Erik Erikson s Theory Of Psychology - 1365 Words

Introduction Erik Erikson has made a contribution to the field of psychology with his developmental theory. He is a German psychoanalyst. Erikson said that humans develop throughout the life span. Erikson developed eight psychosocial theory stages that humans encounter throughout their life. According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve subsequent crises. Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore an unhealthier personality and sense of self. The first stage, Trust vs. Mistrust, occurs from birth to one year. Erikson defined trust as an essential trustfulness of others as well as a fundamental sense of one s own trustworthiness. He thought that an infant who gets fed when he or she is hungry and comforted when he needs comforting will develop trust. He al so said that some mistrust is necessary to learn to discriminate between honest and dishonest persons. If mistrust wins over trust in this stage, the child will be frustrated, withdrawn, suspicious, and will lack self-confidence. The second stage, Autonomy vs. Shame Doubt, occurs between ages two and three. During this period, it is important that the parents create a supportive atmosphere in which the child can develop a sense of self-control without a loss of self-esteem. Shame and doubtShow MoreRelatedErik Erikson s Theory Of Psychology760 Words   |  4 PagesErik Erikson was a well-known 20th century psychologist who made various contributions to the field of psychology. He was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany. His unnamed Danish biological father abandoned Erik’s mother before he was born. Erik was raised by his mother, Karla Abrahamsen, for the first three years and she married Dr. Theodor Homberger in 1905. His mother and stepfather raised him and Erik to ok his stepfather’s name, Erik Abrahamsen. Erik had blond hair, blue eyes, and NordicRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Mcadams 1154 Words   |  5 Pagesand narrative approaches that recent researcher and theories have apply to understand human behavior. This article integrates recent theories and researchers of life stories as illustrated the investigation of self-understanding, personal memory, personality structure and change, and the relations between the personal lives and cultural. The article provides a numerous of psychologist stories and the contributions they have made in the psychology fields. McAdams, 1985 has argued that personal lifeRead MoreErik Erikson s Stages Of Development1608 Words   |  7 Pages The Psychosocial Development The View on Erik H. Erikson s Stages of Development Frank Phan Cosumnes River College Psychology 300 Abstract This paper will touch over the aspects of Erik H Erickson s eight stages and how they affect everyday lives from infancy to adulthood. The paper will go over the approximate ages and the psychosocial crisis that they will eventually come to. Neglecting a child can lead to a cause of mental negligence in the form of Arrested Development. Within differentRead MoreEarly Life Experiences Impact The Person Across Their Lifespan930 Words   |  4 PagesPiaget theory ‘Stages of cognitive development’ (1936) and Erik Erikson theory ‘Psychosocial stages’ (1950). Piaget argued that children develop knowledge by constructing their experience and observe with their own ideas about how the thing works.(Burton, L.J., Westen, d. Kowalski, R.M. 2015) He developed 4 stages of his theory: Sensorimotor Stage, Preoperational Stage, Concrete Operational Stage and Formal Operational Stage. At the same time, Erik Erikson proposed a psychoanalytic theory of psychosocialRead More Sigmund Freud And Erik Erikson1110 Words   |  5 Pagespredominantly attained by parents of children with emotional problems 70- 80 decades ago. The discontinuous psychosexual and psychosocial theory takes place in stages in one course moving through drives that are biological along with societal expectations (Berk, 2013). The contributions to this perspective include both Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. Freud examined psychosexual theory and how those first childhood years of drives shape the personality. Thus, such drive names are the id, ego, and superego. TheRead MoreErik Erikson s Theory Of Psychosocial Development Essay1177 Words   |  5 Pages Erik Erikson was born in Greman in 1902-1994, American psychoanalyst; known for psychosocial theory of emotional development of human beings. His theory looks at the impact of parents and society on personality development from childhood to adulthood. Erikson believes, each person has to pass through a series of eight stages over there entire life cycle. I will look at the first 3 stages that cover the childhood years. There are set of conflict at each stage, which allows individual to developRead MoreErikson s Psychosocial Theory And Psychosocial Development1561 Words   |  7 PagesTheories and Theorists Theories are the building blocks of psychology. Theories whether old or new has allowed us to know what we know now. There are many theories in the field of psychology or educational psychology that are important to further understand human behavior. However, this paper will focus on only two theories which are; Erikson’s psychosocial theory and Alfred Adler’s Adlerian theory. Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development has always been a great contribution to the field of psychologyRead MoreDifference Between Freud vs. Erikson Essay1023 Words   |  5 Pagesbetween Freud vs. Erikson ENG 121 Difference between Freud vs. Erikson In this essay, I am going to compare and contrast two famous theorists Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud. I will be talking about each of these theorists and their famous theories of psychosocial and psychosexual, since they both are well known development theories. I will provide enough information about both and explain the differences of each, as well. First off, Freud had inspired Erickson who had theories that were in a numberRead MoreDevelopmental Psychologist Erik Erikson s Stages Of Psychosocial Development1729 Words   |  7 PagesDevelopmental psychologist Erik Erikson changed the way that people viewed the psychosocial development in humans throughout their lifespan. Using the foundation provided by Freud’s psychosexual stages, he modified the concepts to where they demonstrated external impacts on development as well as making it more about emotional conflicts than necessarily physical drives. This eight-stage theory is sequential, and requires the person to overcome conflicts in each stage to become a productive memberRead MoreThe Theory Of Human Behavior1360 Words   |  6 Pagescomprehension of who we are as human beings is still extensively researched due to our constant adaptive natures. Due to the frequent changes in our concepts and identities, psychology attempts to explain the processes and outcomes. Interestingly, the study of human behavior is still highly influenced by numerous psychologists such as Freud, Erikson, Skinner, Jung, James, Wundt, and Klein, just to name a few. There have been copious psychologists of late that assiduously developed our understanding of who we

Essay on Descartes Dream Argument - Philosophy - 1406 Words

How do we know we are not dreaming some particular experience we are having, or we are not dreaming all our experience of this world? When we dream we imagine things happening often with the same sense of reality as we do when we are awake. In Descartes dream argument, he states there are no reliable signs distinguishing sleeping from waking. In his dream argument, he is not saying we are merely dreaming all of what we experience, nor, is he saying we can distinguish dreaming from being awake. I think his point is we cannot be for sure what we experience as being real in this world is actually real. When Descartes remembers occasions when he is dreaming, he falsely believes he is awake. Reflecting on this, Descartes thinks he cannot†¦show more content†¦The last step in Descartes argument says if he cannot tell whether he is dreaming, then how can he trust any of his senses telling him about the environment? To know anything about the external world on the basis of his sensory experiences, it seems like Descartes would have to know those experiences are not all just a dream: 4. To know anything about the external world on the basis or your sensory experiences, you have to know that you are not dreaming. I believe the things in my dreams must have been patterned after real things. So, even if I might be dreaming now, I know the world has colors, things that take up space, have shape, quantity, and a place in space and time. Now if you pull premises 1-4 together, we get the result of the conclusion: 5. Therefore, you can’t know anything about the external world based on your sensory experiences. In an interpretation of Descartes Dream Argument, premise 1 supports premise two and premise 3a and 3b support premise 4. So let us take a look at premise 2, 4, and the conclusion. This looks like the valid inference rule, such as modus ponens. P ïÆ'   Q P__________ Therefore, Q However, that is not what is exactly happening in the dream argument. For premise 4 says to know you would have to know you are not dreaming. But premise 3 says you cannot know you are dreaming. In order for Modus Ponens argument to work, it would have to contain the premise: â€Å"I know I am dreaming.† Since Descartes cannot actuallyShow MoreRelatedThe Dream Argument by Rene Descartes Essay1008 Words   |  5 Pagesfamous arguments, from his not only from his first meditation but all of the meditations, is his Dream Argument. Descartes believes that there is no way to be able to distinguish being in awake from being in a state of dreaming. In fact you could actually be in a dream right now. Rene Descartes’s theory that one is unable distinguish being awake from dreaming, as interesting as it is, can be at times a little farfetched, along with a few contradictions to himself, Descartes’s dream argument does notRead MoreDescartes : The Father Of Modern Philo sophy1055 Words   |  5 Pagesthe fact that I am something.† (Descartes, â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy,† 182) Rene Descartes is widely considered the father of modern philosophy. He created many new ideas about the self, which is something that has been contested since the dawn of philosophy. Even now, the world is nowhere near a unified thought on the soul. Descartes is most famous for addressing this, and is often summarized by the famous â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum (I think, therefore I am)†Descartes offers a great deal of importantRead MoreOn My Way670 Words   |  3 PagesRenà © Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. He was arguably known as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Descartes published many works of mathematics and philosophy throughout his life. In one of his most important works, Meditations on First Philosophy, he added a number of arguments for and against skepticism. Skepticism is the doubt about the truth of something and that absolute knowledge is not possible. Like past famous philosophers before him, Plato and ParmenidesRead MoreCri tique of Descartes Dream Argument Essay examples1527 Words   |  7 PagesLogan McKitrick Philosophy 101 14 November 2008 Critique of Descartes’ Dream Argument Descartes has written a set of six meditations on the first philosophy. In these meditations he analyzes his beliefs and questions where those beliefs were derived from. The first mediation of Descartes discusses his skeptical hypotheses; questioning the validity of the influences of his knowledge. He has a few main goals that are expressed through the first meditation. First off, Descartes wants to buildRead MoreDescartes: A Paradigm Shift in Philosophical Thinking Essay1574 Words   |  7 Pages Descartes, often referred to as the â€Å"father of modern philosophy,† solidified his foundational role in abstract thinking with his work â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy.† This piece sought to prove the existence of God, as well as provide a criticism of our epistemic standards and values. By undergoing a thought experiment that involved a form of methodological skepticism, Descartes attempted to analyze his beliefs from a clean surface, to see how m any of his typical thoughts and beliefsRead MorePhilosophy: Questions on Descartes Principles740 Words   |  3 PagesPHIL1500: MAJOR ISSUES IN PHILOSOPHY BARUCH COLLEGE, CUNY, SPRING 2013 UNIT #4 QUIZ PART I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. (10 points available; you may justify/explain your answer) ____ In Meditation One, Descartes writes, My reason tells me that as well as withholding assent from propositions that are obviously false, I should also withhold it from ones that are not completely certain and indubitable (p. 1). Which of the following does this quotation express? Principle of Universal Doubt PrincipleRead MoreThe Dream Inside Of A Dream By Christopher Nolan1683 Words   |  7 PagesFinal Paper: Descartes The possibility of having a dream inside of a dream is an idea that has been discussed far and wide. However, before Inception came out in 2010 by director Christopher Nolan, many people in the modern world may not have ever considered this idea. Nonetheless, this idea of â€Å"a dream inside a dream† has been around since 1640, when Rene Descartes published Meditations. In Inception, Christopher Nolan uses Descartes ideas to enhance the storyline of his film. In this paperRead MoreThe On First Philosophy By Rene Descartes1699 Words   |  7 PagesIn his work Meditations on First Philosophy, published in 1641, Renà © Descartes sets out to establish a set of indubitable truths for the sciences. He begins by discarding all of his beliefs, then works to rebuild his beliefs based on careful thought. Descartes clearly states this goal, saying in the First Meditation, â€Å"I will work my way up†¦ I will accomplish this by putting aside everything that admits of the least doubt† (I, 17). He is able to establish his own existence, but struggles to move beyondRead MoreDescartes on the Distinction Between Body and Mind1181 Words   |  5 PagesName Tutor Course Date Descartes Premise for Distinguishing Body and Mind In the Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes discusses the nature of the body and mind. By drawing from three lines of thought, Descartes launches a powerful premise that the body is something distinct from the mind. He conceptualizes his argument by using the uncertainty of knowledge argument, appealing to God’s omnipotence, and describing the indivisibility of the body and mind. Therefore, the purpose of this paperRead MoreMeditations On First Philosophy By Rene Descartes1062 Words   |  5 PagesIn Meditations on First Philosophy, Renà © Descartes philosophies made a substantial advancement in enabling us to understand the world around us by querying many of the Aristotelian doctrines that are still being discussed in philosophy today. He attempts to answer the question; can you fully trust your senses? Descartes uses methodological doubt, which is a process of being skeptical about truths of someone’s belief to revoke from his senses. In Meditation One: Conce rning Those Things That Can Be

