Injecting some fun into learning by reading comics

Comics is a fun way to engage children to read and be curious of things around them. At a recent family gathering, I noticed my little eight-year old nephew engrossed in a book at one corner which is not his usual self.

Curiosity drive me to move closer to him and I realised that he is reading a comic book. "It is the latest issues from Detective Comics," he told me eagerly, his eyes beaming with excitement. "As much as I admire the pictures, I'm paying particular attention to the writing. I'm motivated to truly understand what's happening in each panel," he continued.

For me, it's impossible to overstate the educational value of superhero comics -- or comics of any sort, for that matter. At an early age, my passionate engagement with this literary art form greatly strengthened my reading and writing skills and, by extension, my success in the classroom when I was a kid.

Hence, inspired by my nephew, I started a short research on comics reading in education and found the following information on Mr Josh Elder who advocated the use of comics in education. I have pasted the information below for the benefit of all:

Creating Reading With Pictures

In 2009, Mr Josh Elder, an award-winning graphic novelist and nationally syndicated cartoonist had formed "Reading with Pictures", a non-profit organization that advocates the use of comics to promote literacy and improve educational outcomes. He shared that he was one who succeeded in his learning through comics reading.

As the son of a single working mother, he recalled having to wait in line for government-issued cheese and faced a future where success seemed anything but certain. "I was one of those kids that shouldn't have made it," he says. Elder also had a difficult time in school -- not so much with comprehension (his IQ tested off the charts), but with finding relevance in his studies. All of that began to change when his teachers encouraged his passion for reading comics. "When they saw that I was reading so much on my own, they didn't try to stop me," Elder says. "They let me go."

He eventually found greater meaning in learning other disciplines, like psychology and history, to cultivate his blossoming interest in storytelling. "Comics made my educational process so fundamentally different, enhanced my prospects so significantly that I feel I had to share that with other people," he says. "It isn't fair that I benefitted from this and other people don't."

Comics That Make Kids Smarter

For the very reasons that comics have helped him, Elder is passionate about ''Reading With Pictures". The first major volume, Comics That Make Kids Smarter, was released through Andrews McMeel Publishing with the help of some of the greatest creative talents in comics and visual literacy which addresses topics in social studies, math, language arts, and science.

Each chapter is aligned to comply with Common Core Standards, and the teacher's guide is chock full of detailed lesson plans. I’m fond of Solution Squad: Primer, an adventure story about a team of teenage heroes whose powers are based on mathematical concepts. The lesson plan reads:

Caught in a deathtrap in which the only means of escape is solving a prime number puzzle, the team creates a list of prime numbers using a prime number sieve to crack the alphanumeric code and catch their archenemy, The Poser. Students will read and discuss part of the comic as a group and solve the encoded message alongside the heroes.

Reading With Pictures engages education experts like Tracy Edmunds -- an author, editor, curriculum developer, and comics enthusiast -- to contribute the interesting comic contents in the book.

Edmunds believes in the power of comics and graphic novels as educational tools, which require readers to not only receive information passively, but also interact with the text and images to construct meaning.

"That is the key to the magic," Edmunds says. "The immediacy of comics can also take what students may think of as 'boring' subject matter and make it interesting and motivating. The lesson plans we developed help teachers take advantage of the power of comics to teach every subject."

Up, Up, and Away

In addition to his contributions to "Reading With Pictures", Elder also serves as an ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, using comics to help students in Belarus and Chile cultivate a greater interest in reading, writing, and storytelling.

In America, Elder hopes to start a similar program through Reading With Pictures. "The biggest challenge is getting students to pay attention in the first place, getting them to care," he says. "Comics are a way to do that. We need to use every trick that we can to keep them involved and engaged."

In the meantime, Elder continues to make appearances at education conferences and comic conventions around the country, promoting his organization and the power of learning through comics. Eventually, he hopes to release an entire series of standards-oriented comic products, each geared to specific subjects.

"We're a toolkit, and I want people to do as much with that toolkit as they can, because that's where you make a real change," Elder says.

Blogging in the 21st-Century Classroom

Ever since I started blogging, I find that it is a great way to practise writing. Hence, I strongly believe that introducing blogging to students can instil writing interest in them and help them to improve their writing.

