News and updates from humane societies, politics, and initiatives
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The Republic of Malawi is a country located in south east Africa. It gained its independence in 1964. Its population is about 19.1 million. The capital of Malawi is a city called Lilongwe.
There are about 12 ethnic groups in Malawi and the main 5 of them are:
– 34.4% Chewa (mostly Christians).
– 18.9% Lomwe (mostly Christians).
– 13.3% Yao (Muslims).
– 10.4% Ngoni (mostly Christians).
– 9.2% Tumbuka (mostly Christians).
The president of Malawi is Lazarus Chakwera who came to office in June 2020. He is the head of the Malawi Congress Party.
Malawi is on the top 10 list of poorest countries in the world. People there lack the basic elements of life necessities like water and electricity. Schools there are very small buildings and they don’t even have appropriate boards. The situation there is very sad to see.
Is it fair that some people own billions of dollars, grand mansions and fancy supercars while other people in the world suffer from extreme poverty and famine to a degree that they can’t get enough food for 1 day?
I personally encourage everyone to help the people of Malawi because they deserve your help.
My message to everyone who is generous enough to help:
“Never forget about the people of Africa as they are our brothers and sisters in humanity”
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Suddenly becoming disabled is not only a physical challenge, but a mental and emotional one as well. Roughly 40 million Americans, or 12.6% of the population, live with disabilities every day. Their day-to-day lives are drastically altered, as are their financial situations.
If you have recently become a part of that demographic, learning to cope with your new reality is an incredible challenge. However, there are healthy ways to adjust. Here’s how you can cope with a sudden disability.
It’s Okay to Grieve
Sudden disabilities are often the result of accidents or malicious attacks, both of which are horrifying experiences on their own. Add in a disability, and the amount of pain and anguish someone experiences can feel crushing.
Don’t feel as though you have to be strong or tough right now. It’s okay to be upset, angry, and even depressed. Allow yourself to grieve and take the time to work through your emotions. This will help you come to a mental and emotional state of acceptance, eventually, and strengthen your resolve to move on.
Cut Out Stress
Disabilities come with limitations, which is challenging for anyone to deal with. Finding a middle ground between what your life used to be like and what you’re capable of doing now comes with an intense amount of stress. However, you shouldn’t pile extra stress on top of that.
If you were involved in a malicious attack, for instance, take the legal stress off your shoulders with an expert like criminal defense attorney Kathleen Alvarado. You should also try to handle on life change at a time, helping you adjust gradually instead of trying to tackle everything all at once.
A New Purpose
Disabilities often make it impossible to return to the same job you had before the accident. As you recover, now is an excellent time to look for new reasons to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe there’s a hobby you’ve put off due to work? If not, think about what you truly enjoy and pursue a new passion.
Your Support Network
During this challenging time, you’ll need to rely on friends and family to get through. Some people may not find that enough or not have that type of support network. If that’s the case for you, then it’s vital that you build a new network.
Start with your attorney, like these injury lawyers in Folsom. They can direct you to professional therapists, which is a vital foundation for healing your emotional and mental state. These same professionals can help you find groups of individuals going through similar situations to your own.
Support groups contain individuals that can sympathize with you, relating to wat you’re going through and reminding you that you are not alone. These groups are also an excellent resource for learning about medical treatments, financial aid, and more.
Be Kind to Yourself
The worst thing you can do right now is talk down to yourself or beat yourself up over your new disability. Work on talking to yourself in a positive way, even if it’s just a conversation in your head. Congratulate yourself on any successes in recovery, allow yourself to be pampered when possible, and create a daily routine that replaces your negative thoughts and emotions with positive ones.
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Grief is an emotion that can run deep, seriously affecting lives. It doesn’t matter if it was caused by losing a loved one to cancer or freak trucking accidents, experiencing some level of grief is a completely normal and expected reaction. Sometimes, though, that grief can exceed what most would consider normal, passing into the territory of what is known as “complicated grief.” According to Mayo Clinic, individuals will very often have some variations in how they experience four major stages of grieving:
Accepting the reality of the loss
Being open to experiencing the pain of loss
Adjusting to a new reality in which the deceased is no longer present
Having other relationships
Complicated grief, however, is grief that carries on more than a year after the traumatic death of a loved one, and that falls well outside the parameters of what’s considered average. It can have far reaching consequences but can be readily identified by some specific symptoms. Let’s proceed by taking a look at what you should be watching out for in cases where you suspect complicated grief.