Modern Lighting Industries free essay sample

Only six months into his current assignment at Modern Lighting Industries, Inc. MLI), he was starting to worry that his string of previous successes had hit a serious snag. Working for Cardullo had become as confusing, unpredictable, and frustrating as anything he’d ever experienced. When Cardullo, president of MLI, had interviewed Turner and invited him to join the company as vice president for marketing and sales, Turner had found the older man smart, friendly, even charismatic. Cardullo had offered him a free hand in reorganizing the marketing area, and had all but guaranteed that Turner would take over as president within two years. Before long, however, things began to go wrong: Cardullo started to seem distant and critical, and he intervened frequently in marketing decisions, sometimes undermining or even reversing Turner’s decisions. The turnaround Cardullo was attempting to engineer at MLI had stalled, sales were again declining, and things in general were rapidly deteriorating. Turner didn’t know whether to be happy or anxious—or both— when Alan Oliver, the CEO of MLI’s parent company, announced that he would fly in the following week to review the situation. Turner thought it was critical to resolve his differences with Cardullo before Oliver arrived. Hoping to talk things out, he had asked Cardullo to join him for drinks after work, and then for lunch each of the next two days—but Cardullo declined all three invitations and shared lunch with other managers instead. Today Turner planned to approach Cardullo as soon as he came in. Cardullo usually arrived at 9:00 a. m. , which gave Turner almost half an hour to organize his thoughts. Jamie Turner A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Turner had attended Notre Dame and graduated near the top of his class. There are occasional references to actual companies in the narration. Copyright  © 2011 Harvard Business School Publishing. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business Publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. 254 | Jamie Turner at MLI, Inc. awaiting him at Globalbank, he joined Wolf River Paper in Dayton, Ohio, a world class manufacturer and marketer of consumer paper products such as facial and bathroom tissues, paper towels and napkins, and other specialty products. As a rising star in Wolf River’s marketing division, he became product manager for disposable diapers in two years and senior product manager only a year later. By the end of his fifth year, he had doubled his starting salary. Nevertheless, at 30 and single, he felt himself stagnating in product management and started to think about moving on. Launching new products at Wolf River involved applying the same welldefined procedures over and over again. Moreover, with strong hierarchical controls and endless rounds of executive meetings for required approvals, he worried that he had not really tested himself. In fact, he imagined that it would be hard to fail at Wolf River, although the company had recently made a disastrous acquisition which was forcing all subsidiaries into austerity measures and would probably restrict any further advancement opportunities, at least for the near term. Lambowland. com. Turner learned of a senior marketing position at Lambowland. com, a startup Internet-based sports marketing company headquartered in Milwaukee. He signed on as VP for planning and marketing, for a 15% premium over his previous salary plus stock options in the event of an IPO. At first, he relished the challenge and autonomy of his new job—but trouble soon followed. Lambowland fell into a serious cash flow bind, and Turner found himself undertaking a second job search in less than 18 months. Two things about his time at Lambowland still bothered him. First, although he did not consider himself a job hopper, he worried that others might start to see him that way. Second, while he had often felt critical of the late hours and foul language that his coworkers enjoyed (none of whom had graduate degrees), he now began to wonder if he’d been too harsh in his assessments. Perhaps that explained some of the personal animosities he had developed there, which ultimately might have harmed the company’s performance as well as his own. MLI, Inc. A month after leaving Lambowland, Turner met with an executive search consultant who told him about the position at MLI, based outside of Chicago, with fabrication and systems assembly facilities in Illinois, Missouri, and Mexico, and sales and distribution centers in Kansas City and Chicago. A paternalistic, family-owned organization whose lighting products ranged from incandescent and halogen light bulbs to office and warehouse lighting systems and mobile lighting units, MLI had suffered several financial setbacks following the death of its founder, and had recently been acquired by a much larger conglomerate. The acquirer was a large division of $3. 5 billion San Diego-based Specialty Support Services (Triple S), which had a strong history of governmentsupported contracts for military operations and field medical units, and specialty work servicing the petroleum extraction and film industries as well as facilities such as clean rooms for biotech and hightech operations. With peak annual sales of $75 million, MLI was larger and more established than Lambowland, but far smaller and less rigidly organized than Wolf River. MLI urgently needed to fill the new position of vice president of marketing and sales, and the consultant thought he could arrange a 20% salary increase over what Turner had received at Lambowland, plus a 25% bonus if Turner took the job. There was also significant room for advancement: MLI’s new president, Pat Cardullo, wanted someone who could take more responsibility relatively quickly. Turner agreed to meet with Cardullo the following week. 2 BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Jamie Turner at MLI, Inc. | 4254 In repeated assignments with Triple S, the search consultant had developed a close relationship with COO Arthur Lipsky, who was Cardullo’s boss and mentor. After Turner signed a confidentiality agreement, the consultant offered a few other observations for him to consider as he prepared for the interview. First, Cardullo had been the only high-level executive at Triple S to champion the acquisition, which was probably why Cardullo himself was MLI’s president. Cardullo had argued that a large regional lighting distributor such as MLI would provide an alternative commercial channel for selling many of Triple S’s lighting-related systems, such as security lighting, field mobile lighting units, and clean room lighting systems. Cardullo’s relations with some of his peers at Triple S seemed strained, but his strong track record and his close rapport with Lipsky had tipped the balance in favor of adding MLI to Triple S’s business portfolio. Lipsky was in line to take over as CEO when Alan Oliver retired in two years, and Cardullo was widely expected to replace Lipsky as COO. The search advisor added that at MLI, Cardullo seemed to have excellent relationships with his executive assistant, Richard Garcia, and the new controller, Julie Chin, both of whom had come over to MLI from Triple S. In fact, the consultant said he’d recently seen Cardullo, Chin, and Garcia together at a basketball game. Finally, he noted, Turner should be aware that at least one long-time MLI employee—the current VP of operations, Ernie Dennis—saw himself as Cardullo’s likely successor. Signing On. Cardullo interviewed Turner over lunch at Harry Caray’s, a famous steak house in the Chicago Loop. Turner placed him in his mid-fifties, slightly overweight at medium height with heavy jowls and a full head of gray hair. Originally an engineer who had spent much of his career in high-tech companies, Cardullo impressed Turner with his ability to integrate and evaluate large amounts of information. He had a quick sense of humor and seemed genuinely interested in Turner’s background. It seemed strangely unnecessary for Turner to â€Å"score points† with Cardullo during the interview. Turner was surprised to learn that Cardullo was also president of Triple S’s $600 million mobile systems and support group (Exhibit 1 shows a partial organization chart for Triple S). Cardullo explained that he was only acting as steward at MLI until he could find an aggressive, intelligent young manager to take his place within the next 12 to 18 months, and intimated that Turner would be a likely candidate. Without making any specific commitments, the two men agreed to speak again soon. Turner left the restaurant feeling excited and optimistic. He headed for O’Hare and flew out to spend a few days with his parents in Scranton. The search consultant phoned the following week to ask if Turner was still interested in the position, and whether he could come back to Chicago for a company visit. Turner agreed to meet Cardullo at his office the following Monday morning. Turner arrived promptly, and after a brief tour of the facilities the two spent several hours discussing company operations. Turner had done as much research as he could, and was able to conduct a knowledgeable, intelligent discussion. In fact, at times he had the impression that he knew more about the specifics than Cardullo did. Cardullo had also expressed strong opinions about how to run a business. He believed firmly in management by objectives, and stressed the importance of good communication among the top executive team. At the same time, he thought each manager should run his or her own area with minimal help from other functions. He emphasized the importance of the controller as guardian of the company’s assets, and the need for efficiency and inventory control in production.