From my brief blogging experience, I do have a little sense of achievement when I see the rising of the page view statistics of my blog and the occasional reader comments raised. My interest in maintaining and writing this blog naturally grows as I receive more of such positive responses.

As I browse through educational website, Edutopia on this subject, I realised that classroom blogging is indeed used by a High School teacher, Ms Michelle Lampinen, NBCT  in one of her classes and has achieved amazing results too!

Below are the reasons cited by Ms Michelle Lampinen:

Blogging Gives Students an Audience

It is often a real challenge to get young students to sit down and write - an activity most youngsters dread as it's a 'no-fun' activity, boring and to a certain extent, mind-blogging. Primary school students are at the age where they really need authentic reasons to write as they really need motivation. A blog is a way to see work in print and have a truly authentic purpose. It means that people other than their teacher will be reading their work. When they realised that their writing can attract comments from strangers online, they got the incentive to revise their work before they can post them online.

When the articles written by these children are reviewed in class, an atmosphere of excitement is created and everyone is propel to "join in the fun", thereby developing an interest for blog writing naturally and their writing skills improved unconsciously.

The most rewarding part of blogging is seeing the page view statistics rising and positive comments pouring in to show their appreciation of the writing piece. Knowing that someone out there has been reading your writing and liked it is the greatest motivation ever!
 

Skill and Enthusiasm

The real power of blogging, the greatest benefit in writing for a blog, goes not to the audience but rather to the writer. It is in the very act of writing, the preparation of the content you are going to share, that the benefit is found.

Writing is a reflective process, and the creation of content you're going to share causes you to work hard to make your thinking clear. An audience creates anxiety, and appropriate levels of anxiety support our best efforts. And the best writing calls for our best thinking.

In the process of formulating my blog post, I have figured out the real value of what I really believe about the topic of universal blogging. I have a better understanding of my own thinking because I have stopped moving, thought, written, revised, thought, written, revised, and finally edited.

Would I have taken the time and put out the effort to do this if I was not writing for my blog? Let's be honest. Probably not. The blog is the taskmaster, the responsibility that not only provides the audience but also asks for my input.

Through classroom blogging, student writing has improved by leaps and bounds. When she read her students' blogs (which, by the way, are mature, insightful, funny and engaging), she does not find herself pulling her hair out over the careless mistakes they make in formal papers. Not every post is perfect, but the majority are well written and free of grammar and usage issues that are familiar with seeing in their other work. If they become sloppy, all she needs to do is to politely comment about it on their blog, and the mistakes never appear again!

Their improved skills transfer to formal work. Integrating quotations in literary papers has become simple now that we have so much practice with smoothly embedding hyperlinks. Additionally, student response to texts has improved; some of the posts they must write are based on stimulus texts of their choice.

Students' persuasive writing is improving, too. A mini-lesson and quick in-class prompt has resulted not only in well-argued blog posts but also in students excitedly telling how they can use that technique to perform a persuasive task.

Benefits extend beyond the classroom. Introverted students tend to share more online than they do in person; blogging is an invaluable way to get to know them better as people and students. It's also great to see reserved students garnering attention from their peers. Furthermore, students understand the importance of hearing many voices. One recently noted that she enjoys the blogs because "some of the quieter folks during discussion can talk about their opinions too, so we finally get to hear them."

Less Agonizing Pain

It’s no secret that students value an authentic audience for their writing. Some of the favourable feedback are as follows:

• "It forces me to write. I usually try to write a couple times a month on my own but that is pushed to the side when I have too much homework."
• "It is a good way to have us write without it being formal or full of pressure. I also like the fact that I have control over what I write about, and that definitely makes the assignment easier."
• (my personal favourite) "I don't like any assignments in general. However, I feel like the loose nature of the structure of the assignment makes it less agonizingly painful to do than most other assignments."

Hence, I believe that encouraging students to blog about topics from other classes helps them see connections among subjects and realize that writing is a worthwhile skill in any field.

Common mistakes that prevent success

I have got back to my job for almost one month now. Besides re-adjusting myself to working in the office, I find myself once again expose to inevitable straits of human behaviour that often hinder our smooth road to success! 
 

