About the Poet
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's real name was Neftali Ricardo Reyes Boasalto which he changed legally. He became a known poet when he was merely a teen. He is considered to be one of the greatest poet of the 20th century. In 1971, he was awarded with one of the most prestigious literary honors, the Nobel prize for Literature. He died of a heart failure in 1973. “If You Forget Me” by Neruda has been translated from Spanish in which it was titled as ‘Si Tu Me Olvidas’ originally and belongs to the “Captain Verses” collection. This poem is commonly mistaken as a love poem dedicated to his wife Matilde. However, the poems contained in “Cien Sonetos de Amor” (100 Love Sonnets) were written for Matilde. “If You Forget Me” is about Neruda’s exile from his native country, Chile.
Summary
‘I want to you to know one thing”
The poem begins with this sharp line indicating that whatever the poet wants to be known holds importance. It also initiates an interest in the reader to proceed with the poem.
The following lines explain his feelings towards his native country, Chile. ‘You know how it is’ could be a stark statement by the poet explaining matters of his life. Phrases like ‘crystal moon’, ‘red branch’ and ‘slow autumn’ bring a sense of peace and unity to the minds of the readers, while ‘impalpable ash’ and ‘fire’ induces passion in the heart. In this stanza, the poet is trying to elucidate that whether he lives in peace or danger abroad, his mind settles to one thing which is his homeland. During the time of the war in Spain, Neruda adopted an active participation in the war and suffered as a result. He was sent to exile from his native country.
‘Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.’
The words ‘little’ mean that he can no longer bear such hostility towards him by his place of birth. Due to his active participation in the war in Spain, a warrant was put out for his arrest and therefore the following stanza emphasizes about it.
‘If suddenly you forget me
do not look for me
for I shall already have forgotten you.”
The rhyming tone of these lines suddenly changes. He is probably asking his homeland to withdraw his arrest warrant. The poet writes that if his homeland forgets him, he would not seek for his country. He asks not to search for him because by that point in time, he would have already forgotten his native land.
“If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day at that hour
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.”
This stanza explains that the poet has nothing else than to depart his cherished homeland. His country has become so dangerous that all love for his country is lost and also the hostility towards the poet has turned so great that he can no longer remain there. Moreover, he says that although his roots were planted in Chile, the present situations have destroyed everything and therefore the poet has no option left apart from uprooting and starting afresh elsewhere.
Later, Pablo Neruda returned to Chile. The final lines are emphasized on these reasons. The poet feels that he's destined to be in his native land; nothing in him is ‘extinguished or forgotten.’
Pablo Neruda’s “If You Forget Me” is an exemplar in the world of literature not simply because of the prolific use of language but also the range of literary devices used.
The most prominent literary device utilized in “If You Forget Me” is the Metaphor. A metaphor is that figure of speech where comparison of two distinct things are implied but not clearly stated.
“If I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you”
The above lines imply a metaphor to imply that whether the poet lives in peace or in peril , he would still be available if his homeland needed him.
Examples of metaphors can also be found in the fifth stanza in the words, ‘land’ and ‘roots’. “To leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots” implies that the poet is rooted at the shore.
Another poetic device is used is Imagery.
“Silver moon”, “red branch”, “slow autumn”, “impalpable ash”, “wrinkle log” are images that bring peace and tranquility to the mind. “Little boats that sail towards those isles” are instances of the poet’s feeling towards his homeland.
Elgandal Fort is situated amidst palm groves on the banks of the Manair River (a tributary of the Godavari River), approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Karimnagar on the Kamareddy Road in the Indian state of Telangana. It was once under the control of the Qutub Shahi dynasty, the Mughal Empire, and the Nizams of Hyderabad. During the Nizam era it was the headquarters of Karimnagar. It is believed that a secret tunnel connects Elgandal Fort and Manakondur some 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Karimnagar on the Karimnagar-Vemulawada highway.
