10 Body Language Secrets of Successful People

Our bodies have a language of their own, and their words aren’t always kind. Your body language has likely become an integral part of who you are, to the point where you might not even think about it.

 Here are 10 most common body language blunders that people make, and emotionally intelligent people are careful to avoid.
1. Slouching is a sign of disrespect. It communicates that you’re bored and have no desire to be where you are. You would never tell your boss, “I don’t understand why I have to listen to you,” but if you slouch, you don’t have to—your body says it for you, loud and clear.
The brain is hardwired to equate power with the amount of space people take up. Standing up straight with your shoulders back is a power position. It maximizes the amount of space you fill. Slouching, on the other hand, is the result of collapsing your form—it takes up less space and projects less power.
Maintaining good posture commands respect and promotes engagement from both ends of the conversation.
2. Exaggerated gestures can imply that you’re stretching the truth. Aim for small, controlled gestures to indicate leadership and confidence, and open gestures—like spreading your arms apart or showing the palms of your hands—to communicate that you have nothing to hide.
3. Watching the clock while talking to someone is a clear sign of disrespect, impatience, and inflated ego. It sends the message that you have better things to do than talk to the person you’re with, and that you’re anxious to leave them.
4. Turning yourself away from others, or not leaning into your conversation, portrays that you are unengaged, uninterested, uncomfortable, and perhaps even distrustful of the person speaking.
Try leaning in towards the person who is speaking and tilt your head slightly as you listen to them speak. This shows the person speaking that they have your complete focus and attention.
5. Crossed arms—and crossed legs, to some degree—are physical barriers that suggest you’re not open to what the other person is saying. Even if you’re smiling or engaged in a pleasant conversation, the other person may get a nagging sense that you’re shutting him or her out.
Even if folding your arms feels comfortable, resist the urge to do so if you want people to see you as open-minded and interested in what they have to say.
6. Inconsistency between your words and your facial expression causes people to sense that something isn’t right and they begin to suspect that you’re trying to deceive them, even if they don’t know exactly why or how.
For example, a nervous smile while rejecting an offer during a negotiation won’t help you get what you want; it will just make the other person feel uneasy about working with you because they’ll assume that you’re up to something.
7. Exaggerated nodding signals anxiety about approval. People may perceive your heavy nods as an attempt to show you agree with or understand something that you actually don’t.
8. Fidgeting with or fixing your hair signals that you’re anxious, over-energized, self-conscious, and distracted. People will perceive you as overly concerned with your physical appearance and not concerned enough with your career.
 9.Weak handshakes signal that you lack authority and confidence, while a handshake that is too strong could be perceived as an aggressive attempt at domination, which is just as bad. Adapt your handshake to each person and situation, but make sure it’s always firm.
 10.Getting too close. If you stand too close to someone (nearer than one and a half feet), it signals that you have no respect for or understanding of personal space. This will make people very uncomfortable when they’re around you.

Written by Daniella

How to Become a Film and Television Actor

Have you ever dreamed of one day becoming a famous Hollywood actor? If so, the first thing you need to realize is that this dream can become a reality if you're willing to put in the time, training, dedication, passion and patience required to make it in Hollywood.
If you've always wondered how to become a film or television actor, then here are ten steps that may not get you the role of a lifetime, but they will help you to treat your acting career as a career and not simply as something you choose to do for fun.

Step 1: Learn How to Act
Seems like a given, doesn't it? But I can't tell you the number of people that come out to Hollywood thinking that all they need to do is get a job as a waiter at some popular restaurant, meet an agent, get "discovered" and then it's nothing but champagne and caviar from there.Acting is first and foremost a craft. The best of the Hollywood actors understand this and no matter how far they have come in their careers, they are constantly looking to improve upon their craft. They take classes, work with acting and dialogue coaches, they study life experiences, etc. They know full well that even after a lifetime of work and study, they may never reach absolute perfection.

Step 2: Location, Location, Location.
I hate telling people this, but if you hope to work in film and/or television as an actor, you need to go where the work is. Now, that doesn't necessarily doom you to living in The United States or wherever .After all, there are plenty of acting jobs in Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, etc.New York and Los Angeles are where most of the casting directors work and live. So, many of the shows that are shot in Canada or other cities within the U.S. are still cast in LA or New York. So, even though you don't necessarily need to move here, keep in mind that it is where most of the action is.

