If you want to know how to become an active listener you will need to learn certain traits about listening as a skills. Listening is a great skill to develop and it can improve all areas of your life. People love to talk and are always looking for someone to listen to them. Below are tips to facilitate active listening examples in daily life.

1. When listening to someone your goal should be to understand their point of view. Listen to everything they say before forming your own opinion, and remember that you do not necessarily have to agree with them. Everyone deserves, and should form, their own opinions on various topics.
2. Paying attention is the next trait. If you don’t pay attention you will miss out on important information. Always be aware of what is going on with the person who is speaking, and don’t forget to pay attention to your surroundings.
3. The action of making eye contact with the person who is speaking, shows them that you are paying attention. If you start looking around you, you are giving them the impression that you are not interested, or have become bored.
4. Try to look at their point of view and ask yourself if they might be the person who is right.
5. ALLOW the person to finish talking. This often takes a little patience, but it can be helpful for both sides. First the person talking can vent their opinions or frustrations. Secondly it helps the listener to fully understand the issue at hand.

A good listener will also think before responding back. Again they often ask what if this person is correct in their way of thinking. People have the bad trait of speaking before thinking and this can lead to all kinds of awkward or difficult situations.

It is perfectly normal for your brain to want to respond quickly, stop yourself and think before you speak!

Sometimes it can be hard to stay focused on a person, it is normal to want to look away. If you find yourself doing this try nodding to the person or making direct eye contact with them. This signals to them that you are paying attention. If you really need to look away for a second, then muffle a cough behind your hand!

Other tips that you might want to use to show that you are paying attention include:

• Saying the person’s name now and again, when you speak with them
• Using facial expressions
• Using body language

Put these five traits into play consistently and you will become a much better listener for it. 

SOURCE: https://www.market-connections.net/blog/listening-as-a-skill

​Did you know there are common products you are highly familiar with, that came about by mistake? These are products that came about in trying to invent something completely different.

This information may sound trivial, but it can be useful during job interviews when you are asked to talk about mistakes you have made a work. 

​The United States government needed rubber during World War II, and it was in short supply. General Electric engineers tried to come up with a rubber substitute and instead came up with goo, which they felt they had no need for. An inspiring business person paid them for the rights to the invention and named it Silly Putty. Plastic egg packaging was used since the release of the product was near Easter time.

​This product was meant to help people with heart conditions. Instead, they observed in clinical studies that men who took the pill became aroused. As you can well imagine, this product didn’t take much to market and became a success practically overnight.

Play-Doh got its start as a cleaning product for wallpaper. When it didn’t do as well for that purpose, the inventors knew a teacher who complained about the clay her students were using in class. It was not pliable. The inventors suggested she try the Play-Doh, and the kids went crazy for it. An entire industry has been built around this product since then.

Chances are high many of us may still be wondering "how does bit coin work?" Yet, while we are wondering a new economy is developing before us and growing rapidly. If you are still not sure about how to start, below is a list of sites with opportunities to earn digital currency. Whether you searched for Bit Coin Jobs or Crypto Jobs, you will find below a list of jobsites with jobs that claim to pay in digital currency.  

While cryptocurrency opens the doors to countless investment and financial instruments, because of the lack of guaranteed value, as well as its digital nature, there are risks involved that you should know about before you get started.

Barry Sibert, CEO of Digital Currency Group (which builds and invests in Bitcoins and blockchain companies) says “It is pretty much the highest-risk, highest-return investment that you can possibly make.”
 
Here are some of the risks you can incur:
 
Regulatory Risks: Bitcoins are a digital rival to government currency and, thus, may be used for illegal activities, black market transactions, money laundering, or tax evasion.
 
Governments, therefore, might seek to regulate, restrict, or ban the use of such currency (some already have). Other governments are coming up with various rules concerning cryptocurrency.
 
Security Risks: Most people who own and use Bitcoins have obtained their currency through any of many popular online markets, called Bitcoin exchanges. These are entirely digital, so as with any other virtual system, are at risk from hackers, malware, and even operational glitches.
 
Hackers may target these exchanges and gain access to thousands of accounts and digital “wallets” where Bitcoins are stored.
 