Originally known as Veligundula, Elgandal is a hillfort built during the Kakatiya dynasty (1083–1323) and served as a stronghold for the warrior Musunuri Nayaks. The Qutb Shahi dynasty occupied the fort in the 16th century and posted Quinamul Mulk as commander. Subsequently, it fell under the administrative control of the Mughal Empire. Amin Khan was appointed as Khiledar of Elagandal during the reign of Nizam of Hyderabad Asaf Jah I (r. 1724–1748) followed by Muqarrab Khan. Mirza Ibrahim dhamsa became Khiledar during the reign of Nawab Salabat Jung. Dhamsa rebuilt and strengthened the fort in 1754 during the reign of Sikandar Jah (r.1803-1823). Bahadur Khan and Karimuddin served as Khiledars.
While reorganizing the districts, the Sixth Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, shifted the District Headquarters from Elagandal to Karimnagar in 1905. Elgandal's rulers surrounded the fort with a crocodile filled moat of around 5 metres (16 ft) wide and 4 metres (13 ft) deep to prevent enemy incursions. The site also houses a mosque and an eidgah, the designated place for special Eid prayers.
Tenses determine whether something has happened, is happening, or will happen. The tense of a verb describes its position in time. Tenses can be divided into 3 main types and further sub dived into 4 types:
PRESENT TENSES
1. Simple Present Tense: In this type of tense the action is still taking place, there is no mention of its completeness.
Example: I sleep.
She studies vocabulary every day.
a) Affirmative Sentences: The structure/formula of a Simple Present Affirmative Sentence is – subject + main verb + object.
If the subject is a singular noun i.e. it, he or she, then the verb is suffixed by –s or –es. In case of plural nouns there's no change within the actual sort of the verb. For example, consider the below given sentences-
She listens to the lectures carefully.
He goes to the market every day.
b) Negative Sentences: The structure of a simple Present Negative Sentence is – subject + do not/does not + main verb.
If the subject is a singular noun or pronoun like – it, he, she then ‘does not’ is employed and if the subjects are - they, we, I, you or a plural noun then ‘do not’ is employed for the negative sentences.
Read the below given sentences for example-
It does not change colour.
He does not drink milk.
c) Interrogative Sentences: The basic structure of simple Present Interrogative Sentences is- Do/Does + subject + verb + object OR question words + Do/Does + subject + verb + object.
If the subject is –it, he, she, or a singular noun then ‘does’ is employed and if the subject is we, they, I, you or a plural noun then ‘do’ is used. Interrogative sentences start with Do/Does or question words. For example, consider the below given sentences-
Does it belong to him?
Does she like the speech?
2. Present Continuous Tense: In this type of tense the action is still in progress, therefore the use of the word ‘continuous’.
Example: I am sleeping.
I am eating lunch, I will call you later.
Sentences in the present continuous form have a specified structure:
a) Affirmative sentence structure:
subject + present tense style of verb ‘to be’ + base verb+ing
Example: She (subject)+ is (present tense form of ‘to be’) + sing (base-verb) +ing ==> She is singing.
b) Negative sentence structure:
subject+ present tense type of verb ‘to be’ + not + base verb + ‘ing’
Example: She is not singing
c) Interrogative structure:
Present tense type of verb ‘to be’ + subject + base verb + ing + Question tag
Example: Is she singing?
3. Present Perfect Tense: In this type of tense the action has already been completed, hence the use of the word ‘perfect’.
Example: I have slept.
I have eaten Chinese food a few times already.
This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle.
The formation of verbs in present perfect tense is quite straightforward. The first element is have or has, depending on the subject the verb is conjugated with. The second element is the past participle of the verb, which is usually formed by adding -ed or -d to the verb’s root (e.g., walked, cleaned, typed, perambulated, jumped, laughed, sautéed) although English does have quite a few verbs that have irregular past participles (e.g., done, said, gone, known, won, thought, felt, eaten).
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense: In this type of tense, the action has started taking place beforehand and is still ongoing.
Example: I have been sleeping.
