BEGLA-138: Reading and Speaking Skills

Assignment July, 2022 & January, 2023 Sessions

(Based on Blocks 1 - 4)

Max. Marks: 100

Answer all questions.

1. What do you understand by Comprehension? Explain Expository text and its types.(20)

2. Define ‘communication’. Why are Communication Skills important? Discuss the 7 Cs of

communication. (20)

3. Read the passage and answer the following questions: (10)

Mike and Morris lived in the same village. While Morris owned the largest jewellery shop in
the village, Mike was a poor farmer. Both had large families with many sons, daughters-in-
law and grandchildren. One fine day, Mike, tired of not being able to feed his family,
decided to leave the village and move to the city where he was certain to earn enough to feed
everyone. Along with his family, he left the village for the city. At night, they stopped under
a large tree. There was a stream running nearby where they could freshen up themselves. He
told his sons to clear the area below the tree, he told his wife to fetch water and he instructed
his daughters-in-law to make up the fire and started cutting wood from the tree himself.
They didn’t know that in the branches of the tree, there was a thief hiding. He watched as
Mike’s family worked together and also noticed that they had nothing to cook. Mike’s wife
also thought the same and asked her husband, “Everything is ready but what shall we eat?”
Mike raised his hands to heaven and said “Don’t worry. He is watching all of this from
above. He will help us.” The thief got worried as he had seen that the family was large and
worked well together. Taking advantage of the fact that they did not know he was hiding in
the branches, he decided to make a quick escape. He climbed down safely when they were
not looking and ran for his life. But, he left behind the bundle of stolen jewels and money
which dropped into Mike’s lap. Mike opened it and jumped with joy when he saw the
contents. The family gathered all their belongings and returned to the village. There was
great excitement when they told everyone how they got rich. Morris thought that the tree
was miraculous and this was a nice and quick way to earn some money. He ordered his
family to pack some clothes and they set off as if on a journey. They also stopped under the
same tree and Morris started commanding everyone as Mike had done. But no one in his
family was willing to obey his orders. Being a rich family, they were used to having servants
all around. So, the one who went to the river to fetch water enjoyed a nice bath. The one
who went to get wood for fire went off to sleep. Morris’s wife said “Everything is ready but
what shall we eat?” Morris raised his hands and said, “Don’t worry. He is watching all of
this from above. He will help us.” As soon as he finished saying, the thief jumped down
from the tree with a knife in hand. Seeing him, everyone started running around to save their
lives. The thief stole everything they had and Morris and his family had to return to the
village empty handed, having lost all their valuables that they had taken with them.

1) Why did Mike and his family decide to rest under the thief’s tree?
a) Being a large family, they knew that they could easily defeat the thief
b) It was a convenient spot for taking a halt at night
c) There was a stream nearby and wood enough to build a house
d) That was the only large tree that could shelter their large family
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 2) Which of the following best describes Morris?
a) He was a rich businessman
b) He bullied his wife
c) He paid his servants well
d) He was greedy and imitated Mike

3) What did Mike mean when he said “He is watching all this from above”?
a) He had spotted the thief and wanted to scare him
b) He was telling his wife to have faith in god
c) It was just a warning for his family members to stick together
d) He was begging the thief to help his family

4) Why did the thief return to the tree?

a) To wait for Mike to return
b) To set up a trap
c) To wait for Morris’s family
d) Not mentioned in the passage

5) How did the fellow villagers react to Mike getting rich overnight?
a) They were jealous of him
b) They were very excited
c) They followed his example
d) They envied him

4. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: (20)

1) The sage of science, Einstein, was sitting in a depressive and pensive mood one evening.
His eyes were brimming with tears. The pain was evident on his face. He peeped out of the
window of his room. The sun had set a few minutes back. The sky was filled with a reddish
glow. At this sunset, he felt that it was humanity that had sunk into devilish darkness and
the reddish glow in the sky was the blood of humanity spilling all over the sky from earth.
With tired steps, he walked back to his chair and settled down. It was the 9th of August
1945. Three days back, he had felt the same agony as if someone had torn him apart. He
was deeply hurt and depressed when they heard on the radio that America had dropped an
atom bomb on the Japanese city, Hiroshima. Today, within three days another bomb was
dropped on another city, Nagasaki and lakhs of people had been killed.

