Strange Phobias

Do you suffer from really strange phobias?Do you have a loved one who suffers from strange phobias?If your answer is yes to either one of the questions presented above, then today is the day your life will change forever!Did you know that phobias are a the most common form of anxiety and that 8.7% and 18.1% of Americans suffer from phobias?Suffering from phobias can be very exhausting and for some of you can impair your social life so much so that it can lead to depression or in worst cases suicide!There are many different types of phobias, some people have phobias related to household items such as buttons or door handles, some have phobias of social situations such as having a casual drink with your friends at a bar.It DOESN’T MATTER what type of phobia you have… there is a cure, a cure that will change your life forever!How does it feel to think that a cure exists, a cure that doesn’t require surgery or any other mind eroding medication. A cure that is supported and backed by huge corporations such as “The Discovery Channel, The Style Network, The Montreal Gazette + Lots more!”You may at this moment be asking yourself why you haven’t heard or seen of this cure before… don’t feel ashamed about this it’s simply because only people in the “know all” circles have been using it first then like everything else it will slowly drip into the public network where everyone will then be using it!I am letting you jump the queue here and letting you into the amazing cure before it becomes world wide knowledge, Why? because I used to suffer from strange phobias and a friend introduced me to this cure (like I am doing for you!) and it saved my life!I want you to be cured today by this amazing opportunity!Here it is… take it seriously, change your life today…!^^^

Strategic Corporate Philanthropy Using Social Investment to Improve Your Competitive Context