Legislative Framwork in Health and Social Care Setting Essay Sample free essay sample

There are a big figure of statute laws in topographic point to regulate the wellness safety and hazard direction in a school environment. below I have listed and explained how it is adhered to at Ashcroft Academy ; Health A ; Safety at work Act 1974 HSWA This act ensures the wellness. safety and good being of all employees in a work topographic point puting. It besides covers any individual ( s ) who utilises the installations. i. e. pupils. parents. visitants and besides contractors/builders transporting out work on the premises. This is the chief legislative model that governs all work topographic point scenes in the U. K. The Act guarantee that any employer that has more than 5 people on as staff must hold its ain written wellness and safety policy and processs. that has to be seen and signed by all employees. It besides specifies a responsibility of attention that no individual ( specifically pupils in my scene ) that has any engagement in the school may be exposed to any hazard to their wellness and safety. We will write a custom essay sample on Legislative Framwork in Health and Social Care Setting Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Responsibility is besides placed on the shoulders of the employee and those involved in any plants that take topographic point in the school ( pupils. visitants. etc ) to guarantee that they keep themselves and others safe from hazard by being mindful of their actions and that they need to strictly adhere to the wellness and safety policy and processs outlined by their employer. which includes non interfering. with any point that is at that place for the intent of wellness and safety ( fire dismaies. fire asphyxiators. etc. ) When you start your employment with Ashcroft Academy you have to familiarize yourself with the schools wellness A ; Safety policy. and the policy is portion of your contract and portion of your initiation preparation which needs to be signed and returned to the school. Management of wellness A ; safety at work Regulations 1999 This legislative papers provinces that workplaces must transport out hazard appraisals. to cut down or take any hazard to employees and service users. All serious hazard demands to be recorded and filed. Employers provide a hazard appraisal signifier that is filled out by the member of staff to find the hazard attached to a peculiar piece of work. an illustration of this would be during snowfall. edifice services would transport out a hazard appraisal to find whether the playing surfaces are safe for the pupils to utilize. if the hazard to hurt are deemed to high than the playing are is cordoned away and pupils are non permitted to play at that place. This or dinance besides covers the continual monitoring and appraisal of any foreseeable hazard and to supply preparation where appropriate to staff that could be at hazard. i. e. manual handling or COSHH preparation. Ashcroft Academy has a edifice services squad. who guarantee the safety and practicality of all edifice. building and equipment of the school. Building service director will transport out regular hazard appraisal of the premises to guarantee that the school remains a safe community. Course of study directors will besides execute hazard appraisals when there are twenty-four hours trips planned for the pupils. this will include ; location. figure of pupils. staff. transit. any medical conditions of any of the pupils. The Education ( School Premises ) Regulations 1999 These ordinances work in concurrence with the HSWA. and supply guidelines for the commissariats provided by schools i. e. equal lighting. warming. schoolroom temperature. lavatory installations for students. and airing. Building Service undertake regular cheques of all school premiss and installations. this includes look intoing the fire dismay every Monday at 4pm The Workplace ( Health. Safety and Welfare ) Regulations Th is peculiar piece of statute law trades with the physical conditions that we work in. it 1992 provides counsel of the minimal criterion of illuming. edifice care. first assistance. airing. warming. imbibing H2O and lavatory installations. The installations at Aschroft academy are checked and maintained on a regular footing ; edifice services are easy contactable if any issues originate on the premises. i. e. heating non working. pH degrees and temperature of the H2O etc. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 This ordinance controls the demand for any signifier of manual handling. specifically any lifting. drawing forcing or keeping of any tonss be it an object. individual or animate being. Staff are non permitted to manage heavy objects. regardless how large or strong you are. It is the responsibility of edifice services to cover with the demand to travel any objects as they have been manual managing changed. If you needed to travel a filing cabinet or something like ; you would hold to e-mail a petition to edifice services detailing the nature of your petition. The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006 This ordinance was put into topographic point to command the degree of hazards associated with asbe stos’s fibers that can be released when edifice or care work takes topographic point Ashcroft academy has gone under major renovation and none of the new physiques has been constructed with the usage of Asbestos. The Health and Safety ( Display Screen Equipment ) This ensures regular cheques are used of any show screens staff have to see on a regular footing. Regulations 1992 the changeless blaze from screen does strive the eyes. and the usage of keyboards and such can take to other hurts such as RSI ( insistent strain hurt ) Ashcroft provides verifiers to staff to have free oculus trial at Spec Savers. besides pes and carpus remainder are provided for staff that are in demand. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 Every device that carries a current has to be checked and follow with the electricity at work ordinances. It besides ensures that any plants carried out on electrical points are completed by qualified and competent individuals ( 17th edition. Inspecting and Testing qualified. etc ) . It besides ensures that regular cheques are made on electrical points guaranting they are fit for intent. All electrical equipment is maintained and PAT tested ( portable contraption tested ) . A member of the edifice service squad is an experient a nd qualified lineman to PAT P criterion. The Coverage of Injuries. Diseases and Dangerous This ordinance makes any major disease or hurt suffered at work reportable to the local Happenings Regulations 1995 RIDDOR governments. It is the responsibility of the public assistance officer to maintain an Accident study book and any serious hurt of major intervention affecting staff or pupils is reported to the local authorization by the wellness and safety executive. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations The COSHH ordinance controls the usage of any risky substance that could do injury to a individual. 2002 a risky substance would hold to transport a mark and a label warning of the danger it possesses. All risky points such as chemicals used in scientific discipline are clearly labelled and handled under trained supervising. pupils are non permitted to manage chemicals without permission and if in the instance they are required to ( DT category. scientific discipline etc. ) a hazard appraisal is carried out beforehand. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 This ordinance determines the conditions of the work environment and the conditions of the equipment that you have to w ork with. The school performs one-year cheques ( more regular dependant upon the intended use of the equipment ) of all equipment being used by staff and pupils. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 This Act guarantee those with Physical Disabilities have suited and affair entree to all premiss. if and if there isn’t so the physical characteristics must be changed to fulfill with this piece of ordinance. The school has ramp entree for wheelchair users and has lifts to entree all floors in the school. doing it suited for all attending. The Health and Safety ( First Aid ) Regulations 1981 Guaranting that suited first assistance equipment is on the premises at all times and that there are adequate qualified 1st aiders to manage the volume of staff/students/visitors.

How the Romans Built Bridges †History Essay

How the Romans Built Bridges – History Essay Free Online Research Papers How the Romans Built Bridges History Essay Rome was the first nation to create some of the most legendary bridges using stone. Stone is difficult to find, but compared to the more common bridge material, wood, it was better. And it is evident since most of the bridges that Rome made with stone are standing today. Then after realizing that stone is so great, Rome realized the idea of the arch. The concept behind the arch is that the structure of the arch itself is fairly weak. Only able to support a large amount on the â€Å"key† stone (or center most stone), the sides get a very large amount of compression stretching the arch to the side and the stones fall apart. But then the Romans put stones on the sides of the arch and so when the bridge stretched out to the sides, the stones pushed back creating an extremely strong archway. With this new system of bridge making, the Romans were considered the best of the best in bridge making. But after the realization that stone cost far too much, iron was created. Iron was much cheaper than stone and also iron was much stronger. But the realization was not the only development for bridge making. It was only the beginning. After realizing iron was good for making bridges stronger, next was realizing how to create steel from iron. After realizing how much stronger steel is than iron, next was the truss configuration, one of the most popular bridge configurations back then. It allowed for more stability and also, it allowed the bridge to be more resistant to wind. Because of the unique architectural design of truss bridge, wind would pass through the openings in the truss bridge decreasing the force of wind. Another breakthrough was that less brittle metals are better for tensions because they don’t give out as quickly as more brittle metals. The reason behind this is that more brittle metals have cracks and flaws and when they receive a great amount of tension, the cracks and flaws become larger Research Papers on How the Roman's Built Bridges - History EssayThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeTwilight of the UAWComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Spring and Autumn19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Genetic EngineeringWhere Wild and West MeetThe Project Managment Office System

Free Essays on World War I Effects

Global Effects of World War I "Everywhere in the world was heard the sound of things breaking." Advanced European societies could not support long wars or so many thought prior to World War I. They were right in a way. The societies could not support a long war unchanged. The First World War left no aspect of European civilization untouched as pre-war governments were transformed to fight total war. The war metamorphed Europe socially, politicaly, economically, and intellectualy. European countries channeled all of their resources into total war which resulted in enormous social change. The result of working together for a common goal seemed to be unifying European societies. Death knocked down all barriers between people. All belligerents had enacted some form of a selective service which levelled classes in many ways. Wartime scarcities made luxury an impossibility and unfavorable. Reflecting this, clothing became uniform and utilitarian. Europeans would never again dress in fancy, elaborate costumes. Uniforms led the way in clothing change. The bright blue-and-red prewar French infantry uniforms had been changed after the first few months of the war, since they made whoever wore them into excellent targets for machine guns. Women's skirts rose above the ankle permanently and women became more of a part of society than ever. They undertook a variety of jobs previously held by men. They were now a part of clerical, secretarial work, and teaching. They were also more widely employed in industrial jobs. By 1918, 37.6 percent of the work force in the Krupp armaments firm in Germany was female. In England the proportion of women works rose strikingly in public transport (for example, from 18,000 to 117,000 bus conductors), banking (9,500 to 63,700), and commerce (505,000 to 934,000). Many restrictions on women disappeared during the war. It became ... Free Essays on World War I Effects Free Essays on World War I Effects Global Effects of World War I "Everywhere in the world was heard the sound of things breaking." Advanced European societies could not support long wars or so many thought prior to World War I. They were right in a way. The societies could not support a long war unchanged. The First World War left no aspect of European civilization untouched as pre-war governments were transformed to fight total war. The war metamorphed Europe socially, politicaly, economically, and intellectualy. European countries channeled all of their resources into total war which resulted in enormous social change. The result of working together for a common goal seemed to be unifying European societies. Death knocked down all barriers between people. All belligerents had enacted some form of a selective service which levelled classes in many ways. Wartime scarcities made luxury an impossibility and unfavorable. Reflecting this, clothing became uniform and utilitarian. Europeans would never again dress in fancy, elaborate costumes. Uniforms led the way in clothing change. The bright blue-and-red prewar French infantry uniforms had been changed after the first few months of the war, since they made whoever wore them into excellent targets for machine guns. Women's skirts rose above the ankle permanently and women became more of a part of society than ever. They undertook a variety of jobs previously held by men. They were now a part of clerical, secretarial work, and teaching. They were also more widely employed in industrial jobs. By 1918, 37.6 percent of the work force in the Krupp armaments firm in Germany was female. In England the proportion of women works rose strikingly in public transport (for example, from 18,000 to 117,000 bus conductors), banking (9,500 to 63,700), and commerce (505,000 to 934,000). Many restrictions on women disappeared during the war. It became ...

