Articles Of Law

posted by AndrewHillis on Jul 31

For any investors serious about buying property in Dubai, one should be sure to have all one’s finances sorted out before you begin searching for the ideal real estate.

Due to the fact that the purchase process, once underway, can progress extremely rapidly and should a property investor not have a mortgage agreed upon or should the investor in question not have enough money to hand the sale – it could result in the whole process falling through as a result of the continual fast-moving nature of the Dubai property market.

Many investors, internationally and locally feel that in direct contrast to the “highly sophisticated sales process in Dubai which sees developers and estate agents presenting potential clients with superior show homes to view and lovely brochures to peruse, the property buying process in Dubai currently lacks some sophistication and transparency.” – This is not good news when sales agents seek to ‘clinch’ a deal with a potential purchaser.

Read on to see how to avoid the common issues that investors may encounter during the buying process in Dubai.

Altogether there are so many developments which are in the process of being built, that an investor will have to spend a considerable amount of time comparing the qualities of any given development, the developer and the specific properties characteristics and features, all this needs to be compared with the investors available funds, to ensure they get the best valued property for their budget and investment criteria.

When one attempts to arrange a mortgage (in order to buy property in Dubai) an investor can either do this in their country of residence or locally in Dubai. An increasing amount of financial institutions are now offering more products to non-resident purchasers on a monthly basis, therefore it is extremely beneficial as an investors to ‘shop around’ for the best interest rates and payment terms.

Should the investor require financial assistance in order to purchase a resale property, he/she will have to have a valuation completed on the property to satisfy the financial institution and further show that the property in question is indeed worth the asking price.

To help smooth matters out, it is advisable to have a solid idea as to what kind of investment you would like to attach yourself to…before you begin searching!

The good news for purchasers looking at buying investment property in Dubai is the fact that there are no property related taxes to speak of. Translated, this means that there is only a minimal additional outlay with buyers having to cover lawyer’s fees he ongoing maintenance of the property as well as any shared areas or facilities.

For all those investors seeking to gain profits from their purchase immediately, there is always the option of purchasing real estate in Dubai that is on resale.

It is important to bear in mind that because there is currently no formal conveyancing system in Dubai, as well as no way of finding out who holds the freehold title of any given property, an investor is encouraged to ensure the property transaction for any resale unit ‘goes back via the original developer.’

This is critical as it is quite common place for investor’s who are not aware and alert to become the victim of fraud. It really cannot be emphasized enough – an investor interested in any resale property must contact the original developer before signing any contract to purchase (note to self – this is one of the most important issues one needs to contend with when purchasing property in Dubai).

As had been done in the past, many property investors turn their properties over to a secondary purchaser during the construction period already, in order to take advantage of any capital gains already accrued.

When it comes to the buying of a resale property during its construction period, most developers will allow for the resale of off plan property; however some developers are of the persuasion that only the original purchaser is allowed the right to resell during construction.

The secondary buyer, in such cases will only be able to resell property upon completion of the development. It has however become the norm for investors to purchase during the construction phase, as the majority of property developments are still to be completed!

Due to the fact that there are no escrow account structures in Dubai, any money an investor pays goes directly into the developers’ accounts (so as to fund the building process).

The fact that in Dubai, the government has a sophisticated process in place, whereby “any developer wishing to sell property units has to agree to place 50% of the price of each unit in a bond and only then is he allowed to sell his property.”

Translated loosely, this means that should a developer go bankrupt or renege on a contract in Dubai, the government should have sufficient funds in the bond to get the project completed.

Such insight into the buying and selling process of Dubai’s property market is imperative and undeniably necessary for all potential investors to be able to equip themselves with all the needed information to speedily come to an investments choice, which will prove lucrative and highly successful.

Property Select offers a comprehensive selection of overseas Property in Dubai and the Unite Arab Emirates (UAE), including a news feed, members club and reviews of the latest property developments from around the world.

posted by KateDeas-Smith on Jul 31

Geography maps of Cyprus will show that the towns of Polis & Latchi are situated in the far west of Southern Cyprus, which has the remote and arguably most beautiful areas of the island. Cyprus property for sale here is for the person who wants the authentic Cyprus, the location has become a popular sea-side resort with an acclaimed traditional centre that has kept its many buildings and beauty intact, but this is no Agia Napa or even Paphos. It is a laid back sort of place which has not surrendered to its resort label, it has a central pedestrian area mostly given over to shops and tavernas, but it also has many nooks and crannies to explore.