Corporations in the Unites States annually give away over $11 billion to non-profits and other charitable organizations – an average of 1.3% of pre-tax income. Yet, many do so without realizing the strategic value it provides. Philanthropic donations provide a useful, though seldom fully-leveraged, channel for improving outcomes for both the corporation and the community.Fully utilized, effective giving programs can:- Enhance company image
- Strengthen employee morale
- Attract top talent
- Improve retention
- Develop corporate alliesAccording to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), companies that view business’ contract with society not as an obligation, but as a source for competitive advantage, unlock a powerful opportunity to attract and retain talent and ensure the health of their markets over the long term. The CECP is an international forum of business CEOs and Chairpersons pursuing a mission focused exclusively on corporate philanthropy. Its Board of Directors is comprised of 23 international CEOs and Chairpersons, including Marilyn Carlson Nelson of Carlson Companies.Giving back to the community, when conceived and executed thoughtfully, creates a win-win scenario for businesses and the public. From eradicating disease and improving childhood literacy rates to boosting employee job skills, opening new markets, and heightening brand recognition, business and society both stand to benefit greatly if companies can demonstrate programmatic effectiveness, fiscal accountability, and good stewardship in their philanthropic contributions.While large corporations typically have a staff dedicated to philanthropy with structure and parameters built in, giving at small companies tends to be more grassroots. Small and non-publicly traded companies can often utilize unique ways to give, such as putting their companies in a charitable trust or donating company stock. In fact, 80% of Minnesota businesses with fewer than 500 employees contribute annually through some type of giving program, according to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Businesses of any size reap the benefits of social investment with successful communities in turn supporting successful businesses.For example, charitable giving has always been a core tenet of Minnesota-based Cargill’s operations. Each year, Cargill donates 2% of its global pretax earnings – $37 million last year. This philanthropy helps the company meet its mission of nourishing people and ideas, and strengthens ties with its employees. Cargill has found that giving back to the community matters to employees and, therefore, helps to attract and retain good people. Other top CEOs also recognize that prospective employees are highly influenced by corporate culture, and philanthropy is an integral component of a desirable work environment. In recent years, college graduates frequently have long records of community service and therefore seek employers that support their interest in community engagement.Similarly, Fargo, North Dakota-based State Bank & Trust recently earned national attention for its ‘Pay It Forward’ challenge in which the company gave its 510 employees more than $500,000 to pass onto a worthy cause or person. Each year, State Bank & Trust gives away about 5% of it’s earnings to various local causes. This strategy has become a major recipe for success, with record growth over the past 10 years, consistent employee fealty, and a recent flood of new customers.To duplicate this kind of success, a philanthropy program should mirror the culture of the company, be genuine in its intentions, and be communicated with full endorsement by the CEO. To generate optimal returns, the program should resonate internally and externally with company values, products, practices, and goals. CEOs should lead by example by getting personally involved. This level of leadership creates an authentic spirit that employees can support and extend as ambassadors of the company. Just as employees are inseparable from the success of any corporate initiative, so to are they essential when crafting a giving strategy. Including employee ideas through surveys or philanthropy councils guarantees buy-in and strengthens the program from design to execution. Volunteering is another channel for corporate philanthropy, with companies allowing staff to take time off work to use their core competencies to invest in their communities. Volunteering can take many forms, from mentoring in local schools one day a week, to sending employees to work full time for several months in other national or global locations. For example, Wells Fargo employees regain their full salary and benefits after up to four months away from their jobs working with non-profits. An additional benefit to this type of social responsibility is the insights companies gain into new markets and unfamiliar economic environments. At the same time, these intensive sabbaticals double as powerful leadership development programs benefitting both the employees and the sponsoring organization.In order to build sustainability into a philanthropic initiative, companies must stay on top of the same shifting dynamics that affect all of their business lines, such as globalization, diversity, and other market forces. In addition, philanthropy programs should be actively monitored, measured, and communicated. Customers expect transparency and shareholders expect specificity in understanding the business value of corporate giving. Attendees at the 2008 CECP conference suggest producing an annual report on citizenship, possibly including integrity, alignment, environmental concerns, workplace values and corporate giving. Managing corporate giving similar to other key business disciplines, with clear objectives, established metrics and reporting structures to senior management, reflects best practices and ensures shareholder support and stabilization of these programs, especially in periods of company change and volatility.When businesses think of corporate philanthropy as social investing, not charity, they become more alert to possible inefficiencies. Due diligence with potential nonprofit partnerships ensures that every dollar is spent wisely. Collaborating with other companies, both for and non-profit, provides for even greater impact, as companies converge around solving significant issues. Collectively, businesses can move the needle on important social issues far more than any individual company.When companies adopt the approach of social investment to improve their competitive context – using their charitable efforts to improve the quality of the business environments in the locations they operate – they align social and economic goals. They improve their long term business prospects and direct their philanthropic activities to areas where they can be far more effective by leveraging their unique assets and expertise.Further information on the profitability and successful execution of strategic corporate philanthropy is available at the Center Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy website.If you or your company is looking for a suggestion about where to invest your donations, Roselle Leadership Strategies has experienced incredible returns and satisfaction from our time and money invested in Feed My Starving Children.

Seclusion And Restraint In Child And Adolescent Mental Health Care

Introduction

Mental health care settings present a series of challenges, more so when patients are children and adolescents. One of these controversial issues is the use of seclusion and restraint. Many nursing practitioners find that it is extremely difficult trying to balance between the civil rights of the child or adolescent patient and the needs of the patient as a health care consumer. When most people think about seclusion and restraint, they imagine that it is a form of punishment, neglect, institutional abuse or custodial care. However, certain instances necessitate its use and if used in the right manner, it may even be regarded as a form of therapeutic treatment.

However, in order to place restraint and seclusion in mental health care settings, it is imperative to understand its definition. Huckshorn (2004) defines restraint as a form of intervention that is intended on limiting the freedom to move. Seclusion on the hand refers to the placement of an individual in a solitary area that may be a room, unit or any other form of confinement that ensures that the patient’s interactions are limited. Usually, restraint or seclusion is necessary when a child or adolescent patient is exhibiting acute behvaioral disturbance. At this point, there is a need to protect the safety of the people around the patient, deal with the behavioural disturbance and provide therapeutic alternatives. These goals are only achievable upon application of restraint or seclusion.