Recognizing Complicated Grief
The largest distinguishing factor between normal grief and complicated grief is the fact that complicated grief symptoms last for months longer than normal grief symptoms. Other than that, though, they are largely similar and include the following:
Numbness over loss and disbelief over the death
Inability to accept the death of their loved one
Preoccupation over their loved one’s death
Bitterness, anger, and intense sorrow
Inability to feel joy over good memories
Self-blame over their loved one’s death
Feeling that life is meaningless
A loss of identity or purpose
Wanting to die to join their lost love one
That last point is particularly troubling, especially when it manifests with complicated grief long after the loved one’s death occurred. If you are experiencing these symptoms yourself, or you know someone else closed to the deceased individual who is exhibiting these signs, it’s important that they seek assistance from mental health professionals, as this is one of the best ways to process complicated grief.
Tips For Coping With Loss
In addition to seeking the help of professional health care providers, there are a number of self care tips you should observe to help with getting past grief and loss. For starters, being patient with yourself and allowing time to experience emotions without judgement is a step that’s critical to the healing process. Beyond that, though, you should try to do your best to maintain a normal routine, limit major life changes, and take care of yourself both physically and mentally to speed your recovery.
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The eCommerce app world is incredible. Thanks to its convenience and the benefits it provides, many shopkeepers choose to take their businesses to the next level by creating an online platform. That’s the topic we’ve decided to devote our article to. We’ll go through all the phases of eCommerce software development to figure out the points to factor in.
Everyone must understand that before you actually initiate the designing of a service for your traditional store, it’s essential to draw up a list of features your application shall offer. We’d recommend you to take such an aspect seriously.
Functionalities an e-commerce solution should deliver
# Registry
It’s absolutely obvious for a program to give the possibility for users to check in. The audience would appreciate the option to register and log in via diverse social networks, so it would be smart to think through such a means.
# Personal profiles
That’s a standard item to implement. Customers’ accounts are vital, since they serve as a source of valuable data on your e-store clients.
# Catalog of products & services
People need to know what items are on sale in your online store. Are you delivering services? Then, it’s a good idea to describe to potential customers what exactly you’re happy to offer them.
# Feedback
Getting feedback from the users – no matter, if it’s positive or negative – is for you to study your audience in order to better understand their needs. That’s the way to become customized, offering each person individualized proposals. Additionally, when building an e-commerce app, you shall not forget about regular upgrades, and your customers’ feedback is to provide some ideas.
# Notifications
It’s a great tool to inform your clients about important nuances. Potential and regular buyers should stay posted on the latest news about your online shop. Push notifications are applied to communicate all discounts and special deals with your people.
# Online chats
App owners need to get closer to their users, and the possibility to chat at any time would contribute to such a purpose. Just remember to know the limits, so you won’t annoy your audience.
# Searching
The given feature serves to make the platform navigation clearer and simpler to manage. Any person should be able to find the information he or she needs smoothly and quickly. This function is for app owners to express some care for customers.
# Filter system
Here’s another secret to better the navigation. Wise filtering tools will help clients enjoy the software more, which will improve people’s online experience as well.
# List of previous purchases
People might want to check the history of their orders, so it’s wiser to provide them with such a possibility. It’s not too difficult to arrange, and your persons will appreciate it.
# Payment instructions
Money aspects always require special attention and extra security. Don’t give any chances for your users to doubt the service safety. The audience needs to trust you their financial details. Moreover, make sure you offer multiple payment gateways, so each person would choose the option he/she feels safer to go with.
Those enumerated above could be supplemented with other great features for the users to take advantage of the e-shop application. And we shall proceed to the development issue itself.
Stages of online store development
Conducting research
Learning market conditions and main competitors is a must-have. Shopkeepers shall have a clear understanding of who they’re about to confront to win customers’ attention.
Prototype building
Prototyping is required to figure out, whether your platform screens will turn good-looking, as well as functional.
Designing
Make sure you find skillful and experienced mobile app developers to create a user-friendly and intuitive UI for your service.