2) He had heard that the blast released so much energy that it had paled all past
destructions in comparison and death had played out a pitiable dance of destruction. The
flames that broke out of the bomb were burning, melting and exploding buildings. Scared
of the heat of the bomb, people had jumped into lakes and rivers, but the water was boiling
and the people too were burnt and killed. The animals in the water were already boiled to
death. Animals, trees, herbs, fragrant flowering plants were all turned into ashes. The
atomic energy destruction had just not stopped there. It had entered the atmosphere there
and had spread radiation that would affect people for generation to come and would also
bring about destructive irreversible biological changes in animals and plants.

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3) As the news of the atomic attack reached Einstein, and he became aware of the glaring
horror of the abuse of atomic energy, his distress and restlessness knew no bounds. He
could not control himself and picked up his violin to turn his mind on the other things.
While playing the violin, he tried to dissolve in its sad notes, but couldn’t. He was burning
on the embers of destruction; his heart was filled with an ocean of agony and tears just
continued streaming uncontrollably out of his eyes. Night had fallen. His daughter came up
and asked him to eat something as he had not taken anything for the last four days. His
voice was restrained and he said, “don’t feel like eating.”

4) He could not sleep that night. Lying down, he was thinking how he had drawn the
attention of the then American President Roosevelt towards the destructive powers of an
atomic bomb. He had thought that this would be used to scare Hitler and put an end to the
barbarism that. However, Roosevelt kept him in the dark and made false promises.
Eventually, he had abused Einstein’s equation of E= mc2 that resulted in the destructive
experiments. His actions had made science and scientists as murderers. Einstein kept on
thinking for a long time. Eventually, he slipped into sleep. When he woke up at dawn, there
was a new dawn in him too. The atomic threat had transformed his heart.

5) The next day, he decided to disassociate himself from the scientific policy of the
government and all governmental institutions. He decided to open educational institutions
for children, adolescents and youth – institutions where along with science, spirituality will
be compulsorily taught.

6) To inaugurate this institution, he had invited two great philosophers, Bertrand Russell
and Albert Schweitzer. Ten other great scientists who had won Nobel Prizes in different
fields were also invited. They all saw a different Einstein, not a great scientist but a sage in
him. The institution was opened by garlanding a photo of Mahatma Gandhi. While
garlanding the Mahatma, he became emotional and said with a lump in his throat, “I bow
down to the great man who fought for the independence of his country through non-
violence. He could do so because he was a truthful man and true spiritualist.”

7) Those who teach science should be taught spirituality too. Without harmony between
science and spirituality, the destruction would continue unabated. A few years after this
institution was built, a Japanese delegation came to meet him. Einstein broke down in the
meeting and said, “You can give me any punishment and I will accept it. Anyway, I have
decided to lead my life in penitence.” The Japanese were moved by his sincerity and forgot
their grief.

1) Besides two great philosophers how many other scientists were invited by Einstein to
inaugurate the institution where spirituality would be compulsorily taught? (1)

i) Five (ii) Ten (iii) Eight (iv) Fifteen

2) Which musical instrument did Einstein play when he was in grief? (1)

i) Harmonium (ii) Guitar (iii) Violin (iv) Flute

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 3) Einstein came to know that America had dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city,
Hiroshima through (1)

i) Television (ii) Newspaper (iii) Radio (iv) A telephonic message

4) Which American President was told about the destructive power of an atomic bomb? (1)

(i) Kennedy (ii) Bill Clinton (iii) Lincoln (iv) Roosevelt

5) Einstein said to the Japanese delegation: (1)

i) “You can give me any punishment and I will accept it.”

ii) “I am not at fault.”

iii) “What could I do?”

iv) “The President didn’t agree to my advice.”