I have been eating a lot of vegetables lately.
The present perfect continuous is formed using the construction has/have been + the present participle (root + -ing).
PAST TENSES
1. Simple Past Tense: In this type of tense the action which is mentioned has already taken place in the past, there is no continuity.
Example: I got some sleep yesterday.
a) Assertive Sentence: When making an assertive sentence, you may use the subsequent word order:
[subject] + [verb]
The Martians landed near the aqueduct.
The burglar used the fire escape.
b) Negative Sentence: If you want to form the negative version, you may use the subsequent word order:
"did not" + base form of verb
The Martians did not land near the aqueduct.
(We could have used "didn't" rather than "did not.")
The burglar did not use the fire escape.
c) Interrogative Sentence
"did" + [subject] + base form of verb
Did the Martians land near the aqueduct?
Did the burglar use the fire escape?
- You can use the subsequent word order for a question-word question:
[question word] + "did" + [subject] + base form of verb
Why did the Martians land near the aqueduct?
When did the burglar use the fire escape?
- You can use the subsequent ordering for a choice question:
"did" + [subject] + base form of verb + choice A + or + choice B
Did the Martians land near the aqueduct or the town?
Did the burglar use the fire escape or the stairs?
2. Past Continuous Tense: This type of tense describes an on-going action that took place in the past.
Example: I was having lunch when u called yesterday.
The past continuous tense is formed by combining the past tense of to be (i.e., was/were) with the verb’s present participle (-ing word).
3. Past Perfect Tense: This type of tense describes a completed action which took place in the past.
Examples: I had slept.
I had already eaten when my doorbell rang.
The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense: This type of tense describes an action which started in the past and continued until another point in time, still in the past.
Example: I had been sleeping for two hours before my friend arrived.
The past perfect continuous tense is constructed using had been + the verb’s present participle (root + -ing).
FUTURE TENSES
1. Simple Future Tense: This type of tense describes an action taking place in the future; there is no mention of its continuity.
Example: I will sleep.
I shall finish my project by tomorrow morning.
The uses of future simple tense of verbs are as follows:
- It is also employed denote facts or events of certainty
- It is utilized to issue a warning or take a spontaneous decision
- To express readiness
- Make an offer or suggestion using ‘shall’
- To give a call for participation or an order to someone
It may be employed in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences. Both ‘shall’ and ‘will’ are often utilized in simple future sentences, but modern English uses ‘Will’ instead of ‘shall’.
2. Future Continuous Tense: This type of tense describes an action that will take place in the future but will still be ongoing.
Example: I will be sleeping at 11 p.m.
I’ll be staying at my parents’ house for a few weeks.
The future continuous or future progressive tense is employed to denote an incident that's ongoing in the future. It is made up of two elements: a simple future of the verb ‘to be’ + the present participle (-ing). The future progressive is employed in the following condition:
- To extend ourselves in the future
- To predict future events
- Ask or inquire about events in the future
- To relate events in the future that have a continual nature or occur regularly
3. Future Perfect Tense: This type of tense describes an action that will occur in the future before another action in the future.
Example: I will have slept before you arrive.
The future perfect tense may be a bit complicated as compared to the two types mentioned above. It is employed to refer to an action which will have been completed at a given point of time in the future.
The future perfect consists of two elements: the simple future of the verb “to have” (will have) + the past participle of the root verb. It may be utilized in the affirmative, negative and affirmative and negative of interrogative sentences.
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense: This type of tense describes an on-going action in the future before a completed action in a specific point in time.
Example: I will have been sleeping for seven hours by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
I will have been studying for two hours by the time my parents arrive.
This tense is employed to elucidate an incident that's ongoing and will complete sometime in the future. A time reference is utilized to point out the beginning of the event or action or how long it's been continuing. Commonly used words to point out time reference are ‘since’ and ‘for’. The future perfect progressive consists of two elements: the root verb in the present participle (base form of verb + -ing) + Auxiliary verb ‘will have been’
Study the verb forms of different tenses in the table given below:
Below are some basic rules regarding the sequencing of tenses:
Rule 1: A past tense in the independent clause is always followed by a past tense in the subordinate clause. Example: I found out that she was out of town.