Developing
In the best-case scenario, store owners hire all kind of developers – Back-end, iOS, and Android. You never know what devices potential buyers would prefer to surf and purchase online, thus, you better be prepared for everything. And each gadget version shall operate smoothly.
QA
Remember to find quality assurance specialists as well, cos they conduct tests of all possible kinds to find bugs or glitches, if any. Those experts shall ensure the trouble-free functioning of your software after its launch.
Releasing
Finally, that stage deserves your time and efforts, since the smart application launch will guaranty half of the program’s success.
Awesome eCommerce platform ideas
The secret of success is the ability to offer the audience one-of-a-kind features. Basic functionalities are critical, however, an online platform must be unique. A few cases mentioned below shall inspire you.
Special Tech Capabilities
Every app needs to find its distinctive functions. For instance, Crutchfield has decided to focus on unique GPS parameters. Service owners managed to apply GPS navigators to calculate in advance expenses for goods delivery. That’s a perfect approach, and both program holders and the customers win.
Picture search
That’s an amazing possibility to find a product with the picture. The application which is proud to provide such a feature is Amazon Remembers. Its extended database of diverse images significantly enhances clients’ online experience.
AR possibilities
eBay has managed to find a new application for the Augmented Reality parameter. While passing by some buildings and pointing cell phones at them, people can see available facilities on sale. Those notifications are truly helpful.
There exist more unique approaches and functions, however, we’d like to discover one more aspect today, so let’s move on.
Costs of e-commerce application development
We cannot ignore the financial issue.
To hire expert IT programmers, one shall take a close look at their skills and experience. You could get in touch with their previous clients to get feedback from the source. The location of the development team is one more point to consider, since price rates vary considerably based on the geography of professionals.
Moreover, it’s wiser to hire a specific development organization, rather than freelancers. On the other hand, such companies will ask for higher fees.
Costs on the development of any online platform depend on the number of hours required to build it. We have decided to make approximate calculations for each development stage:
Interface design takes about 100-150 hours;
Platform development needs up to 500-700 hours;
Back-end development requires around 350-450 hours;
Quality assurance uses about 200 hours;
Project management takes up to 200 hours.
Such time calculations will help you determine your rough budget, however, having sophisticated requirements for a future eCommerce project might demand longer hours on each phase.
We tried to present everything you need to know for designing a successful e-store application to contribute to your traditional shop growth.
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It’s no surprise that technology has truly changed the way that we all do business. Whether it’s communicating with clients via video chat, depositing checks remotely, or attracting a new audience via social media, the world has truly found itself in the palm of our hands with the help of the internet.
However, with this accessibility to the world via technology, it’s more important than ever to have a strategic plan rooted in a unique creativity that demands attention and stands out from the crowded internet.
As a leading digital marketer, Nimrod Santo knows that the world wide web can and should be a great resource for your brand’s marketing efforts. While it may seem easy to create your digital footprint, the process of acquiring and expanding your audience takes more work.
However, it is possible with the right knowledge! That’s why Nimrod Santo is sharing 5 Instagram strategies to increase your followers.
Share Your Story
Every brand has a story to tell. It’s important that you efficiently tell yours in every post, story, and communication. Audiences tend to gravitate towards the best narratives. By sharing your brand’s story, you are able to build your audience and control your narrative throughout the life of your company. Get inspired by these 9 brands leveraging Instagram Stories in awesome ways: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-case-studies/crushing-it-with-instagram-stories/
Build Your Audience
When building a brand, one of the first thoughts that you should have is, “who is this for?”. Social media is unique in the sense that it allows you to seek out a specific audience and build professional relationships on a personal level.
By promoting your product in a way that attracts an audience, you can obtain, keep, and grow your following to those most likely to participate in your product. Likewise, Instagram is a great resource as one you’ve attracted several audience members, it’s easier to grow a similar audience.
Connect with Followers
One of the best parts of social media is how it’s evolved the customer service realm into one that can be more intimate for companies and clients alike. Once you have an audience on Instagram, you’ll find that the platform can be used for direct feedback and thoughtful conversation.
In turn, this provides a great opportunity to connect with followers, troubleshoot issues, and grow positive opinion of your brand.