Statistics show that a series of children and adolescents have been physically restrained in psychiatric institutions. However, media reports and research also indicate that some deaths have occurred as a direct result of this form of treatment. These statistics have sparked off a lot of debate about the issue especially because it involves a series of professionals, family members and other stakeholders in health care. There is evidence to suggest that some psychiatric institutions tend to overuse seclusion and restraint as asserted by Donat (2003). This author also asserts that the utilisation of this form of intervention among children and adolescents is a sign of poor quality health care or oversight on the part of the government. As a result, he believes that the government should step in to ascertain that the safety of children and adolescents is preserved.

Assessment of risks nurses make leading to secluding or restraining a child or adolescent

Seclusion and restraint are primarily utilised in nursing practice to prevent children and adolescents from injuring themselves, their colleagues in psychiatric institutions or the institutional staff. This is especially in the case when the patient has depicted signs of violence and aggression. Consequently, nursing personnel and institutional staff need to be well trained in this area because if implemented wrongly, it could cause serious harm to the patient or to the workers themselves.

Curie (2005) suggests that whenever psychiatric institutions choose to implement seclusion and restraint, they place themselves at a serious risk of getting injured. Also, they place the rights of the adolescent patient or young patient at risk. It is essential to remember that seclusion and restraint can cause emotional impact among mental health patients hence promoting the need for evaluation of the method. Children and adolescents have a right to dignity in health care just the way their adult counterparts do.

Given the latter concerns, certain risks may necessitate this kind of approach to mental health care provision among children or adolescents. First of all, when the medical needs of the patient have been clearly assessed and it has been found that seclusion and restraint are the most appropriate modes of action. Glover (2005) explains that this method should only be adopted when less restrictive techniques have been applied and have failed. Also, they need to be applied when the patients is seen as a threat to his own life or to the life of others around him/her. It is also applicable when the patients may present certain safety concerns within the institutions even if those safety concerns may not be life threatening.

Psychiatric institutions should only apply restraint and seclusion procedures after it has been ascertained that the implementation of the latter procedures will not impose any more danger to the patient or to other persons. In order to do this, Keski Valkama (2007) explains that institutions should document all the necessary procedures that had been taken prior to seclusion or restraint in order to provide proof that they had indeed been pursued but they failed.

Sometimes, some nursing personnel may think of using seclusion and restraint as forms of punishment. This is highly unethical and should never be the case for any staff member. Additionally, it should not be used as a form of convenience. In order to curb such practices, Keski Valkama (2007) explains that there should be proper documentation of the justification for applying such a method. Besides this, he also explains that seclusion and restraint should only be applied during the period of time in which it will be of use to the institution or patient. In other words, when security & safety are no longer a concern for the affected party, then there is no need for continuing with the methodology.

Curie (2005) explains that risk assessment in nursing should also entail the assessment of personnel capability in implementing it. In other words, staff members need to be trained on chemical or mechanical methods of restraining. Also, they need to demonstrate that they are competent enough in handling non-physical techniques. In order to ascertain that this risk assessment is done, then facilities need to hold their personnel accountable. Institutional administrators need to confirm that data collection is done and reports have been made about these issues. After the latter have been ascertained, then it may be considered safe to implement such a form of mental health approach among children or adolescents.

Lebel (2004) also asserts that mental health institutions dealing with children need to clarify to the patient prior to admission (If they are in a position to understand) that certain types of behaviour may necessitate the use of seclusion and restraint. By doing this, nursing personnel will have created a positive relationship with the patient and will have clarified the issue. It should be noted that if all these early interventions have not solicited a positive response from the child or adolescent and they continue to present a threat to the danger and safety of themselves or others, then it may be suitable to use seclusion or restraint.