Cyprus property for sale is increasingly available and fortunately there are quite strict building zones which limit the amount of construction in the area. This is not the place for investors to buy up lots of apartments ready for the summer season, but there is a market for villas for rent in Cyprus for the long term. These are usually taken up by tourists who come for full seasons; workers in the area or quite a few people who are relocating want to rent before deciding where to buy.

Getting cheap car hire in Cyprus is easy and armed with geography maps of Cyprus you can explore the area at your leisure. The main road out of Polis towards Chrysochou Bay sweeps the eastern coastline, and there are incredible views over to the West towards the Akamas Peninsular. There are Cyprus property for sale developments in the area, many of which respect the traditional architecture. There are some changes planned with a golf course being built in the area and maybe a new highway from Paphos, this has been on the table for many years but has still not been approved, it would certainly reduce the travelling time from Paphos airport.

Many people chose the villages for Cyprus property for sale in this region to relocate permanently as they are so welcoming and beautiful. Some smart planners buy their retirement home from Cyprus property for sale available now off-plan and then put their villas up for rent in Cyprus long term until they are ready to take up residence, taking advantage of the capital growth on their property. Then when retirement comes, the huge tax benefits kick in; NO inheritance tax, NO wealth tax, UK state pensions that are still entitled to the annual up-rating. All pensions, public and or private are tax-free for the first 3,417 Euro and then taxed at the flat rate of 5% or you can opt to be under the normal tax regime in which the first 19,500 Euro is tax free rising to 30% on 36,301 Euro which would be more beneficial if you only receive a small pension.

So armed with some geography maps of Cyprus you can scour the region and make the decision of where to search for Cyprus property for sale, it is possible to enjoy the genuine Cyprus whilst still being close to an airport and the amenities of Paphos, having simply the best of worlds.

Kate Deas-Smith recommends having geography maps of Cyprus handy when looking for Cyprus property for sale.

posted by IainMackintosh on Jul 31

Last week, Harriet Harman announced new equality laws to tackle widespread discrimination. Under these new plans, age discrimination would be removed from all aspects of society, and further changes would be made to prevent workplaces from discriminating against minorities. There is also room for ‘positive action’ that allows business to hire women or minorities without fear of legal action if the candidates are equal in terms of ability.

But how do these changes to the equality law differ from how we act now?

What is actually so different?

The main points of the proposed bill are that:

- Business will be allowed to discriminate in favour of ethnicities and genders underrepresented in their place of work if interview candidates were of equal ability.

- Clauses in contracts that prevent staff discussing their wages with colleagues will be scrapped.

- Age discrimination laws will be widened to encompass the world outside the workplace.

There are also proposals on the table to make public bodies publish the pay gap within their organizations.

Why is the new system being introduced?

The new discrimination laws are being proposed in order to make a more balanced workforce in Britain, hence employers will be able to discriminate in favour of one group ahead of another given two equally matched candidates to diversify their work environment (contrary to tabloid implication, this actually works both ways, and a predominantly female office would be allowed to discriminate in favour of a male candidate).

The section affecting the wages of companies is being included to try and reduce the massive pay gap between men and women on business contracts. Although the gap has narrowed in recent years according to official figures, on average women still only earn 87p for every £1 that men earn. One of the statistics that Harriet Harman has used is that female part-time workers earn up to 40% less than their full time male counterparts. By making companies more open about their wage structures, it is hoped that the gap will close naturally.

Finally, the laws affecting age are aimed at tackling the discrimination people feel based on their age in their daily lives.

Isn’t discriminating against age already illegal?

While workplace age discrimination has been legislated against since 2006, the proposed new equality laws are intended to tackle wider forms of ageism. This is planned to tackle the often costly discrimination that pensioners face in their daily life, from high insurance premiums to doctors putting illnesses down to their age and refusing treatment.

What are the main caveats of the new law?

The important things to bear in mind when thinking on the prospective changes are:

- Firms may be forced to publish pay rates

- Positive action is only an option in interviews where candidates are equally matched and will not be compulsory in any event.

- Some areas will likely be exempt from the age discrimination laws, such as free bus passes for the elderly and holidays for the over 50s and 18-30s.

