Self Help

Counselors have something to teach teachers. Counselors study the conditions under which people respond to psychotherapy. These were identified by Carl Rogers, the famous psychologist, as empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. Empathy means being able to stand in the shoes of another person and being able to see things from that person’s point of view. Counselors often work with people who have a completely different economic standing and lifestyle from themselves; good counselors can nevertheless imagine themselves in their clients’ lives.

Whether you are writing a letter (or e-mail) to accompany a resume or introducing yourself in hopes of gaining a client, there are some keys to creating the kind of letter that makes the reader eager to get to know you.

There are a number of theories of motivation, such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (we are motivated to get our needs met), behaviorism (we are motivated by environmental response to our behavior), and so forth, but the bottom line is this: one person cannot really motivate another. Take the idea of rewarding good behavior, for example, an attempt at extrinsically motivating someone. A teacher may use this method with students and find that while there are students who respond, there are other students who find it more rewarding to thwart the teacher than to earn tokens. While some students behave a certain way to avoid the teacher getting angry, others are rewarded by anger since when the teacher is angry, not much in the way of learning is going on.

Inevitably when the presentation software comes up on the screen, the lights dim, some people begin to tune out. After all, it’s nice and dark. Some people know what will be said and others don’t really care. Some get irritated, particularly when the presenter simply reads the slides. Some will surreptitiously text their friends during the presentation. Others won’t bother to hide. While a small circle of people around the presenter may look attentive, a significant number of people will not be, which means the time spent in the presentation has not been terribly productive.

Many cities have neighborhoods of valuable older houses that have been snapped up. Prices in these neighborhoods are high. Often nearby are houses of a similar era, but the neighborhood is not as prestigious. These transitional neighborhoods have older families who have been there for years if not generations, houses owned by absentee landlords who are not particularly picky about their renters, and people who want an old house but don’t have the money for the prestigious neighborhood.