Champagne and Sayer (2004) claim that a large percentage of injuries associated with seclusion and restraint represent child or adolescent patients. Consequently, the latter approach should only be applied in instances where due procedures designed for this age group specifically have been followed. It should be noted that a large number of mental health care institutions lack procedures that apply to children alone and to adults. This is because sometimes, children may be given time out as a form of punishment. But such is never the case for adults. As a result, it is possible that psychiatric personnel may misuse or confuse the applicability of ‘time out’ and seclusion.

In order to minimise risk during the implementation of restraint and seclusions, there should be an allowance that checks whether the personnel are well equipped with CPR knowledge in order to administer it if necessary. If the latter measures are present, then one can apply the methodology.

In order to promote accountability in this kind of procedure, it is necessary for the affected person to be held accountable by ensuring that all cases of abuses or data related to seclusion and restraint have been unearthed and prosecuted. (Donovan et al, 2003) According to these authors, it is necessary for psychiatric institutions and mental health facilities to expose cases in which a death was directly related to the issue of seclusion or restraint. By doing this, there will be more accountability and also there will also be better implementation of the methodology. In line with this is the issue of protecting whistle blowers who may have witnessed a case of abuse through seclusion or restraint. The latter groups need to be protected in order to ensure sound application of the procedure.

Glover (2005) summarises the issues by asserting that seclusion should only be applied as a method of treatment if it is the last resort. Issues such as personal requests from patients need not be considered. This is because some patients may demand for confinement when they want to get some time out away from their normal environment, their other patients or even certain unit personnel. Alternatively, patients may seek confinement when they want some time to think about their lives. Regardless of this willingness, it is debatable whether patients have the ability to make their own choices, consequently, confinement should only be as a last result.

Legal and ethical dilemmas from a UK perspective

It should be noted that number of legal regulations exist within the UK concerning seclusion. However, application of this methodology has no clear cut regulation or standards. Consequently, this leaves a lot of room for error during its administration. (Anthony, 2004) the latter author cites some examples of children and adolescents in mental health care institution who have been placed in considerable danger as a result of this form of treatment. There are various categories revealed by him concerning persons who are affected by seclusion and restraint within mental institutions. This means that that the possibility of the occurrence of harm to patients present ethical dilemmas to nursing personnel concerning this issue. (Anthony, 2004)

The first category are those patients who die as a direct result of seclusion and restraint. This usually occurs when a patient is left for long hours in restraint or seclusion and a physical health issue develops along the way. In other situations, children or adolescents may die as a result of the methods used to restrain them. For instance, if the mechanical methods used are not checked properly, then there is a chance that they can crush that patient. Children are especially vulnerable because of their small sizes.

Mohr (2004) reports that the rate of injuries that occur among institutional personnel implementing seclusion and restraint is as high as the rate of injury among construction workers, miners and lumbers. Consequently, such high chances of injury present ethical dilemmas for psychiatric personnel because they have to choose between their safety and that of the patient.

The issue of seclusion and restraint may present ethical dilemmas due to the personality of the respective nurse administering that form of treatment. Some nurses go about their duties in a dictatorial manner; others may be very sympathetic towards their patients while others may be remote from their patients. Consequently, all these personalities are expected to adhere to nursing regulations. Some personalities may not be compatible with confinement or restraint because they may too humanistic and may feel as though they are torturing their patients by doing so (Huckshorn, 2004)

In other situations, seclusion and confinement itself can worsen a patients’ mental health care situation. For instance, children are highly dependent on their parents for their emotional needs, consequently, when those children have been placed away from their parents for  a long time because of their mental state, then chances are those children will be missing out on something. This situation is further aggravated by placing them in confinement or restraint. Consequently, such children or adolescents may feel more frustrated and their mental health may further deteriorate. Donovan et al (2003) explain that the possibility of such an occurrence implies that nurses have to choose between dealing with the patient’s safety issues or dealing with their psychiatric needs.

