So you want to talk about the schools you went to (we don’t ‘visit’ schools by the way, we ‘go’ to them!). After ‘nursery school’ or ‘kindergarten’ you probably went to a ‘primary school’ and then to ‘secondary school’.
If you went to a German ‘Gymnasium’, which we call a ‘grammar school’ in Britain and a ‘high school’ in America, you shouldn’t say that you went to a ‘gymnasium’. A ‘gymnasium‘ is where you do gymnastics, so people might misunderstand you! 😉
I often read the phrase ‘above-mentioned’ in an email or letter when someone wants to refer to what has been written in the subject line or heading. But we really don’t need it today. Instead of using this old-fashioned phrase, we can just write, “above” or “this/these”.
So let’s say you’ve written the following text in your subject line: “Presentation seminar on 24 August 2014”. You could start your email by writing: “Thank you for registering for the above seminar”. Or just write: “Thank you for registering for this seminar”.
I think that’s clear enough, don’t you? Everyone will know what you mean!
One of my customers has quite a few innovation posters all over the company. And I always love reading them when I’m there.
If you would like one for your office, you can download one here.
My favourite is: “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough”. What’s yours?
Listen to Adam Fletcher, a thirty-year-old Englishman, as he gives us tips on “How to be German“. Do you know that ‘Apfelschorle’ is a German drink? And are there really no ‘Fenster auf Kipp’ in other countries? And do you obey the red man and eat sauerkraut? 😉
Imagine you’re driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop and see three people waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect man or woman you have been dreaming about for years.
Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that you only have room for one passenger?
This is a questions that was once actually used as part of a job application.
You could pick up the old lady because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream partner again.
The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: “I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.”
Reminds us to try and think outside of the box!
Did you manage to switch your brain off over the holiday period? If not, you might like to try this little trick (link to inc.com). Or you just might like to decide to take more breaks in the future? 😉