Users can only prevent these risks by storing their currency on a computer not connected to the internet or by choosing to use a “paper wallet” where they print out the Bitcoin private keys and addresses without keeping them in a computer at all.
 
Insurance Risk: Currently, cryptocurrency exchanges and accounts are not insured by any federal or government program.
 
In 2019, one dealer and trading platform (SFOX) did announce they’d provide Bitcoin investors with FDIC insurance, but only for those transactions involving cash.
 
Fraud Risk: Bitcoin does use private-key encryption to verify owners and register transactions, but scammers might try to sell fake Bitcoins. There have also been documented cases of price manipulation, which is another common form of fraud.
 
Market Risk: As with any other investment, Bitcoin prices can fluctuate. In fact, Bitcoin value has seen wild swings since 2009.
 
There is also plenty of competition for Bitcoin, and a technical breakthrough in the form of a better virtual coin is always a threat.
 
If you’re looking to invest in cryptocurrency in an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Who owns the company? Is it a recognizable name or an identifiable owner?
  
  
• Are there other major investors already in?
  
  
• Will you own a stake in the company or just currency or tokens? The former means you’re an actual owner in the company, while the latter just gives you cryptocurrency to buy or sell.
  
  
• Is the currency already developed or is the company trying to raise money to develop it? The further along the product is, the less risky it will be.

​OTHER RESOURCES (Updated September 2022):
November 2019: 12 Quick and easy ways to make money online
March 2020: 62 Places to Find Remote Jobs Online.  
April 2020: ​12 Quick and Easy Ways to make Money Online.  
February 2022:  Bit Coin Jobs.
September 2022: Real Ways to Make Money From Home for Free.

Source: https://www.market-connections.net/blog/bit-coin-jobs

If you haven’t read the book (and you should), Carnegie describes techniques that make people want to be with you.

In the end, it's about building GREAT RAPPORT with others. Below are are a few simple techniques to establish rapport with those who cross your path.

One is the simple technique of using somebody’s name. This requires that you remember the name when a person is first introduced to you. But once you know the name, be sure to use it whenever you come in contact with that person. People value their names more than you could possibly imagine. The next time someone says your name when speaking to you, pay attention to how that makes you feel. It is likely to make you feel a connection with that person on a level that you probably took for granted in the past.
 
Another technique that Carnegie describes is to pay attention to other peoples’ likes and wants. If you know somebody that is into elephants, for example, when you come across items related to elephants, make that person aware of it. Carnegie goes into much greater depth about this, but you get the general idea. Take a genuine interest in others and you will find them drawing towards you more and more.
 
The techniques described in the book really are common sense, but they work. There are several other techniques that are described which can really give you those influencing abilities you want to acquire. What’s great about his techniques is they are not difficult to incorporate into your life and yet they have a tremendous impact in how you are looked upon by others. It is almost magical at how well it works.
 
It should be noted that Carnegie wrote the book to help salespeople sell better. The book was actually a byproduct of a course he developed with the same motivation. You do not need to be a salesperson to take advantage of the techniques contained in this book. 

​Becoming confident is a big step in being more influential. When you exude confidence, that will show through to others. They will have no choice but to see you as someone that has a handle on situations.
 
The good news is confidence is not something you are born with. Sure, some people naturally are confident and it is easier for them to be that way. Confidence is something that can be learned. It may take rethinking some of your beliefs but it is possible.
 
The first step towards being confident is to learn as much as you can about the situations you are in. Knowledge is power. If you have the necessary knowledge, you will be in a position to answer questions that arise. This makes you authoritative in the minds of those that are not as well versed. Few can argue with you when you have that authority.
 
Next up is to define what you want to accomplish. Know what the desired end result should be and work back from that. Many people try to wing it and go with the flow, thinking that the results will come to them naturally. While that can work once in a while, usually, it’s more effective when you know what you want right from the start.
 
After you determine what you want to accomplish, you can map out a plan in the form of goals and milestones. By breaking down the process into smaller tasks, it becomes more manageable. This will easily add to your confidence levels because those smaller tasks will be easier to complete. It’s also a great feeling each time one of those milestones are met.
 