However, there is an exception to this rule. When the independent clause in the past tense, the subordinate clause can be in the present tense if a universal truth is being stated by it. Example: The children were taught that honesty is the best policy.
Another exception to this rule is when the word ‘than’ is used in the sentence to introduce the subordinate clause. In this case, the subordinate clause can be used in any tense irrespective of the tense of the independent clause.
Rule 2: If the tense used with the independent clause is in the present or future tense, the tense of the subordinate clause can be in any tense based on what needs to be conveyed. Example: She is saying that she is alright. She says she is fine.
Rule 3: If the independent clause is in the future tense, the subordinate clause is not used in the future tense instead a subordinating clause beginning with when, until, before, after etc. is used. Example: I will call you when dinner is ready. I shall wait until you return.
Rule 4: When the subordinate clause is introduced with the conjunction ‘that’, the following rules must be followed,
- ‘May’ should be used in the subordinate clause when the independent clause is in the present tense.
- ‘Might’ should be used in the subordinate clause when the independent clause is in the past tense.
Example: We eat that we may live. She tried to live so that he might have a chance at life.
Rule 5: When some phrases such as If only, wish that, what if, it is time are used, the clauses that follow it are always in the past tense. Example: I wish I could eat another ice cream.
- A verb is a word that expresses the state of being or work being done by the subject.
- When a verb contains both a subject and a tense, it can be defined as a finite verb.
- A non-finite verb is a verb which is not defined by its subject and tense.
- A compound verb comprises of one finite part, which is mostly the first auxiliary verb, while the remaining non-finite parts are the base form or the participles.
- A gerund is a word which is created from a verb but always serves the function of a noun. Gerunds always end with the -ing at the end of the word.
- A participle is a word created from verbs that are then used as adjectives to modify nouns in a sentence.
- Participles can be used as introductions to adverbial phrases.
- Event verbs, also known as action or dynamic verbs, discuss events—happenings that begin and end at a particular time.
- The present perfect is often used with state verbs and an adverbial concerning a period of time coming up to the present.
- Examples of event verbs include: walk, read, help, watch etc.
- State verbs, or stative verbs, discuss states—conditions or situations that are seen as not having any definite beginning or end; in other words, they're seen as permanent.
- State verbs describe a status or quality of something… NOT an action.
- Examples of state verb include, agree, suppose, belong, owe, smell, feel, love, wish, cost, measure, consist etc.
- Tenses determine whether something has happened, is happening, or will happen.
- Tenses can be divided into 3 main types and further sub dived into 4 types: Past, Present and Future (simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous).
- In Present continuous tense the action is still in progress, therefore the use of the word ‘continuous’. The present continuous or the present progressive is employed to inform about whatever action is occurring at the time of speaking.
- In simple past tense the action which is mentioned has already taken place in the past, there is no continuity.
- The simple past tense, which is also referred to as the "Preterit", is employed to speak about a completed action in a time prior to now. The time of the action may be in the recent past or the distant past and action duration isn't important.
- Simple Future tenses are actions that will take place in the future, their continuity is not defined.
- Future perfect continuous tense describes an on-going action in the future before a completed action in a specific point in time.
Irregular verbs are the types of verbs that do not follow normal rules for conjugation. For instance, the irregular verb 'be' incorporates several unique forms (I am, you are, he is) which may be easily differentiated for regular verbs such as cook (I cook, you cook, he cooks). Other examples of irregular verbs may include 'have', 'understand' and 'draw'. It is important to note that their past forms 'had', 'understood' and 'drew' are very different from regular verbs, which end with -d or -ed. Some of the most commonly used irregular verbs in English include: be, have, say, do, know, get, see, think, go and take. In the English language, irregular verb forms occur in three forms - simple present, simple past as well as past participles.