Given the uproar that’s been made against the positive action section of the bill, it’s not guaranteed that every part of the bill will ever become law. Even if it does become law, it’s almost impossible to put a stop of workplace discrimination, because you can’t know with any certainty what an employer’s reason for passing over a candidate is. For most of us, this legislation will mean very little to our business contracts, and we can carry on picking the best candidate for the job regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or age.

Iain Mackintosh is the managing director of Simply-Docs. The firm provides over 1100 business contracts covering all aspects of business from holiday entitlement to non-disclosure agreements. By providing these legal documents (with content provided by leading commercial lawyers, HR and health & safety consultants) at an affordable price, the company intends to help small businesses avoid costly breaches of regulation and legal action.

posted by J.Douglas on Jul 31

In order to present at the top, in order to acquire The Skills, you must remember three rules that govern everything you do whilst presenting. They’re really quite simple, but sometimes it’s easy to forget the simple things, and these rules must remain in the forefront of your consciousness at all times.

Rule Number 1 states: If you’re working too hard, you’re doing it wrong!

Rule #2: When you’re doing it right, it’s always Win-Win.

The sad truth is, typical speaker behaviors more often fall into the category of Lose-Lose. Whether it be the way the speaker engages the audience with his eyes, or what she does with her hands, or the pace with which either cranks out the word stream, most things that speakers do work both against their feeling comfortable and the audience’s ability to follow and buy into what is being said.

For instance, think about what you see presenters do with their arms and hands. Instead of using the opportunity to throw off excess energy by using the full swing of their arms and hands to paint pictures of the words they are saying, your average speaker locks them up in some position that not only keeps the excess energy trapped in a re-circulating loop, but in a position that translates to a body-language signal that is off-putting to the audience.

Luckily, as is the case with the other counter-productive behaviors in which speakers engage, these can all be changed simply by engaging in other, learnable behaviors that produce positive outcomes. You don’t need talent to do it right, you simply need to know how to do it right, and then practice those physical behaviors.

When you employ the behaviors that comprise The Skills, not only are you more relaxed, authoritative and convincing, but your audience has a much easier time hearing, seeing, and ultimately agreeing with the message you are trying to impart.

One thing to remember is that audiences, as Yale’s Professor Edward Tufte likes to point out, “are lazy, and audiences are fragile”. You can’t ask audiences to work in order to get your message because they won’t. And you can’t make them feel uncomfortable because they’ll spend their small amount of energy trying to get comfortable and won’t have anything left to spend on trying to comprehend your point.

Proper eye-contact, gesturing, tone, inflection and volume all work to make for a great experience for both speaker and listeners alike. When you’re using The Skills, it’s always a Win-Win.

Rule #3: People only START listening when you STOP talking.

This is an easy concept to understand, but a very difficult one for most people to implement. If you stop to think about it, you don’t so much hear what is being said as you do to what was just said.

In fact, the left hemisphere of your brain, where speech and text are processed, is programmed to not absorb information immediately, but rather put it through a process of analysis before storing or acting on it. It’s a momentary process to be sure, but nonetheless one that is immensely aided when a moment or two of silence follows the words or phrase that the speaker wants his audience to really hear and comprehend.

Think for a moment of what happens when someone tells a joke. Jokes are structured to get the listener thinking that the action in the setup will proceed along the expected path, and the humor comes when the listener realizes that the punch-line has altered that path in an unexpected way. But you don’t laugh at the moment the punch-line is delivered. You laugh only when you realize your line of thought has been diverted, and that always takes a moment, or sometimes, if the joke is really good, two. You only hear what was actually said when the joker stops talking and your mind has the opportunity to recognize the misdirection.

Of course, what most speakers do is continue with an endless stream of verbiage from the moment they open their mouths until they discover that the talk is over and they can (Thank God!) take their seats again. Once people start talking in front of a group it is very difficult to get them to stop, as it goes against what they’ve taught themselves to believe: that as long as they continue to hear words coming out of their mouths they’re still OK. A very common fear is that somehow that stream will stop and they won’t be able to get it started again. But why is this so?

A stitch in time

Because of the physiological changes that occur in the body when you are facing an audience, your perception of time actually s-l-o-w-s d-o-w-n. The universe doesn’t change – just how you perceive it. So although the audience is listening to you in real time, you perceive even a momentary lapse in your word-stream to be much longer that it actually is. A 1-second pause for the audience might feel like 3 or 4 to you.