Nothing is set in stone and there is room for change when you make up your plan. Part of confidence is knowing when something isn’t working and to have the courage to adjust. By doing this quickly, you will not lose face. In fact, when you make the decision to change you will show that you maintain the confidence needed. No one can be right 100% of the time. The key is to try not to be wishy-washy when altering your path. Be firm on why you are changing and make the decision quickly.
 
Taking the steps to becoming more confident is entirely plausible. Confidence will naturally lead to becoming more influential. It takes commitment and time. But the rewards are simply too great to ignore.

There are several resources that can help you become influential. Use them as a guide to learn and as resources to keep your influence intact.
 
Google.com
Although obvious, you should always start your search using this ubiquitous search engine. One trick that many overlook is to search beyond the first page of the results. You can often find some gems as these webmasters are trying to fight their way to the top of the search engine results. These gems are often resources that are less about selling and more about offering great value.
 
Book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
This book needs to be singled out as it is essentially the bible on the subject. This belongs in everyone’s library and needs to be read multiple times to reinforce the lessons. It is available as a Kindle book and if you are a member of Kindle Unlimited, you can get a version of it as part of that subscription. There are even several summarized versions of the book for those that don’t want to take the time to read the entire book. The book is really easy to read, though.
 
Udemy.com
Udemy has several courses related to influence, charisma, etc. Some of them may seem expensive but Udemy runs sales on its courses often. You can also search online for “Udemy Coupon Codes” as instructors like to use these to lure learners to their courses.
 
Amazon.com
Amazon has several books on how to influence. What’s great about Amazon is you can usually tell which books are good by reading the reviews and choosing the higher rated ones. Another great way to use Amazon is to scan through the table of contents of the bestselling books in that category and then searching on those topics to see what you can find.
 
YouTube.com
It’s amazing how many people overlook YouTube when they are trying to learn something. YouTube has videos on just about any subject. You will have to do some digging and weed through the videos that disguise themselves as courses but are really just sales pitches for a product. But there are definitely some great videos that can help when learning how to become influential. Another advantage is YouTube is free for most videos. One tip when evaluating videos: read through the comments and stay away from videos that have high thumbs down rankings.

Let’s talk about rapport, building rapport, and rapport meaning. I’m sure you’ve heard about establishing rapport, but you may not have a clear understanding of what it is and why it’s important. We’ll start there and then spend the rest of this short report going over how to establish rapport and use it to create friendships and good working relationships.
 
Let’s start with a definition. Here’s what Merriam-Webster says about “rapport”:
 
"a friendly, harmonious relationship; especially:  a relationship characterized by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy"
 
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rapport
 
To rephrase that definition, rapport gives you that instant connection, a feeling that you already know the other person, start to trust them, and are ready to move forward, wherever that future relationship may take you.
 
I’m sure you’ve experienced this in the past, without realizing it or paying it a lot of attention. Maybe you met a pretty girl at a bar and instantly clicked with her. Maybe you got a new co-worker at the office and the two of you hit it off right away after finding that you have a hobby or interest in common. Maybe you’ve had a boss or teacher in the past who was easy to talk to and get along with from the start. All of those are great examples of building rapport with another person from the start.
 
Once you’ve established rapport, it becomes easier to build a mutually beneficial relationship. That’s why it’s important to establish rapport in the first place. It gives you that instant connection that makes both of you feel like you’ve known each other for much longer than you have. This, in turn, creates trust and allows you to move on with whatever it is the two of you need to get done.
 
Maybe you need to establish rapport with a new co-worker or boss. It’s important to do so quickly, so you can get to work on the time sensitive projects piling up on your desk.
 
Maybe you’re making a new friend that’s interested in the same hobby as you are. With that instant connection and rapport, you will become fast friends. In turn, you can craft, run, workout, or shop together, learn from each other and enjoy your favorite past time together.
 
It’s easy to see through this handful of little examples from everyday life that being able to build rapport with others and to do so quickly is a handy skill to have. We are social creatures that have to figure out a way to work and live together. Being able to establish rapport helps us do that.
 