Research and Evaluation in Social Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research and Evaluation in Social Work - Essay Example Further, being able to inform policy by way of their study would increase the researcher's credibility, and make it more likely for the universities and health centres in which they work to have access to funding, as graduate students would be able to work on research projects, and government and private institutions could contract the researchers for more studies. The researchers appear to have designed an objective study in that; a thorough and up-to-date literature review was presented that identified current gaps in knowledge; a cross-sectional survey allowed for sampling of the diversity of organizations providing services to older people; snowball sampling allowed for access to organisations that may have been otherwise neglected, because of their size or their lack of exposure; a selection criteria provides a set of parameters that characterize the sample for future study comparisons; conclusions were drawn based on the data collected from the survey; and the final thesis was submitted for peer-review to be able to be published in a reputable journal. Overall, it was an empirical study, designed and carried out in a systematic manner, with evidence-based conclusion drawn. The Abstract succinctly and parsimoniously reported the main points of the research, summarizing the goal of the project, identifying the population, noting the research methods used, and mentioning the conclusions and implications. However, the abstract did not state the hypothesis of the study and whether it was supported or not. The rationale of the study was clear in its statement: A wide range of community based services and activities have evolved to combat the 'negative' experiences of social isolation and loneliness in later life. The appropriateness and accessibility of most interventions intended to alleviate social isolation and loneliness among older people, however, have remained unclear (p. 150). Also, the research questions were presented in dot point format, which made most of them clear and to the point. However, one goal, 'Explore the involvement of older people in the planning process,' was ambiguous in that it did not state clearly that the exploration would not make use of older person opinions, only those of the organisations servicing older people. All of the research questions were worthy of being answered, as availability of, and access to, social orientated activities is essential to the mental and physical health of older people. However, given that older people were not included in the sample, as a comparison group, it is questionable whether all of the research questions were comprehensively answered.The literature review was adequate in that it included up-to-date research for the UK, and identified gaps in knowledge. The theories drawn on also raised some interesting points, such as many older people do not perceive themselves to be lonely (c.f., Townsend, 1 957; Tornstam, 1995; Victor et al. 2005), despite continuous evidence that experiences of loneliness increase with age (authors,). The relationship between aging and loneliness has been suggested to be the result of changes in living circumstances, such as the loss of a partner, or moving to a nursing home, and changes to subjective health (c.f., Tijhuis et al. 1999). It appears that more research into social support could be the

Implementing Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Implementing Organizational Change - Essay Example The third stage is process reengineering. In this stage it is assumed that incremental changes have a minimal impact, important improvements may be attained by disregarding how the process is undertaken during the present and starting on a clean slate. The final stage is the corporate transformation that is more drastic and involves changes that affect the organization in general. It may include acquisitions and mergers. One of my peers posted an article on Tichy’s three types of change. The article stated that any change within an organization was caused by changes in the technical, political and cultural aspects. This article was properly researched however failed to take into account the stages of change within an entity (Lune, 2006). The other article was on Balogun and Hope-Hailey’s Change Model. This model states that there are four types of change within organizations that take four strategies into account. Two classifications are based on the end result and include realignment and transformation. The other two classes are based on nature of change and include big bang and incremental

Political Economy Essay Example for Free

Political Economy Essay Approaches to study of Politics Falls under Political Science We’re made to do the impossible Summary 1 paragraph will do. Provide the insight -Data -Theory used -approach used use other references to prove your point 3 x 5 Surname all caps first name email address mobile number On approach deals with different meaning of politics Political Science What is Politics its scope ? Banned words Politics is dirt Politics is nothing more than a means of rising in the world Samuel Johnson Systematic organization of hatred Henry Adams Art of governing mankind by deceiving them. BASIS of POLITICS Intellect and Will Man Capable of Thinking Politics as a rational activity Man has the capacity to think and realize his wants, needs and interest which are potentially in conflict with others’ wants, needs, and interests. Man cannot survive on its own. He needs someone else Politics as a social activity 2 or more persons Politics as a social activity 2 or more persons Associate with society Politics is concerned with social dynamics. POLITICS AS THE ART OF GOVt What concerns the state Study of government and exercise of authority Authoritative allocation of social values Framework Definition does not provide David Easton Authoritative binding to all Allocation done by the government Social Values anything held important by society budget allocation, privatization, elections Henry Mayo 3 characteristics that separate the political from non-poitical Politics is focused on the governing function through which are: Limitation on Easton on Mayo’s concept of Politics POLITICS DOES NOT ONLY HAPPEN IN THE GOVERNMENT POLTICS AS PUBLIC AFFAIRS State DIFFERENCE OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS PUBLIC PRIVATE State Civil Society Institutions of the State ( apparatus of government, infrastructure, economy, taxes Autonomous bodies (family, kinship groups, private businesses, trade unions Funded at the public’s Expense Set up and funded by individual citizens Responsible for the collective organization of community life Responsible for the satisfaction of own interests rather than the interest of the larger society. Private with this definition EX: RH Bill It should not be affair of the government. Public Sphere vs Private Sphere Restricted to the acitivites of the state itself and the responsibilities that are properly exercised by public bodies Politics should not meddle on personal affairs and institutions POLITICS AS COMPROMISE CONSESUS A daily activity in which differing interests within a given unity of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion to their role in the welfare and the survival of the community Bernard Crick Everything will just be fine – for no matter big or small the dispute is, at the end of the day we will just arrive in a compromise. Assumption: Conflict is inevitable Resolving conflict through compromise conciliation and negotiation, rather than violence and coercion. Not limited to government POLITICS IS INEVITABLE LINKED TO THE PHENOMENA OF CONFLICT COOPERATION Politics as master science Why Make use other things to make things in order. Existence of rival opinions- conflict People recognize that they have to work with others cooperation Hannah Arendt- Acting in Concert Otto Von Bismarck- Politics is the art of the possible. POWER AS POWER DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES What is power? X has power over Y insofar as Robert Dahl X is able, in one way or another, to get Y to do something That is more to X’s liking And which Y would not otherwise have done. Faces of Power As decision-making – you shape there decisions As agenda setting – You are preventing the person to make a decision As thought control- You are imposing your preference in an indirect or subtle way. Definition of Politics through POWER and allocation of resources FIND THE FOLLOWING QUOTES OF FAMOUS SCIENTISTS Adrian Leftwich- Politics is at the heart of all collective social activity, formal and informal, public and private, in all human groups, institutions and societies. Harold Lasswell Politics is, in essence power: the ability to achieve a desired outcome, through whatever means. Kate Millett â€Å"Politics is a power-structured relationships, arrangements whereby one group of persons is controlled by another. â€Å"POLITICS†- as the constrained use of social power. Robert Goodin Hans- Dieter Klingemann Constrained because there are already laws establish. Politics takes place in all social activities; politics happen at every level of social interaction Politics concern production, distribution and use of resources in the course of social existence. -Ability to achieve a desired outcome, through whatever means . Approaches to the study of Politics Ontology- the nature of being Epistemology -How do you know what we know? Theoretical – concept idea Empirical- Evidence, observation History- both theory and experience Methodology How do we exactly know what we know

Romeo and Juliet s Theme of Youth and Excitement Rather than Sentimental Love :: Papers

Romeo and Juliet 's Theme of Youth and Excitement Rather than Sentimental Love Although scenes of youth and excitement do exist, I totally disagree with the critics. I believe the play consists of sentimental love between Romeo and Juliet and that the scenes of youth and excitement are used only to implement tragedy. I will now back up my opinion with evidence and quotes from the play. To begin with, the first fight occurs between the servants, this serves to inform the audience of the feud and prepares us for the fight scene in Act 3 Scene1. The ball scene plays a major part in the play, it is an exciting scene but its included to enable the characters to meet. It all starts when the Montague's sneak into the Capulet's ball. Romeo and his fellow Montague's are able to get into the ball because it is a 'Masked Ball'. Just these small details tell the audience that their love was meant to be, almost like fate. Romeo is enjoying the party when suddenly he sees a beautiful looking young woman. From here onwards he cannot take his eyes off Juliet just like she cant with Romeo. I don't believe that Romeo had fallen in love with Rosaline but this time he had, with a different girl 'O she doth teach the torches to burn bright' Romeo did not say these things about Rosaline and this then strengthens the point that he had fallen in love with this girl who he doesn't even know the name of. Meanwhile, Juliet was being forced to marry an older man against her own will, but all this would change as she would do anything to be with Romeo. Romeo pulls Juliet behind a pillar and kisses her before even speaking to her. Juliet then finds out that Romeo is a Montague "My only love sprung from my only hate" this quote says it all she loved him dearly but could not be seen with him as they are on opposite sides of two rival families in Verona.

Mountains vs Beach

Taylor Curry Culpepper English 101-007 6 January 2012 Vacationing at the Beach or in the Mountains No doubt, people always look forward to taking a vacation from their typical everyday routine. There are a great number of possibilities to choose from when deciding on where to vacation. The two most common vacationing spots are the beach and the mountains, in which both places offer an unlimited selection of entertaining activities. The mountains have activities that the beach does not offer and vice versa. When trying to determine a vacation spot, many people have trouble deciding between mountainous regions and beach populated areas because of each site’s available activities, climate, and the scenery. One may choose to take a vacation to the beach for various reasons, such as, for the activities, climate and scenery. While on vacation at the beach people can surf, have a picnic, play volleyball, and ride jet skis. The amount of activities is unlimited. A few beaches around the world also offer wonderful cliff diving. In most seaside regions, there are nightclubs and restaurants where people can dance or party throughout the night. Also, the beach can be a very peaceful and relaxing place. The warm climate is one of the main characteristics that the beach offers to vacationers. The seaside areas stay warm year-around. The scenery at the beach is very beautiful. The scenery on costal areas is totally different from any part of the world. Vacationers will see things like sand, palm trees, tropical plants, and wildlife. The beach is described in two words is fun and sun. Taking a vacation to the mountains can be a lot of fun. Many people choose to vacation to the mountains because of the activities, climate, and scenery. The climate is always an important factor for one to enjoy their vacation of choice. If a vacationer dislikes the cold weather, he or she might have a difficult time enjoying the mountains. The cold climate in the mountains is the first barrier to enjoying them, but the climate and the temperature of these zones also determine the types of activities they offer. Snow boarding, mountain climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and skiing are some activities people can enjoy when going to the mountains. When taking a trip to the mountains one will be offered with an unlimited amount of activities. A few of the most popular interests are hiking, cliff diving, having a picnic, and fishing. There are many regions that have mountains where people can go and have a great vacation. Canada is a country located in North America and contains many mountain vacation sites where people can go and have fun. Finally, the scenery is another main reason someone may choose to vacation to the mountains. The scenery surrounding the mountains is like no other. People will see beautiful pants, huge mountains, and interesting wildlife. As you can see taking a vacation to the beach and the mountains can both be extremely fun, but very different. When trying to determine a vacation spot, many people have trouble deciding between mountainous regions and beach populated areas because of each site’s available activities, climate, and the scenery. It doesn’t matter what place a person decides to choose. The fun is guaranteed. Vacationers often choose one of these two options to spend their vacations.