This is where umm’s and ahh’s are born. We hear that dreaded silence, and in a desperate need to fill it immediately, we grab for the closest thing – a non-word that we don’t have to structure into our word track.

It might be hard to believe, but time goes by quite nicely even when it’s not filled with your words.

As you develop your eye and an ear for The Skills, you will come to see that ALL great speakers not only know Rule #3, but also embrace it. They not only embrace it, it is at the forefront of their thinking whenever they are speaking. It is the Number 1 issue on their minds. And that says a lot, because Rule #1 says that we can’t be thinking about too many things at once.

Being able to resist saying the next thing on your mind immediately after you offer your last thought is the most difficult idea for participants to learn, but it is an absolutely essential.

J. Douglas Jefferys is a principal at PublicSpeakingSkills.com, an international consulting firm specializing in training businesses of all sizes to communicate for maximum efficiency. The firm spreads its unique knowledge through on-site classes, public seminars, and high-impact videos, and can be reached through the Internet or at 888-663-7711.

posted by JoshuaNiemeyer on Jul 31

Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a huge advocate of real estate investing. I firmly believe that when done responsibly, real estate investing is one of the single greatest drivers for wealth available to anyone. The key is responsible investing! That means you don’t use those nasty little things called ARMs, you do your due diligence and you certainly don’t buy past (or even at!) your means. But all of that stuff is for another article. What I want to talk about today are those real estate investment costs that you must make sure you account for before purchasing any property!

1. The Mortgage Payment: I am sure you already know what this is, so I won’t insult your intelligence by explaining it to you. But I will reiterate a point I made above – Just because you can afford a certain mortgage payment does not mean that you should. It makes a lot more sense to find a house that is a little less expensive than what you can afford and put the money you save into another investment. I guarantee that you will be able to find a house for just a little bit less, that you will like as much as the more expensive one you are looking at.

2. Taxes, Taxes, Taxes: Do not underestimate your taxes. If you are serious about buying the house and have a pretty good idea about what you will end up paying for the property then approximating your monthly tax expense is not difficult at all. Determine what the tax rate is for the area you will be purchasing the property in and multiply that rate times the approximate purchase price of the house. For a house valued at $200,000 with a 1% tax rate you simply take .01 x $200,000 = $2,000. Then to determine what that comes out to per month you just divide $2,000 / 12 which equals $166.66 per month. That wasn’t too hard now was it? For my investments I like to establish a range based upon my best case and worst case scenarios for what the purchase price might be. For instance if I believe that I will be able to purchase the house for a price between $190,000 (best case) and 210,000 (worst case) then I would calculate my taxes for both of those scenarios.

3. Vacancy Allowance: If you are planning on turning this property into a rental, you better factor a vacancy allowance into your calculations. That is, for how many months in a given year do you expect your rental property to be vacant? This number can be difficult to determine because it can fluctuate dramatically depending on the area you are located in, if you happen to know people in the area who manage rental properties ask them what their vacancy allowance is for the area. If not, a 5% – 10% allowance is a good rule of thumb. Personally I hate taking random estimates, I will if I have to, but I prefer to see if I can find some local property managers willing to share their experience with me.

4. Insurance: This expense is another no brainer. The big thing you want to check here is to make sure that you are not under-insuring the property. Yes getting less insurance than is necessary will save you some money monthly, but if tragedy strikes and you need to rebuild the home, you will never forgive yourself for not purchasing adequate insurance. Do not take the risk of under-insuring your property, it’s just not worth it.

5. Maintenance and Repairs: Homes, just like anything else must be maintained and occasionally repaired. The plumbing might need some work, a leak might spring in the roof, or you accidently kick a hole in the wall. Not to mention that the grass out front will not cut itself. Figure about a 10% allowance for this basic upkeep expense. This number can fluctuate pretty wildly depending on how old the house is. My sister for example owns a home that was built in 1911. Repairs are much more likely to be necessary in that house than in a newer home.

6. Utilities: If you are going to live in this house then this is an obvious expense you need to account for. If it is going to be a rental you need to determine what you will pay for and what the renter will pay for. In my area the renter pays virtually all of their own utilities, but in some areas the property owner covers a lot more. This is something that you will have to determine for yourself in order to stay competitive.

