"Everything" by Lifehouse

I loved this song from the first notes. It's amazing. One of the best of the best!!! The lyrics are so touching and breathtaking,... Here's its last.fm page.

This could be one of the most romantic songs ever... but, likely, it's dedicated to God.

If you search "Lifehouse everything" in youtube most of the results will be some religious skits, i was surprised at first...

Quote from the wiki of the song:

"The song has become very popular in various religious skits due to the fact that some believe it to be a Christian song. While Lifehouse is not a Christian rock band, the lead singer, Jason Wade says that his songs are open to interpretation and that the lyrics he creates have different meanings to different people."

I personally prefer to link it some romantic memories rather than religious thoughts.


From the band's interview:

"We've been seeing people proposing at their girlfriends to this song, it happened 4-5 times in this tour. You look out in the crowd and you know what's happening, everyone's faces are turned to the wall, you have to find that spot where the guy's proposing."

Here's it, just download and listen.

Everything

by Lifehouse

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want your all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?"

A short interview and a live performance.

wedding on a boat :)

Recently, one of my good friends got married... my former colleague and a great photographer Abo! it was a very unusual wedding.. on a boat!!!... in Sevan lake... the ceremony was hosted by the Cilicia boat crew, there were about 20 people on the boat...

The interesting thing is that during the ceremony (when the groom was about to kiss the bride...) the boat turned over, but luckily no one got hurt... just some cameras and cellphones sank and got damaged...

I'm very happy for Abo and Nana and i wish them a very adventurous life together !!

You can enjoy some of Abo's photographs on his 35mm.am page.

Note: on the photo - the "tarosik".
By Armenian tradition, the married couple gives to all their single friends small "gifts" after the wedding. "Taros" means wishing the same, precisely - a marriage.

For their wedding, the couple has made themselves the "tarosiks" of clay. Both of them are very talented :)))

like a ghost from the past, i found myself in an old page...

пользуясь случаем выражаю благодарность якорю, гриндерсам и фантастике. цифре 8 в перевёрнутом виде. всем системам, даунам и непристойным выражениям. холодной игре и пауку, который не хотел никого обидеть. плавности в движениях, грациозности в манерах и всему прочему, что помогает приготовить хрустящий поп-корн. а так же, вере, надежде и белому кролику. алисе и её чудесной стране. инопланетянам, привидениям, санта клаусу и тем, кто в них верит. луне, копернику и тому, кто в первый раз увидел звёзды. тёмной бездне и светлой улыбке. каскаду, высоте, комплексам и прочему, что хорошо запечетлились на чёрно-белых фотографиях. умению довольствоваться малым, не имея многого. тому парню в метро, взглядам: вскользь, обезоруживающему и незабываемому. лучшему и худшему. тем, кто придумал велосипед, институт, виртуальную реальность и истину. жёлтым листьям, красным лисьтям и фонарю (без лампочки). проливным дождям и настроению. некоторым артистам и животным (ведь ты знаешь, кто ты такой и где бегаешь). роликам, рекламе модных ботинок, логике и советам. салфеткам, листикам из разноцветных блокнотов и диким камушкам, которые знают своё предназначение. воспомонанию о том, чего никогда не было. наконец, дырке на моих джинсах, клетчатой сорочке и проблеме 2000 года. нашему настоящему, а не прошлому. пластиковой бутылке, и бумажному пакету со смешной рожицей. идеалам, тем, кто в них верит, не верит, кто не знает, что это такое. любому, кто когда-либо задавался вопросом почему? умению видеть свет в конце тоннеля и каждому винтику моего cd-rom'а. тем, кто увидит это первым, двенадцатым и последным, и тому, кто узнает об этом. твоему умению говорить “нет”. запаху свежо-испечённых булочек без изюма. тем немногим веснушкам, на моих щеках, которые не выходят наружу даже летом. всем богам, музам и моему домашнему планетарию. добру и злу. тем, кто увидит армагеддон последним, и тому, кто первым ступит на марс (таки обойдёт меня L). свободе, выбору, совершенству... ливингстону, холдену и его сестре- фиби. но не только...

всем тем, или всему тому, что когда-либо меня вдохновляло.

october 23, 2002

RP

http://freenet.am/~apapi

Rocking the borders

This Sunday was the coldest day in since the March maybe… It was raining starting from Saturday and it stopped close to the Sunday evening.