Teaching log example

Education Level of Participants: N/A Type of Education Activity (1 ambulatory, group, meeting): Observation and participation in evaluative process for residents in Family Medicine. Positive Aspects of Session: – Used a consensus approach to decision making and evaluation. – Input of all who have supervised for a more fair and objective evaluation. – Well run, and timely meeting. Difficulties of Session: – Limited context for evaluation (ex. in some instances, individuals had only been observed by anyone around the table 1 time). Despite this, most evaluators agreed regarding resident's clinical attributes and deficiencies. – One sided Reflection and Interpretation of Session: I found myself very surprised by this session. It was unsettling for me to discuss learners in this way even with an understanding that it is necessary to evaluate. Issues regarding personal issues were brought forth in some instances to explain a resident's behavior.It was ed ucational to me in that I learned that the resident's â€Å"supervisor† (or faculty dvisor), is the person who after these meetings is responsible to then deliver the message ot the â€Å"teacher's group† to the resident in the torm ot teedback. I a normally a part of this process, but only on paper. I am given an evaluation form to fill out on individual practice of each of the residents on my team. There is a Likert scale with points related to professionalism, collaboration and respect.This session has really made me think more about the way in which I am filling out the evaluation ools I am asked to fill out on a monthly basis, as I now understand better how they utilized. Being present was a very new and intimidating experience for me, as I was asked for my input at this meeting. Consideration of Future Strategies for Managing Similar Sessions (Analysis): Strategies I might use in similar sessions would include pre-learning. Asking questions of the Resident Educat ion director to be better prepared for what to expect and how I might better participate.

The Chemistry of Love

The Chemistry of Love According to Dr. Helen Fisher, a researcher at Rutgers University, chemistry and love are inextricable. Shes not speaking, though, of the chemistry that makes two people compatible. Instead, shes speaking of the chemicals that are released into our bodies as we experience lust, attraction, and attachment. Chemicals in Each Stage of Love We may think that were using our heads to govern our hearts, but in fact (at least to a degree) were simply responding to the chemicals that help us experience pleasure, excitement, and arousal. Dr. Fisher says there are three stages of love, and each is driven to a degree by a particular set of chemicals.  Ã‚  There is a lot of chemistry involved in feeling attachment, sweaty palms, butterflies in your stomach, etc. Take a look at some of the key biochemical players. Stage 1: Lust If youre feeling eager for a sexual encounter with someone (even if youre not quite sure who youll end up with), chances are youre reacting to the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen. Both of these hormones play an important role in increasing libido in both men and women. Testosterone and estrogen are generated as a result of messages from the hypothalamus of the brain. Testosterone is a very  potent aphrodisiac. Estrogen can make women more libidinous around the time they ovulate (when estrogen levels are at their peak). Stage 2: Attraction Lust is fun, but it may or may not lead to real romance. If you do make it to stage 2 in your relationship, though, chemicals become increasingly important. On the one hand, chemicals associated with attraction can make you feel dreamy. On the other hand, they can make you feel anxious or obsessive. People who are in this early phase of falling in love may even sleep less, or lose their appetite!   Phenylethylamine or PEA: This is a chemical that naturally occurs in the brain and is also found in some foods, such as chocolate. It is a stimulant, much like an amphetamine, that causes the release of norepinephrine and dopamine. This chemical is released when you are falling in love. Its responsible for the head-over-heels, elated part of love.Norepinephrine: When PEA causes this chemical to be released, you feel the effects in the form of sweaty palms and a pounding heart.Dopamine: Dopamine is a neurochemical that appears to be associated with mate selection. An Emory University study found that voles (a type of rodent) chose their mate based on dopamine release. When female voles were injected with dopamine in the presence of a male vole, they could select him from a group of voles later. Stage 3: Attachment Now that youre really committed to someone else, chemicals help you stay connected. Oxytocin: Dopamine triggers the release of oxytocin, which is sometimes called the cuddle hormone. In both genders, oxytocin is released during touching. In women, oxytocin is released during labor and breastfeeding.Serotonin: A chemical that is more prevalent among people with compulsive disorders, serotonin can increase our dependence on another person.Endorphins: Your brain acquires a tolerance to the love stimulants and starts to release endorphins. The honeymoon is over, chemically, around 18 months to 4 years into a relationship. However, this isnt all bad.  Endorphins are associated with feelings  of attachment and comfort. Endorphins are like opiates. They calm anxiety, relieve pain and reduce stress.

