Can many hands really make work lighter?
Ever wondered why professors and other successful people always tell you to “get to know others” and to “build a network”? Why exactly is “cooperation” important?
A common definition that you can find in a dictionary for “cooperation” is: “an act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit; joint action.”
Your life and your decisions are in your hands, why is it so important to work with other people “for a common purpose”? Can’t you just survive on your own? You hear success stories about people making millions from nothing or pro athletes coming out of the prairies with little access to sport facilities.
Quite often the small details add up to make up a large picture that makes a significant impact on our everyday lives. In the “Friend or Foe” session, host Kevin talks about the importance of cooperation and the small points that accumulate into a larger picture as previously described. The session is very fun in unique way that completely changed and reconstructed everybody’s view on teamwork.
Coaches praise teamwork as an important strategy in sports. However Kevin argues that it’s just as important in real life. Check the calendar to register for his future sessions:
http://www.yorku.ca/scld/leadership/programs/cooperation.html
Review by Artur.
What is diversity? Why value diversity?
These were some of the questions addressed by the speaker, Selwyn McSween in the SLDP seminar, “A Journey to Diversity”. When one speaks of diversity, it is much more than racial or ethnic diversity; it also includes religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and so on. A diverse body is able to attract and retain a wide range of people with individual interests, dedication, backgrounds and perspectives.
Diversity forces people to challenge their assumptions, stereotypes and perceptions and it fosters social growth and the ability for people to properly understand one another. Therefore this session becomes an invaluable learning experience for those who will/do work with people.
The seminar was informative, enlightening and educational. The speaker, Selwyn McSween, was moving, intellectual and coming from a human rights background, he provided insightful information about diversity. Additionally, the listeners were involved in the seminar by discussing various case studies that addressed human rights issues and emphasized the importance of being diverse. Besides the fact that it was insightful, many of the things presented could be applied to everyday life.
Review by Abena.
Speak Out: Harness Your Voice is essentially a crash-course on Public Speaking squished into an hour and half. I highly recommend you take this workshop if you can grab it, because it teaches an essential skill that all university students, regardless of their future profession, should obtain to some degree.
As a teacher to be, I learned how to project my voice, and to understand the importance of really ‘harnessing’ my voice in an effective manner. A good speaker also makes for a good presenter, and if you are dreading and presentations that you have to do this term, "Speaking Out" might help you clear those butterflies away!
This workshop is hosted by brilliant former Public Speaking professor, James Allen. He starts his sessions with an introduction to Public Speaking (its importance and why we practice Public Speaking), as well as the theories behind it. After that Allen gets into a series of great exercises that really help you put the theories in practice amongst your peers.
Among the many things I learned, the one that is most salient to me is how good public speaking takes practice and good structure. Much like writing an essay, you need to plan out and structure your speech or presentation. Good public speaking skills translate to good leadership, therefore if you are able to coherently present yourself and your ideas, then you will consequently become a better leader.
Once you’ve got a good structure down pat, you need to a) practice, b) practice and c) practice! You can’t practice enough in Public Speaking, in fact the worst that can happen from too much practice is that you’ll be perfectly prepared!
As you can see, public speaking well is very important, therefore the "Speaking Out" workshop becomes a very valuable tool. Check out the next session on February 11, 2010.
Review by Afroza.
Hello everyone!