7. Bad or Uncollectable Debt: If you are going to be living in the home this number does not concern you. But if you will be renting it out you should consider that there may be times when your renters will skip out on you. This allowance can be tricky to determine, it depends strongly on the area and type of renter your property will attract. I allow a lower allowance for single houses compared to what I allow for multi-resident properties (apartments, multi-plex properties, etc.) A good rule of thumb is set an allowance of 5% based upon the annual income of the property. Overtime you will be able to adjust this number to reflect the economic reality of the area you are invested in.

Remember just because a property looks like a good investment, it can quickly turn sour if you have not done the proper research and taken the time to calculate all of your real and potential expenses into the equation. You will find many circumstances where an investment that originally looked good is not that good after all. More importantly, all of these expenses are negotiation points! Use these various factors to drive the price of the property down to an even more favorable place.

Joshua Niemeyer is the publisher of IncentiveSearch.com, he writes about a wide variety of topics including business development, marketing, investing, finance, web development and more.

posted by J.Douglas on Jul 30

People who get paid well to speak all share one of two traits: either they’re famous, or they own “The Skills”. To be able to move people who don’t know you as a celebrity of some sort, you must know how to keep your audience focused on you and your message, and how to keep them on the same page, on the same wavelength, every step of the way.

Keeping an audience with you is simply not possible with the way 99% of all public speakers behave when at the front of a group. When you speak the way most of us have been taught to do from an early age, you engage in behaviors that send the wrong signals to your audience – in many cases exactly the opposite of what you would like to signal. Worse, these standard behaviors actually reduce your cognitive capacity at the time you most desperately need it.

If these statements seem sweeping, please understand that we at PublicSpeakingSkills.com have been training people from business, politics, the military and the clergy for over 12 years in The Skills.

During that time, we have had the privilege to work with over 10,000 people from all walks of life, and here is what we have learned: 99% of speakers engage in exactly the same behaviors, and consequently produce similar results when it comes to the quality of their speaking.

In fact, in every one of our on-site programs, we begin with an exercise that “benchmarks” how each student speaks prior to training, and we are able to predict to the second what each and every participant will do during their initial delivery. To the second!

Good News!

But that’s the good news. It’s good news because we also know that most people speak the way they do simply because they’ve never been shown the proper way. And though many people take courses in public speaking in high school or college, the format of those courses tends to emphasize the content part of speaking rather than the actual physical behaviors one needs to understand in order to acquire The Skills.

If you have ever taken a course in school, we bet that your assignments were to create a series of different types of speeches: The Informative, The Inspirational, The Motivational, etc., etc. Sound familiar?

But what were you taught about the actual delivery, other than to look at everyone in the audience and watch your umms and ahhs? Worse, during your speaking career you probably have been receiving positive feedback for your behaviors no matter what you’ve been doing by people either too polite or simply not knowledgeable enough to tell you otherwise.

Speaking well: talent or training?

When people learn the proper way; when they understand what the audience expects of them as human beings; when they embrace the idea that it’s OK to go into a presentation without having spent hours and hours rehearsing it; when they become comfortable with not knowing what they’re going to say until just before they say it; and when they come to accept that often the most powerful thing they can say is nothing at all, they never engage in the old behaviors again.

They approach every opportunity to speak to a crowd with desire and enthusiasm, and the larger the crowd, the better. They actually see speaking to a group as one of the most relaxing things they can do, as it is one of the few times left in life where they are free to do only one thing at a time. These people have The Skills.

And we can’t emphasize enough that The Skills are, indeed, a set of behaviors that you learn, and not something that you are born with. Only a very small subset of people is ‘born’ with the ability to move a group to action with their words and actions. Those people have what the rest of us don’t: it’s called “charisma”. Charismatics have been known to lead thousands to action by the power of their spoken words, often for good, and sometimes not.

But charisma alone didn’t get Bill Clinton to the top job in the world. Bill Clinton, believe it or not, was not always a great speaker. What he had was both charisma and the brains to know that he did not know everything – and that becoming a great speaker was both an essential job requirement and something that someone could be taught.

Bill Clinton was one of only a handful of men who was elected president of the United States without great personal or family wealth. He got elected on his ability to motivate people to listen to him, work for him, follow him and support him all the way. He was successful because he didn’t simply speak; he spoke with a manner and a style that caused people to not only listen to his words but also to hear them, remember them, and to believe them. Bill Clinton has The Skills.