If we want to find enduring success and fulfillment, we’ll need to grow and mature. We can’t act like innocent kids and expect others to succumb to our desires and fancies, right?

In this article, I have listed out six ways that we often subconsciously behave like big kids, and hence prevent ourselves from becoming successful.

Here are the six common mistakes that grown-ups make:

1. You do what you feel like doing, instead of what you ought to do.

When kids don’t want to sleep, you can’t force them to.
When kids refuse to eat a certain type of food, you can’t force them to.
When kids are bored of playing with a particular toy, you can’t force them to be interested in it.
In other words, kids do what they feel like doing.

Many grown-ups are like that too. They do what they feel like doing: watch YouTube videos for hours on end, use social media obsessively, or eat too much junk food. The list goes on.
They lack the discipline to do what they ought to: fulfill their responsibilities, work hard, honour their parents, etc.

No one’s perfect. But if we want to lead a meaningful life, we must have a sense of duty and commitment in the areas that matter.

2. You frequently complain, and rarely express gratitude.

Despite sacrificing my career for my son by staying home intermittently to take care of his needs, he never said “thank you”. In fact, he view it as something I ought to do as his mother.

I’ve noticed that some grown-ups aren’t thankful either, no matter how comfortable their life is. Somehow, they always manage to find something to complain about, whether it’s the weather, their spouse, their boss, or the government.

I’m not saying that we should never complain, but I am saying that we should cultivate a grateful spirit, not a complaining one.  After all, gratitude is the foundation of happy relationships and a happy life.

3. You allow your circumstances to dictate your mood.

When my son had a bad day in school, he would suck and keep to himself, ignoring everything and everyone else around him.  However, when he receives his birthday present, he will start to sing praises to everyone he sees!

Many grown-ups are like this too. If they’ve had a good day, and had enough sleep, and had a nice meal – they’ll be cheerful. But if things haven’t gone their way, or if they’re tired or hungry – they’ll be irritable and snappy.

If we want to find long-term happiness, however, we need to realise that happiness is a choice. We can choose to be joyful, regardless of our circumstances, not because of them.

4. You have a sense of entitlement.

Every day, my son behaves as if his parents owes him everything and he is entitled to all that we have given him, never say a word of thanks to us and expects more and more to be given to him each day!

Some adults also have a sense of entitlement. They believe that the government owes them a living, or that their parents should still support them financially, or that their spouse exists to make them happy.

The truth is, we’re entitled to very few things in life, if at all. If we have a sense of entitlement, we’re unlikely to be contented and happy.

5. You don’t manage your emotions well.

Much as kids let the circumstances they are in affect their mood and emotions, they are often not in a position to manage their emotions too.

When my son gets bullied in school, he brings his bad emotions back and start to throw tantrums at home as if the entire world owe him an apology!

Many grown-ups don’t manage their emotions well either. They lash out when they’re frustrated, and speak unkind words when they’re angry.

We all get upset once in a while, but if we don’t make an intentional effort to discipline our emotions and actions, we’ll damage a lot of relationships along the way.

6. You believe that you’re the centre of the universe.

My son seems to believe that his parents are there to provide everything for him no matter how much effort and inconvenience that will cost us. Neither does he show concern for our needs.

But some adults subconsciously believe that they’re the centre of the universe too. They continually focus on their needs, their feelings, their desires, and their rights. Because of their self-centredness, they find it hard to show respect for others and to be socially responsible.

It’s tempting to think self-centred thoughts, so this is an area I’m working on myself. But we must remind ourselves that a meaningful life is one that’s focused on others.

The bottom line

Kids are adorable, and they really are a bundle of joy.

But as we get older, we must ensure that we’re not behaving like big kids who haven’t actually grown up. I’m confident that as we mature, we will naturally learn to master the following traits:

1. Do what we ought to
2. Cultivate a spirit of gratitude
3. Choose to have a good attitude

4. Eliminate our sense of entitlement

5. Manage our emotions
6. Focus on the needs of others
… we’ll find the success and fulfillment we’re looking for.

Success and Perfectionism

 

Being a self-proclaimed perfectionist, I was particularly attracted to an online article on the setbacks of perfectionism. In this article, the author opined that to achieve success in life, you don’t have to be Amazing Amy. You don’t even have to be Alright Amy. The internal pressure to be perfect, to look and act just right, can actually hold you back. In fact, experts are finding that perfectionists succeed despite the desire to make everything perfect, not because of it. So stop being so hard on yourself.

