Tips To Becoming a Better Listener

When people speak, do you listen? How much of what’s communicated do you internalize?

Recently, I was talking to someone who was not very present in the conversation. Even though he would nod and say “Yeah” the whole time we communicated, his follow-up comments would reveal he wasn’t listening 100%.
Listening is an important skill – more so than one may realize. We use it all the time – at work with our managers and co-workers, in presentations, in relationships, in social settings, with our families. Believe it or not, we even use it when watching TV and films!
Listening is especially important. When I’m consulting my clients, it’s important I listen and understand their problems or requirements, so I could ask the appropriate questions to forward their business. When I’m communicating with the readers at my blog, it’s important I read between the lines and “listen” to what they’re trying to say, because words alone may not convey their intended messages.

Here are a few tips on how to be a better listener:

Remove All Distractions
In this day and age, in our quest to get as much done as we can, we multi-task the whole time – from web browsing, checking emails, replying emails, working, talking on the phone, fiddling with our phones, writing in our notebooks, etc. So when people approach us to talk, it’s natural we add that to the list of things we’re doing at the moment, vs. giving them our full attention.

Be Present
Are you present when you’re around other people? Or are you lost in your own thoughts?

To be a good listener, you have to be present. Being present means not being preoccupied physically and  not being preoccupied mentally. The former means to remove distractions, as I mentioned in my first tip. The latter requires you to clear your mind of other thoughts and focus on the person speaking. This means to stop thinking about the argument you had at work with your co-worker in the morning, the report you’ve yet to finish, or where you’re going to have your dinner, and to pay attention to what’s being communicated now.

Wait for the Person to Finish Speaking (in the start)
It’s good etiquette to let the other party finish what he/she wants to say, before you butt in with your comments. I know there are times you feel you get what the person is trying to say and you can’t wait to share your comments, but hold it off in the beginning of the conversation. Because the person may have other things to share but can’t because you are speaking.

Don’t Assume Anything
An important part of listening is not to assume. When you assume, you automatically layer over what the person says with your presumptions, which makes it near impossible to have any meaningful conversation. While the person may say cat, ultimately you can only hear dog, simply because your mind is not open to receiving new information in the first place. You like dogs and dislike cats.

Clarify to ensure you got what the person is saying
At every stage of the conversation, clarify to ensure you got the message right. This can be done by simply paraphrasing what he/she just said, in your own words. Sometimes we may take away one message when it’s really something else, and it’s not good to assume without clarifying first

Ask Questions
Questions are highly important in any conversation. Firstly, there are things which the person does not share (either because he/she thinks you already know them or because he/she thinks they are irrelevant) that you can only uncover by asking questions. Secondly, questions lets you get more information about specific areas you are unclear about, such that you get a better picture of what the person is saying.

3 Unique Work At Home Businesses

More than two in five Americans work at home and avoid the daily commute. Telecommuting is huge in many fortune 500 companies giving employees more flexibility in their lives. The average employee would take an 8 % cut in pay to work at home instead of going into the office daily. As the US economy continues improve, more companies will be looking for additional staff to work at home. Do you think you need a lot of complicated equipment to start a business from your home? Think again. For most work at home businesses or jobs, you’ll need a computer and an Internet connection, some basic skills and a can-do attitude.

There are actually plenty of opportunities out there for entrepreneurs to start work at home businesses. In fact 69% of US entrepreneurs started a work at home business. There’s something alluring about chilling in your comfy pants while in the confines of your own home and getting paid at the same time. No annoying co-worker to interrupt your day with the company gossip that you could give a rip about. Just you, your computer, and the freedom to get stuff done. On top of the right tools, you should also have a dedicated office or work space that’s free from distractions. No TV’s! When’s it’s time to work you only want to be doing one thing: working.

We wanted to discuss 3 unique work at home businesses that can make an average income to millions of dollars.

• Virtual Assistant
• On-line Blogger
• Affiliate Marketer

All of these work at home business can create some amazing freedom allowing you to work when you want to work and from anywhere in the world with a computer and an internet connection. Each of these work at home businesses below is very simple to start, and most can be done as a sole proprietorship at first (meaning you don’t have to file any legal documents to get started, although you will want to do that if it starts to take off). Most of these can be done at home in your spare time, and in your spare space at home, too.

