Does the mention of presentations elicit a yawn from you? Or is it a confusing concept having to juggle between reading the slides and trying to concentrate on the speaker? Read on to know that a presentation need not be. In fact it can be quite different from what we conventionally understand it to be.

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Picture a room with people from diverse professions seated across a rectangular table. Professionals as diverse as a trainer, a dentist, a share broker, a travel agent, a real estate dealer, a valuation agent, a content writer, and a marriage counsellor together in one place. You might wonder what common aim could such a mixed bag of professionals have?

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Very few really seek knowledge in this world. Mortal or immortal, few really ask. On the contrary, they try to wring from the unknown the answers they have already shaped in their own minds - justification, explanations, forms of consolation without which they can't go on. To really ask is to open the door to the whirlwind. The answer may annihilate the question and the questioner.

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"FYI this is an escalation mail to alert you that we need to touch base ASAP on the new project since we don't seem to be on the same page." - Does this sound like a routine sentence in your email? How easily are you able to swing into action after reading this?

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"A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others." - Abraham Lincoln. What we read in our everyday lives - newspapers, e-mails, messages, magazines, reports, books being just a few of them - enriches us through a variety of ways. Reading broadens the horizons of our experience and lends a new direction to our thought. Some of us read for pleasure, others to pass an exam and a few others to present a report in the board meeting.

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Rice plate or chicken biryani? Vanilla flavour or butterscotch with crispies? The attractive dumb girlfriend or the brainy plane Jane? Jogging or going to the gym? Professional degree or work experience? Job or business? Fresh blood or grey hair? Stock market or fixed deposits? Your happiness or parents'? Personal life over professional or vice versa?

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Are you often left wondering at the end of day how important tasks get pushed back while you were busy handling what seems unimportant stuff? You still haven't started on your assignment for the week, forgot to call a friend whom you promised to help and the appointment with your dentist is still pending. At hindsight, you were busy through the day and it is surprising where all the time vanished. One look at your list of incomplete activities and your self-esteem takes a plunge. Take heart since you are not alone in going through something like this. But at the same time, it is also an area you need to work on, especially at this very crucial juncture of your life when you are laying the foundations of a career in management.

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There must be a good reason why we were given two ears and only one mouth. We could be better at communication if only we made more effort to listen than speak all the time. Even practice for group discussions is generally understood as learning to speak well. Most students assess their performance in a mock GD based on how long they could speak and not how patiently they listened to others. But that may not be so wise after all.

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The online CAT exam is finally over (at least for a majority) and it is time to divert your attention to the next phase of selection. Preparing for group discussions and personal interviews would be at the top of your mind now. This is the right time to know more about case studies and discuss how to deal with them. It is important to understand how case studies are different from a GD and the skills required to handle a case study discussion.

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Abstract GD topics are an important aspect of your preparation for your selection in a B-school. Such topics have also been a cause of concern among students due to their abstract nature. But if approached in the right way, they can actually give you as much scope to prove yourself in a GD as a general topic. The following pointers should put your mind at ease and equip you to go prepared to face abstract topics in your GD confidently.

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I hope this column has been conducive in inculcating a “manager’s perspective” to CAT questions. Infact, as test takers you need to appreciate that out of the entire multitude of questions, “potential picks” will subtly evaluate your ability to improvise the “manager’s approach”.

Question
ABC is a three digit number in which A>0 (A,B,C are distinct). The value of ABC is equal to the sum of the factorials of its three digits. What is the value of B?

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The fact that the Common Admission Test (CAT) is administered for admission to Management Programs of top B-schools and that the eligibility clause invites applicants from diverse academic streams, bears sufficient testimony to the truth that the test intends to measure students on discrete management skills and not just mathematical and verbal aptitude. This column takes yet another CAT question and furthers its attempt to strike a correlation between Math and Management.