They have identified six ways that perfectionism can sabotage you—and how to beat it back.

Problem #1: It Can Make You Sick

The pressure you put on yourself to be error-free can take a toll on your health. According to a Trinity Western University study published in the Journal of Health Psychology, those with the highest need for perfection “ran a 51% increased risk of earlier death” as compared to participants with low perfectionism scores.

The reason? The stress you feel to excel can raise levels of hormones like cortisol. Chronically elevated levels of cortisol cause everything from heart disease to memory impairment, says the Mayo Clinic.

The Fix: Admit You’re a Perfectionist

“A perfectionist’s response to stress is actually to work even harder, so they may get headaches and feel tired a lot,” says Emma-Louise Elsey, certified professional coach and owner of Life Coach On The Go!

The first step is recognizing the problem (sound familiar?)—so pay attention to your feelings. If you can put down your work fairly easily, then it’s probably not perfectionistic behavior.  “However, if you feel compelled, tense, tightly wound, or grumpy, then that’s a sign that perfectionism has taken over.” Once you recognize the signs, step away from the computer.

Problem #2: It Can Make You Depressed

Perfectionists aren’t riding high in pursuit of flawlessness. Actually, they’re much more susceptible to serious mental issues like depression, says American Psychological Association research.
When University of Florida researchers assessed the mindsets of subjects identified as perfectionists, they found many more “maladaptive” characteristics. Subjects experienced more self-criticism and a deep sense of failure that undermined much of the pride an impeccable project should foster.

The Fix: Make Mistakes

What? Yes! Screwing up is actually good for you. It’s called exposure therapy (neat, right?) and Kirri White, life coach and owner of Kirri White Coaching, highly recommends it. Make small errors on purpose at times and then don’t fix them. Gasp!

You’ll see that those small errors, such as leaving a grammatically correct comma out of an email, don’t undermine the whole project—and that’s okay.

Problem #3: You Don’t Know When to Pivot

Do you have a hard time giving up and trying something new? “Beware of ‘all or nothing’ thinking,” says Elsey. The tendency to think that anything short of perfect is a failure can cause you to miss out on amazing opportunities.

By trading that feeling of negativity for a healthy dose of optimism, you may actually discover solutions in another direction that you never noticed before.

The Fix: Be Open to Change

When things aren’t going your way, ask, What can I learn?
“Knowing when to hold on and when to let go is wisdom,” says Elsey. When you experience a setback, Elsey recommends asking, “What is the wise thing to do here?” That way, you can pivot in a more successful direction.

Problem #4: You’re Difficult to Work (or Live) With

When your hopes are sky high, it’s not a surprise that you project these same expectations on those around you. But in reality, this kind of pressure on colleagues (and loved ones) can backfire. When you raise the bar beyond a realistic reach, it can make others uncomfortable.

“Organizations are all about relationships, and perfectionism can harm your career,” says Elsey. “When looking for someone to promote, companies look for results. But they also want someone they and others feel comfortable with.”

The Fix: Trust Others More

Learn to embrace good enough. “Perfectionists find it difficult to delegate, so they micromanage and nitpick,” says Elsey. Who cares if the dishwasher isn’t loaded the “right” way? At least it’s loaded.
When you pull back and relinquish some control to colleagues, subordinates, friends, and family, you’ll find they will meet your expectations in surprising ways. And you might even discover that their way of doing things works just fine too.

Problem #5: You Procrastinate

Have a hard time getting started on something new? Interestingly, there’s a link between those who seek to be flawless and those who have a hard time completing work. The reason? “Many perfectionists spend inordinate amounts of time preparing,” explains White. The fear of failure can run so deep that it hinders your ability to start a project.

