Why be competent when you could be excellent?

I was an experienced trainer when the competency-based training model was introduced in Australia. When I first heard the term competency-based, I thought, Why would anyone want to be competent when they could strive for excellence? Today, I believe this reaction reflected a mindset which has underpinned my success as a consultant. It also explains why I enjoy working in learning and development. I’m always thrilled to meet people who share my passion for excellence and self-improvement.

 

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Speed up your reading

You can read four times faster than average. How? By mastering speed reading techniques.

Speed reading allows you to increase your pace of reading, without reducing your comprehension. When you speed read, you stop reading every word on the page. Instead, you switch to scanning documents for key points.

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Get better results from web searches

Do you spend hours wading through web search results? Are you frustrated by irrelevant search results? Here’s how to search more efficiently.

1. List keywords before you start

To generate relevant search results, you need to be specific about the keywords you use. For example, searching for ‘learning’ will generate lots of hits. But most of them will be irrelevant if you’re writing an article on teaching adults. You’ll get better results entering specific keywords, such as ‘adult learning’ or ‘experiential learning.’

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Cut your writing time in half

Do you want to write high quality material quickly and easily? Here’s how to do it.

1. Plan before you write

A good plan will save you hours of writing time. Use headings and dot points to create a skeleton for your article. In your planning document, list the key sections you want to include in your article. Then use dot points to list the points you’ll make in each section. For example:

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