User Persona Spark Yours to Life With These 9 Tools - CoSchedule Blog

User Persona Spark Yours to Life With These 9 Tools Blog Ah, the user persona. Every marketing expert will tell you that you need one as the foundation for your content marketing strategy. But so many people just slap together some vague demographic data, give it a cute, alliterated name like â€Å"Busy Betsy† or â€Å"Hipster Henry† and call it a persona. Then they wonder why they arent seeing user engagement with their content. If you want to create meaningful content that wins fans and conversions, your user persona needs to be more than a collection of data points. To make your user persona come to life, you need to create a fully fleshed-out character with dreams, fears, challenges, and desires. You need a complex, uniquely human hero for the story youre telling with your brand. But it can’t just be a pure flight of fantasy. Each characteristic and inner motivation of your user persona should have data or real-life examples to back it up. Sound like a tall order? Worry not: this post will give you the online resources you need to make a hyper-specific user persona. I’ll show you how to use persona-building tools so you can create deeply engaging content that will draw in your target audience and make them stick with you. But first   Spark Your User Persona To Life With These 9 Important ToolsWhy Do We Need User Personas? Writing generic content to a general audience just doesn’t cut it anymore. Gone are the days of keyword stuffed, SEO-focused content, clickbait social media posts, and salesy email blasts. The average internet user can see right through these flimsy marketing ploys. If you want to stand out on search engine results, on social media and in your email marketing, you need to have robust, human-centered content that hits people right in the feels. And a User Persona helps you define just who that human is and what kind of content appeals to their needs. But maybe I should back up a few steps. Let’s take a quick look at what a User Persona is. Describing a User (or Buyer or Customer or Reader) Persona can take up an entire blog post unto itself. Thankfully, Sam Kusinitz  of HubSpot has distilled things down into less than 100 words for us: A buyer persona  is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. The more detailed you are, the better. So basically, a User Persona is a made-up customer who represents the very real customers you want to appeal to. A User Persona is a made-up customer who represents the very real customers you want to appeal toIn case you’re feeling a bit skeptical about the impact of a fictional character upon your bottom line, here are a few stats  from Cintell's 2016 Benchmark Study to help fire up your faith in the Power of the Persona: 71%  of companies who exceed revenue and lead goals have documented Personas 65%  of companies who exceed lead and revenue goals have updated their Personas within the last 6 months. Persona based content increased customer engagement almost six-fold  when targeting cold leads (10% versus 58%). Using Personas increases email open rate 2-5 times. It is more effective to target cold leads with Persona based content than targeting warm leads without using Persona based content (58% versus 45%) Pretty impressive, right? So just what is it about User Personas that make such a huge difference in customer engagement and conversion rates? It comes down to a potent mixture of storytelling, psychology, and sociology. Recommended Reading: How to Write Like a Journalist to Be a Better Marketing Storyteller Why Do User Personas Work? As marketers, we’ve long known that the fastest route to inspiring empathy and emotional connections in audiences is to tell a story. But recent neurological studies  have confirmed that if you really want to hook someone, tell them a story about a protagonist with a relatable goal and describe their struggle to reach that goal. So here’s what you want your User Persona to be: An individual with internal and external features similar to your audience, A person whose goals mirror your audience A character who has everyday struggles that your audience can immediately relate to. The more specific you are about what makes your User Persona an individual, the deeper an emotional connection your audience will have with your brand. And the easier it will be to convince them to take action. The more specific your personas are, the deeper emotional connection your audience will have with...Be Fearless In Your User Persona Back in 1978, two hippy guys decided to sell ice cream out of an abandoned Vermont gas station. Within five years, their chunky, flavorful ice cream packaged in colorful pint-sized containers caught the attention of grocery stores. The ice cream sold so fast from freezer sections they could barely keep it in stock. Ben Jerry’s was a tremendous hit. How did they become such a big success where other homemade ice cream shops have failed? Because Ben Jerry weren’t afraid to get specific about their user persona. And their user persona wasn’t what people had come to expect from a homemade ice cream brand. Here’s how your typical, old-school marketing team would probably have done it: using traditional market-focused research, they would have focused on the â€Å"homespun Vermont† aspect of Ben Jerry’s and featured a hand-operated ice cream maker in their logo. Instead of focusing on the buyer, they would have extolled the quality of the ingredients and the deliciousness of the flavors. Their flavors would have had Vermont-inspired names like â€Å"Backwoods Berry Blend† or â€Å"Maple Syrup Swirl.† Freelance designer Lyn Severance knew their brand had to reflect the groovy spirit of the hippy era and the fun-loving personalities of Ben Jerry and their friends. But Ben Jerry knew who their customers were, and they weren’t the rustic, antique-loving Vermonters of popular imagination. Note that their original container illustration featured a hand-cranked ice cream maker- but there’s a person  with a distinct personality doing the work: a stout, bearded dude who bears a striking resemblance to The Original Chubby Hubby himself, co-founder Ben Cohen. Also, the style of the illustration brings to mind the underground comics and concert posters of the 1960’s and 1970’s, not the vintage etchings of the 1900’s. There’s something mischievous, verging on subversive about Ben Jerry’s branding. But fun/peace-loving  subversive.  Yellow Submarine  subversive. The folks who flocked to Ben Jerry’s were real people who loved pop culture, leaned to the left politically, had an irreverent sense of humor, and got the munchies when they partook in their recreational mood-altering substance of choice. In other words, Ben Jerry’s target user was,well, Ben Jerry. So Ben Jerry created a product that spoke to THAT Persona. Even at the risk of alienating the people who don’t fit that description. Ben Jerry aren’t afraid to court controversy and voice their stances on political and social issues. A recent blog post prominently features the â€Å"Black Lives Matter† sign in their signature hand-lettered calligraphy. No doubt this wins them even more brand loyalty from their socially-conscious target buyers. (Source) In fact, not being afraid to take a stand is an essential quality of Ben Jerry’s User Persona. The ice cream brand has used content to inspire their audience to help them face down Pillsbury-owned rival Hagen Daas in the form of boycotts and protests. 'We believed that Pillsbury’s actions were illegal,' says Ben, 'but we knew that in a strictly legal fight we’d run out of time and money long before Pillsbury would. Our only option was to rely on our customers and the media to pressure Pillsbury into backing off. So we started printing the slogan â€Å"What’s the Doughboy Afraid Of?† on our pint containers, along with an 800 number for the Doughboy Hotline. Everyone who called got a Doughboy Kit, with protest letters addressed to the Federal Trade Commission and the chairman of the Pillsbury board, and a bumper sticker.' By publishing their Doughboy Hotline, they collected the names and addresses of their highly engaged (target) customers- customers who they could send additional marketing content like coupons or recipe booklets to. Ben Jerry created a targeted lead magnet before people were even using the world wide web. And their User Persona doesn’t only impact their marketing strategy- every aspect of Ben Jerry’s from product to operations was created with their user in mind. Because their target buyer (and their executive team) is socially conscious, Ben Jerry’s was one of the first companies to adopt an executive salary cap (although they dropped it when they hired a new CEO in 1994). The secret to Ben Jerry’s success is not in their admittedly delicious ice cream, but in their ability to understand what their target buyer ultimately wants from the world. Recommended Reading: How to Find Your Target Audience and Create the Best Content That Connects The Keys to a Great User Persona So how can you make your target buyer feel like you really, truly â€Å"get† what they’re about? By asking the right questions about who they are and finding real-word answers. Some of those questions are about demographics, like: Age Gender Income Occupation Education level Geography Marital Status Those are external factors about the circumstances of your target user’s life. Things that, unless they make a major life change, they have little control over. When you dig a little deeper, you start getting into psychographic information, like: Lifestyle Hobbies Career goals Political affiliations Religious values Priorities in life Aesthetic taste Obstacles Fears Assumptions As you discover more about your target buyer, you’ll unlock the hidden desires, fears, and challenges your target user faces so your content can help them navigate along their journey toward their biggest goals in life. And the more you help your target user, the more they will trust you, and the more they will want to do business with you. The more you help your target user, the more they will trust and do business with you. After you’ve developed your user persona, here’s what you can expect: You’ll gain a clearer picture into the external and internal life of your target user You’ll have more relevant content ideas You’ll write content faster You’ll know where to find your target user You’ll know which people/publications your user sees as influencers You’ll know where to promote your content so your target reader will find it You’ll dramatically increase your conversion rates So without further ado, here are some resources you can add to your persona-building toolkit today. Here are the resources you need to start building user #personas1. Target Audience Kit has created a handy downloadable package  that includes a worksheet on how to conduct audience surveys and a quick-and-easy template for a user persona. Print them out and use them as guidelines as you hunt down demographic and psychographic information. 2. Startup Target Customer Profile Worksheet What if you don’t know who your target customer is because you’re just starting out? I’ve created an in-depth worksheet for startup founders to help you ask the right questions in your search for the perfect customer. It covers not only their demographics and psychographics, but also their digital tribes, influencers, popular hashtagsbasically all the information you need to reach your target user when they’re actively looking for stuff that relates to your service. You can download it here. 3. Xtensio User Persona Creator This intuitive web-based template by â€Å"lean design agency† Xtensio helps you create a beautifully designed persona to share with your clients or team members as you create your content marketing strategy. When you sign up for a free account, you’ll also have access to templates for pitch decks, business plans, content strategies, and press releases, among other tools. If you’re a startup founder, this could be a true life (and time) saver. Alright, you now have three blank slates for creating your user persona. But how do you find the data to fill in the blanks? Below you’ll find some essential resources to help you discover information about your target customers based on real-world data. Recommended Reading: This is How to Use Data to Fuel Your Content Marketing Strategy 4. Google Analytics First of all, are the right visitors finding you? What are the interests of the people visiting your site, and what kind of content are they engaging the most with? Is there anything you need to change about the way visitors discover your content? A peek at your Google Analytics will give you these insights and more. One Way Use Google Analytics (of Many): If you don’t have Google Analytics set up on your website, take a few minutes to get your tracking code and install Analytics to your website. Once you’ve created your Analytics account and installed your tracking code to your site, wait about a week for Google to collect data about your visitors. Then log into your account and browse around. You can see your average visitor’s demographics, what content they’re spending the most time looking at, even their interests based on their typical search behavior. Google Analytics helps you see whether or not the users that are coming to you are the users you actually want. For example, I noticed when I went into my Users Interests In-market Segments that the top four interests of visitors to my site were: Employment Travel/Hotel Accommodations Employment/Career Counseling Services Dating Services My site is for Copywriting and Content Strategy Services. So somewhere there’s a disconnect between the content of my site and the people who are finding it. Now the challenge is to figure out why people are coming to me looking for jobs, accommodations, or love. So I take a look at my Landing Page analytics to see which page is attracting the most traffic, and lo and behold, other than my home page, the top two pages are two blog articles: one about the TED Talk formula for sales pitches, and one about finding your target customer. The â€Å"target customer† post starts with a story about my experiences with online dating and how they parallel with a startup founder’s search for the perfect customer. Later in the post, I give an example of a travel bag company that used â€Å"Alternatives to AirBnB† as a way to capture their target leads. So, that explains why people interested in Dating Services and Travel stumble upon my site! It also tells me that I need to build up the content on my site for my target customer so more startup founders and less lonely hearts and wayward travelers find their way to my blog. Even more reason to really hone in on my User Persona and their needs There are a myriad of ways Google Analytics can give you insights about who is coming to your site and what changes you need to make so your content is getting in front of the right people. Do yourself a BIG favor and take some time to evaluate the quality of the traffic you’re already getting so you can determine what you need to tweak to improve it.   has created a quick guide to how to use Google Analytics to understand your audience. Recommended Reading: 5 Big Questions About Your Site That Google Analytics Can Answer 5. Alexa Let’s say that you haven’t launched your site yet  or you’re getting ready to do a major overhaul of your website. You may be feeling a bit in the dark as far as who your ideal customer actually is. The good news is you have plenty to learn about your target audience by getting a glimpse at who’s going to the competition. Alexa provides detailed demographic reports  on visitors to any website, as well as the most popular keywords people use to find them. Here’s the quick-and-dirty way to get the goods on who is looking for your products or services. Google your core offer and see who your top competitors are in the paid and organic results. For example, let’s say you’re a virtual assistant for small business owners. The top paid result is for TasksEveryday.com. Go to Alexa.com and type in the URL and when you scroll down you’ll see related sites (ie other competitors in your niche): And their audience demographics: By using the new Audience Overlap Tool, you can get a big-picture demographic view of who is using virtual assistant services similar to your top competitor: Just click â€Å"Audience Overlap Tool† on the main overview page: Select the competitors you wish to compare: Scroll down to Demographics and take a look at what these sites have in common and what makes them notably different. For example, I noticed that getfriday.com visitors have a much younger average age (18-24) than taskseveryday.com (35-44). When I investigated, I clicked on â€Å"getfriday.com† to open a site overview in Alexa and discovered one of the main sites that led visitors to GetFriday was YouTube: So I clicked the link and discovered that the videos that lead to getfriday.com are all about outsourcing Virtual Assistants from the Phillipines. Is that giving me a clearer picture of who is going to my competitors and why? Well, if I do a little more digging into the demographic information on Alexa, I can discover that the average income of the GetFriday user trends lower than the average income of the TasksEveryday user. So now I have a decision to make: do I want to target my Virtual Assistant service to a budget-strapped startup founder looking to outsource on the cheap or a well-to-do CEO of a small company willing to invest in a top-notch professional? Once I make that decision, I can start deep-diving into the world of my target user to fill in the gaps of their larger story. Recommended Reading: 14 Time-Tested Tactics to Get Tons of Traffic from Social Media 6. BuzzSumo You now know the â€Å"who’s† about your target customers using Google Analytics Alexa. Now it’s time to discover the â€Å"what’s† and the â€Å"why’s.