We also live in a complicated and fast-paced world, where speed matters. Being able to establish rapport quickly gives you a distinct advantage. It opens doors for you and helps you make the connections you need to make more easily.
 
In other words, being able to establish rapport quickly is a good skill to have. Let’s take a look at how you can do just that. 

Now that you have a pretty good idea of why establishing report is important, let’s talk about how to do that. More importantly, let’s talk about how to do it quickly so you can move on with the rest of your day and start cultivating that relationship. You don’t want to spend a lot of time courting and convincing someone that you’re a nice and trustworthy person.
 
Establishing rapport quickly isn’t just about saving time. If you can’t make that crucial connection in the first few minutes, you risk losing the interest of the person you’re trying to win over, and that’s not good. Let’s get to work to make sure that doesn’t happen.
 
Be Open
Start with an open mind and attitude. This will go a long way towards helping you establish rapport quickly. It will influence not only your mind (and possibly your heart) but with it also your body language, something we will talk about more a little further on. Check your attitude if needed and make sure it’s open and inviting. If not, adjust as needed. Remember, your goal is to establish rapport.
 
Listen And Observe
Next, spend a little time listening and observing the other person, before approaching them. You can learn a lot this way that will come in handy in the next step. It may at first glance seem like a waste of time, but trust me, it isn’t. A little investigative work is one of the best things you can do.
 
Find Common Ground And Make A Connection
Use what you’ve learned through your observation or what you already know about the other person to find something that connects the two of you. It doesn’t matter how large or small it is. You need to find some common ground or something you both enjoy, to make a fast connection.
 
Your Voice And Your Body Language
Pay close attention to your voice and body language. Make sure your body signals that you’re open to meeting the other person and that you are trustworthy. That means making and keeping eye contact, and having an open posture. Don’t hunch over or cross your arms.
 
To give the other person a sense of connection, it helps to match your tone of voice and speech pattern to theirs.
 
Be Kind And Smile
Last but not least, don’t forget to be kind, put on your best smile, and simply be a pleasure to be around. We are attracted to friendly people and if you do your best to be one, meeting new people and establishing rapport will go that much smoother. Do your best to make it a genuine smile. We are all very good at picking out a fake one. Find something to like about the other person and the situation you’re in and focus on that. Your smile will become genuine and that’s a very attractive thing. 

ou’ve established rapport with a new person. You’re off to a great start, but at the end of the day, establishing rapport simply gets you a foot in the door. What you do from here to take advantage of that is up to you.
 
Your goal should be to keep that connection strong and turn it into a lasting connection or friendship that will serve you well for years to come. Let me share a couple of ideas with you for doing just that.
 
Show an interest to connect or to stay in touch. Connections have to be nurtured and at the very least that means that you need to interact on occasion. Give the other person a call when you’re thinking about them, or simply to check in. Send a text message or share a link to an interesting article on social media. In other words, put in the time and effort it takes to nurture the connection.
 
Another great tip is to keep making it about them. At our core, we’re always interested in what’s in it for us and getting closer to our own goals is one of our biggest motivators. Use this to your advantage and keep strengthening your bond with others by focusing on what’s in it for them. Yes, you’ll also accomplish your own goals along the way, but what you talk about and share should be about how it will help them.
 
Keep using their first name whenever you talk to them. There’s a lot of power in a first name and we love hearing it. It’s a great way to establish rapport, but also works wonders down the road. That’s why it’s so important to get into the habit of remembering people’s names. It makes them feel important and that you truly care about them.
 
Other ways to nurture connections are to always be kind and friendly. Check your attitude if needed before you engage with people who are important to you. Being friendly and in a good mood (or at least appearing to be) will go a long way to open doors for you.
 
Of course, a little praise or a gesture of appreciation never hurts. If you’ve made a new business contact that could have a big impact on your bottom line, don’t be shy about sending over a gift basket or the likes to show you care and are very interested in a mutually beneficial relationship. If you’ve made a new friend who shares a hobby, send a handwritten note to let them know how much you appreciate them and that you enjoyed the time you spent together.
 