Some of the issues that have been brought about the nature of seclusion and restraint and its relation to patient recovery include

-Impeded social relationships between patients

-Ruins the relationship between the nurse and the child or adolescent

-There is minimal psycho social intervention

-etc

Another ethical dilemma also comes into play with some levels of ambiguity in current state law. Nurses may sometimes have difficulty deciding whether a patient’ level of violence is valid enough to solicit the use of seclusion and restraint as a way of handling them. This means that nurses need to be careful about the sort of decisions they make with regard to these kinds of issues. When a patient engages in sexually inappropriate behaviour in public, then some nurses may consider this plausible enough to solicit confinement while others may not. Usually, this is a dilemma because it becomes difficult to determine exactly what kind of behaviour is aggressive enough to impose danger to the patient’s surroundings. (DosReis, 2003)

Additionally, placing patients within confinement may also be problematic because it means that it will infringe a patents’ right to freedom. On the other hand, when left unguarded, that patient may present a risk to himself to to others. This means that it then becomes difficulty to institute the measure because very little information available about it.

The United Kingdom is governed by a series of legal regulations on administering psychiatric seclusion and restraint. Most of these regulations apply to adults but there may be others that apply to children alone Glover (2005) explains that the law requires psychiatric institutions to ensure that all the necessary fittings and devices are in place to prevent self harm to the patient or harm to others. Additionally, there should be staff present to operate these devices used in mechanical restraining.

The law requires that the amount of patient to staff ratio be monitored and checked. This is in order to ensure that the time spent between patient and nurses is heightened. Face to face contact with adolescent and children is instrumental in such procedures. In close relation to this issue is that of instituting systems and routines for checking on patients. Nurses must ensure that check on the movements and communication of the respective individuals in order to protect them. (Mohr, 2004)

At the institutional level, there should be certain arrangements to promote sound governance crisis planning and reviews once seclusion and restraint has been instated. Cases of neglect need to be prevented at all costs. It is essential for mental health institutions to protect the health and safety of patients by instituting certain managerial level measures in place. For instance, they need to ensure that resources allocated for seclusion and restraint are adequately monitored. Also, they need to make sure that they do monitoring on a weekly level and report whatever they witness. Such institutions need to have systems that ensure compliance with latter mentioned laws and regulations. All these issues are intended on streamlining the  seclusion and restrain processes.

Alternatives/improvements to restraint and seclusion

Restraint and seclusion need not be regarded as the lowest of lows in nursing mental health care for children and adolescents. There are certain measures that can be instated to encourage greater outcome from such patients. Interventions can be conducted in order to encourage these elements in health care

• Doing for others
• Competence
• Belonging
• Autonomy

Mental health institutions dealing with children and adolescents need to promote the above qualities by giving positive feedback to the latter parties about their health. This can be done by creating relationships between these patients and staff members especially nurses. By instating such mechanism, then health institutions will have encouraged autonomy in health care. (Anthony, 2004)

Mental health institutions need to create a sense of belonging among the adolescent or child mental health care patient. They can do this by creating coaching relationships with members of staff and the patients. Also, they can teach those children or adolescents that violence and aggression is a violation of social norms and that it needs to be stopped when they can. Also, Donat (2003) explains that these relationships are usually fostered by engaging the children in activities that relate to their developmental activities, for instance, children may be given tasks such as artwork, projects and group work that encourage them to work together and to feel like they are part of the team. By doing this, mental institutions will be teaching children how to be confident in themselves and will also create a sense of competence amongst them.

The issue of doing for others also inhibits violent or aggressive behaviour by making children feel relevant. Usually, when children are encouraged to work in groups or to engage in activity that will benefit others, then those triggers that cause violent behaviour may be inhibited and this eliminates the need to use seclusion and restraint.