The table given below contains some of the most commonly used irregular verbs with their different forms:
Infinitive | Simple Past | Past Participle |
Awake | Awoke | Awoken |
Be | Was, were | Been |
Beat | Beat | Beaten |
Become | Became | Become |
Blow | Blew | Blown |
Buy | Bought | Bought |
Grow | Grew | Grown |
Hide | Hid | Hidden |
Know | Knew | Known |
Read | Read | Read |
Ride | Rode | Ridden |
Show | Showed | Showed or shown |
Speak | Spoke | Spoken |
Take | Took | Taken |
Understand | Understood | Understood |
A tone group (or tone unit) refers to a group of words centered around a tonic syllable (also called the nucleus) which carries a change in pitch. The five pitch changes in English are fall, rise, fall-rise, rise-fall and level. You can usually identify the change from one tone group to a different by a small pause by the speaker.
Tone groups can contain just one word or as many as seven or eight.
- /no / I actually can't put up with it / good-bye/
An understanding of tone groups is crucial to understanding the difference between written and spoken communication. In written communication, the fundamental unit is the sentence; in speech, it's the tone group. We divide spoken communication into tone groups because we need to breathe, and so there's a physical reason for this structure. But there's also the necessity to think; that is, tone groups also have a cognitive basis. While we are speaking one tone group, we are planning the succeeding one, therefore, the tone group carries just one idea at a time. Thus, the pace of the tone groups, and also the information they convey, matches the speaker's thoughts.
Longer utterances tend to be divided into semantic chunks, units of meaning that appear to convey a whole thought. These units of data are also typically marked by tonal changes, a series of rises and falls in pitch. Each tone group has a nucleus. This is the most prominently stressed syllable within the tone group. Consider the subsequent utterances that include only one tone group each.
- he ate the \ BUN
he ate the / BUN
In both utterances it's the monosyllable bun that receives the prominent stress, this is, therefore, the nucleus. However, within the first utterance the nucleus receives a falling tone and within the second a rising tone. The effect of this can change the intended meaning. The first utterance is presumably interpretable as a matter-of-fact statement, whereas the second utterance is potentially interpretable as a questioning utterance.
Now consider the subsequent extensions of those two utterances into utterances that contain two tone groups (where ‘|’ marks the boundary between the two-tone groups).
- he ate the \ BUN | because he was \ HUNgry
he ate the / BUN | because he was / HUNgry
We see that these utterances divide into two units of information: (1) he ate the bun, and (2) because he was hungry. Each of those units may be a tone group that contains its own nucleus. We have already identified the nucleus of the primary tone group as the monosyllable bun. In the second tone group the nucleus is the first syllable of the word hungry. In the first utterance both tone groups receive a falling tone, and this enhances our interpretation of the utterance as a statement. Similarly, both the tone groups of the second utterance receive a rising tone, and this further accentuates our interpretation of the utterance as an issue.
- A tone group (or tone unit) refers to a group of words centered around a tonic syllable (also called the nucleus) which carries a change in pitch.
- The five pitch changes in English are fall, rise, fall-rise, rise-fall and level.
- Because tone groups are said on one breath, they're limited in length and average about two seconds, or about five words.
- The understanding of tone groups is crucial to understanding the difference between written and spoken communication as in written communication, the fundamental unit is the sentence; in speech, it's the tone group.
- Longer utterances tend to be divided into semantic chunks, units of meaning that appear to convey a whole thought. These units of data are also typically marked by tonal changes, a series of rises and falls in pitch
Indianisms refer to words or phrases spoken in the English language which are either Indian in origin or were created through a literal translation of a vernacular phrase. These words or phrases are as often colorful as they're awkward. Some of them come so naturally to native Indians that picking them out of our work becomes quite a task for them. In Indian speech, these words or phrases have gradually become a part of the language-scape.
When you’re writing though, Indianisms stand out like sore thumbs to people who aren’t familiar with them. With the worldwide web opening up the world, it is sensible to use language that everybody understands unequivocally.