Be Logical
Like any social media platform, Instagram is rooted in algorithms. It’s important to do your research to understand how to analyze your strategy and post in a way that your audience (or potential audience!) is more likely to see it.
By using an analytical social media strategy, you are increasing your chances of being seen by potential clients!
Be Creative
While drafting a social media strategy is important to getting in front of your audience’s eyes, it’s also important to attract them through the use of creativity. By giving your brand an artistic voice, you are more likely to have people interested in your brand!
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The world of crowdfunding has undergone transformative changes over the past few short years. The industry itself has evolved rapidly and has entirely altered the way entrepreneurs and inventors get their ideas off of the ground in terms of fundraising.
But with all of these developments in crowdfunding, have come a new set of rules and challenges. Namely, because of the high quantity of high-quality crowdfunding projects, it’s crucial to know how to navigate the crowdfunding process and nail your campaign from the get-go.
According to Ron Sandman, there are certain tactics you can deploy, to make sure your crowdfunding campaign is a smashing success. Sandman is the Chairman & Advisor of the crowdfunding agency Ideazon. Here are four things we learned from Sandman, as well as insight to his exclusive crowdfunding knowledge.
Ron, why is crowdfunding so big now?
Competing for fundraising dollars used to be a grueling process, and it was really exclusive. It was nearly impossible for a new inventor or entrepreneur to get their foot in the door to venture capital, and even then, they were facing an uphill battle. Many of the entrepreneurs who were able to succeed in this space ended up losing a great deal of equity, which cost them a lot in the long run.
Crowdfunding opened up the space and made it so that nearly anyone could get into the game and launch their project. It’s also a great way of gathering social proof: if the audience supports your product when it’s just a concept, you know it’s going to be a big hit.
How did you get involved in crowdfunding?
I have more than ten years of experience in building several multi-million-dollar online businesses, and while I was building those businesses, I learned countless marketing and entrepreneurial lessons.
When crowdfunding started to appear on the scene, I knew it was the next big thing, and I could see how much of a game changer it was going to be.
Why are you involved with Ideazon?
It’s painful to watch a crowdfunding campaign fail, especially when you can see that the idea is brilliant. And this happens more than you would think.
Because of the high volume of crowdfunding projects, it’s all too easy to get lost in the shuffle. Plus, if you’re presenting something that’s subpar quality, people are going to notice.
What are four things you want entrepreneurs to know?
Firstly, crowdfunding is simultaneously easy to get involved with but much more challenging to master. There’s a low cost of entry to get involved in the most basic capacity, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a walk in the park after that.
Next, there are certain things you absolutely have to get right, if you want to succeed in crowdfunding. For example, you need to be reaching your target audience, or else the rest of your efforts will fall flat.
Third, having eye-catching video elements is crucial. When people are looking at your crowdfunding campaign, you need to hook their attention, and the best way to do it is with video.
And lastly, the great news is that there are professionals out there to help you master this platform. The team behind Ideazon is unparalleled and brings years of entrepreneurial and crowdfunding to the table. Having that in your corner is well worth it.
How can people learn more about working with your team?
We’re always considering new projects to take on, and nothing makes us happier than partnering with incredible entrepreneurs. We consider all sorts of projects in nearly every space, and also at every phase.
If you’re curious, reach out to us on LinkedIn. Our team is waiting to hear from you, and help you smash your crowdfunding goals.
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This is something that could not be truer when it comes to carcinogens.
Just remember, it wasn’t a huge number of years ago that buildings were constructed with asbestos. Then, many years later, it started to become apparent that this was responsible for millions of cancer-related deaths – many of which happened decades after the initial exposure to the substance (we’ve found an infographic below which talks more about this).
Unfortunately, as science continues to develop, it appears that history is almost repeating itself. So-called normal, safe products are turning out to be anything-but and things are changing.
Today is all about showcasing this in the full, visual method that it perhaps needs. We have found some of the most interesting carcinogens around and placed them alongside infographics to describe what they are and the damage they can do to our bodies.
This first infographic actually looks at some of the most dangerous products that the contentious Monsanto are responsible for.
For the purposes of today we just want to take at one of these, coming in the form of polystyrene. As we know, this is something that is regularly used in the packaging of materials, yet research has now found that it can increase the risk of cancer.