Above all, treat those around you with honesty and respect. It may seem very old-fashioned, but there’s a reason it’s worked for thousands of years. These virtues instill trust in those around us and trust is the best basis for a long-lasting relationship in all areas of your career and your life.

You must consider the feelings of the people with who you're communicating. Even if you are a manager, barking orders at people is one of the least effective ways. Consider everyone’s opinions and needs. Keep people engaged in the communication platform. This way they take ownership in the process. That is a massive benefit for excellent communication. You will get more out of people when this happens than merely rattling off commands as if they are robots. There are some instances, such as the military, where shouting out orders is necessary. But, these are the exception, not the rule.

Great leadership doesn’t automatically come with being the boss, manager, or supervisor. A promotion can put anyone in charge of others. But it takes more than that to become the dynamic leader. Things like commitment, personality, and focus among other qualities are central points of leadership.
 
Excellent leadership skills are something most people can develop over time. While some people already have the confidence and vision to be a great leader, others need to build their leadership skills from the ground up.
 
If you’re in a position where you need to start showcasing your leadership side, don’t worry. The following tips could give you the guidance you need to build your position as a motivational and inspirational leader.
 
Try these strategies: ​

​As a leader, you can judge yourself by the successes of your team. Ultimately, the wins of the people you lead are your wins too. It's important to constantly encourage, motivate, and inspire your team members to achieve the best outcomes.

• Avoid taking all the spotlight in any situation.
  
  
• Ask your team members to give their input as often as they can. You can also make it easier for people who are less extroverted to share ideas.
  
  
• Providing a digital environment where people can submit insight anonymously might be a good idea in some business landscapes.
  
  
• In others, it might be helpful to sit down with staff members face to face every so often, so you can discuss their goals and how they align with the overall targets of the business.

With corporate cutbacks, delegating may not be easy to accomplish. Companies are expecting their employees to do more with less. But, managers still need to get their work done. In such cases, it may be worthwhile to consider outsourcing some of the tasks of your team. The benefits of outsourcing are that it does not increase the company’s headcount. ​

Source URL: www.market-connections.net/blog/how-to-be-more-efficient

​Having an account is as easy as downloading the app and since it’s been around a while, there are plenty of tutorials on how to maximize your account. The learning curve for making videos is fairly easy and the potential to generate revenue is easier and cheaper than other platforms that use ads like Facebook or Instagram.

TikTok is a video sharing social networking service that has been available in the United States since 2016. It uses short-form videos anywhere from fifteen seconds to one minute long in a wide variety of categories including, but not limited to, dance, comedy, and education. The videos tend to be a hybrid between entertainment and infotainment depending on what you’re looking for.
 
TikTok is available world-wide and currently there are 40 languages you can tap into for the service. While TikTok is not the only platform designed to share short videos, there is something about the app that is setting itself apart from others. Here are some fun facts about TikTok and the people who use it-

• Fun Fact: 50% of users are under the age of 34
• Fun Fact: Content ranges on the scale from raw, real, funny, to shocking
• Fun Fact: The average TikTok user is on 52 minutes per day
• Fun Fact: 60% of users are female
• Fun Fact: 26% of users are 18-24
• Fun Fact: Millennials and Boomers are adding the TikTok app at an alarming rate

Tiktok is much more than fifteen seconds of dance moves. In many ways, TikTok is taking the lead in producing influencers. TikTok “influencers” seem to go viral with alarming speed and often times see a surge in their followers over night from a single video.
 
The app is ever evolving, and new categories are beginning and growing all the time including alternative lifestyle categories, DIY and upcycling, business, and behind-the-scenes looks at industries typically off-limits to insider information.

The stats suggest most of the users are between 18-35 but those numbers are changing every day as every age group enjoys the benefits of TikTok. Though it is certainly entertaining, it is also a smart business tool. In the past year TikTok has generated millions of dollars in revenue for its users in a wide variety of ways. From being an influencer to linking to goods and services, the potential to earn via TikTok is pretty amazing since there is no cost associated with the platform.   

In the end, there’s no drawback to TikTok. TikTok is a relatively new social networking platform that may be a smart business move to get noticed and make money