Three Simple Steps to Making Your Children More Articulate
09 February 2017
Being able to express your thoughts in an eloquent manner is pretty darn important for being successful in life. Not everyone is going to be a champion orator, but that doesn't mean that they can't be better at speaking, whether it's just simple conversation, or in public.
Just take a look at almost every single job description you can find. Most of them, from entry level to executive, have a requirement that reads some variation of:
"Excellent written and verbal communication skills"
That's no accident. In the real world, being able to carry on intelligent, thoughtful conversation is critical to excelling in most professions.
So start working with them early. Here are a few simple tips for encouraging growth in your child's conversational skills:
Pro Tip: Play Mad Libs, but add a rule that they can't use the same words twice. They'll be forced to find new ways to express similar sentiments. Usually poop and fart related sentiments, but it's a good exercise nonetheless. (Hey, and it IS funny. Lighten up.)
Bonus Dad Joke:Q: What type of dinosaur knows the most words? A: The Thesaurus.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.