Some commonly used Indianisms are:
- Do the needful: The individual that urges you to try and do the needful is requesting you to do everything that has to be done to accomplish a task or job. The clunky phrase is commonly utilized in the bureaucratic circles.
- Passing Out: In normal English, passing out will render you immobile for a couple of minutes—because you'd have fainted. In Indian English if you are passing out, you're graduating from a course you have been pursuing at school or college. The widely dissimilar implications of the phrase are guaranteed to trip up the unwary non-Indian reader.
- Order For: How many times you must have heard (and said), “Hey, let’s order for a few Chinese food!” when you actually just want to order some Chinese food? This phrase is employed so often it's become ingrained in everyday vocabulary. Another similar phrase is “Let’s plan out something!” meaning, “Let us make a plan (to meet)”. The extra for and out in these two phrases may be dropped easily without requiring any changes in the sentence construction.
- Do One Thing: Consider the following exchange. “I went to meet the professor but he refused to let me submit my assignment because i was a couple of minutes late to class! I don’t know what to do now!”
“Do one thing. Go and meet him tomorrow morning. He will definitely be in a better mood tomorrow because it's his daughter’s birthday.”
Do one thing may be a literal translation from the vernacular. In this context, a non-Indian(ism) way would be:
“I have an idea. Go and meet him tomorrow morning. He will definitely be in a better mood tomorrow because it's his daughter’s birthday.”
- Time pass: Anything that kills time in an exceedingly frivolous, vaguely silly manner or is a guilty pleasure—like watching 5-minute Craft videos on YouTube for hours on end without following a single tip demonstrated—is a time pass.
- Mugging: In the Indian context, mugging causes no bloodshed or loss of cash. Mugging in the Indian context refers to rote learning or memorizing by heart.
- What’s your good name? This is speculated to be a literal translation from the vernacular, but it isn’t even that. The word shubh (auspicious) has been translated to good in this phrase. A translation is bad enough, an incorrect translation is worse. On the other hand, saying What’s your auspicious name would be an absolute horror! The usage may well be something all Indians can understand, but surely others would find it confusing.
- Myself xyz. If you're introducing yourself, the most effective way to do it would be to say, “I am Anjali. I am from Hyderabad.” This is because Myself is simply used if you’ve already said I and you're talking about yourself again. For instance, I hurt myself accidentally. So, that way of introducing yourself is totally wrong.
- I’m here only: It is important to remember to not use the word “only” liberally in your sentences as it makes structurally incorrect sentences. It should be used only in the right places for instance, “I’ve got only these receipts” meaning those are the ones you have and not any other, or “I’ve only spoken to her” meaning I’ve spoken only to that girl and not any other.
- Indianisms are words or phrases spoken in the English language which are either Indian in origin or were created through a literal translation of a vernacular phrase.
- Some Indianisms come so naturally to native Indians that picking them out of our work becomes quite a task for them.
- It is important to keep Indianisms out of written communication as they are awkward for people who aren’t familiar with them.
Conversations about 2 people meeting and starting a conversation
Speaker 1: That test was long! Four hours! I really don't understand why we should take this test. Are our grade point averages (GPAs) grade not good enough for college?
Speaker 2: That test seemed a long way off, didn't it? But since the curriculum of one high school is slightly different from another high school, the SAT exam allows colleges to consider each student equally. Although one student may have taken different classes from another student, all high school students take the same SAT exam.
Speaker 1: I think that's reasonable. Either way, I really hope I don't have to test that again!
Speaker 2: It's the same here. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Schools will be out in a few weeks. Anyway, have you received your letters of recommendation?
Speaker 1: I've already asked Mrs. Smith, and I'm thinking about asking Mr. Johnson. I loved both of their classes and I think they know me better than my other teachers, so hopefully the letters will be well written. What about you?
Speaker 2: I asked Mrs. Smith to write me a letter. You know Mr. Lawson? I would like to receive a letter of recommendation from him. I hope he remembers me as I haven't had a study with him since last year. I'm not sure who else I asked.