Virtual Assistant

A huge variety of business owners and professionals need help organizing and managing their day-to-day tasks which is why they hire virtual assistants. Becoming a virtual assistant is a great way to earn a little extra money from the comfort of your own home! So, what is a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant or VA is someone who provides assistance to various clients remotely. This assistance can be technical, administrative or even creative in nature. Here are just a few tasks that are often outsourced to VAs.

• A/V Production / Editing
• Calendar Management
• Copywriting
• Customer Support
• Graphic Design
• Programming
• Receptionist Duties
• Research
• Setup & Manage Online Accounts
•  Transcription
• And many more

There is an unimaginable amount of tasks which are handed over to virtual assistants (VAs). Chances are you’re an expert in at least a few, so why not get paid for it?

Online Blogger

You can earn a pretty good living as an online blogger if you focus on a specific niche and create multiple streams of income from your blog. It’s easier to make money if you focus on a niche where you focus on a selected group of people such as “work at home, home business, health and diet, investing, golfing etc.” These niche’s will allow you to identify a problem they are having in the niche and you are going to give them a solution to resolve their pain or problem.

Whether you are going to show them how to earn money from home, lose weight, become a better investor or be a better golfer. All of these people will want to hear what you have to say, therefore the smaller targeted areas will make it easier to be found in the search engines. It’s not really that hard to build a blog and generate $2,000- $5,000 every month. I have many friends that earn 6 figures on their sites.

Most of the money bloggers make doesn’t come from blogging directly, however a blog is a platform or online home base. After proving their trustworthiness, bloggers use their blogs as springboards to launch other products & services that bring in income. Examples are eBooks, books, speaking gigs, products, eCourses, etc.

Affiliate Marketing

In case you don’t know what affiliate marketing is – it allows you to receive a type of reward / commission if you refer a customer to a seller. By becoming an affiliate of a program and recommending a product through a blog/ website , an email, or whatever digital means you use to get them to the offer link you can earn. When a person clicks on your specific affiliate link – and buys – you get credited for the sale. You introduced someone to the product you are an affiliate of, you earn a commission when they buy.

Keep in mind there are many different affiliate programs in all different niches. You could refer buyers to products or services like: weight loss,  tooth whitening, vitamins,  electronics, travel, work at home, etc. We find that referring people to the make money at home / make money on-line niche to be one of the best. You can earn an affiliate commissions from each sale you make from just a few dollars to over $10,000 dollars from just one customer. We have found that marketing high ticket affiliate marketing programs can be very lucrative work at home business. Its often a lot less work to sell one $2,500 product then 100 $25 products. High ticket products means high commissions for you.

Check out this work at home opportunity, I feel it’s a great place to get started with a great company.

In addition to being a great company, they have some of the best training in the industry and 1 on 1 business coaches to help you get going more quickly. And this link will allow you to earn more money than any other program on this page.

University Student Earns While Attending Class

Students these days understand that for just their parents alone, study expenses can be difficult to meet.  When your focus is on higher studies and having some extra pocket money to get some of their desired gadgets, university student jobs is the only source for them to earn while attending classes. It is not a difficult task to find student jobs, as there are a number of indoor, outdoor, offline and online jobs available for them. Nowadays online jobs have more potential learning for students in comparison to the offline jobs as restaurants, supermarkets, offices and other workplaces. This simply allows them to get good money in their wallet after spending just a little time working.  The best thing about the online university student jobs is the self-employment technique; the student is not bound to an employer but able to work on his own terms and earn money for his own expenses easily.

Best options to earn

Generally, online students have a number of jobs that provide them a good intake of money such as:

Freelance writing

The students can use their writing skills in order to provide the services of a freelance writer by writing creative articles, web page content, journals and much more. Freelance writing is one of the most popular online earning jobs; it is simply based on your skills and knowledge about net surfing and searching for new things. For students, it is favorable because it allows them improve their knowledge and writing skills along with earning good money.

