Education | Blog

Tips for giving a speech

Posted on July 2, 2020June 9, 2020 by Victor Varma

When you’re going to talk at a meeting, see the boss, or give a speech, it’s normal to be nervous. Dorothy Leeds, author of Power Speak gives this advice that helps:

Prepare. Make an outline of what you will say. Do a dress rehearsal to see how you look even if it’s just a raise request to a supervisor.
Check the meeting plan. Know when you will be able to speak.
Visualize yourself doing well, having a successful talk with the boss or making good points at the meeting.
Memorize a few opening sentences. After that you can look at your notes.
Walk calmly, take a few deep breaths as you wait to speak. Arrange your notes and materials.
Don’t forget to breathe when you are speaking. If it helps, put a symbol in your notes indicating breaths.
Watch your gestures. Don’t hold a paper if you are shaky.
Learn to pause. It lets the audience catch up with you.
Never tell the audience you are nervous.

Act pushes businesses to enroll employees in retirement plans

Posted on February 7, 2020January 15, 2020 by Victor Varma

If the galloping stock market isn’t enough incentive to get into a 401(k) retirement plan, President Trump’s Secure Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2020, offers another perk.
The Act gives a tax credit to employers that automatically enroll workers into their retirement plans.
Studies show people are more likely to stay in a plan if they are auto-enrolled, rather than have to do it themselves, according to Business Insider.
Under the Secure Act, small employers will get a tax credit to offset the costs of starting a 401(k) plan or Simple IRA plan with auto-enrollment, on top of the start-up credit they already receive.
States have created their own automatic-IRA programs, where companies without a retirement plan can or must provide one for their employees.
Enrolling in a 401(k) or IRA vastly expands money in retirement.

The most common types of college scholarships

Posted on September 20, 2019August 7, 2019 by Victor Varma

In 2018’s college graduation class, nearly 70 percent of students took out student loans, and their average debt was close to $30,000 each, according to Student Loan Hero.
In addition, 14 percent of their parents also took out an average of $35,600 in Parent PLUS loans to help support them.
With those alarming figures in mind, if you don’t want debt, scholarships are a must.
Academics should start the scholarship hunt. Academic scholarships usually have larger payouts and can even cover the entire amount of tuition for a four-year degree. These require not just a high GPA, but also participation in extracurricular activities.
According to the MarketWatch, about six percent of all high school athletes will compete at the college level and there is $3 billion in aid available across Division I and II schools. Gymnastics, fencing, and ice hockey have the lowest ratio of high school athletes to college scholarships, while volleyball has the highest. Football, the sport with the highest total number of scholarships available at 25,918, ranks fourth on the list.
Service-based awards can be a great way to get extra money.
Local churches, civic groups, and businesses often offer this kind of scholarship to students active in their communities. If your child frequently donates their time doing something like tutoring or spending time with the elderly, there is likely a scholarship somewhere to reward them for their service.
Even if it’s not cash, the Federal Work-Study Program can help students pay for college by providing a part-time job during college.

Online college courses: Path to degrees, low debt

Posted on August 30, 2019July 15, 2019 by Victor Varma

Today’s students have excellent options for their pathway to higher education. They include traditional and community colleges, online courses, or combinations of all three. In fact, even high-profile colleges and universities are offering online programs today.

According to Stetson.edu, each online-course student usually engages in class material and activities on his or her schedule. This freedom allows students to complete work and family commitments with more flexibility. All online-course lectures, emails, explanations, and discussion boards, among others, are available around the clock.

Additionally, online programs can dramatically decrease or even eliminate the costs associated with college. With student loan debt now exceeding the entire nation’s credit card debt, any chance to cut the cost of college today is worth considering.

Also, contrary to current public opinion, online college programs can be every bit as rigorous as any form of higher education.

According to educationcorner.com, the advantages of initiating one’s pursuits of higher education at a community college include the flexibility, increased quality of teaching, cost of courses, and the capacity to transfer degrees earned to time-honored institutions of higher learning.

Moreover, community colleges are dramatically changing the landscape of higher education by offering students more options in seeking their degree.

In the final analysis, it is up to each person to figure out how much time he or she will have to devote to earning a degree, what type of degree program is desired, and how much money can be spent. At the same time, it is possible to take some courses online and others in person. Some individual classes may include both elements of interaction.