The Fix: Set Priorities

Rearrange your priorities, says Elsey, so perfect doesn’t come first. Elsey recommends using Pareto’s Principle, also known as the 80-20 rule. “Pareto said that we spend 20% of our time doing 80% of the work, then the remaining 80% of the time on 20% of the work.”

When you find time is getting away from you because you’re fixating on one detail, step back and ask yourself, “Is this important enough?” “If you’re not sure, ask your bosses,” adds Elsey. “I’m sure they will have an opinion.”


Problem #6: You Don’t Try New Things

When you’re preoccupied with being perfect, you may avoid situations that can make you look bad. This means passing on opportunities and experiences that may have been worth the effort—even if you’re not the standout in the crowd. “The perfectionist is always trying so hard to get it right and get it right the first time,” explains White.

The Fix: Treat Everything Like a Rough Draft

“My favorite tip is to encourage approaching life as a draft copy and to be more welcoming of mistakes,” says White. “This means reminding ourselves that we usually have more than one chance to get it right, we are always able to improve, and we can learn and evolve as we go along. If we do mess up our draft, it means nothing more than we are fallible human beings.”

So go to that karaoke bar with your colleagues, even if you can’t carry a tune. Flaws can be fabulous!

Life is a Gift, Cherish It!

Life is a gift, cherish it! The world is such a beautiful place and we ought to thank god for bringing us here to enjoy the many wonderful things it has to offer!

I have always felt that it is a privilege to be alive and breathing when I wake up every morning to see the sun rising up from the east and a new day beginning.

There is so much for us to learn, explore, enjoy and share with our loved ones and so much to be grateful of. Every life on earth is a wonderful story with their unique experiences and new inventions are constantly created to improve the place we live in. For better or for worse, this world is what its inhabitants have made it out to be!

The entire universe is filled with living things, the trees, flowers, birds, fishes, elephants and tigers, humans and the list goes on and on ...... Each one of these creatures mentioned has a life of its own and is enjoying every bit of their lives in their own way.

Hence, all of us should be thankful for the opportunity to enter this beautiful world (earth planet) to see, hear, smell, touch and taste all the things made abundant for us which aren't even available elsewhere on other planets (god knows!) Enjoy!

Are we becoming unhappy in the pursuit of happiness?

      

Over the past 50 years, we’ve made tremendous economic progress. But our overall happiness levels haven’t progressed at the same rate, even though there have been recent improvements.

(Of course, we could have a long debate about how accurate these happiness studies are, given that happiness is difficult to both define and measure.)

I’ve had the privilege of speaking to and working with close to 15,000 people on topics related to happiness and success. Through these interactions, it’s become clear to me that people pursue happiness with a passion, but that the majority haven’t found the fulfillment they’re looking for. This is despite the fact that they’ve achieved many of their goals and have made progress in different areas of their lives.

Based on my own life experiences, I can say for certain that realising your goals, on its own, doesn't lead to enduring happiness.

Goals are useful, but we need to be clear about why we’re setting them in the first place.
I’m sure you have all sorts of goals, as do I.

What job title you want to have.
How much money you want to make.
What car you want to drive.
What kind of vacations you want to go on.
Maybe even what you want your family life to be like.
But have you ever paused to think about why we like setting goals so much?

“If you’re not happy now, you won’t be happy because of money”

Goals give us hope, something to look forward to. And when we achieve our goals we feel good about ourselves, which increases our self-esteem.

In addition, if we know where we want to go in the long term, then goals serve as markers to guide us to that final destination.

At the heart of it, we believe that by realising our goals, we’ll be happy.

But this article, written by someone who made $15 million before he was 30 years old, highlights the fact that this belief is flawed, especially when our goals are focused on material wealth.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Most people hold the illusion that if only they had more money, their life would be better and they would be happier. Then they get rich, and that doesn’t happen, and it can throw them into a serious life crisis.

If you’re part of the middle class, you have just as many opportunities to do with your life what you want of it. If you’re not happy now, you won’t be happy because of money.

Whether you’re rich or not, make your life what you want it to be, and don’t use money as an excuse. Go out there, get involved, be active, pursue your passion, and make a difference.” (emphasis mine)

How to achieve meaningful goals, not just more goals

Your attitude and choices determine your happiness much more than your wealth—or number of goals accomplished—does.