The Skills supersede genes, culture, background, heritage, and to a large extent even education. Many clients come to us because they want help with their accents or they feel their voice needs correcting in some way.

Although we grant that there are some people with a speaking voice better suited to silent films, for the vast majority an accent or unique pitch only adds to the level of interest they can create as a speaker. That’s because, as we’ll learn, these traits simply add to one’s “humanness”.

It’s about being you

People are not moved by messages delivered by speakers whom they don’t feel are “real”. And yet most of us were taught behaviors that cause us to adopt completely alien personas when we speak to groups. We try to become “Presenterman!” or “Presenterwoman!”. Sadly, Hillary Clinton does this. Could you imagine spending dinner across the table from Hillary Clinton and having her speak to you the way she does to crowds? Pretty painful thought! Yet you could pretty much imagine that if you were sharing dinner with Bill, or Ronald Reagan, the conversation would be not unlike how you know them to speak in public.

Alas, Hillary does not have The Skills.

J. Douglas Jefferys is a principal at PublicSpeakingSkills.com, an international consulting firm specializing in training businesses of all sizes to communicate for maximum efficiency. The firm spreads its unique knowledge through on-site classes, public seminars, and high-impact videos, and can be reached through the Internet or at 888-663-7711.

posted by LisaCarey on Jul 30

Law enforcement officials have entered on line chat groups and showed up at ball parks to show young kids how something as simple as a photo with a team uniform can lead child stalkers right to their ball field. The public has a heightened sense of protecting children on-line but adults are often just as easy prey when it comes to fraud and identity theft.

What are some other types of On-Line Identity Theft Threats

Pop Ups at Gaming Sites- You’ve Just Won!

It’s easy to get comfortable on your favorite gaming site. It’s hard to resist when a pop-up tells you that you’ve just won a free digital camera, an iPod or a gift card to a popular store if you just simply fill out this claim form. If it’s too good to be true, it usually is. At best, you’ll be asked to buy something else to qualify what’s worse, it may be an identity thief. Identity thieves can use the same technology other marketers do and once you fill out the registration form, they can use your information to get credit cards, mortgages or utilities.

Spearphishing in E-mails- Important Notices

Spearphishing is a method of con in which consumers receive what looks like a very legitimate e-mail from their bank warning of a serious security issue and asking customers to type in their log in and password to rectify this breach. Regardless of how professional and insistent the e-mail appears, don’t do it. If a bank becomes aware of a security issue you will be notified by mail, not e-mail. If this is an identity thief that is spearphishing, following through will give them access to wipe out your bank account.

On-line Communities –So Many Friends

On-line communities are very popular and can be a lot of fun. While you may “feel” that you’re interacting with just a few people, remember that Facebook, for example, has over 80 million active members.

Tips to Avoid Identity Theft in On-Line Communities

1. Never give out your birthday. It seems simple and fun to get all those good wishes but your birth date combined with other information can open the door for identity thieves to come into your life.

2. Be very careful of the photos you post. Is your house number showing in the background? Remember the example above about team uniforms? This would also apply to work uniforms. Look at each photo and think, what can this tell someone about me?

3. Never let your phone number be exposed. Using a reverse search, your phone number also gives away your address. Most people wouldn’t post their phone number on a profile page but it is easy to be lured to in a community chat.

The world-wide web opens a lot of doors for work and fun but remember there’s no “eraser” on the internet pencil. Be very careful about e-mails or promotions you respond to and what you share on profile pages and on discussion boards because you can’t take it back and identity thieves are all ears.

Lisa Carey is a contributing author for Identity Theft Secrets: prevention and protection. You can get tips on Identity theft protection, software, and monitoring your credit as well as learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves at the Identity Theft Secrets blog.

posted by J.Douglas on Jul 30

An Inconvenient Speaker

We have made the claim many times that Bill Clinton is the Master of the Pause. In fact, we have said that it is exactly this mastery that causes more people in polls to name the former president as the greatest living public speaker hands down.

If you doubt Bill Clinton’s ability to embrace the pause might have been responsible for his being elected, it might be useful to look at the other side. A great example of somebody who didn’t until recently have a clue about the pause is Al Gore. Do you think of Al Gore as being a great speaker? Do you think there might be a relationship between his speaking ability and the fact that couldn’t maintain the Clinton dynasty even four more years?