6) What did Einstein do to overcome his distress after getting the news of the Narrative
Text atomic attack? (3)

7) Which event in 1945, according to Einstein, turned science and scientists into murderers?
(3)

8) What did Einstein do to show his displeasure over the atomic attack? (3)

9) Why did Einstein want harmony between science and spirituality while teaching in
educational institutes? (4)

10) Which word/phrase means the same as: (2)

i) Extreme mental pain (para 1)

ii) repentance (para 7)

5. Read the following text: (10)

India’s economy is doing well and we have a right to celebrate that. But what we do not
like to acknowledge, let alone address, is another fact: our economy and society, is still
extremely biased against women. Perhaps paying attention to such inconvenient truths
would distract us as we march towards superpower status. In the latest gender gap index
report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), India keeps company with the worst
in the world. Among the 128 countries that have been evaluated by the WEF, India is
ranked 114, followed among others by Yemen, Chad, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Even
China, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Botswana fare much better than us. The survey considers
the proportion of resources and opportunities made available to women on educational,
economic, political and health fronts. It is only in the realm of political empowerment that
we seem to have done somewhat OK, ranking 21st. That’s also thanks to a long spell of
Prime Ministership by Indira Gandhi. It raises the question why women are so badly off in
our country if they are politically empowered. To begin with, we are still largely a feudal
and patriarchal society. In many parts of our country – especially in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan,
Haryana and Punjab – women are often treated as if they were a piece of property. In these
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parts, the sex ratio is most skewed because families often snuff out the lives of girl children
before, or immediately after, they are born. In many parts of India, women are viewed as an
economic liability despite contributing in several ways to our society and economy. The
state has not covered itself with glory either in bridging the gender divides. Its policies and
projects for women are woefully inadequate. For instance, the literacy rate for females is a
mere 48 per cent against 73 per cent for males. Unless we put more of our girl children in
school and equip them with quality education – as opposed to making them merely literate
– we can forget about sustainable progress. Public health is another area of failure.
Hundreds of women in rural India die every year during childbirth for want of medical
attention. There are thousands more who do not even have access to a primary health
centre. Importantly, reforming property laws more rigorously so that gender parity becomes
a reality must rank among the government’s priorities. While these changes are necessary,
they will amount to nothing if we, as a society, continue to deny our women the dignity,
liberty and opportunities that are rightfully theirs. No society will ever prosper as a whole
as long as half of it is constantly treated as somehow less that the other half.

1. On the basis of your understanding of this passage answer the following questions with
the help of the given options: (4)
a) Write out the correct option:
i) India’s economy is unbiased.
ii) India’s economy is doing poorly
iii) India’s economy is biased against human species
iv) India’s economy is biased against women.
b) The most important rights of women are .................................
i) dignity and society
ii) dignity and literacy
iii) dignity and liberty
iv) dignity and health
c) A society can prosper only if ...........................................
i) half of it is given its special rights
ii) it recognizes the importance of women
iii) it treats men and women differently
iv) it constantly treats women no less than its other half
d) Hundreds of women in rural India die every year during childbirth
i) due to lack of finances.
ii) due to lack of literacy.
iii) for want of awareness.
iv) for want of medical attention.
2. Answer the following questions briefly: (4)
a) Why is India ranked 114 by the World Economic Forum?
b) In which fields are the women in India empowered?
c) What has killing of girl children before or after birth affected the most?
d) What is the reason behind the failure of public health?

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 3. Find a word from the passage having opposite meaning to “asset”. (Para-3) (1)
4. Find a word from the passage having similar meaning to “continuously”. (Para -4) (1)

6. Create a pleasant and positive impression to make a best telephonic conversation against
the columns given below: (10)

Weak expression to be avoided You should use

Hello,

I’ll call you back soon.

You have got the wrong extension.

What do you want me to do about it?

No problem.

That is impossible

Who is this?

I don’t know

The only thing I can do is …

Sorry to keep you waiting.