In order to ensure that the latter alternative works, then it is necessary for respective institutions to adhere to a number of procedures. First of all, that institution needs to set some goals for the program. For instance, they could state that the number of seclusion and restraint cases after a certain period of time need to have reduced by a certain percentage. (Keski Valkam, 2007)

Also, in order to ascertain that these goals have been met, then mental health care institutions need to engage in constant monitoring. They can do this by checking on the type of results that emanate after a short period of time and then evaluating it with regard to their goals. If the gaols have been met, then new ones ought to be set. In close relation to this is the need to have constant feedback between staff in the institution. This means that nurses need to collaborate with administrators and other primary care givers to ensure effective implementation of this alternative. (Mohr, 2004)

Conclusion

Making the choice to either restrain or seclude a patient is a critical matter in nursing mental health care. This is because there are certain dangers that may emanate out of it yet there are also some benefits of the procedure. Consequently, nurses should only resort to this methodology when the positives outnumber the negatives. Also, the method should be applied in a least restrictive manner. Care should be taken by mental health institutions to ascertain that their personnel have adequate capacity to asses a child’s risk of violence. This is done by instituting preventive procedures. Additionally, other alternatives should be sought that foster proactive responses or those that minimise violence and aggression.

Reference

Anthony, W. (2004): Overcoming Obstacles to a Recovery-Oriented System; National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Report, No. 1-5

Champagne, T. & Strayer, N. (2004): Innovative Alternatives to Seclusion & Restraint- Sensory Approaches in Inpatient Psychiatric Settings; Journal of Psychosocial Nursing; 42, 9, 1-8

Curie, C. (2005): SAMHSA’s commitment to eliminating the use of seclusion and restraint; Psychiatric Services, 56, 9, 139-140

Donat, D. ( 2003): An analysis of successful efforts to reduce seclusion and restraint at a public psychiatric hospital; Psychiatric Services, 54, 8, 19-67

Donovan, A., Peller, A., Plant, R., Martin, A. & Siegel, L. (2003): Trends in the use of seclusion and restraint among psychiatrically hospitalized youths; Journal of Psychiatric Services; 54, 7, 287-293.

dosReis, S., Love, C., Barnett, S, & Riddle, A. (2003): A guide for managing acute aggressive behaviour of youths in residential and inpatient treatment facilities; Journal Psychiatric Services, 54, 10, 57-100

Glover, R. (2005): Reducing the use of seclusion and restraint; Psychiatric Services, 56, 9, 114

Huckshorn, K. (2004): Core strategies for prevention – reducing seclusion and restraint in mental health settings; Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 42, 9, 22-33

Keski-Valkama, A., Eronen, T. Sailas, E., (2007): Legislation is not enough to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint; Soc Psychiatry Epidemiology 12, 42, 747–752

LeBel, J., et al (2004): Child and adolescent inpatient restraint reduction – A state initiative to promote strength-based care; Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(1), 37-45.

Mohr, W. (2004): Inpatient Programming Whose Time Has Passed – Level Systems; Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 17, 3, 143-165

Stuff 101 – Intellectual Property Management

Before you can understand what intellectual property management is all about you first need to have a basic understanding of intellectual property. Intellectual property is any piece of work that has been created by an individual or company, such as industrial property like inventions, trademarks and designs to copyrighted materials of artistic works like literature, music, photography and so on.

WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property by stating: “Intellectual property relates to items of information or knowledge, which can be incorporated into tangible objects at the same time in an unlimited number of copies at different locations anywhere in the world. The property is not in those copies but in the information or knowledge reflected in them. Intellectual property rights are also characterized by certain limitations, such as limited duration in the case of copyright and patents.”

When it comes to copyright and patents the copyright protects intellectual property that is meant to be copied, like music or books, while patents are meant to protect the method of creating a product, for example the layout of a circuit board in a cell phone.

It must be noted that an idea is not considered a form of intellectual property. The idea will only become an intellectual property when work is been applied it, like writing the idea down or designing it. The more work you put into the idea the more of an intellectual property it will become.
 
Now that we know what intellectual property is, it is pretty easy to understand that any form of intellectual property will involve a significant amount of paperwork, deadlines, docketing, maintenance, communication with patent offices and other time-consuming matters. All of which often requires immediate attention followed by prompt responses. As the intellectual property portfolio grows the many responsibilities and administrative requirements can become a full time job just to manage them. Trying to stay on top of all matters can become quite taxing for a new company or individual and can obviously detract from free time which would be more beneficially spent coming up with new ideas. This is where intellectual property management will come into play.

