wellness, a food, and nutrition advisory company based out of Singapore. Meenu is a trained clinical dietitian & holds a Masters degree in Nutrition & Dietetics. She is registered with the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetic Association( SNDA).  She specializes in providing nutrition advice with an emphasis on managing medical conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, acidity, thyroid, blood pressure and weight-related issues. 
Visit  http://www.foodnwellness.com

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome ‘Underneath the Pink Umbrella’ as a guest contributor on Womenlines panel. Her first share is straight from heart written poem ‘Equal Opportunities’.   ‘Underneath the Pink Umbrella’  is a student in Singapore and feels strongly about women issues-

Why is it that they look for numbers

That is the only thing that seems to matter

What about the ones

Whose hopes and dreams you shatter

Raising them on a pedestal

Caring about achievement not character

Because in the real world, my friend

The most important is the latter

Some want but can’t

Others laze and want

Those can’t don’t

These questions shall us haunt

When did the glittering gold

Lose value to allure

To be measured by appearance

Instead of its weight in the pure

Who to blame but yourself,

Incompetent, worthless and shunned

We are but the discards

As the world remains stunned

Until the day we shall rise

The pity turns to praise

Defy them all and prove our worth

Appearing triumphant out of the haze

‘Underneath the Pink Umbrella’

Underneath the Pink Umbrella:
Hey! I am currently a freshman studying business, quite boring you might think, right? But I’m passionate about it! Besides that, I’m passionate about women’s rights, which is a topic that has been debated for centuries. A historian and artist, I try to research the story behind everything and imbue creativity in whatever I do. My contributions will show you my stance on women’s issues and offer a historical background and a fresher and more relatable perspective for the world and women around you. Have you noticed, that you carry a privilege which might cause you to have access to opportunities that others don’t?

Womenfolk can really do wonders in life. The major requirement is to have the right mindset and focus on what they want to achieve. Those who are able to maintain that focus and right mindset forever are able to fulfil their dreams.But isn’t it challenging? In everyday rush how many women are able to keep a sharp focus on their goals. As priority changes with time, time itself becomes the commodity and then very challenging to take out time for self.Womenlines planner is there to assist you in planning your day with the right mindset and focus on right things for you.

Take the print out of Womenlines planner and file it. Every day, start your morning by setting the intention to have a blessed day. Open the file and set aside 10 mins in morning to fill it. Under ‘Gratitude’ category list out 3 things for which you are thankful. Then list out ‘Affirmations’ for yourself, which can help you in rewiring your brain. Much like exercise, affirmations raise the level of feel-good hormones and also re-affirm your faith in your natural abilities.
‘Writing down your goals‘ is the next activity, which can sharpen your focus on your goals in life. This activity can help in keeping you focused and can also help you to strive to be better. Then list out your to-do list for the day. This will help to organize your priorities for the day.
Finally, list out what healthy food you will include in that day diet for yourself and your family. And you are set to rock the day!!
Visit www.womenlines.com and subscribe it to download Womenlines Day planner for excellence.

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting excellence in women!