Step 3: Be Willing to do What it Takes
No, that doesn't mean what you think it means. Don't worry about the "casting couch." But you must be willing to do what it takes for the sake of your craft. You might ultimately have to sacrifice certain aspects of your life to ensure that you will have success as a working Hollywood actor.
You must take the time to master your craft. If that means sacrificing a relationship or a few friendships along the way, so be it. I know that sounds rather harsh, but acting is not a 9-5 job by any stretch.
If you're lucky enough to land a role in a major film or television production, realize that this is not the glamorous Hollywood job you might've thought it would be.

Step 4: Commit Yourself
I once had a friend of mine tell me that there are no bad actors, just actors who aren't willing to "fully commit" themselves to their craft.
Just as I mentioned above that you have to make certain sacrifices to make it as an actor in Hollywood, one of those is your ego. If you're about looking cool, or trying to maintain a certain image, then acting might not be for you.
The best actors are those who are willing to let themselves be 100% consumed by the role they are playing. They physically become the person they portray.
If you're in the middle of delivering your lines and suddenly you let yourself drift back into your own life, you are not fully committed to the role and your performance will show it. You have to literally "forget yourself" to help ensure the quality of your performance.

Step 5: Be Nice
Hollywood is all about helping those you know because they might one day be in a position to help you as well. So, you need to remember this steadfast rule -- be nice to everyone. From agents' assistants to fellow cast members to whomever you meet in Hollywood. Remember, that assistant you treated poorly two years ago might one day become a casting director, film producer,talent agent or whatever. And trust me, they'll remember those who stomped on their toes on their way up the ladder.
Conversely, they'll remember those who were nice the whole way up and they'll be that much more inclined to help them achieve their own goals.

Step 6: Focus On The Craft -- Not the Agent
There are many actors I know who spent years worrying more about getting an agent than becoming a well trained actor.
Agents are a necessary evil, but they do not make you or break you (as much as they like to think they do). As many actors will attest, simply because they have a powerful agent does not guarantee their success.
The happiest actors are the working actors.
 
STEP 7: Have Patience
Rare is the true "overnight success." Sure, there are those actors that seem completely unknown one day, only to dominate the limelight the next. But the reality is that there were years of hard work and preparation that led them to that "sudden discovery."
Hollywood is a strange town. There are actors who have literally been working for decades when all the sudden, they're in a role that gets a bit of attention and suddenly, they're famous.
Patience is not only a virtue in Hollywood, it's an absolute must to keep from going insane. So develop your patience and you will enjoy the process of rising to stardom that much more even if you never end up getting there.

STEP 8: Take Some Improv
Regardless of what you may think of improvisation theater, it is one skill that most actors that I've worked with count on in a time of need.

Especially for you theater actors who might be stuck with someone who freezes midway through their lines.

Beyond a crisis situation, improv is one of the few styles of acting where you have absolute freedom to discover what things you're good at, and which things could use some work.
As one actor friend told me, "improv is a way to discover your range as an actor while at the same time, it forces you to explore new territory while having to commit wholeheartedly to the situation at hand."

Written by Phil Breman
 Phil Breman is a Los Angeles based writer/producer with extensive credits in both scripted and reality television.He has spent the last fifteen years working in the entertainment industry. He has literally done it all. From starting out as a cameraman, to working as a talent agent, creative executive, sit-com writer/producer to most recently serving in the role of executive producer and Chief Creative Officer of his own media firm. Over the years, he has served in a number of vital roles at major entertainment companies like NBC Universal, Warner Brothers, The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Television and DreamWorks. Mr. Breman currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and family.

ITAN (The Story)

ÌTÀN is a very fascinating blend of drama, cultural and contemporary dance and music. It captures the sublime tension and misunderstanding that exists between different age generations – the millennials, in particular. It also outlines subtle modern cultural mismatches.
The play written by Ayo Jaiyesimi and directed by renowned theatre veteran, Ben Tomoloju, showcases Àsìkò (‘Time’ personified) who intervenes in a feud between ‘old school, die-hard’ village elder, Pa Latinwo and his newly discovered city, roller-coaster grandson, D-Kay. Àsìkò takes them on a journey into the past and the future and they both discover dark secrets that make them come to terms with the fact that they need each other to survive. The play features some of Nigeria’s stage favorites including Nobert Young, Sam Uquah, Nissi George, Segun Dada and Wazobia FM’s ‘Lolo 1’- Omotunde David amongst others.
Details of ITAN Stage play ‘Easter Weekend’
Venue: AGIP Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos
Date: 26th & 27th March 2016
Time: 3:00pm & 6:00pm
 Fees: Regular - N5000, VIP - N10,000, Premium - N25,000

Join the conversation using #ITANSTAGEPLAY on;
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Twitter @thespianfamily
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 To get your tickets,visit :
 THESPIAN Family Theatre and Productions

Organizer Address:10, Tairu Olugbani Street, Off Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun - Lagos.