7. How are story telling, dialogues and role playing important in achieving efficient speaking
skills? Explain. (10)

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BEGLA-138: Reading and Speaking Skills Assignment July, 2022 & January, 2023 Sessions
1. What do you undel'stand by Compl'ehension? Explain Expositol'y text and its types.(20)
ANS: Comprehension:
Comp1ehension is the understanding and inte1pretation of what is read. To be able to accurately
understand written mate1ial, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make
connections between what they 1ead and what they ah·eady know; and (3) think deeply about what
they have read.

One big pa1t of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of
enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what
they read - what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are
fum1y. Thus comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning.
Expository text and its types:
Expository texts expose you to facts, plain and simple. The text is fact-based with the purpose of
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exposing the tnth through a reliable source. Trne and deliberate, expository texts will focus on
educating its reader. Another way of explaining these texts is that they are clear, concise, and
organised writing. Exposito1y text gets to the point quickly and efficiently.

Expository text is infonnation-based text. They come in different fonns and all have different
pmposes. Some examples include:
Textbooks
News aiticles
Insb.-uction manuals
Recipes
City or country guides
Language books
Self-help books
Biographies
Encyclopaedia
Websites
The exposito1y text is that text that offers the reader explicit information on a specific topic,
objectively, that is, without the author's opinion or their positions on the subject at any time.
Consequently, you also don't need to use argumentation to convince.

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The sole intention of the expository texts is to exhaust the subject, that is, to transmit infonnation
to the reader. Commonly, the expositmy texts are limited to the topic they are addressing, without
going beyond it and without generally res01ting to emotional content. They can be understood as
a display of infonnation only, which may well be of two typ es, depending on your ideal audience:
Disclosure texts. These are exposit01y texts that are aimed at a wide audience, without specialized
p rerequisites, and therefore address issues of general interest, usually from a simple, accessible
and democratic perspective.
Specialized texts. On the contrnry, they are intended for a small and specialized audience, which
is why they are handled in a technical language, difficult or demanding with the reader, which is
only handled by experts, which implies a need for prior knowledge on the pait of the reader.
Chai·acte1istics of an expository text
The exposito1y texts are characte1ized by:
Have the sole purpose of transmitting inf01mation specific, whether common or specialized.
Aspire to objectivity That is, do not involve points of view or arguments of any kind, since they
do not seek to convince, but to infonn.
You can use rhetorical figures an d other mechanisms to present your infonnation more efficiently,
as long as that does not tainish its cla1ity and precision.
TI1ey usually use grammatically a timeless present and indicative mode from Spanish.

2. Define 'communication'. Why are Communication Skills important? Discuss the 7 Cs of

communication. (20)
ANS: 'communication':
Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages through verbal or nonverbal
means, including speech, or oral communication; writing and grnphical representations (such as
infographics, maps, and chaits); and signs, signals, and behavior. More simply, communication is
said to be "the creation and exchange of meaning."
Why are Communication Skills impmtant:
1. Good Communication Saves Time and Reduces Mistakes
Developing effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills can save you time and prevent
silly mistakes. It is the key to a successfill business, whether it occurs between coworkers or with
clients and customers.
2. Effective Co mmunication Can Be a Competitive Advantage

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 Your c01mnunication skills are crncial to your success as an employee, and they go far
beyond a face-to-face discussion. More often than not, people who can communicate
effectively will be more successful in the workplace and beyond.
3. It Encourages Better Work Relationships
Everyone wants to work with a colleague who can clearly communicate, see the big picture, and
relate to others. Effective communication skills are vital in the workplace in all aspects.
4. It Encourages Productivity
Communication skills allow people to interact with each other, therefore, it encourages
productivity at the workplace. Through communication, employees are likely to achieve their
goals.
5. It's the First Step to Conflict Resolution
When resolving conflict, your communication skills and listening skills play an impo1tant role in
gathering information and conveying respect. Hearing someone's "side of the story" is often the
first step in resolving a conflict.