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Communication skills can be effective only when the words used are contextually correct. An impressive command of language is absolutely essential for the same. There are numerous methods in which one can develop and strengthen one’s word power. The most common strategy is to make a regimented schedule of noting down words and meanings from the dictionary for sometime everyday. This strategy helps you add to your word power gradually, a few words at a time. Or, it could be done through reading books and newspapers and then looking up the meanings of difficult words one comes across. It also involves revising the same words numerous times so that they don’t slip out of memory

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You have only 24 hours every day in hand and you must live life worth 30 hours in that: this is a typical student’s ‘time tale’, who is trying to juggle extracurricular activities, studies, friends and preparation for an impending MBA entrance exam. So, is it really physically possible for you to pull off this stunt? Yes, of course, a wee bit of planning and efficiently handling your time can enable you to get through this as well, and with a smile on your face. To help you in your endeavour, here are some basic principles of Time Management unveiled and explained.

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A strong vocabulary is important not just to crack management exams. It will also be important in your profession where your success will be determined by the ability to speak articulately, which in turn requires use of appropriate words in their right contexts. You will also need to infer the right message from what others say. Many of you must have tried your hands at improving vocabulary, but then given up midway because of the sheer complexity of the process. Building a good vocabulary seems a Herculean task. But a few pointers can set you on the right path to mastering words.

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This column continues with its endeavor to strike a visible correlation between CAT questions and potent managerial skills. Students are advised to elevate themselves to think and act like managers, and not merely respond to a set of math/verbal based questions in a mundane test environment.

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While solving CAT questions , one has to constantly bear in mind the prime objective behind this stiff ordeal – to unearth  potential managers! This column continues with its attempts to discuss the “Manager’s Approach” to previous years’ CAT questions and looks beyond the rigours of conventional math.

Question: A train approaches a tunnel AB. Inside the tunnel  is a cat located at a point that is

3/8 of the distance AB measured from the entrance A. When the train whistles the cat runs. If the cat moves to the entrance of the tunnel, A, the train catches the cat exactly at the entrance. If the cat moves to the exit, B, the train catches the cat exactly at the exit. The speed of the train is greater than the speed of the cat by what order? (CAT 2002)

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Students often realise, typically a few months before their exams, that they need to work on their vocabulary. However, learning new words along with all the quirks of their usage seems a daunting task for students to accomplish in a period of time as short as four or five months.

Now the best way to really master a language, which surely involves developing a rich and varied vocabulary in it, is to read the wonderful literature available in that language. However, this is a process that takes years and cannot be compressed into months.

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Only an individual skilled in painting and with a keen sense of art and aesthetics gains admission in a reputed art school. A person with the talent and the aptitude for dancing alone gets through a dance institution of repute, whether national or international. And the same holds true for admissions to reputed schools and colleges for almost all vocations across the world. For the coveted degree of MBA too, this logic holds true. However, not every aspiring MBA student realizes this downplayed yet very significant truth.

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CAT 2008 was a vocabulary-intensive test, with 15 out of 40 questions in the Verbal section testing the candidate’s level of acquaintance and comfort with contextual English usage.

One of the question types involved choosing suitable options between commonly confused words, such as counsellor and councillor, or between superficially similar words such as genuine and sanguine.

This article addresses the issue of how to tackle such questions. With the help of the following examples, let us see what skills need to be developed by a candidate to excel in this type of question.

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Have you ever wondered why we study languages in school? In most states of India, students learn a minimum of three languages! Most competitive exams in India have a paper that tests our ability to use the English language. In fact, even as you prepare for the prestigious MBA entrance exams, one of the things that you are expected to work on is verbal skills. And soon after the exams, you might have to begin working on expressing your opinions clearly to do well at the Group Discussion or on giving an effective interview. In this series related to your queries on issues pertaining to language skills enhancement, we will begin by looking at the wonders of language.

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You are at the crossroads of life – after the grueling years at school and college (and for some, an extra couple pursuing the post grad degree), you suddenly realize that though your entire education was driven by a single objective – that of finding a job, it was not enough in itself to help you attain that objective. And so, you hit the job market with above-average or even commendable scores but find yourself flummoxed and beaten by the fact that you are either not chosen, or don’t get promoted easily even when you complete all the tasks given to you.

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