Now before we are accused of being anti-Gore, understand that one of the worst places to go seeking great speakers is your local, state, or federal government. Most politicians’ egos are greater than their intellectual capacity, and many simply won’t take anybody’s advice, period. So we end up having to endure the insincere-sounding shrill of a Hilary Clinton or the mind-numbing drone of a John Kerry.

But back to Gore: When Al Gore delivered his acceptance speech for the presidential nomination at the 2000 Democratic convention, he had a 30 point Program for America that he thought was very important to get out. He had 30 points and 45 minutes in which to deliver them.

What happened was that during the first 20 minutes of his speech, people in the audience would hear things that they liked and, quite naturally, applaud. At least they tried to applaud. But instead of pausing and bathing in the glow for a moment or two, Al would hold up his hands to silence them and just kept on speaking. This went on for 25 minutes – although they would applaud, he wouldn’t stop speaking.

After a while, the audience started to become uncomfortable, because they were applauding over him. The applause then became more sporadic, and eventually stopped altogether. And so for the last 20 minutes of the speech, he continued to speak, and nobody applauded at all. He just spoke for 20 minutes straight. Not a single break.

We think if you were to have given a pop quiz to the audience and ask them how many of those 30 points for America they could remember, it probably would be no more than three, if any. Al thought it was all about the content, without consideration for the audience’s ability to take it all in.

Years later, prior to filming An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore sought and received professional presentation skills training, and he has a somewhat better grasp on the process that when he ran for president in 2000. In fact, in a May 2007 article in The New York Times Magazine, Gore was asked if he had any regrets about how he ran the campaign.

The reporter was hoping to get him to say something related to the legal process, but instead Gore replied, “If I had had the presentation skills I’ve since learned, I think I’d be in my second term as president”.

J. Douglas Jefferys is a principal at PublicSpeakingSkills.com, an international consulting firm specializing in training businesses of all sizes to communicate for maximum efficiency. The firm spreads its unique knowledge through on-site classes, public seminars, and high-impact videos, and can be reached through the Internet or at 888-663-7711.

posted by PatriciaStevens on Jul 30

If you don’t show up for court after you have said you would or been ordered to do so, a court arrest warrant will definately be ordered for you. What does this mean to you? Will the SWAT Team be knocking down your home door to arrest you? Is it safe to leave the house? Should you turn yourself in? First you will need to find out if a court arrest warrant has even been issued. If so, what happens next depends on a lot of things.

Finding out if a court arrest warrant has been issued is as easy as picking up the telephone and calling the clerk of courts office. They will be able to inform you exactly what measures have been taken by the court, and they should be able to tell you who holds the court arrest warrant, too. The arrest warrant may have been passed on to the city police or the county sheriff. Maybe both authorities hold your warrant, as well as the state patrol, the FBI, the Federal Marshall’s office. The list of law enforcement authorities who can arrest you on a court arrest warrant is quite exhaustive. Who holds your warrant depends largely on what your crime was and how badly the court wants you arrested.

If you failed to appear in court for a minor traffic ticket and a court arrest warrant was filed, then it is possible that the police will knock on your door looking for you. It is more likely, however that they will simply wait for you to make a mistake, like not using your turn signal, and arrest you when they pull you over. If you are a suspected terrorist, however, then you can expect heavily armored men in black masks and big guns serving the court arrest warrant.

Once you have found out that a court arrest warrant has been issued, it is always best to turn yourself in immediately to the authorities that hold the warrant. The first reason for turning yourself in is that you won’t have to constantly be looking over your shoulder to see if someone is there ready to slap on the cuffs. You will also be treated much better when you cooperate, both by the arresting authorities as well as when you show up for court. Many times when you turn yourself in for a court arrest warrant, your sentence will be much lighter than if you evaded the warrant and the authorities had to hunt you down.

Often court arrest warrants and records are available online. Try looking up the court you were supposed to appear in and see if they have an online records search. Simply type in the information it asks for, usually your name, address, social security number, etc. Any records of court arrest warrants, as well as other records about you, will come up. This information might include the date that the court arrest warrant was issued, if and when it expires, and who is authorized to serve the court arrest warrant.