† What are your customer’s goals and Why do your target customers need your help accomplishing their goals? BuzzSumo is hands-down the most popular audience discovery tool for content marketers.  After an initial free trial, you have to pay for it, but if you’re trying to build an audience and relationships with influencers, it’s well worth the $99 a month. Why? Because with one keyword search, not only will you find the most popular articles about a topic in terms of shares and clicks, but also who the most influential people are within a niche AND who their followers are. So to continue with our fictional Virtual Assistant service, let’s say we want to cater to startup founders. So I type â€Å"startups and virtual assistants† into the BuzzSumo search box and see which articles have had the most engagement over the past year: Then I click on â€Å"View Sharers† to see who has been engaging with the post. I see that Stephen Bronner, news director for Entrepreneur has been sharing the article, which tells me he thinks his followers would find value in it. So now I can take a look at his followers. After scrolling through their bios, I spot an ideal candidate for Virtual Assistant services: a PR coach for entrepreneurs and startup founders: Now I can take a look at her Twitter profiles to get insights on her life and the lives of her  followers people who are starting their own companies and need help. Like this follower, who describes herself as a serial entrepreneur: BOOM. Target achieved. This person’s Twitter account is a window into her life. She tweets about where she likes to go to eat, the big projects she’s working on, her hobbies, the religious holidays she celebrates, the brands she likes. You can fill out an entire User Persona template with this information alone! Recommended Reading: This is the Marketing Research Process That Will Take Your Content to the Next Level 7. Customer Surveys Let’s say that you’re an established company looking to shift to a customer-centered content marketing strategy. Your current customers are an invaluable resource for insights. Just ask them about their lives. Pioneering content strategist Colleen Jones  says customer surveys are a great way not only to determine user behavior (what they do), but also the emotions and motivations leading to their decisions (what they’re feeling): â€Å"If you want to assess your success at producing effective content marketing, you need useful, actionable feedback about it. That means you need to know what people think about your content. Surveys are an invaluable way to find out.† Here are some customer survey tools you can try out for free: Survey Monkey- The most popular contender, Survey Monkey has a great reputation for being easy to use and having a step-by-step tutorial to walk you through the survey-building process. However, to export the survey data you collect, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid version. Typeform- Typeform’s survey templates are slick and beautifully designed, which means your participants are less likely to abandon ship mid-survey out of boredom. Google Forms- Simple, straightforward, free, and easy to access via your Google Drive account. Need help coming up with some good questions? Michael Patterson, CEO of marketing research software Hotjar has come up with a great list of customer survey questions  that get into the minds (and hearts) of your customers. Recommended Reading: How to Use Social Media Listening to Create Better Content for Your Audience 8. Quora If you lack a customer base or even a list to send audience surveys out to, Quora can be an invaluable tool to grab information about your target customer’s needs  Ã¢â‚¬Å"in their own words.† Don’t just look at the most-upvoted answers: sometimes the replies to expert answers can provide you with deeper insights into your target user’s world than the more polished expert responses. Quora can be an invaluable tool to grab information about your target customer’s needs9. Twenty20 Confession time: I’ve spent more time than I should looking through Twenty20’s gorgeous curated stock photo collections, in search of The Face of the User Persona for my clients. Why Twenty20 as opposed to the kajillions of other stock photography sites out there? Because Twenty20 sources and curates photography that looks like real people’s lives instead of glossy studio sessions. Here’s what you should look for in a great User Persona profile pic: A headshot of one person- Your user persona represents an individual, not a group. Personality-  Unless you’re creating content for a modeling agency, your user persona is probably not a fashion model. Look for pictures of everyday folks. Match the data demographics-  If your research suggests that the majority of users in your niche are 50-something white-collar professional women, don’t use a headshot of a 20-something tattoo artist. In their natural environment- Try to find a picture that shows your User Persona where she’d be using your product or service. Above all, User Personas should represent and look like the real people you're creating content for. Here are some other examples of great User Personas to help give you a kickstart in creating your own. (Source: Xtensio) Recommended Reading: How to Make the Best Social Media Images the Easy Way (+84 Free Images) Note how in-depth the above persona is in terms of Alyssa’s desire to balance her creativity with her business sense.   This is a great starting point for giving a â€Å"voice† to a brand’s content: that of a passionate artist who wants to be a success without being a â€Å"sell-out.† So based on the information I gathered using the tools above for my fictional Virtual Assistant service, here’s the User Persona I created using the Xtensio template tool: On the other end of the persona spectrum, we have MailChimp’s multiple User Personas. (Source: MailChimp) These visually appealing Personas aren't as specific in their narratives as Xtensio’s, but they still offer psychographic data for inspiring content. Even though these Personas lack a written story, the specificity of the look, dress, and descriptive text communicate volumes about each individual. To achieve this Portrait style persona, all you need is: A graphic design tool like Canva  or Photoshop, A great stock photo, A list of personality traits and motivators. Here’s what I made in Canva using the same Virtual Assistant target user: How to Create Your Own Persona in Canva Here’s a quick example showing how you can create one that is similar: After opening Canva, select â€Å"Create a Design† Select the â€Å"Blog Graphic† template from the Blogging eBooks section Upload your stock photo (or you can choose from Canva’s collection of stock photography and pay a $1 to download it) Drag and drop the stock photo as the background to the layout Free stock photo from Pexels.com Select the Heading text tool and start typing the personality trait keywords.  Choose various fonts, sizes or colors as needed. You can change the angle of the text by selecting the text box, clicking on the Rotate tool (the circular arrow at the bottom of the text box), and rotating the text box around. It's Time to Start Creating Better User Personas Alright: you've now assembled a well-stocked persona toolkit.   It's time to get to work! Have fun creating your User Persona- and if you've made one you're particularly proud of, feel free to share it with us! User Persona Spark Yours to Life With These 9 Tools Blog Ah, the user persona. Every marketing expert will tell you that you need one as the foundation for your content marketing strategy. But so many people just slap together some vague demographic data, give it a cute, alliterated name like â€Å"Busy Betsy† or â€Å"Hipster Henry† and call it a persona. Then they wonder why they arent seeing user engagement with their content. If you want to create meaningful content that wins fans and conversions, your user persona needs to be more than a collection of data points. To make your user persona come to life, you need to create a fully fleshed-out character with dreams, fears, challenges, and desires. You need a complex, uniquely human hero for the story youre telling with your brand. But it can’t just be a pure flight of fantasy. Each characteristic and inner motivation of your user persona should have data or real-life examples to back it up. Sound like a tall order? Worry not: this post will give you the online resources you need to make a hyper-specific user persona. I’ll show you how to use persona-building tools so you can create deeply engaging content that will draw in your target audience and make them stick with you. But first   Spark Your User Persona To Life With These 9 Important ToolsWhy Do We Need User Personas? Writing generic content to a general audience just doesn’t cut it anymore. Gone are the days of keyword stuffed, SEO-focused content, clickbait social media posts, and salesy email blasts. The average internet user can see right through these flimsy marketing ploys. If you want to stand out on search engine results, on social media and in your email marketing, you need to have robust, human-centered content that hits people right in the feels. And a User Persona helps you define just who that human is and what kind of content appeals to their needs. But maybe I should back up a few steps. Let’s take a quick look at what a User Persona is. Describing a User (or Buyer or Customer or Reader) Persona can take up an entire blog post unto itself. Thankfully, Sam Kusinitz  of HubSpot has distilled things down into less than 100 words for us: A buyer persona  is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. The more detailed you are, the better. So basically, a User Persona is a made-up customer who represents the very real customers you want to appeal to. A User Persona is a made-up customer who represents the very real customers you want to appeal toIn case you’re feeling a bit skeptical about the impact of a fictional character upon your bottom line, here are a few stats  from Cintell's 2016 Benchmark Study to help fire up your faith in the Power of the Persona: 71%  of companies who exceed revenue and lead goals have documented Personas 65%  of companies who exceed lead and revenue goals have updated their Personas within the last 6 months. Persona based content increased customer engagement almost six-fold  when targeting cold leads (10% versus 58%). Using Personas increases email open rate 2-5 times. It is more effective to target cold leads with Persona based content than targeting warm leads without using Persona based content (58% versus 45%) Pretty impressive, right? So just what is it about User Personas that make such a huge difference in customer engagement and conversion rates? It comes down to a potent mixture of storytelling, psychology, and sociology. Recommended Reading: How to Write Like a Journalist to Be a Better Marketing Storyteller Why Do User Personas Work? As marketers, we’ve long known that the fastest route to inspiring empathy and emotional connections in audiences is to tell a story. But recent neurological studies  have confirmed that if you really want to hook someone, tell them a story about a protagonist with a relatable goal and describe their struggle to reach that goal. So here’s what you want your User Persona to be: An individual with internal and external features similar to your audience, A person whose goals mirror your audience A character who has everyday struggles that your audience can immediately relate to. The more specific you are about what makes your User Persona an individual, the deeper an emotional connection your audience will have with your brand. And the easier it will be to convince them to take action. The more specific your personas are, the deeper emotional connection your audience will have with...Be Fearless In Your User Persona Back in 1978, two hippy guys decided to sell ice cream out of an abandoned Vermont gas station. Within five years, their chunky, flavorful ice cream packaged in colorful pint-sized containers caught the attention of grocery stores. The ice cream sold so fast from freezer sections they could barely keep it in stock. Ben Jerry’s was a tremendous hit. How did they become such a big success where other homemade ice cream shops have failed? Because Ben Jerry weren’t afraid to get specific about their user persona. And their user persona wasn’t what people had come to expect from a homemade ice cream brand. Here’s how your typical, old-school marketing team would probably have done it: using traditional market-focused research, they would have focused on the â€Å"homespun Vermont† aspect of Ben Jerry’s and featured a hand-operated ice cream maker in their logo. Instead of focusing on the buyer, they would have extolled the quality of the ingredients and the deliciousness of the flavors. Their flavors would have had Vermont-inspired names like â€Å"Backwoods Berry Blend† or â€Å"Maple Syrup Swirl.† Freelance designer Lyn Severance knew their brand had to reflect the groovy spirit of the hippy era and the fun-loving personalities of Ben Jerry and their friends. But Ben Jerry knew who their customers were, and they weren’t the rustic, antique-loving Vermonters of popular imagination. Note that their original container illustration featured a hand-cranked ice cream maker- but there’s a person  with a distinct personality doing the work: a stout, bearded dude who bears a striking resemblance to The Original Chubby Hubby himself, co-founder Ben Cohen. Also, the style of the illustration brings to mind the underground comics and concert posters of the 1960’s and 1970’s, not the vintage etchings of the 1900’s. There’s something mischievous, verging on subversive about Ben Jerry’s branding. But fun/peace-loving  subversive.  Yellow Submarine  subversive. The folks who flocked to Ben Jerry’s were real people who loved pop culture, leaned to the left politically, had an irreverent sense of humor, and got the munchies when they partook in their recreational mood-altering substance of choice. In other words, Ben Jerry’s target user was,well, Ben Jerry. So Ben Jerry created a product that spoke to THAT Persona. Even at the risk of alienating the people who don’t fit that description. Ben Jerry aren’t afraid to court controversy and voice their stances on political and social issues. A recent blog post prominently features the â€Å"Black Lives Matter† sign in their signature hand-lettered calligraphy. No doubt this wins them even more brand loyalty from their socially-conscious target buyers. (Source) In fact, not being afraid to take a stand is an essential quality of Ben Jerry’s User Persona. The ice cream brand has used content to inspire their audience to help them face down Pillsbury-owned rival Hagen Daas in the form of boycotts and protests. 'We believed that Pillsbury’s actions were illegal,' says Ben, 'but we knew that in a strictly legal fight we’d run out of time and money long before Pillsbury would. Our only option was to rely on our customers and the media to pressure Pillsbury into backing off. So we started printing the slogan â€Å"What’s the Doughboy Afraid Of?