In Kirov park, "Rock the Borders" - an international open-air rock festival was taking place. It started with 1.5 hour delay but luckily the rain was over by that time and they could arrange the equipment… There were bands from Georgia, one from Kazakhstan, from Turkey and Italy, and of course Armenian bands like Stryfe, Dogma, Empyray etc.

I haven't been at rock concerts for a while… some 6-7 years ago I wasn't missing any :) during this one I realized how much I did grow up since then :D
Most of the attendees were teenagers - emos, goths, ppl with pierced faces, tattoos etc…  this culture is becoming more and more popular here year by year… The outstanding fact was the presence of the Turkish band "Northern Lights". Guys were rocking, really. People were welcoming and I didn't notice any display of intolerance. I was wondering if it would be the same with any other concert, especially if it was pop. Yep, even when rock fans are less social, I personally think, they are more open-minded.

To be sincere, heavy metal and metal in general is not my preferred style… I'm more into alternative, indie music, that's why I wasn't enjoying it that much...
I was looking forward to the Italian band's performance. The band with a strange name "Sadist" (my friends were joking whether there will be e.g. a French band "masochist" coming to the next festival :D) were a bit delaying with performance and I couldn't stand the cold anymore. My feet were frozen (and not only mine) and we ran to Square One for a hot tea. So I missed the Italian band's performance, though later I was told that I wouldn't like their music anyway.

Turkish band "Northern Lights" on the stage of "Rock the Borders" rock festival

Curriculum Vitae

Yesterday i was updating my CV. While i was into the formatting, fixing all the styles and spaces and dots, i was remembering some things that i would like to be mentioned in the CV. This document i was working on - was the General one. For specific cases i'm editing it, cutting all the irrelevant information.
The full version consists of 4 pages of small text :D well, i did manage to do a lot of things by my 23...

There's the list of all the photo exhibitions where my works were presented, my film's 'adventures' , my volunteering and organization experience, trainings, conferences, all the activities... These all are part of me and my learning path. I only didn't mention my articles and publications during the school time - journalism classes in Manana.

I used to attend photography, journalism and film making classes, had an opportunity to publish, present my works, went to international film events, got nominated in a film festival...
I used to be in all Armenian youth and children events as an organizer/volunteer.
Thanks to these years i got to know many people, got a lot of skills and learnings.

via popgadget.net

I did much more "extracurricular" activities than my actual profession. IT is just a small part of my life.
That's why i cannot imagine working in an IT company and in IT sphere though it's my profession and i have the most "documented" skills there...

For most of the cases where i have to present my CV, all my extra and other activities are useless and can have a negative effect... But believe me, deleting these rows is like erasing months and years of my life... It's no good :(

I know from my own experience of selecting and short listing CVs - how it should be to attract the employer or whatever...


But is it THAT bad having multiple (many) interests and being able to manage to do all the things, not sacrificing the main job? I've heard many different opinions from different people, but what do YOU think?



A collection of 20 creative resumes via Francesco Mugnai

Regina Spektor

Let me introduce you my recent music discovery - Regina Spektor.

Regina Spektor was born on February 18th, 1980, in Moscow, Soviet Union, to a musical family. Her father, a photographer, was also an amateur violinist. Her mother was a music professor in a Russian conservatory and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.

This discovery was done thanks to my designer colleagues :) I found the album "Begin To Hope" in their sharing on our network.

I like her voice.. To me she sounds like Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, a bit also like Cat Power.

My favorite songs: Samson, Apres-moi

This last one contains a surprise part in Russian. Which is an extract from a Boris Pasternak's poem:

Февраль. Достать чернил и плакать...
Писать о феврале навзрыд,
Пока грохочущая слякоть
Весною черною горит.

(English translation)
February. Get ink, shed tears.
Write of it, sob your heart out, sing.
While torrential slush that roars
Burns in the blackness of the spring.

The smooth transition to the Russian part is amazing. Also the fact that her English is as perfect as Russian... Although, after the Russian part i started to hear an accent in English.

Recommended.

Discover Regina Spektor!

A link between your ages and thoughts...

Recently i was thinking about doing a tattoo. I hadn't this idea before, actually i was always sure I won't be ever doing anything for _forever_.
Well, a small drawing in a not_so_noticable place won't hurt, huh?

Practically, a permanent tattoo will follow you everywhere and always. It will be with you in all your times of joy and sorrow, when being with your loved one, when talking to parents, during your wedding, when you will be holding your new-born child, when you will maybe become a public person, a successful _whatever_, when getting mid-age, getting old... imagine sitting next to an old husband/wife, having something on your body that will remind you your youth....