Organizer Contact Info.:07046380179

Organizer Mobile:08187490128

Organizer Email:info@thespianfamilytheatre.com

Organizer Website: www.thespianfamilytheatre.com

A stage adaptation of African Queen

Music Meets theatre is an adaptation of songs into stage play by the Grand Living Legend of Nigerian Theatre Fred Agbeyegbe.
The project is aimed at promoting good musics that have contents relating to the people and the society at large.

The maiden Edition which will take place on the 28th of March 2016 (Easter Monday) at the Shell Hall, Muson Center will be featuring Innocent Idibia aka 2Baba, with his award winning song African Queen, also on stage is his wife Annie Idibia who portrays the story of an African Queen.

Dates: 28th of March 2016
Time: 4PM
Ticket Price: Standard N5,000, VIP N10,000 and Table for six (6) N500,000
Venue: Shell hall, Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos
 To get ticket,visit www.naijaticketshop.com

Brooklyn killer stabs woman because she was white

The psycho wearing an American flag bandana over his face who slashed Janina Popko,a 53-year-old woman in the neck on a Brooklyn street targeted her for being white, officials said Wednesday.
“I cut her because she was white,” suspect Gregory Alfred, 25, told police after he was picked up at his mother’s home in Sayreville, N.J., over the weekend, officials said.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce  “He’s a very disturbed young man,".
Alfred, who has over 20 prior arrests, is expected to be extradited to New York to face assault and hate crime charges.

8 Things You Should Never Pay For

That old saying that you get what you pay for isn’t always true. Sometimes there is such a thing as a free lunch. Here are 11 things you should never pay for. Not paying for some of them may require a little work on your part but that’s often the case when we want to save money. So as long as you aren’t too lazy or too busy, there are some things you should never pay for.

1. Your Credit Report And ScoreYou might see commercials or ads offering a free credit report. They’re all paid services, usually, they are actually credit monitoring services which charge a monthly fee. You can request a free report at annualcreditreport.com. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to one copy every twelve months from each of the three credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Ideally, you would order one from a different company every four months, that way you can monitor your credit more closely. This is especially important if there has been fraud on one your accounts. It’s also helpful to order all three because they won’t all have the same information which increases the chance of mistakes.
Your credit report is not the same thing as your credit score, and the report may not include the score. There are a few places to get your score for free. Some American Express and Discover credit cards include scores on your statements. You can get a pretty good estimate of your score at sites like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. Using these sites does not count as a hard pull and won’t affect your score at all.

2. Credit RepairOkay, you ordered your report, and there are mistakes. Or you looked at your score, and it’s in the toilet. Is there anything you can do? There is! You can fork over money to a credit repair company. Don’t do this. This is one of the things you should never pay for as long as you don’t mind spending a little time to do it yourself.
There are plenty of companies out there offering this service that are outright scams who are doing illegal things like offering you file segregation or a CPN. File segregation means applying for an Employer Identification Number in your name and using that instead of your Social Security Number to open new credit accounts. A CPN is a credit profile number and is probably a stolen Social Security Number. Both of these practices are illegal.
Other companies offer to clean up mistakes on your credit report and while that is perfectly legal, provided the mistakes are legitimate mistakes, it’s nothing you can’t do yourself for free. If there is a mistake, gather the documentation confirming that and include it with a letter to the credit reporting agency. Mistakes are required to be investigated within thirty days of receiving a complaint.

3. Debt Consolidation And Debt SettlementIf your credit card debt has gotten out of control, you might consider working with a debt management company. What these companies offer can be valuable, having only one payment a month or negotiating to settle a debt for less than you owe. But much like their cousins, the credit repair companies, these companies don’t offer anything you can’t do for yourself.
Debt consolidation will take your various credit cards and combine all the payments into one, sometimes at an interest rate that has been negotiated down. You can call up your credit card companies at any time and ask them to lower your rates. You can consolidate by rolling balances over to a 0% APR card (but you must pay the full balance before the 0% rate offer expires), you can take out a home equity loan, or a personal loan through a bank or peer-to-peer lender like Lending Club and use the money to pay off your cards.
Debt settlement is making an agreement with creditors to settle for less than the total amount owed. This will not be done through monthly payments but by paying a one-time lump sum. So if you use a service, you will send them money each month. But they won’t send it to your creditors until you have sent a certain amount of money. But that entire time, you may be paying them a monthly service fee.
There is no law that says you can’t call up your creditors yourself and negotiate a settlement on your own behalf. You can save up a chunk of money while not having to fork over a monthly fee. Don’t call and ask about a debt settlement until you have money to negotiate with, though. If your creditor makes an offer, you have to be ready to accept it and make the payment.

