Good luck with your own New Year's resolutions!

Myself personally, I attended a lot of conferences in 2024, and heard a lot of presentations that were not memorable at all. Perhaps the speakers had something interesting to say that would have also been useful to me in my work, but their message failed to reach me.

🥺 Worse yet (from my perspective anyway), I was guilty of making the same mistakes that these speakers made during my own presentations. And, as a result, I have failed to reach some (or perhaps many) people in my own workshops and masterclasses.

🥳 But it doesn’t have to be this way for me in 2025. Already I am preparing my New Year’s resolutions, and I will definitely aim to avoid committing some of these sins! My main ones are “winging it” or failing to prepare sufficiently well and overwhelming my audience with detail. 🎉🎉🎉

Here is a trivia question to get your attention! Do you know where the expression “winging it” comes from?

➡️ It is phrase used to describe giving a presentation (or doing something similar) without any preparation. Instead the speaker chooses to rely on their past experience and knowledge, trusting that they will be able to come up with the right messages, the right words and deliver a good presentation even without doing any work ahead of time. …

➡️ The expression comes from the world of theatre. Actors who did not learn their lines, would get the lines whispered to them from the “wings” of the stage. Hence, the expression “winging it”.

That is just one of the sins that people commit when delivering presentations, which Paul McGee talks about in his latest book “How to speak so people really listen”. Paul is also the author of the best-sellers Self-Confidence and S.U.M.O.

*🔥*🔥🔥 Skills for Success in Finance & Economics: профильный курс английского языка для будущих экономистов и финансистов**

Мы рады сообщить, что после почти двухлетней разработки мы запускаем профильный курс английского языка для будущих экономистов и финансистов - Skills for Success in Finance & Economics (SFS).
Этот курс рекомендован к использованию в вузах для студентов по экономико-финансовым направлениям с уровнем владения языком от В1+ и рассчитан на полный академический год (215 ак. ч.).

*🎯 Цель обучения:
🔹 развитие профессионально-ориентированной коммуникативной компетенции;
🔹 совершенствование речевых навыков и умений;
🔹 получение экономико-финансовых знаний;
🔹 развитие цифровых навыков;
🔹* развитие soft skills будущих финансовых специалистов.

*📌 Компоненты курса:
🔸 40 экономико-тематических уроков, разбитых на 4 раздела:
1. Initial industrial growth.
2. Growth in international trade.
3. Emergence of finance.
4. Economic booms and busts.
🔸 40 развернутых практических домашних заданий по тематике уроков.
🔸 Более 80 аутентичных аудио- и видео-материалов.
🔸 Более 160 заданий с автоматической проверкой.
🔸* 4 проектных задания (каждое на 15-20 ак. ч.).

Лектор и автор курса: Уласевич ​​​​​​​​​​​​Максим Владимирович

​​​​​​​​Максим возглавляет издательский отдел компании RELOD, который занимается публикацией образовательных пособий и материалов по английскому языку, тестов и курсов повышения квалификации для школьного и высшего образования в России.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Профессия финансиста и долгий опыт жизни в Великобритании помогли ему создать уникальный учебник, совмещающий изучение профильного английского языка и финансов. Этот курс можно сравнить с практическим тренингом, который подготовит студентов к их первой работе.​​​​​​​

*▶️ Узнать больше о курсе
▶️ Демо-версия курса (полный доступ на 3 дня) ▶️*** Пройти обучение

Freakonomics have been around for ages, but there are also some new YouTube channels:

*🔥*🔥🔥 Russell Brand: The comedian and commentator has built a substantial following by discussing political issues and critiquing mainstream media narratives.
🔥🔥 Democracy Now!: This independent news program provides in-depth coverage of global issues, often focusing on stories overlooked by mainstream outlets.
🔥 Ben Shapiro**: Although often categorized as conservative, Shapiro's channel presents an alternative perspective on current events, engaging a large audience with his rapid-fire commentary and debates.

But for these you would need to have a good B2 level English and a willingness to be challenged.

I think Tucker Carlson on X would be easier to understand (there is also a lot of written content and his American accent helps). So I am always disappointed when I hear my Russian friend say that she enjoys getting news from Tucker but on a Russian adapted Telegram channel in Russian... 😩

👉 I always tell her (she has very good English too...) - at least look at his website tuckercarlson.com if not on X. His latest post should get everyone's attention!

What if you prefer your alternative media in video or audio format? Not to worry, there is something for you too! 👇

One of my favourites is Freakonomics Radio, a collection of podcasts on all kinds of alternative views on economics.

The authors of the original book "Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything", Stephen D. Levitt and Steven J. Dubner, studied Behavioural Economics - how consumers make their decisions.

You would think that classical economics should have covered that, but Levitt and Dubner didn't think that it was all about the price... 🧐⛔️💵💰💳

Anna got it right, right off the bat - Time is money