A tattoo can be a link between ages, moments, thoughts.. You can 'pin' some thought while watching it, then remember that thought when watching the tattoo over and over again... It's an artificial scar.

Would you do a tattoo knowing that it will accompany you during your all entire life? And if you would, what kind of drawing would it be, so you won't regret ?

Friends are like stars...

Today i was reminded about the existence of a person who used to mean a lot to me. For some reason he pulled himself out of my life and let me.. go.

There are some people who have affected my life. It's because of them that i am the way i am now. They were helping me to improve myself, teaching, supporting.

Sometimes i miss them very much and feel bad because i don't contact them often, communicate or remind about myself, ... Sometimes i am getting offended myself, because they don't remember about me, .. As i am thinking.

Today i realized that there are people whom you can talk once a year and get that energy and emotions that will be enough for a while... Emotionally connected. I don’t always think about you, but I know you are there…
Let's remind that people what they really mean :) despite their distance - physical or psychological...

“Дружба - это не значит каждый день друг другу звонить, здороваться и занимать рубли… Это просто желание узнавать друг о друге, что-то слышать и довольствоваться хотя бы тем, что вот мой друг здоров и пускай еще здравствует”.
В. Высоцкий via mk.am

Painting day (Save the Nature), Sept. 14

on Sept. 14 the FPWC organized a nice holiday for kids - the "Painting day".

My friend was busy organizing it and i already had a lot of information about it before and wanted to have my participation.

Firstly it was decided to be on the Northern Avenue, then was moved to the so called "English park" - close to the Italian and French embassies, in front of the "Sundukyan" theatre. This park is now one of the most clean and pleasant ones in Yerevan. The grass is green, there are beautiful flowers around, benches are all accurate and nice, fountains are working.

"Painting day was the big kick off event of the "Save the nature" campaign. On Sunday September 14th more than 1000 children from all over Armenia gathered in the English Garden near the Sundukyan theatre in Yerevan to paint and to have fun watching performances of circus artists, folk dancers and musicians. Children and young people painted their visions about nature on 400 tables which were arranged in lines throughout the park. The tables belong to kindergartens, orphanages and schools. In their new look they will be given back to these educational institutions thus inspiring the daily life of many children with the colours of nature." FPWC website

It was a very nice holiday for the kids from the regions, coming to Yerevan and participating in the event. There were desks from kindergardens and schools that they had to paint with ecological topics. Among volunteers i met many of my friends from AIESEC, my former students from "Manana" center.


Kids were enthusiastically doing their job while we - the volunteers were running around to ensure that they have their paints, pencils, brushes, water…
It was exhausting and thankless as from the side of the parents. They were messing around and disturbing us and own children. This was the time I realized that I won't be able to work in a kindergarden or primary school because of such parents. They are always sure that you are underrating their genious child, discriminating and not giving the same paints as to other kids. Oh yes, and they were demanding the general organizer/manager/director for complaining to him.

Overall i was very satisfied especially when seeing the painted tables some of which had really valuable paintings. The job wasn't useless, and i was seeing the results on the faces of kids and on the desks and whatmans.

The whole event was accompanied by some nice music - live performances and Hakhverdyan's songs for kids.

More photos in the album:

"Save the Nature" campaign "Painting Day"

It was raining yesterday...

I was at work, staying an hour longer so it was getting dark and started to rain. The smell of the rain caught me right from the office window, i was guessing, i won't get home dry. I remembered that we have an "emergency" umbrella in the office, which is quite ugly, but i preferred rather to take it and not get wet and spoil the whole "my first rain" mood.

I had my recent bought hindi scarf with me - in bright colors, it was right on place :) I didn't plug my earphones, since this time i had something special to listen on the way home.
The rain was a light one, so i decided to walk home and not take the subway.

It was cold but i had the scarf, and i had the umbrella! I like that first 'cold'.
I'm not one of those whose first thought of "To-Do" when raining is to sit by the window, holding a hot cup of tea, covered in a blanket, in comfort. I actually like to walk under the rain, to feel the chill of drops on my skin and smell the wet streets.

Slowly walking I got home almost dry, but noticed that I sacrificed my nice Spanish earring (the one brought by my sister from Barcelona, in a Gaudi style.. :( It could possibly be fell down when I was  putting on my scarf) for the pleasant evening. The one left will remind me of this day. Not that bad, though…

Once, some months ago I did kind of a "bookmark" in my mind… I had a small dream-like something in my favorite "To Do in Life" things,…

That was a time when I was feeling homesick, missing my normal life in Yerevan, missing the city. I put a "mark" to "remember this moment when I'm walking in Yerevan streets, under the rain, feeling comfortable and happy".