Goals are a means of attempting bigger things, so that you can become a bigger person who’s able to serve others more effectively.

We need to focus on achieving meaningful goals, not just on achieving more goals.  This is a challenging task, because we live in a culture of “more”:

• More money
• More time
• More benefits
• More food
• More holidays
• More houses
• More education
• More Facebook friends
• More Twitter followers
• More projects
• More profit

But we need to realise that more isn’t always better; sometimes less is better.

It’s better to have one good pair of shoes than it is to have 20 pairs of poorly made shoes that give you blisters every time you wear them.

In the same way, it’s better to lead a simple life with less “stuff” than it is to become overwhelmed by trying to do more, achieve more and accumulate more.

Are you reacting to the urgent or investing in the important?

If we’re obsessed with “more”, we’ll end up reacting to the urgent, instead of investing in the important.

For example, what if your boss asks you to work late to finish writing a report, but that would mean that you’d miss your monthly family dinner?

Most of us, myself included, would find it hard to say no to the boss.

Her request seems so urgent, and—if you were to say no—you might get a less satisfactory year-end appraisal.

At the same time, you know that your family will forgive you for missing the dinner. You could convince yourself that it’s not a big deal. After all, you’ll be there at next month’s family dinner.

You don’t “have” to do anything

In these kinds of situations, it can often feel as if we have no choice but to give in to the boss’ demands.

But we need to remind ourselves that we do have a choice, even if it doesn’t seem like it. There are no perfect solutions. There are only choices and trade-offs.

No matter what dilemma we’re faced with, we have the power to choose.

We don’t have to go along with the crowd.
We don’t have to choose the urgent over the important.
We don’t have to choose the easy option, if it isn’t the better one.
We don’t have to get sucked into the culture of “more”.

It might not feel this way, especially if your friends are working around the clock in an attempt to “get ahead”. And they’re constantly talking about buying a bigger home. And they’re obsessed about enrolling their children in the most exclusive schools and tuition centres.
But you can make simple choices like…

• Stop hanging out with people who are a negative influence on you
• Reading books that inspire and empower you
• Thinking positive thoughts and speaking positive words
• Deciding what values and principles you want to live by
• Defining success for yourself, instead of allowing others to define it for you

Think different, act different, be different

At the end of the day, it’s about choosing to lead a great life, not just a mediocre or good one.
I’m not referring to greatness in terms of material wealth, although it could include that. I’m talking about leading a life of great service, great contribution, great attitude, great commitment, great kindness, and great depth of relationships.

I know I still have a long way to go in building a great life, but it’s a journey we’re on together.
The meaningful pursuit of happiness isn’t about chasing after a positive feeling or a temporary high. It’s about making the daily choice to think different, act different and be different from the crowd.

Let’s choose carefully, so that we won’t become unhappy in the pursuit of happiness.

Happiness makes people more productive

Happiness makes people more productive at work, according to the latest research from the University of Warwick.

Economists carried out a number of experiments to test the idea that happy employees work harder. In the laboratory, they found happiness made people around 12% more productive. Professor Andrew Oswald, Dr Eugenio Proto and Dr Daniel Sgroi from the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick led the research.

This is the first causal evidence using randomized trials and piece-rate working. The study, to be published in the Journal of Labor Economics, included four different experiments with more than 700 participants.

During the experiments a number of the participants were either shown a comedy movie clip or treated to free chocolate, drinks and fruit. Others were questioned about recent family tragedies, such as bereavements, to assess whether lower levels of happiness were later associated with lower levels of productivity.

Professor Oswald said: "Companies like Google have invested more in employee support and employee satisfaction has risen as a result. For Google, it rose by 37%, they know what they are talking about. Under scientifically controlled conditions, making workers happier really pays off."
Dr Sgroi added: "The driving force seems to be that happier workers use the time they have more effectively, increasing the pace at which they can work without sacrificing quality."

Dr Proto said the research had implications for employers and promotion policies. He said: "We have shown that happier subjects are more productive, the same pattern appears in four different experiments. This research will provide some guidance for management in all kinds of organizations, they should strive to make their workplaces emotionally healthy for their workforce."

