Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
Mother tongue important for cognitive, psychological and personality development
Excerpts from article by M Venkaiah Naidu, published in the Times of India
Renowned researcher Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with abilities like attention, sensation, perception and memory. Our first language, the beautiful sounds one hears and gets familiar with while in the womb, has an important role in shaping our personality, thoughts and life.
Importance of mother tongue for initiation into formal education
Language originates in a specific socio-cultural milieu as the first identity marker. It plays a key role in shaping the personality of an individual, his thought processes and larger view of the life and world around. The language we first learn is that used in the home. Mother is the first to speak to the child and his/ her interlocutor for most of the time.
Importance of mother tongue for initiation into formal education in the context of increasing emphasis on knowledge in the present competitive environment has gained significance.
Unesco rightly says that language is more than a means of communication; It is the very condition of our humanity. Our beliefs, values and identity are embedded in it. Language is the chief means and index of a nation, said Swami Vivekananda.
Choose expressions with care while talking to children
My campaign for preservation and promotion of mother languages is not based on emotions or sentiments. There is a huge body of research evidence warranting it, given its importance for cognitive development, psychological and personality development, education and learning. Hence, psychologists say it’s important that expressions and vocabulary are chosen with care when we talk to children.
When we speak in first language, a direct connection is established between the heart, brain and tongue. Professor of cognitive electrophysiology Alice Mado Proverbio established how the brain differently absorbs and recalls languages learnt in early childhood and later life. Native languages trigger a series of associations within the brain that show up as increased electrical activity.
Should primary education be in mother tongue?
Should primary education be in mother tongue? A child is prepared for formal education during the early years. After five years of informal education in first language, would the child be able to cope with formal instruction in a second language all of a sudden?
How to enable first formal learning without the child going through the harrowing experience of ‘cognitive conflict’, which is when a child finds a discrepancy between what he thinks the world should be and what he finds it as. This conflict in the early years of education emanates from the forced situation of learning in a second language.
Several psychological, social and educational experiments proved that learning through the mother tongue is deeper, faster and more effective (Krishnaji, 1990). Much of a child’s future social and intellectual development hinges on the milestone of mother tongue (Plessis, 2008). Incomplete first language skills often make learning other languages more difficult (Jim Cummins, 2010).
Every language spoken in the world represents a special culture, melody, colour and is an asset. Second language learning at an appropriate stage opens a window to the world promoting open minds, better understanding of others, peace and harmony.
Multilingualism has definite advantages in the multicultural, diverse and competitive global order.
(The writer is the Vice President of India)
Career
Why your sales emails aren’t working and what to do about it
Excerpts from article by Kelsey Raymond, published in entrepreneur.com
While a lot has changed since the internet first entered people’s homes, one thing has held steady: Email is still an essential part of online communication. Despite the introduction of messaging apps and social media sites, email hasn’t just survived — it has thrived. Worldwide, about 3.9 billion people use email daily, according to Statista. By 2023, this number is expected to reach 4.3 billion.
Email’s importance as a component of a successful content marketing strategy has also grown. According to HubSpot, 78 percent of marketers saw an increase in email engagement between 2018 and 2019.
As someone in the content marketingspace, I’ve seen my fair share of bad emails. But I’ve also seen how effective a well-crafted email can be for sales. More importantly, I know that everyone can learn how to build out the perfect sales email — as long as they’re willing to put in the effort.
How to write sales emails that people will actually read
To ensure their sales and marketing teams are creating successful sales emails, business leaders need to encourage them to dig a little deeper. Those crafting the emails need to focus more on what the recipient will actually want to engage with rather than solely what the company wants to say. And that’s not always easy.
To help you guide your team members in the right direction, consider these five sales email best practices:
1. Hook recipients before they even open the email
According to Convince & Convert, 35 percent of email recipients open an email on the basis of the subject line alone. Writing an effective subject line involves a delicate balance. The goal is to catch recipients’ eyes while also letting them know what the email is about. Being too flashy can backfire — especially if the email doesn’t live up to the hype. Instead of going the clickbait route, craft a subject line that lets readers know, specifically, how they would benefit if they opened the email.
2. Deliver more than just empty words
For every sales email, it should be immediately clear to the recipient why an email was sent and what value it provides. It’s equally important to structure the email so that the most important information is easy to find for those who might do more of a scan than a true read.
One of our team members recently sent an email designed to offer guidance and resources for businesses trying to plan next steps for marketing during a health crisis. The email consisted of a quick introduction explaining why it was being sent and then went straight into the links to free courses and other helpful content. It finished with a call to action welcoming people who needed more help to book a half-hour phone call, no strings attached.
3. Make sure communication is a two-way street
When figuring out how to build the perfect sales email, it’s crucial to remember that the goal isn’t merely to provide information — it’s to engage recipients in a dialogue. To successfully accomplish this, include in each message an easy way for recipients to reach out.
When one of our team members wasn’t hearing back from someone who had previously shown interest in working with us, she sent a follow-up email with the subject line “Easiest reply ever.” The email was a short message that consisted of a quick check-in and a numbered list of four simple responses the reader could choose from. One was to set up a meeting, another was to receive a follow-up email next week, and the last two — either that the reader had lost interest or had gone with another firm — let us know that this was no longer a viable lead. All the recipient had to do was reply with the corresponding number.
4. Write like a human
When sending a bunch of sales emails, it can be easy to deliberate over every word and fret about whether the verbiage is too casual or not witty enough. The resulting email often sounds stodgy and awkward. To create successful sales emails, don’t approach the task as a creative writing challenge; approach it more as a friendly chat between colleagues.
I like to reread each email before sending it and ask myself, “If I were saying this face-to-face, would it sound odd?” If the answer is “yes,” I’m probably not writing like a human.
5. Get to know your audience
While form emails do have their place in sales and marketing, the true power of this kind of content marketing strategy comes when sales reps take the time to do a little research on the person they’ll be corresponding with. This can sometimes be a big ask when time is a precious commodity, but it doesn’t require some hours-long deep dive into analytics — just some light Googling.
Where are the prospects from? What sort of companies do they work for? What do they post about on public social media sites? Get a feel for what each recipient likes and dislikes, and tailor the message accordingly. Don’t overpersonalise.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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