The other eleven products mentioned in the infographic also give some good, albeit worrying, food for thought. A lot are related to the agriculture industry and are applied at scale using machinery like this.
Over the past few decades the world has fortunately come to understand the dangers of asbestos. However, it’s something that certainly shouldn’t be forgotten and this infographic shows some of the key points about it, ranging from the amount of time it takes to develop (it’s frightening), right the way to the jobs that are most at risk from it.
Scientifically speaking, formaldehyde isn’t linked to asbestos. However, it can be found in the building trade, with plywood and various roof coverings tending to use it. It has been classed as a carcinogen and this simple infographic illustrates the chemistry behind it.
It’s one of those things that you either love or hate. Unfortunately, in the interests of staying healthy, you should look to avoid that crispy, brown finish that so many crave with certain types of foods. Leaving something in the frying pan for a few minutes longer might taste the part (to some of us), but there are some carcinogenic concerns as well.
The scientific term for the “crispy, brown” phenomenon is acrylamide. This infographic dives into the topic in full detail, showing how the process works and ultimately, why it might be dangerous to you.
Finally, let’s leave you to look at this infographic which analyses carcinogens as a whole.
As the other infographics have already highlighted, the world of carcinogens is surprising and murky. This image by GMOAnswers.com highlights the point in-detail. It shows many of the different examples of carcinogens, ranging from those that are “probably not” carcinogenic to humans, to those that definitely are. Again, it makes for frightening viewing.
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The coronavirus pandemic, as with any infectious virus or disease, has created a nightmare for people around the world. The physical, emotional, and psychological impacts have been severe, with one of the end results being a 50% increase in divorce inquires.
This trend isn’t unique to America, either. Just like the virus, it originated in China and has since spread to the world. The same thing happened during the SARS epidemic, as well. A closer look reveals why divorce rates rise as a virus subsides.
Increased Time Spent Together
One the main reasons behind couples seeking a separation is the increased amount of time they spend together in quarantine or lockdown. On average, dual-income couples spend roughly three hours and thirty minutes together on any given weekday. Increase that time to 24/7, and problems are likely to arise.
Realizations
Now spending 24/7 together, couples begin to notice things they previously overlooked about their partner. They may realize their partner is a clean freak, doesn’t care about social distancing, or simply has habits that went unnoticed with a regular schedule. Those quirks and differences can add up and create animosity.
Lackadaisical Response
One of the main differences couples face is their response to the pandemic. One partner may be adamant about safety protocols while the other is more laid back. These differences cause a divide, but they can easily create relationship-shattering arguments when children are involved.
Overresponse
On the flip side, some people become paranoid and overprotective during an epidemic. Creating strict protocols and enforcing them can make the other partner feel as though they are trapped or being controlled, which is unhealthy under any circumstances.
Stress
Research shows that divorce rates rise based on stress. Incidents like chronic illness, the death of a child, and deployment or drafting in wartime can all be contributing factors that place whatever is missing from a marriage in the spotlight. Lockdown has that same stress-inducing ability.
As patience runs short, stress begins to compound and partners lose their ability to overlook each other’s mistakes and quirks. Communication is the key to keeping all of these incidents from leading to divorce, but having quality conversation when stressed out is a daunting challenge.
Open Communication
Before rushing to Orange County divorce attorneys or estate planning attorneys in Sacramento, it’s vital that couples learn better communication skills if they want their marriage to succeed. This is true in and out of a pandemic. Partners must be able to talk about their frustrations, needs, and desires in a healthy way.
Of course, no good conversation can be had if partners are unwilling to work with one another through their issues. Those that are willing must practice active listening, compassion, and understanding for positive communication and healing to take place.
By talking these issues out, couples grow stronger and closer to one another. If you try having these discussions but it only drives you and your partner further apart, then it’s likely the two of you were headed in that direction to begin with.
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Delivering a great speech and having a successful conference experience is not as hard as you might imagine. Becoming a good public speaker is about much more than simply overcoming your fears. It requires a concentrated effort on key principles as we will outline here so that you can master these skills:
Eye Contact
Keeping eye contact with your audience is powerful on many levels. It shows you are confident in your presentation. Throughout your speech you will want to shift your eye contact from one individual to the next. Don’t stay focused on the same person the entire time or the rest of the audience will feel left out.