This little memory made me happier that moment.

 

Last year in September i remember writing the famous "Wake me up when September ends" phrase and meaning that I wish September was soon gone. This year it could only mean "remind me when it's time to think of how to celebrate my BD" :)

Independent Armenia - 17

I'm living in independent Armenia 17 years of my life. I'm love my country and I'm proud of it. I remember the painful process of forming the new state and remember watching the raise of our tricolor (instead of the soviet Armenia's red-blue-red flag) on the Republic Square. It was not on September 21, but some days later - after announcing results of the referendum. The flag was then visible from our window, now trees are higher and are hiding it. Here are some of my pictures from my "HOME" folder on my laptop. I was watching it often while living in Netherlands, i was feeling homesick. badly.

  

view from my balcony. the national museum building behind. photo taken Dec. 2007

The Republic Square with singing and dancing fountains, the clock and the flag 

Republic Square fountains showing the tricolor

 

Armenian flag: i took this photo in Rotterdam, in the flags' museum. 

Now i'm sitting in the same balcony and hearing the sounds of a celebration concert in the square.

Long live free and independent Armenia!

the Armenian wedding, products from India and Brazilian party

I had a very active and full Saturday. In fact, Saturday isn't yet a weekend for me because of my work, but it's the last working day of the week, a bit short, and not so productive for working :)

I was invited to the Grigor Lusavorich church (the biggest one in Yerevan, it was opened in 2001 during the celebrations of 1700 year anniversary of adoption of Christianity in Armenia) for my friend's wedding ceremony.

 I don't really like that church. It's too big and doesn't have that spirit of Armenian churches, it's more like a big hall of something. For me, there's no spirituality, sacrament, "intimacy".. It's usually very crowded and even sitting in the first rows you cannot almost hear the priest. And there are weddings each half an hour. The church has two main entrances. The bride and the groom enter from one and quit from another. There's a saying that if two brides meet each other face to face, one of them may become infertile. But later, i've hard another thing that in case two brides meet each other, they need to exchange their bunch of flowers in order for the bad luck not to work :D It was the first time i heard about this thing. I'm not superstitious at all and some superstitions seem just very meaningless and funny :D Why are there so many bad superstitions and predictions and so few positive things, bringing luck and happiness? (or is it just me? :D)
So about the ceremony.. it was very quick (i suppose there are 'express', 'short and quick', or 'extended' versions for the ceremony :D excuse me for being so cynical, but it really looked like "c'mon, speak faster, there's a queue waiting...")
 Some photos from the wedding:

 

(isn't she wonderful - the bride? :)))

with Tata and Anna

I'm religious but I'm not a committed Christian. My faith is inside myself and i don't feel the need to go to churches often, but i do have a favorite church - it's Surb Zoravor - where some notable things for me happened - there my parents had their wedding ceremony and i was baptized there.

After the ceremony we went to the newly opened "Products from India" trade exhibition. I was looking forward to buying some nice Hindu scarfs and shawls. In fact they were very cheap - 1500-2500 AMD, same price for the nice handmade bags. I bought a couple :)))

then i noticed a showcase where henna tattoos were presented. Then an Hindu woman approached and i happily said "namaste!" :)) Me and my friend Tata couldn't resist to have a real henna tattoo. Tata did it on her hand, i preferred it on my foot :) She was drawing so quickly and masterly. It took less than 5 minutes each and costed 1500 AMD. We decided to return another day and do some more :)) A lot of people were standing behind me and watching my foot being painted :D
The woman promised that it will last 2 weeks :) I'm happy!

Then i had to go back to my office and in the evening we went to the Best Western Congress Hotel for the Mini Brazil party! It's organized by Centro Hispano and the hotel. (i hate that Centro Hispano is writing their website URL www.centrohispano.am on all advertisements, but the address actually doesn't exist!!!)
After the previous Mega Latino party in the same place i was looking forward to this one very much and had big expectations :) The previous one (on August 30) was attended by more than 1000 people!!! and the whole party was around the Caribbean swimming pool. This one was less crowded and it's good - less people trampling on your foot without apologizing (especially those rude guys!)
I was eager to meet Brazilians (since i'm starting to learn Portuguese) and to watch capoeira :)
What i really like in these parties, is that they invite professional latino dancers and students so they are dancing and spreading the mood :) We had a lot of fun and danced a lot :) Brazilians rocked!