Speaker 1: At least, we each have at least one book. Mrs. Smith is the best, isn't she? I wish I had another class with her, but this is our last polygamy, and after that we graduated!
Speaker 2: I agree. Mrs. Smith really enjoys teaching, and that helps her students enjoy learning.
Speaker 1: What colleges are you thinking of applying to? Have you visited other campuses?
Speaker 2: I'm still wondering if I should stay close to home or go to adult school. I touched the Stanford campus and the people there were very kind. I visited Notre Dame, the University of Indiana. What about you? Have you learned any other campuses?
Speaker 1: I want to live closer to home so I hope to attend California State University or the University of California.
Speaker 2: Which one? There are probably one or the other in major cities.
Speaker 1: Probably UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles or CSULB, California State University, Long Beach. But I'm not too worried about getting into college right now. I'm really worried about this SAT exam right now!
Speaker 2: I understand how you feel. However, we will still consider what should be done next. It will be worse if we fall behind and can't make it to college next fall. Have you decided what you should read? I tend to think in English myself.
Speaker 1: English is definitely possible. I was thinking of becoming an English teacher like Mrs. Smith. But I was also looking forward to Biological Science.
Speaker 2: Why not? Science and Biological Science are two different fields of study. What can you do with a degree in Biological Science?
Speaker 1: I also wonder if I should follow them. It may not be too early to decide, but if I want to become a doctor, the classes I will take as a student of Biological Science can fill many medical school needs. But like I said, it's still too early to find out what it is now. I just hope I get into college!
Speaker 2: I don't think you have to worry about getting into college. Anyway, let's keep trying our best!
Key Takeaways
- Conversations are about talking. It's about making positive points in a conversation.
- Telephone conversations can be more difficult than in-person conversations. On the phone, you can't read the person's body language or collect many leads in this situation. Instead, you should only rely on the spoken word.
Decision-making is the ability or skill that shows your proficiency in choosing between two or more alternatives. You can make decisions once you process all the information available to you and speak with the right points of contact involved in a certain situation. Overall, it's important to identify processes that help you make the right decision on behalf of the organization and make a concerted effort to uncover biases that may affect the outcome of it.
Skills Required for Decision Making
Below are some of the skills required for the decision-making process and how to develop them:
Problem-solving
Leaders can employ their problem-solving skills to make critical decisions for their company. You need to factor in different viewpoints to consider the numerous variables required to make a thoughtful decision. It's a necessity that you separate the emotions from the conversations you have with people that'll influence your decision-making. The essence of having adept problem-solving skills is that you can formulate decisions quickly and effectively, so you need to do your research and pay close attention to detail to match the facts with the situation you're addressing.
Leadership
Leadership is defined as the act of organizing several employees within your organization, and good leadership can establish a consensus about a particular decision. In cases like these, leadership would involve working with people to evaluate the present and motivate them to achieve their goals once a decision is made.
Make sure that you take the time to build a strong relationship with your co-workers, so you can get to know them and have them be comfortable to speak freely around you. The more engaged and personable you are, the higher the likelihood there is to work cohesively with your team and making productive choices that have a long-term impact.
Reasoning
Reasoning is one of the primary skills needed to be informed about the decision you can make in any given situation. Make sure that you review all the advantages and disadvantages of the decisions that you're considering taking action on. This is the best way to reason with the present and plan for the future while staying objective and grounded during this process.
Make sure you consider all available and relevant data to help you guide your decision-making and take a stance about who you're making it with. You want to keep your reasoning aligned with the people you trust and aim to stay committed to the goals you're trying to achieve.
Intuition
Intuition is about deciding and trusting your instincts. Your instincts come from the experiences you've witnessed in the past and the core values that drive you each day. All accumulated experiences and the lessons learned from them factor into your decision-making. You must associate your instincts with the potential actions you can take to see if your decision is logical and actionable.