† on our pint containers, along with an 800 number for the Doughboy Hotline. Everyone who called got a Doughboy Kit, with protest letters addressed to the Federal Trade Commission and the chairman of the Pillsbury board, and a bumper sticker.' By publishing their Doughboy Hotline, they collected the names and addresses of their highly engaged (target) customers- customers who they could send additional marketing content like coupons or recipe booklets to. Ben Jerry created a targeted lead magnet before people were even using the world wide web. And their User Persona doesn’t only impact their marketing strategy- every aspect of Ben Jerry’s from product to operations was created with their user in mind. Because their target buyer (and their executive team) is socially conscious, Ben Jerry’s was one of the first companies to adopt an executive salary cap (although they dropped it when they hired a new CEO in 1994). The secret to Ben Jerry’s success is not in their admittedly delicious ice cream, but in their ability to understand what their target buyer ultimately wants from the world. Recommended Reading: How to Find Your Target Audience and Create the Best Content That Connects The Keys to a Great User Persona So how can you make your target buyer feel like you really, truly â€Å"get† what they’re about? By asking the right questions about who they are and finding real-word answers. Some of those questions are about demographics, like: Age Gender Income Occupation Education level Geography Marital Status Those are external factors about the circumstances of your target user’s life. Things that, unless they make a major life change, they have little control over. When you dig a little deeper, you start getting into psychographic information, like: Lifestyle Hobbies Career goals Political affiliations Religious values Priorities in life Aesthetic taste Obstacles Fears Assumptions As you discover more about your target buyer, you’ll unlock the hidden desires, fears, and challenges your target user faces so your content can help them navigate along their journey toward their biggest goals in life. And the more you help your target user, the more they will trust you, and the more they will want to do business with you. The more you help your target user, the more they will trust and do business with you. After you’ve developed your user persona, here’s what you can expect: You’ll gain a clearer picture into the external and internal life of your target user You’ll have more relevant content ideas You’ll write content faster You’ll know where to find your target user You’ll know which people/publications your user sees as influencers You’ll know where to promote your content so your target reader will find it You’ll dramatically increase your conversion rates So without further ado, here are some resources you can add to your persona-building toolkit today. Here are the resources you need to start building user #personas1. Target Audience Kit has created a handy downloadable package  that includes a worksheet on how to conduct audience surveys and a quick-and-easy template for a user persona. Print them out and use them as guidelines as you hunt down demographic and psychographic information. 2. Startup Target Customer Profile Worksheet What if you don’t know who your target customer is because you’re just starting out? I’ve created an in-depth worksheet for startup founders to help you ask the right questions in your search for the perfect customer. It covers not only their demographics and psychographics, but also their digital tribes, influencers, popular hashtagsbasically all the information you need to reach your target user when they’re actively looking for stuff that relates to your service. You can download it here. 3. Xtensio User Persona Creator This intuitive web-based template by â€Å"lean design agency† Xtensio helps you create a beautifully designed persona to share with your clients or team members as you create your content marketing strategy. When you sign up for a free account, you’ll also have access to templates for pitch decks, business plans, content strategies, and press releases, among other tools. If you’re a startup founder, this could be a true life (and time) saver. Alright, you now have three blank slates for creating your user persona. But how do you find the data to fill in the blanks? Below you’ll find some essential resources to help you discover information about your target customers based on real-world data. Recommended Reading: This is How to Use Data to Fuel Your Content Marketing Strategy 4. Google Analytics First of all, are the right visitors finding you? What are the interests of the people visiting your site, and what kind of content are they engaging the most with? Is there anything you need to change about the way visitors discover your content? A peek at your Google Analytics will give you these insights and more. One Way Use Google Analytics (of Many): If you don’t have Google Analytics set up on your website, take a few minutes to get your tracking code and install Analytics to your website. Once you’ve created your Analytics account and installed your tracking code to your site, wait about a week for Google to collect data about your visitors. Then log into your account and browse around. You can see your average visitor’s demographics, what content they’re spending the most time looking at, even their interests based on their typical search behavior. Google Analytics helps you see whether or not the users that are coming to you are the users you actually want. For example, I noticed when I went into my Users Interests In-market Segments that the top four interests of visitors to my site were: Employment Travel/Hotel Accommodations Employment/Career Counseling Services Dating Services My site is for Copywriting and Content Strategy Services. So somewhere there’s a disconnect between the content of my site and the people who are finding it. Now the challenge is to figure out why people are coming to me looking for jobs, accommodations, or love. So I take a look at my Landing Page analytics to see which page is attracting the most traffic, and lo and behold, other than my home page, the top two pages are two blog articles: one about the TED Talk formula for sales pitches, and one about finding your target customer. The â€Å"target customer† post starts with a story about my experiences with online dating and how they parallel with a startup founder’s search for the perfect customer. Later in the post, I give an example of a travel bag company that used â€Å"Alternatives to AirBnB† as a way to capture their target leads. So, that explains why people interested in Dating Services and Travel stumble upon my site! It also tells me that I need to build up the content on my site for my target customer so more startup founders and less lonely hearts and wayward travelers find their way to my blog. Even more reason to really hone in on my User Persona and their needs There are a myriad of ways Google Analytics can give you insights about who is coming to your site and what changes you need to make so your content is getting in front of the right people. Do yourself a BIG favor and take some time to evaluate the quality of the traffic you’re already getting so you can determine what you need to tweak to improve it.   has created a quick guide to how to use Google Analytics to understand your audience. Recommended Reading: 5 Big Questions About Your Site That Google Analytics Can Answer 5. Alexa Let’s say that you haven’t launched your site yet  or you’re getting ready to do a major overhaul of your website. You may be feeling a bit in the dark as far as who your ideal customer actually is. The good news is you have plenty to learn about your target audience by getting a glimpse at who’s going to the competition. Alexa provides detailed demographic reports  on visitors to any website, as well as the most popular keywords people use to find them. Here’s the quick-and-dirty way to get the goods on who is looking for your products or services. Google your core offer and see who your top competitors are in the paid and organic results. For example, let’s say you’re a virtual assistant for small business owners. The top paid result is for TasksEveryday.com. Go to Alexa.com and type in the URL and when you scroll down you’ll see related sites (ie other competitors in your niche): And their audience demographics: By using the new Audience Overlap Tool, you can get a big-picture demographic view of who is using virtual assistant services similar to your top competitor: Just click â€Å"Audience Overlap Tool† on the main overview page: Select the competitors you wish to compare: Scroll down to Demographics and take a look at what these sites have in common and what makes them notably different. For example, I noticed that getfriday.com visitors have a much younger average age (18-24) than taskseveryday.com (35-44). When I investigated, I clicked on â€Å"getfriday.com† to open a site overview in Alexa and discovered one of the main sites that led visitors to GetFriday was YouTube: So I clicked the link and discovered that the videos that lead to getfriday.com are all about outsourcing Virtual Assistants from the Phillipines. Is that giving me a clearer picture of who is going to my competitors and why? Well, if I do a little more digging into the demographic information on Alexa, I can discover that the average income of the GetFriday user trends lower than the average income of the TasksEveryday user. So now I have a decision to make: do I want to target my Virtual Assistant service to a budget-strapped startup founder looking to outsource on the cheap or a well-to-do CEO of a small company willing to invest in a top-notch professional? Once I make that decision, I can start deep-diving into the world of my target user to fill in the gaps of their larger story. Recommended Reading: 14 Time-Tested Tactics to Get Tons of Traffic from Social Media 6. BuzzSumo You now know the â€Å"who’s† about your target customers using Google Analytics Alexa. Now it’s time to discover the â€Å"what’s† and the â€Å"why’s.† What are your customer’s goals and Why do your target customers need your help accomplishing their goals? BuzzSumo is hands-down the most popular audience discovery tool for content marketers.  After an initial free trial, you have to pay for it, but if you’re trying to build an audience and relationships with influencers, it’s well worth the $99 a month. Why? Because with one keyword search, not only will you find the most popular articles about a topic in terms of shares and clicks, but also who the most influential people are within a niche AND who their followers are. So to continue with our fictional Virtual Assistant service, let’s say we want to cater to startup founders. So I type â€Å"startups and virtual assistants† into the BuzzSumo search box and see which articles have had the most engagement over the past year: Then I click on â€Å"View Sharers† to see who has been engaging with the post. I see that Stephen Bronner, news director for Entrepreneur has been sharing the article, which tells me he thinks his followers would find value in it. So now I can take a look at his followers. After scrolling through their bios, I spot an ideal candidate for Virtual Assistant services: a PR coach for entrepreneurs and startup founders: Now I can take a look at her Twitter profiles to get insights on her life and the lives of her  followers people who are starting their own companies and need help. Like this follower, who describes herself as a serial entrepreneur: BOOM. Target achieved. This person’s Twitter account is a window into her life. She tweets about where she likes to go to eat, the big projects she’s working on, her hobbies, the religious holidays she celebrates, the brands she likes. You can fill out an entire User Persona template with this information alone! Recommended Reading: This is the Marketing Research Process That Will Take Your Content to the Next Level 7. Customer Surveys Let’s say that you’re an established company looking to shift to a customer-centered content marketing strategy. Your current customers are an invaluable resource for insights. Just ask them about their lives. Pioneering content strategist Colleen Jones  says customer surveys are a great way not only to determine user behavior (what they do), but also the emotions and motivations leading to their decisions (what they’re feeling): â€Å"If you want to assess your success at producing effective content marketing, you need useful, actionable feedback about it. That means you need to know what people think about your content. Surveys are an invaluable way to find out.† Here are some customer survey tools you can try out for free: Survey Monkey- The most popular contender, Survey Monkey has a great reputation for being easy to use and having a step-by-step tutorial to walk you through the survey-building process. However, to export the survey data you collect, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid version. Typeform- Typeform’s survey templates are slick and beautifully designed, which means your participants are less likely to abandon ship mid-survey out of boredom. Google Forms- Simple, straightforward, free, and easy to access via your Google Drive account. Need help coming up with some good questions? Michael Patterson, CEO of marketing research software Hotjar has come up with a great list of customer survey questions  that get into the minds (and hearts) of your customers. Recommended Reading: How to Use Social Media Listening to Create Better Content for Your Audience 8. Quora If you lack a customer base or even a list to send audience surveys out to, Quora can be an invaluable tool to grab information about your target customer’s needs  Ã¢â‚¬Å"in their own words.† Don’t just look at the most-upvoted answers: sometimes the replies to expert answers can provide you with deeper insights into your target user’s world than the more polished expert responses. Quora can be an invaluable tool to grab information about your target customer’s needs9. Twenty20 Confession time: I’ve spent more time than I should looking through Twenty20’s gorgeous curated stock photo collections, in search of The Face of the User Persona for my clients. Why Twenty20 as opposed to the kajillions of other stock photography sites out there? Because Twenty20 sources and curates photography that looks like real people’s lives instead of glossy studio sessions. Here’s what you should look for in a great User Persona profile pic: A headshot of one person- Your user persona represents an individual, not a group. Personality-  Unless you’re creating content for a modeling agency, your user persona is probably not a fashion model. Look for pictures of everyday folks. Match the data demographics-  If your research suggests that the majority of users in your niche are 50-something white-collar professional women, don’t use a headshot of a 20-something tattoo artist. In their natural environment- Try to find a picture that shows your User Persona where she’d be using your product or service. Above all, User Personas should represent and look like the real people you're creating content for. Here are some other examples of great User Personas to help give you a kickstart in creating your own. (Source: Xtensio) Recommended Reading: How to Make the Best Social Media Images the Easy Way (+84 Free Images) Note how in-depth the above persona is in terms of Alyssa’s desire to balance her creativity with her business sense.   This is a great starting point for giving a â€Å"voice† to a brand’s content: that of a passionate artist who wants to be a success without being a â€Å"sell-out.† So based on the information I gathered using the tools above for my fictional Virtual Assistant service, here’s the User Persona I created using the Xtensio template tool: On the other end of the persona spectrum, we have MailChimp’s multiple User Personas. (Source: MailChimp) These visually appealing Personas aren't as specific in their narratives as Xtensio’s, but they still offer psychographic data for inspiring content. Even though these Personas lack a written story, the specificity of the look, dress, and descriptive text communicate volumes about each individual. To achieve this Portrait style persona, all you need is: A graphic design tool like Canva  or Photoshop, A great stock photo, A list of personality traits and motivators. Here’s what I made in Canva using the same Virtual Assistant target user: How to Create Your Own Persona in Canva Here’s a quick example showing how you can create one that is similar: After opening Canva, select â€Å"Create a Design† Select the â€Å"Blog Graphic† template from the Blogging eBooks section Upload your stock photo (or you can choose from Canva’s collection of stock photography and pay a $1 to download it) Drag and drop the stock photo as the background to the layout Free stock photo from Pexels.com Select the Heading text tool and start typing the personality trait keywords.  Choose various fonts, sizes or colors as needed. You can change the angle of the text by selecting the text box, clicking on the Rotate tool (the circular arrow at the bottom of the text box), and rotating the text box around. It's Time to Start Creating Better User Personas Alright: you've now assembled a well-stocked persona toolkit.   It's time to get to work! Have fun creating your User Persona- and if you've made one you're particularly proud of, feel free to share it with us!