Think yourself happy! Is becoming happier as easy as trying to become happier? The latest research by two US academics suggests it might be.

In the first study, two sets of participants listened to 'happy' music. Those who actively tried to feel happier reported the highest level of positive mood afterwards. In the second study, participants listened to a range of 'positive' music over a two-week period; those who were instructed to focus on improving their happiness experienced a greater increase in happiness than those who were told just to focus on the music.

What seems to have made one group so much happier than the other in their respective studies was a combination of actively trying to become happier and using the right methods – in this case, listening to happy music.

Ferguson and Sheldon's important findings challenge earlier studies suggesting that actually trying to become happier was, in fact, counterproductive. "The results suggest that without trying, individuals may not experience higher positive changes in their well-being," stated the report. "Thus, practitioners and individuals interested in happiness interventions might consider the motivational mindset as an important facet of improving well-being." And that's definitely something worth thinking about.

The importance of Customer Experience Management

Today’s customers are more demanding and less forgiving than ever before.

96% of unhappy customers don’t complain and 91% of those will simply leave and never come back.

For businesses to create deeper, meaningful and empathetic customer connect,  it is indispensable to experience their brands as their consumers do to determine every possible way to make the product or service experience better, more pleasant, more human, and more productive.  This is possible only when every brand carefully analyzes every touch point throughout the customer journey - before, during, and after purchase.

Getting the Touch-Point Analysis Right. First Time. Every Time.

Any organization that performs touch-point analysis with utmost care, can uncover powerful customer insights as well as opportunities to improve how well customer-segment needs and wants can be met.

Establishing a Cause and Effect Relationship between Each of the Customer Actions

Human experience is complex, and mostly intangible. Several companies that do touch-point mapping exceptionally well, establish a cause and effect relationship between all the customer actions to arrive at a deep and meaningful understanding of each engagement.

Piecing together the bigger picture of why and how customers are interacting at various touch-points can help in delivering a predictive and proactive experience. The questions listed below can drive meaningful insights about customer behavior at each touch point.

Context and Device

What are the devices used for engaging with the brand and how best can you leverage all the contextual data gathered by the device, such as time and location?

Engagement channel 

Which is the actual site or media through which the customer first engaged? (Email/Social/Website/Paid Ad/SMS).

Touch-point sequence

How did the customer progress through the buying journey? What and where did the customer stop before and after engaging at each touch point?

Content consumed / action taken

What are the various content viewed/clicked/downloaded by the customer?

Time elapsed between each engagement

What is the time frame of each engagement, and the time elapsed between each activity and between activity and inactivity?

Finally, spot the touch-point that can trigger emotional connect.

Touch points with high volumes of customer interaction and those that can evoke strong emotions in customers turn into loyal advocates and will be ever willing to spend with the brand even if meaningful and available alternatives are presented.

Here are a few examples of the brands that have capitalized on this very fact to create a steadfast advantage over the competition.

Case In Point

PayPal’s Customer Effort Score

In the E-commerce industry, reducing customer friction is extremely important. Every extra second the website takes to load, costs you a customer. Reports suggests that even just a 1 second delay in page load time could reduce conversions by 7%. If that increases to 2 seconds, you’re looking at an abandonment rate of 40%.

PayPal was one of the early players to realize and act on optimizing this particular customer touch point.  And the result? Well, a $2 billion increase in transactions. Now that’s quite a big win!

 

Starbucks

So, how is Starbucks keeping pace with competition even now? Simple, personalization at every touch point and their ability to cater to each individual customer as a segment on its own. The “My Starbucks Rewards” and the loyalty mobile apps was a great step towards customer delight.

By optimizing the mobile touch point with a killer mobile app, Starbucks saw a whopping 4 million dollar mobile payments every week.

Tesco’s Social media strategy to show they care

Tesco like any other retail giant, has a myriad of touch points. Tesco has always been right by their customer’s side to assist them at every step.

The most remarkable is Tesco’s efficient use of Twitter as a customer service channel. Tesco uses Twitter really well for social customer service. Tesco is able to build a stronger relationship with customers by connecting at a personal level by adding a bit of humor to every interaction.