Teamwork
You must collaborate with your co-workers at some point to make a sound decision. For example, you may have to work with your marketing manager on the best way to work with the client and improve the results of their marketing campaign last quarter.
Here, you use reasoning to break down options to help the client improve their campaign, so a status report can give you applicable data. After, you can weigh the possible key performance indicators (KPIs) that can measure its success going forward. Your ability to work with a team will decide the results you earn and the number of people affected by the decision your team made.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence makes you critically aware of your emotions, and you can express them in a way that encourages action. Your emotions should lay the groundwork for your inspiration regarding a specific cause or mission that motivates you. However, the way you analyse data on the subject matter is going to dictate how well-informed you are when making your final decision.
Creativity
Creativity is the process of harnessing your logical and emotional thinking to generate a unique solution. You need to have trusted employees within your organization to exchange ideas to come up with short and long-term solutions. You can also use your creativity to frame the conversations you have with employees during meetings and the amount of time allocated to ensure that everyone's voice can be heard. Weekly brainstorming sessions to maximize employees' creativity to gain noteworthy input could prove beneficial.
Time management
You have to outline the amount of time you have to make your decision since typically, the decisions to be made are to be made quickly. You always have to work within the confines of your situation, but time management allows you to structure how you can make a decision. If you make have to decide by the end of the week, you can spend the time on each stage of the decision-making process including possible actions and purposed solutions you can take.
Organization
Organizational skill plays a pivotal role in your making a final decision. You should use this skill to find out what results you're looking for and if it's a top priority. If you're giving surveys about your product, your priority is to gain feedback from your target audience and see if you're using the correct user personal for your marketing campaign.
How to improve decision-making skills
Below are some techniques for improving your decision-making skills:
- Identify the situation
- Note potential solutions or actions
- List the advantages and disadvantages of each option
- Choose the appropriate decision to proceed with and measure the results
1. Identify the situation
Problems can be recognized by any member of the organization. All problems must be reported to a department manager or human resources depending on the seriousness and nature of it. The executive team may also be informed if it's tied to the long-term goals they set out. Schedule a meeting with all parties involved first before proceeding with informing the rest of the organization.
2. Note potential solutions or actions
Document all possible solutions for the problem in front of you and keep a record of them. List them in front of your team during a meeting, so they can actively participate in this process. They should also be sent an email to keep a record of it for themselves. Once you have made a lost of all potential solutions, list potential action items to all team members to execute the decision agreed upon.
3. List the advantages and disadvantages of each option
Ascertain the pros and cons of the situation extensively to see which options can be proceeded to the decision-making stage. Take your time and calculate the pros and cons wisely to see if it matches your goals and KPIs that measure its success.
4. Choose the appropriate decision to proceed with and measure the results
Think of the decision you make as one with a short and long-term impact. The good news is that you'll always learn from the decisions you make, so track the performance of this decision to align the outcome with the pros and cons you listed.
- Decision-making is the ability or skill required for choosing between two or more alternatives.
- The essence of having adept problem-solving skills is that you can formulate decisions quickly and effectively, so you need to do your research and pay close attention to detail to match the facts with the situation you're addressing.
- Leadership is defined as the act of organizing several employees within your organization, and good leadership can establish a consensus about a particular decision.
- Make sure you consider all available and relevant data to help you guide your decision-making and take a stance about who you're making it with.
- All accumulated experiences and the lessons learned from them factor into your decision-making.
- Emotional intelligence makes you critically aware of your emotions, and you can express them in a way that encourages action. Your emotions should lay the groundwork for your inspiration regarding a specific cause or mission that motivates you.
- Creativity is the process of harnessing your logical and emotional thinking to generate a unique solution.
References
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- Practical English Usage. Michael Swan. OUP. 1995.
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- Communication Skills. Sanjay Kumar and Pushp Lata. Oxford University Press. 2011.
- Exercises in Spoken English. Parts. I-III. CIEFL, Hyderabad. Oxford University Press