7 Cs of cormnunication:
1. Claiity
Be explicit about your aim or message while writing or speaking to someone. It is important to
be clear about what you are hying to achieve by speaking or communicating with someone. If
you're unsure, your viewers will be skeptical as well.
Being open and honest is crucial in optimizing the effectiveness of your communication. To be
understandable, keep the number of ideas in each phrase to a minimum and emphasize a specific
idea or goal at a time.
2. Concise
When you comm unicate concisely, you stick to the point and keep it shmt.
You need to check if there are any adjectives or "filler words" you can get rid of, or if there are
words like "for example," "you see," "absolutely," "sort of," "literally," "essentially," or "I
mean" are frequently eliminated, you might eliminate those as well to make your
content more professional.
3. Concrete
Your audience will have a clear image of what you're saying if your message is concrete that
makes concreteness one of the most useful 7 e's of communication.

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Your message should have all the key details but not too many vivid facts, and fuzzy stuff. There
should be a laser-like focus. The key characteristics of a concrete message are being suppmted
by facts and figures.
4. Correct
When your message is on point, it is tailored to your target audience. And error-free
communication is the same as proper communication. If the message is accm·ate, it increases the
level ofconfidence.
5. Coherent or Considered
The next C in the list of 7 e's of communication 1s coherence or consideration m your
communication.
It's logical when your communication is coherent and this is one of the key characteristics of
coherence in your communication. The text's tone and flow are consistent, and all p oints are
related and pe1tinent to the main issue.
6. Complete
With a complete message, the target audience is supposed to have all they need to be educated.
For example, in an email marketing campaign, you need to check ifthere is a "call to action" in
your message that lets your audience lrnow precisely what you want them to do.
7. Comteous
Comteous communication is open, pleasant, amiable, and trnthfol. A comieous communication
does not include hidden insults, plus it does not incorporate passive-aggressive tones in this
conversation.
You should consider your reader's perspectives and be sympathetic to their needs. All this makes
courteousness one ofthe key 7 C's ofcommunication.

3. Read the passage and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Mike and his family decide to rest under the thief s tree?
Ans: b) It was a convenient spot for taki ng a halt at night
2) Which ofthe following best describes Monis?
Ans d) He was greedy and imitated Mike
3) What did Mike mean when he said "He is watching all this from above"?
Ans: b) He was telling his wife to have faith in god
h
4) Why did the tiefreturn to the tree?

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Ans : d) Not mentioned in the passage
5) How did the fellow villagers react to Mike getting rich overn ight?
Ans: TI1ey were very excited
4. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
1) Besides two great philosophers how many other scientists were invited by Einstein to inaugurate
the institution where spi1ituality would be compulsorily taught? )
Ans: (ii) Ten
2) Which musical instrnment did Einstein play when he was in giief
Ans: (iii) Violin
3) Einstein came to know that America had dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city,
Hirnshima through
Ans: (iii) Radio
4) Which Ame1ican President was told about the destructive power of an atomic bomb?
Ans: (iv) Roosevelt
5) Einstein said to the Japanese delegation:
Ans : i) "You can give me any punishment and I will accept it."
6) What did Einstein do to overcome his distress after getting the news ofthe Nauative Text atomic
attack? (3)
Ans: Einstein played violin to overcome his distress after getting the news of the Nanative Text
atomic attack
7) Which event in 1945, according to Einstein, turned science and scientists into murderers? (3)
Ans : TI1e abuse of Einstein's equation of E= mc2 that resulted in the destructive experiments is
event in 1945, according to Einstein, turned science and scientists into murderers.
8) What did Einstein do to show his displeasure over the atomic attack? (3)
Ans he decided to disassociate himself from the scientific policy of the government and all
governmental institutions to show his displeasure over the atomic attack
9) Why did Einstein want harmony between science and spirituality while teaching in educational
institutes? (4)

Ans: Einstein want to teach science with spirituality, because without haimony between science
and spirituality, the destruction would continue unabated.
1 O) Which word/phrase means the saine as: (2)

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i) ExtJeme mental pain (para 1)
ans: depressive and pensive mood
ii) repentance (para 7)
ans penitence
5. Read the following text:

1. On the basis of your understanding of this passage answer the following questions with the help
of the given options: (4)
a) W1ite out the coITect option:
ans: iv) India's economy is biased against women.
b) The most important 1ights of women are
ans: iv) dignity and health
c) A society can prosper only if
ans: ii) it recognizes the importance of women
d) Hundreds of women in rnral India die every year dilling childbirth
ans: ii) due to lack of literacy.
2. Answer the following questions b1iefly:
a) Why is India ranked 114 by the World Economic Fornm?
Ans: Because of the unequal proportion ofresources and oppo1tunities made available to women
on educational, economic, political and health fronts.
b) In which field s are the women in India empowered?
Ans: politics
c) What has killing of girl children before or after birth affected the most?
Ans: sex ratio is most skewed because families often snuff out the lives of girl children before, or
immediately after, they are born.
d) What is the reason behind the failure of public health?
Ans: not providing quality education to girls is the reason behind the failure of p ublic health
3. Find a word from the passage having opposite meaning to "asset". (Para-3) (1)
Ans: property
4. Find a word from the passage having similar meaning to "continuously". (Para -4) (1)

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 Ans: constantly
6. Create a pleasant and positive impression to make a best telephonic conversation against
the columns given below: (10)

Ans:
Weak expression --to be avoided You should use
Hello,-- What's up?
I'll call you back soon. -- I'll revert to you soon.
You have got the wrong extension. -- you've got the wrong extension
What do you want me to do about it?-what is you are expecting from me about it?
No problem.-- 'No issues'
That is impossible -that's implausible
Who is this? -who's there?
I don't know ---god knows
The only thing I can do is ... --it's in my order
Sony to keep you waiting. -- Apologies for making you wait
7. How are story telling, dia logues and role playing important in achieving efficient speaking
skills? Explain.

Ans: Developing listening and speaking skills tln·ough the use of dialogues has helped me
immensely in becoming proficient in Chinese Mandru:in. Their effective use in my EFL and ESL
classes has also aided my students in improving their listening and speaing skills. Through years
k
of experience, I am convinced that recitation of dialogues does help in making all language learners
better listeners and speakers.
They represent real-life speech.
How many times have you opened a beginning language textbook and seen sentences like these?
They teach culture in different social situations. 3. Students love to roleplay.
All of my students love to recite and practice dialogues because they can be roleplayed. Each
example that I present reflects a social situation such as visiting a friend, talking on the telephone,
or shopping. Students love acting out the ones which call for a lot ofbody language and emotion.
They are sp1ingboards for learning new vocabulaiy and sentence strncture.
Through the use of substitution drills, dialogues can introduce the student to new vocabulary and
sentence structures. In the exainple, "You have a very cute baby," said while giving a compliment,
one may substitute the noun "baby" with "dog," "kitten," "puppy" or "rabbit." You could also

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intrnduce a tag question in a dialogue like "You're a tourist, aren't you?," and through
substitution drills, you could generate sentences such as "You're an American, aren't you?" and
"She's your daughter, isn't she?"
Scaffolding learning leads to improved conversation ability.
Ultimately I try to get my students to proceed from dialogue recitation to casual conversation as
soon as possible. I do this by scaffolding learning. I teach students how to apply appropriate
substitutions to memorized dialogues in different situations. If the students are motivated and
having fun, most can make the big jump to casual conversations after going through a series of
practice runs.
Show the transfonnation
Beverley Glick: Storytelling is all about transformation. If som ething doesn't change, it isn't a
story. A great story always gives the audience a sense of what that change is and why it matters.
Getting sta1ted
Robin Bayley: A st01y is merely a way of taking an audience from A to B by the most
interesting route. When working out what your st01y is, be brave. To quote Ernest Hemingway,
"the first draft of anything is sh*t." You need to get it down, or talk it out, no matter how
difficult or pointless it seelilS. When you have done that, you have something to improve and
refine so you can create a second draft and nail what you really want to say.
Stait practising
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Liz Balmford: As a person who generally wants to take the sho1test path f om A to B, my heart
used to sink when I'd hear the phrase 'storytelling'. I like a good drama on Netflix, but since I
already spend way too long in meetings, the last thing I want is someone forcing me to sit there
while they indulge themselves in something long-winded. Just get to the point!

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