I also met my Italian friends from the Renco and Congress hotel.
Some photos from the party:

about fragrances and Hoppípolla ~

I suppose... somebody found a key to my heart.. no, i mean.. the fragrance :D
Today i experienced a feeling of such an attraction.. an indescribable thing that was drawing me... fascinating..
i was about to give up... never thought that scents can make me feel so... feeling of remembering something not from the past but from the future. such a familiar scent, even if it was maybe the first time i caught it.


actually today i had two great moments of feeling so high... first because of that fragrance, and the second one when hearing Hoppípolla. This is a masterpiece by my favorite Sigur Rós.

I play it on and on again. Can't stop. It will be my new alarm tone. I will always wake up happy! it's simply wonderful.

Go to the last.fm page of Hoppípolla and read the comments.. Start from the description :D hehehhhh....

I'm afraid that because of Sigur Rós, my next language will be Icelandic. I'm not kidding!

How did i hear the song suddenly again today? (i had it downloaded since Rotterdam)

I was watching a sweet romantic movie "Penelope" with this great ending song :)))) It's a modern fairy-tale and worth watching again!!!

Here's the English translation of the lyrics. They are also beautiful.

Jumpin' Puddles

Smiling
Spinning 'round and 'round
Holding hands
The whole world a blur
But you are standing

Soaked
Completely drenched
No rubber boots
Running in us
Want to erupt from a shell

Wind in
And outdoor smell of your hair
I hit as fast as I could
With my nose

Hopping into puddles
Completely drenched
Soaked
With no boots on

And I get nosebleed
But I always get up
(Hopelandic)

And I get nosebleed
But I always get up
(Hopelandic)

about Web 2.0 and internet promotion

For the last few weeks i was working on a document for my job concerning the internet promotion methods. It was meant to be a proposal for our partner company. It took me this long because i was doing a detailed research of the topic. I couldn't concentrate on this at work (yes, at work i cannot do any writing!) and was writing it in the evenings, on a laptop, in bed :) The copy-paste method didn't work for me :( I am very much detail-oriented and was choosing every word and thinking of each section of it.

Today i 'released' the official beta version of the proposal :D the process of working on it reminded me about old university times... our course works, thesis etc.. the only thing is that i didn't have a professor :D though i did have a mentor ;)

I did some impressive research on new trends of Web 2.0, new methods of promotion, and what a company can really get out of internet.

The points of the proposal weren't any new, i didn't invent them and i'm not the first on to write about it, but in Armenian reality this field is quite unexplored ... i hardly can think of an Armenian company that is doing a smart marketing on the net.

The biggest problem for me was the language. I had to write it in Russian since my company's official communication is mostly in Russian :( Despite the fact that i totally dislike this language and try to avoid it as much as i can, i forced myself to do it :)

Today i presented it to my management and got some really good feedbacks ;)))) (okay they were shocked.. in a good way :D)
Interesting thing is that this was my own idea to write a detailed proposal for that company, since they themselves didn't know what they wanted... Proactiveness is always rewarding !

I discovered for myself that i'm really not bad in this - both writing proposals and mainly in these 'new media', SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SMO (Social Media Optimization), SMM (Social Media Marketing) topics, though yet theoretically. :D

If you are interested, i will post some interesting information that i found.

Talking about the differences of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, here are some nice graphical illustrations:

 

  

 

Here's a nice PPT i stumbled upon while browsing information.

Russian version:

Чо за фигня — социальные медиа

English (original) version:

What The F**K is Social Media?

As it said - "In 2008, if you're not on a social networking website, you're not on the Internet!"

....this is why you can find me on about every popular and not-so networks :P

hobby can become a job ;) and it's not bad at all!

about a wallpaper :)

Yesterday i made the most incredible wallpaper ever for myself :)

It inspired me to finish a lot of unpleasant but needed things to do, it made me smile all day...

when i needed the next dose of happiness, i was pressing Win+D and getting it~!!!!!!

I won't post it here, just to say that it's a great portrait of a great man with shiny eyes and a wonderful smile %-)

.... it's black and white and there's a quote beside him:

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."

My Blueberry Nights

A very nice romantic movie with Norah Jones, Jude Law and Natalie Portman. I watched it 3 times already, love it.

My favorite quote:

Dear Jeremy,

In the last few days i have been learning how not trust people and i'm glad i failed.
Sometimes we depend on other people as a mirror to define us and tell us who we are. And each reflection makes me like myself a little more.