Slow-Down
One of the most common things observed when listening to people speak is they seem to be in a hurry – they rush their words. This is clearly because they are nervous. However, your speech is so much more effective when it isn’t rushed. Use silence as an advantage. Pause often to keep yourself from babbling to fill the silence.
Vary Your Tonality
According to MotivationalSpeakerz.com, you will want to convey energy when you need to such as stressing an important point. Varying your tone will help keep your presentation interesting and memorable.
Public Speaking Anxiety
Learning to overcome public speaking anxiety isn’t as hard as you might think. By following practical guidelines, even the most nervous of speakers can learn to deliver a powerful presentation by staying relaxed and calm. In fact, by the time your finished reading this article, there’s a good chance you’ll feel better already.
Here are three tips to get you started.
(1) People Want You to Succeed
The first way to begin to overcome public speaking anxiety is to keep in mind that your audience actually wants you to succeed in delivering a powerful presentation. “If you can recognize that your audience wants you to be successful, it can really help your anxiety melt away” says Chris Johnson of the Coaching Institute. “Yes, there are certain types of people who thrive on watching others fail (mainly because they are failures themselves), but the fact is the majority of audience members do want you to be fun, interesting, and captivating.”
(2) Don’t Draw Attention to Your Nervousness
Another powerful way to overcome public speaking anxiety is to not let on that you’re nervous. Even if you are nervous, it doesn’t always show. There’s no need to draw attention to it as doing so will surely take away from your credibility. If you remain silent, your audience may never know you had any anxiety or nervousness at all.
(3) Turn Nervousness Around 180 Degrees
Did you know that the same energy that causes stage fright can also cause enthusiasm and excitement? Knowing this allows you to turn that energy into something that will aid you in delivering a captivating presentation. Use the energy to your advantage.
Final Thoughts
It is true that speaking in public does require a great deal of practice if you want to be able to get up on stage and deliver at a high level. However, your ability to overcome any self doubt or fears will subdue as you continue to practice.
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Running a charity can be a daunting task when you consider all of the hats you must wear to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Many individuals who started their charity tend to be people who just wanted to help a cause and did not fully realize that they also be responsible for having to raise money for their organization.
Because of this, many organizers lack the experience when it comes to hosting an event and speaking to an audience with the intention of giving a fundraising speech. If you have had it on your to-do list to “get better at public speaking”, rest assured you are not alone.
Many charity leaders lack this skill and find it quite overwhelming. But rest assured with the appropriate practice you can learn how to deliver a great speech so you can raise fund for your organization.
Slow Down It is very common to speak extremely fast during your presentation. According to the professional speakers at KeynoteSpeakers.info, you should try to speak twice as slow as normal while giving a public speech. While it might seem ridiculous on stage, you will probably be speaking at a normal rate.
We have a tendency of talking extremely fast when we’re nervous, and there is no more applicable time than your first public speaking topic! You have to be coherent of this predisposition, and know that you will need to overcome it.
Cut out the “ums” Mentally, every time you search for a word, phrase, or statement while up on stage, your natural tendency will be to say “um” or “uh” to pass the time. Stop. Here’s the secret – just don’t say anything. While it can feel very unnatural on stage, to the audience, pauses are quite beneficial.
Pauses allow the listener to soak in what you just said. Pauses are given for dramatic emphasis, and help the listener know when you’re emphasizing something. Pauses give the audience a natural breaking point, and clearly delineate breaks in content. In addition, the crowd will never know that you were searching for your next statement or comment. Instead of saying “um”, just pause.
Smile “Even though it can feel like you’re presenting to a bunch of random faces, making a connection can be an important step in their opinion of your public speaking” says Sean Adams, a motivational coach at MotivationPing.com. “If you want to master the art of public speaking, you will need to make a connection with your audience.”
The first and easiest step to take in doing so is to smile. Smile more than you think is necessary. Smile to soften a point you just made, or to establish a soft and sensible side to you. When you smile, you are reminding the viewer that you are human. You are connecting with them in a genuine way so that what you are sharing becomes easier to digest rather than feeling like a cold book report.