To learn exactly what Court Arrest Orders you need, visit www.courtarrestrecords.com where you’ll find everything you need to know about the Court Arrest Orders and much more.

posted by AaronHoos on Jul 30

Working in the real estate industry isn’t easy! Every sale is a complex situation of laws and financials and unique client preferences. And sadly, there is a lot of “churn” in the industry as worn-out professionals leave the industry while new ones replace them. Successful professionals have staying power, but those who are less-than-successful learn expensive lessons before moving on to something else.

If you are a new to the real estate industry and want to start strong, or you are a seasoned professional and want to become even more successful, here are 5 mistakes that you’ll want to avoid:

MISTAKE #1: SKIPPING THE REFERRAL

You spend a lot of money, time, and effort to win prospects and convert them into happy customers. You advertise until someone calls you. You help them find a house. You seal the deal to turn that house into a home. Then you move on, searching for the next customer.

Unfortunately, this is costly. Referrals are a fantastic way to reduce your marketing expenses while increasing your revenue. That’s because your happy customers have friends and family who might also be looking for a home. And your customer’s positive statement about you may be enough to spur their friends and family to call you.

To make it happen, you need to get them thinking about who else they know and then give them an incentive. Either give them a small incentive for each name they give you or give them a large incentive for each referral who buys. While your customers are still beaming about their new home, invite them to give you the names of two or three of their friends who might be interested in a home.

MISTAKE #2: DOING THE SAME OLD THING

You likely have well established processes that you use for every step of your business from filling your pipeline with prospective clients to finding the right house for the right family. These have served you well in the past and you expect them to continue to serve you well into the future.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Best practices are good for a while but then get old. Good habits are success-drivers for a while then become tired habits. If you’re doing the same thing today that you have been doing for 6 months, a year, or more, maybe it’s time for a change.

Feel free to make mistakes (just be careful that they aren’t all expensive mistakes) and strive for innovation in your routines. A simple change here or there can yield tremendous results that may surprise even the most skeptical real estate professional.

MISTAKE #3: IGNORING THE INTERNET

The internet has been around for a while. It’s not so new anymore. Many businesses have robust websites and draw in many, many clients. It’s an inexpensive but in-demand marketing tool.

Unfortunately, the web is not effectively used by real estate professionals. For some reason, real estate professionals are largely “offline” or have an inadequate web presence. This may have to do with how busy they are, or it may be related to the mistaken notion that the internet is an international medium while professionals need to focus on the local market.

Real estate professionals need a better web presence. Something as simple as a carefully planned blog, or a few regular articles, can be enough to fix your stake in the world of the web in order to grow your business. Well-planned websites do not have to be expensive, nor do they have to be a lot of work. The secret is in finding the right professional or professionals who can help turn your marketing vision into a business-building reality.

MISTAKE #4: FORGETTING THE ECONOMIC WAVE

If you want to know what the economy is like, just go to the beach. Watch the tide come in and then go out. Watch the boats rise and fall. The economy is sometimes strong and sometimes weak and real estate professionals who remember that and are prepared for it will do just fine.

Unfortunately, many professionals “make hay when the sun shines” by selling a lot of homes when the economy is good but then they suffer when things slump. It’s a planning issue, and a marketing issue.

If you’re selling – no matter what economy you’re selling in – you need to be aware that the economy could become better or it could become worse. Set aside a small nest-egg for yourself (just remember that the average recession lasts 11 months). And, keep two kinds of marketing at your fingertips: marketing for when times are good and marketing for when times are tough. You know there is a difference in why people buy and sell during these times, now it’s time to implement it into your marketing!

MISTAKE #5: TRYING TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

This is a mistake that many businesses make, particularly fledgling businesses. They start out hoping that “everyone” will be their customer. But that is never the case. Obviously, there is no single product that all 6 billion (or more) people in the world want to own. Limits of geography, language, finances, and accessibility necessitate that only a select few could ever own a given product.

Unfortunately, real estate professionals try to cast their net too wide. Instead of focusing on one core segment of the populace, or on one area of a city or state, they spread themselves thin and focus on as much as possible. It’s expensive and ineffective.

Instead, choose one or two areas where you excel and drive that message home again and again and again. Focus on a certain group of people or on a certain area of a city or on a type of real estate. Become known for that thing. In an ironic twist, it’s often these specialists who limit themselves to a tiny target market that become exceedingly successful compared with those who try for a wider audience.

Aaron Hoos is an in-demand copywriter who writes effective, compelling content for the financial and real estate industries. Visit his website at AaronHoos.com to grow your financial or real estate business.