Elizabeth

I like love the soundtrack of the movie. That's how i discovered Cat Power who became one of my favorites. The Greatest is a must-listen !


Something about the director...

Love - Things Wong Kar Wai Taught Me About Love:

1. Requited love is an impossibility.

2. You will fall in love only once. Obstacles will prevail. The rest of your life is spent recovering.

3. Eroticising their possessions will be the pinnacle of your sexual fulfilment.

4. Anything that distracts you from the pain of your loss is good. Some people are more successful in this regard than others.

5. Hook up with someone. Live with them. Sleep with them. Tag along. Don't be fooled. You are only a transitory distraction. Ask for commitment. Declare your love. Watch the set up evaporate.

6. The most potent way to exist is to occupy someone else's imagination.

7. Desire is kept eternally alive by the impossibility of contact.

8. Modern communication enabling technologies will only heighten your sense of desolation by making you more keenly aware of the fact that no one is trying to call.

by Alice Dallow 

Eva and the butterfly

Today i was volunteering at the painting day. The story and photos coming soon :)

Marketing classes, my evaluation

I always had this fear of not being satisfied with a trainings since I had participated in quite many of them and organized some by myself as well. I had participated also in trainings for trainers so i know how they should be organized. I'm quite skeptical and I'm not getting too excited on every training i get to participate in. I need to be surprised in a good way :)

Concerning these Marketing classes, i want to evaluate them by some key points:

• PowerPoint presentation - 2
  

I give it 2 out of 5 since it's not so attractive, with a standard template, contains some spelling mistakes. Slides contain a lot of texts, not so many graphical illustrations, diagrams and tables are very basic and the formatting is not really bad. It is in entirely Armenian but today we had some topics in English presentation since the trainer didn't yet manage to translate them ( :-?). I had a logical question in my mind whether it was his first marketing training... obviously not!

• Trainer's competency, trust building - 4
  

The first impression from the trainer was somewhat positive, he was speaking confidently, presented himself well, had a good professional experience etc. I was quite disappointed hearing his ring tone ringing during the class with the song "baby if you give it to me.. " :D

• Organization of the lesson - 3
  

I don't really like the organization of the lessons. We get some printed handouts and the plan of the lesson, but the agenda is not presented in the beginning so we don't really know what "titles" we will learn today. The wrap-up is also missing in the end. Would be good to have some key slides or definitions repeated again. The time management also needs some improvement since we didn't manage to finish the 1st lesson's stuff and had to appoint an additional meeting.

• Presentation of the material - 4
  

The presentation of the material is okay. Despite the fact that the agenda is very packed (remember the title of the classes?) and we get a lot of information - it's presented very fluently and lively. It's 4 because of the packed agenda. I liked the fact that the trainer somewhat edited and customized the material for the higher effectiveness based on our, participants, profile.

• Interactiveness - 4
  

The lessons are very interactive and involving. Trainer asks a lot of questions, gives many real life examples, parallels with our jobs, and the special emphasis is given to the situation in Armenia. I give it 4 not 5 because the trainer often asks the same people and other people just don't get heard (me for example).

• Logistics - 4

Logistics are sufficiently organized. When we get to the classroom, there are cups and cool water bottles already set up and the printed handouts as well. The projector is also set up :) Just that the handouts contain the same slides only printed in a smaller pages, some slides are not readable. It was the 2nd lesson today and after finishing the 1st presentation, we didn't get the handouts for the 2nd. The trainer promised them next time but for me it was not good since i was planning to review them later in the evening. I didn't get the presentations' electronic version as well - the trainer told me that he hasn't finished them yet. He promised that we will get them in the end of the course on a CD.

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So what did i learn today there?

It was mostly about the customer behavior, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, communication methods, verbal, non-verbal communication. There was almost nothing new for me :D hehehhh

I will share with you 2 things - Maslow pyramid and about the communication techniques.





Do you know the factors of effective communication?
What do you think the percentage of importance of these things are? Write down your answers :)

• Subject matter (what you are talking about)
  
• Intonation (how you are talking about it, your voice)
  
• Body language (your gestures, movements, eyes)
  

This is kind of a task that a trainers often ask students when talking about communication.
I had it twice :)))
He asked our opinion on percentage of these things. Very rare people gave answers close to the correct one.

The correct answer goes below:

• Subject matter - 7%
  
• Intonation - 38%
  
• Body language - 55%
  

optimistic :)