4. Apartment BrokerTrying to find a new apartment is high on life’s list of things that suck. So you might be tempted just to let someone else do it for you. And depending on where you live and how much time and money you have, this might be a great idea.
If you live in a city that has expensive housing and where the renter pays the broker, this is a terrible idea. In New York City, the renter pays the broker fee. Not the case in New Orleans, one of the many reasons I’m moving there.
A broker gets 10-15% of a year’s rent, up front. In a high-rent city, that is a big chunk of change. There are plenty of no fee apartments. The only reason to pay a broker is if you have no time to look for a place on your own and need a broker to do the legwork for you. But it’s going to be an expensive time saver.

5. Bank FeesEspecially bank fees, they may not be the most expensive but they are the most galling.
Galling because while your money is sitting in their bank collecting the princely sum of less than 1% interest, some banks will charge you ATM fees, monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees and probably some fees Jamie Dimon is making up at this very moment to cover his 35% raise. Jackal.
You can avoid ATM fees by only taking out cash at your own bank’s ATM. Not always convenient, though. Some on-line banks like Ally don’t charge ATM fees for any machine nationwide, and if another bank charges you, Ally will reimburse the charge. Some banks will reimburse the charges depending on the type of account you have. If you use out of network machines a lot, check with your bank to find out if they offer such an account.
Maintenance fees can be avoided by keeping a minimum balance, usually about $1500. But if you’re a student, you might not have that much money. Some banks, including Chase and Bank of America, waive fees for students. If you have your paycheck direct deposited, most banks will waive this fee.
Prior to 2010, many banks would provide automatic overdraft protection when you opened a checking account. This sounds great! Your card won’t be declined when you charge that $5 coffee. Until you realize that allowing that $5 transaction to go through when you didn’t have $5 in your account might be as much as $35! I would rather be embarrassed in Starbucks, thanks.
You can avoid this by opting out of overdraft protection and by setting up a Mint account and creating an alert if your checking balance dips below a certain amount.

6. Extended WarrantiesWhen you buy a big ticket item, an appliance or a computer, paying for an extended warranty might seem like a good financial decision. What if your brand new i-Phone craps out the 366th day you own it? Disaster!
But you don’t have to fork out for that extended warranty to have some extra protection. Nearly all credit cards offer an extra year of warranty when you charge a purchase. You have to file a claim and provide documentation like an original receipt and a copy of the original warranty, but credit card companies generally have better customer service than the store you bought something from. Depending on what happened to make the item stop working, your renter’s or home owner’s insurance may pay to replace it too.

7. ShippingI’ve had Amazon Prime for ten years, so I just order everything that way and never pay for shipping. But not everything can be had via Amazon but there is still no reason to pay for shipping.
Most on-line retailers will offer free shipping if you spend over a certain amount. This isn’t a reason to buy more of the Carine Roitfeld Collection from Uniqlo (I just did that) but if you’re buying things that you often use and don’t have a short shelf life, stock up. Fresh Direct has a $35 minimum for free delivery, so you don’t have to buy extra lobster tails to reach that but you could buy extra paper towels.
If you want to buy something from a brick and mortar store that is out of stock, they may order it for you and waive the shipping fee. If they won’t waive the fee, you may be able to order on-line and have the order sent to the store for pick up without charge.
Some coupon sites like Retail Me Not have free shipping codes, so it’s worth checking before you place your order.
8 Love Well, depending on how you define it I guess. I don’t judge. Whether or not gifts and things equal love to some people is not so black and white as the old gold digger argument would suggest, though.
For a person who grew up without a lot of material things, gifts can seem like love because getting material things was not a common occurrence and when it happened, it was special and likely meant a sacrifice on the giver’s part. To these people, things can also equal security which is an important component of feeling loved.
For someone who grew up with lots of gifts but not a lot of love, extravagant gifts don’t feel like love. They might feel like a substitute for love. These people are unlikely to be impressed by fancy vacations and dinners at Per Se.
But one thing both types have in common is that time is a better indicator of love. It’s green where you water it as the saying goes. You can make either of these types feel loved for free if you’re willing to spend time rather than dollars.

Written by Candice Elliot