Reviewing

If you are not good at writing that does not mean that you have wasted your academic skills, you can review the work. There are students who cannot create content but they can review it easily. This is also an attractive student job; you are required to review different kind of books, gadgets, movies, journals, places and much more. It is a fun job and you are dealing with new things and get to learn more about them before anyone else. Again, it is the best job to improve your knowledge and get money.

Editing

Editing can be of anything, if you have hands on some kind of editing software then you can simply go for the audio or video editing. But, if you do not then you can offer your editing services for the documents and dissertations that are another important and in demand task in the market today. Editors for documents are in high demand when it comes to freelancing and luckily there are a number of people looking for freelance editors for their documents and other content.

Blogging

The next big thing that has come for the college students is the blogging to earn money; they can simply develop their blog according to their interest and then they will promote it. When the blog hits the maximum followers they will get advertisements and simply have a cash inflow. This will be a hectic job to do but will be an attractive paying tactic one can use in his spare time.

Affiliate Marketing

If you are looking for the simple and easy online earning source then affiliate making is the best one. Among all the university student jobs, you will need to spend some time and efforts to create, edit or transform your marketing to make money. However, affiliate marketing is all about promoting a campaign, product, or services by a company and you are paid for that. It is not like the regular marking but more like a chain, you have to make sure you will bring new people in your group and on every purchase or further registration by them, you will be paid indirectly. This is a chain that you will start and will never end but will give everyone a mutual benefit earning money for life.

Why affiliate marketing?

When a college student asks about student jobs then the most common response should be an affiliate-marketing job. This is not actually a job but an activity that makes you earn great money. The following are specific reasons why it is a great option for students:

Low Investment

To start up any business online such as a blog and freelancing you need some technology and skill but not when it comes to affiliate marketing. It is a very low initial investment job.  All you have to do is pick up the affiliate-marketing program and understand its setup. After that, you are all good to go and can include more people in your group and earn with them. It all depends on what kind of affiliate marketing you are into.

No storage or shipping

As an affiliate marketer, a student is not purchasing a product from the company that needs storage or shipping. It is simply a registration process initially and then he has to make sales by letting people know about the company and then register them as members.

Global Market

Affiliate marketing student jobs are not limited; there are a number of companies all over the world incorporating their services among the potential customers through this technique. Students can find out a number of jobs in this regard and can work with more than one company at the same time.

No Customer Service

Affiliate marketing is something that does not require any kind of customer services, you introduce a person to the network completely and then you are done with it. That person will be responsible for the next jobs he will do in the routine and earn more.

Merged in Regular Routine

In other university student jobs, the students have to take out time from their daily routine which means sacrificing their studies and recreational activities. For instance to write something they will need some time to think and gather data. After all of that they will then compose the whole text, but in affiliate marketing, they can do all their work and can earn in their daily routine easily.

Like a Class Room Activity

Affiliate marketing student jobs are like class activities because they just have to convince the other peers and enforce them to take action regarding the campaign. It does not require any other spare time that a student would have to cut out of schedule. In fact in his normal class conversation he can tell the others about what he is working on and how they can earn money by working with him. Following the same pattern, he can use the same techniques at other places like parties, sports events, and various social gatherings.

How To Boost Up Earning Through Affiliate Marketing

When you pick up affiliate marketing as a university student jobs then you have to make sure you are going to get the best of it. Initially, as a student having no experience, you might have to face some kind of issues or problems but with the help of following tips, you can get the most out of this job.

•         You should select only the best products that have potential to be marketed and ones that you have experience with
•         When you are going for online affiliate marketing, make sure you will get subscribed to the relevant services and products to your web portal
•         Use the traffic promotion sources to increase your traffic site and get more views
•         Consider the demand for the product before going ahead with the marketing, if you are going to market the weight loss product then target the overweight people at your college only
•         Keeping a check on your affiliate marketing strategy is important for you to ensure that you will have the best results.

·         Make sure you will stay updated with all the latest online and offline marketing tools just like your marketing techniques.