Suresh Adina

Hi. I am a 20 yr old college student. I have never learned any dance form. Now I am very eager But I can't decide which form to take. I want a dance form which I can follow, as that will keep me motivated. Please help.

When you say you want to follow, do you mean while dancing or do you want to follow the dance form itself by attending recitals etc? If you want to follow the dance form itself, then pick what is local to you as that is likely to have more shows and recitals in your area. Ofcourse other Indian dance forms will be showcases in your area also, but likely to be less frequent. What I understand is that once you pick up one dance form, taking up another at a later date is not a difficult choice. So pick what you feel comfortable. If you want to follow while dancing (with a partner), then Western dance would be your choice. If this is what you meant, let me know and i will share more details, as I have learnt a few western dances.

If you think of it as a gap, it is difficult to overcome. If you think of it as a break, it is manageable. It all depends on how you present this time interval. What was the reason for this "gap"? If you can show some personal development or learning or some other experience gained in this time period, then you can easily convince an employer to hire you based on your skill set match, over looking this "gap". You need to present this in the resume itself. Do not let the resume have some gaps, which you have to explain in an interview. then you have very little chance once the interviewer gets the feeling that you have "hidden" something. If you have specific queries, I can help.

Project management - importance can be realized by understanding the two words independently. First project: There are theoretical definitions about a temporary time bound initiative and achieving unique result. That is good in terms of formalizing it. But let us have a more basic understanding. Project also means something you expect to happen, in the future. And as we know future is uncertain, we hardly know what will happen with our time tomorrow. SO project basically means what we expect to happen tomorrow, the day after and so on, with a specific goal in mind. Next is management. Once we know what we want, we can either wait to see if it happens. This would be akin to buying lottery tickets every day to get rich. The other option is to plan some activities that will help you get to YOUR goal. And to have some control over these activities, you applying some principles like initiating (most important since many have starting trouble), planning, executing, controlling and finally deciding when and how to stop, which is closing. Any PM book that you read will include only these, but probably with different terminology. Finally it is critical to remember that Project Management is your approach to handling life's events and uncertainties. It is not about office work only. Once you believe in the concept and get a true understanding, you will see that it applies in all walks of life. And you know what is the most successful example of well applied Project management? It is a traditional Indian Wedding where the Bride's father becomes the PM to organize a huge event. And he usually does it without the help of any excel sheet or MSP. So we are applying in our daily lives, even it is not done so formally as in an office - vacations, education, parties, finances, etc. All the best to you!

First understand the meaning and purpose of soft skills. Skills are something that you need to achieve something that you want. So before going out to build the skills, be clear on what you want to achieve. Then you can build the skills. But remember that only YOU can build the skills through understanding and practice. Next, the soft nature of the skills means you need to apply them in such a manner that the other person does not feel that you have applied them, but both benefit from the same. The result should not be one sided. The second aspect of soft skills is that you will need the ability to apply them differently in different situations and with different people, and at different times with the same people. Think of yourself as the Sponge that is used to clean. It will change form based on what you are trying to clean and hence can get inside even a narrow tumbler to achieve cleanliness. That flexibility is what makes it useful. There is no short cut to develop soft skills. First step: build confidence that you know what you want to do and your intentions are good. Then slowly learns to use the specific tools like communication, negotiation, problem solving etc. This will evolve over a period of time. Build you own style and never try to emulate another. All the best.