Intellectual property management is really all about identifying your intellectual property assets and maximizing the profits of your portfolio. Your intellectual property management policies should be consistent with your overall business strategy, while at the same time helping you to identify opportunities and manage risks to make business decisions in an organized and effective manner. With a properly developed intellectual property management policy in place you will be able to capitalize on your portfolio including generating revenues from previously unused intellectual property assets.

As a new company or individual this may all sound daunting. If you have been acquiring patents and growing your portfolio it may be time to enlist the help of a professional to manage your intellectual property for you. They will be able to help you recognize opportunities for licensing and other revenue generating ideas that you may not have be aware of at all. There are many companies that specialize in intellectual property management but before signing any contract make sure you do your research and ask for some recommendations from their previous and current clients.

Talk Your Way into Sales

You may think that giving a talk or speech isn’t going to benefit YOUR business. Perhaps you believe it to be a tool that will work only in certain niches. I’d like to tell you that speaking engagements absolutely can help build lists and generate leads for any type of business. Why does it work?

Getting Up Close & Personal
First and foremost, making a speech gives those interested in your product a chance to meet you in person. These days many marketing tools are online and impersonal, such as email and websites. Giving a talk lets prospective clients see the real you in action. They get a taste of your personality and your skills whilst seeing what you can offer for their business.

Let me take a moment to mention who your best audience is going to be for speaking engagements. Remember the 80/20 rule in this instance. It’s the rule that states that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. Of course, it’s that 20% that you should focus on. Not just in terms of giving speeches directly to them, but giving speeches regarding the products and services that hold their interest as well.

Declaring Your Expertise
Not only do these speaking engagements give people the opportunity to meet you and make a personal connection, but it raises your profile in your field. One of the tools in getting clients to come to you, rather than you having to reach out to each of them, has been to establish yourself as the expert in your field. Since no one is going to present you with a certificate declaring you an expert, you need to simply step up and claim expertise. Giving a talk in your field of expertise is just another step towards establishing yourself as the -˜go-to person’ for a particular service or product.

Expanding Experience
Whilst these reasons should be enough to have you thinking that speeches and talks may be a good step to take to build our business”, there’s another benefit. That benefit is your personal growth and experience. Speaking engagements can help you build confidence and communication skills. When I first started my business, I would talk to any group who would listen – even my local Brownie group if they would have had me! Every speech you give is one more notch in your experience belt.

The Bottom Line, Literally
The last, but certainly not least, reason for you to give talks or lectures is the opportunity to promote yourself and sell your product. Think about it, the audience that comes to listen to a talk is in a different mindset than those who are coming to sit through a sales presentation.

Giving informational talks is the perfect opportunity to sell to an audience whose sales defenses are down. Not only are their defenses down, but just by their attendance in the audience, you know that they are interested in your product. It makes the perfect targeted audience and one you should have on your potential client list.

Whilst you may have thought that speaking engagements may not help your particular business, I urge you to think again. It’s the perfect opportunity to create a personal connection, declare your expertise, build speaking skills and yes, get some sales in the process.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

The Stages in Pursuing a Disability Claim

The amount of time you need in pursuing a Social Security Disability claim greatly depends on the number of times you would file an appeal due to the Social Security Administration’s denial of your application. The filing procedure has five stages with its respective requirements and case evaluators. The four basic steps are supervised by the SSA while the last phase involves the civil courts. Initial Stage Primarily, the filing process will start upon your submission of a formal Disability claim to the Social Security Office. A disability examiner will then assess your petition to determine if your disability is eligible under the rules of the State Disability Determination Agency. He or she will examine the documents you have filed pertaining to your medical condition and ask a qualified doctor for his expert opinion.

Unfortunately, more than 60% of disability claims are rejected on this stage. This is mainly due to the inadequate knowledge of the claimants about the SSA’s conditions and definition of accepted disabilities. A number of them also refuse hiring experienced Social Security representatives on their belief that it would only cost them a lot of money. Motion for Reconsideration After the rejection of your first attempt, you have the right to file an appeal for reconsideration. This motion is just like a request for the SSA to have a review on the decision of the disability examiner who handled your case on the initial stage. The SSA will act upon your pleading and appoint another disability examiner to look into your claim and give his decision. According to the records, around 80% of the disability claims are rejected on this stage, 20% higher than the initial stage. This can mean that the disability examiner on this stage might follow stricter standards or yet the previous one has already performed a thorough judgment on the cases that were filed. Case Hearing with an Administrative Law Judge If in case your petition was again rejected on the reconsideration stage, you do have an option to bring your case to an Administrative Law Judge and wait for the scheduling of a hearing. While in the previous stages, you are not given a chance to get in touch with the examiners; this step is comparable to a normal civil case litigation wherein you are expected to present and defend your case in front of a judge. However, in these particular hearings, there is no defendant to convict. More than 50% succeed in this stage. The Appeals Council The Appeals Council accepts disability claims that fail to succeed in the first three steps. Their office is situated in Falls Church, Virginia. The council is not obliged to hear any arguments from the petitioner, but rather they are tasked to review the decisions made by the Administrative Law Judge and give their verdicts based on the judge’s view of the case. Civil Litigation Once you have undergone all the procedures made available by the SSA but still you did not succeed, your last resort would be bringing your case to civil courts. Hence, this undertaking definitely requires a qualified lawyer to act as your advocate. For Social Security Disability information in Los Angeles, look up the Los Angeles Lawyers-Mesriani Law Group’s website for reliable data and resources.

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Rock The Dance Floor With Ball Room Dancing.

Danceis something that expresses joy, pleasure and an everlasting ecstasy. By the use of the body gestures, you can move with the rhythm and beat of the music anddance. It is that work of art that has got inspiration from merriment as it is the way to express what you feel. If you are fond of dancing and you want to polish your dancingskills, then you can always take some danceclasses. This is a good way to express the hidden talent too.It has been observed that today, parents are enthusiastic to make their kids competent enough to handle the hardships of the changing world. They are eager to improve their skills and personality. The danceclasses can help to accomplish these goals. They help a student to become a better and a successful person from every aspect. You might be aware of the fact that dance can bring positive changes among students.If a person is taking the dancing lessons since childhood, then he can certainly adopt it as his career in the future. The atmosphere created by the dancing experts while giving lessons enables the students to sharpen the music and dancingskills. The dancing classes teach and train the students to such an extent that they end up moving like professionals. The dances that are taught include dances for ballroom, salsa, the western classic and hip hop. Among all these types, classes for ballroomdancing are much preferred by people. It will be worth mentioning here that the classes which our institution provides are not provided anywhere else. You must know this too that the students who have polished their skills from our institution have successfully managed to earn a prominent name in the field of dancing and they have become successful all around.When we talk about ballroomdancing, then you must know that the people who were considered honorable used to do such dance and a large and spacious room is selected to perform thisdance. Calling it a folk dance can be right because it was similar to it. But this was in the past and today, as everything else has been changed, so is this dance. People from all walks of life today are interested to learn what this dance is. The ball room dancers include Polka, Quadrille, Mazurka, Polonaise and Minuet. These were the old format ofdancing but these days the ballroomdancers that are taught in the danceclasses have been modified to a whole new level. The new forms of dances that have been introduced include salsa, hustle, the Nightclub dances, West Coast Swing, Nightclub two step etc. The ballroom dance routine is a combination of all these forms ofdancing. In UK, the ball room dance is known as the international Latin ball room dance. On the other hand, in the United States and Canada, different dance routines and styles for ballroomdancing are practiced which are different from the international ball roomdancing.