KCA: Best of Celebrities in Kids Choice Awards 2010 (PHOTOS)

The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (KCAs) is an annual awards show that airs on the Nickelodeon cable channel. The 2011 KCAs will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on Nickelodeon.Here are some pictures from the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards.Website of official KSA 2011





Singer Justin Bieber performs at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles March 27, 2010.Source: REUTERS / Mario Anzuoni Date:04/

Listening Beams from the other Side of Questions

Create a connection with people by leaning in and listening intently when they are speaking. ~Heshie Segal

"I'm great," flowed from my lips, just as the clerk began to inquire, "How..."  Since my response came ahead of the rest of the sentence, I had not anticipated what she really wanted to say.  Do you form your next input as others speak?  If we do, we really don't hear.  Good listening is on the other side of asking questions.

As the clerk completed her sentence, "...can I help you,"  I anticipated the familiar, "How are you today," and I was dead wrong.  Because of my mistake, it stopped me in my tracks.  Ever catch yourself doing this?  It's common in our culture to wait for pauses and jump in, unlike conversation in Japan, where speakers pause and answer after they have time to think about what was said.

Interestingly, you can succeed more in business by really listening.  "An executive's greatest asset in growing their business is their ability to listen," according to George Dennis.  He lists three recommendations to help make this part of your leadership style:

Really hear
Rather than rushing in to deliver answers, simply listen.  Stay in the moment instead of thinking about how you'll respond while the other person is talking.  "Hear and understand the need," Dennis recommends.  "Let it soak in and then answer the call."

Promote dialogue, not monologue
Wait until the person is finished speaking and then repeat words back to let them know you are fully engaged in conversation.  It's a way to gain conficence from employees or potential customers, Dennis finds.

Consider body language
Listening is active!  Nods, eye contact, and other reactions give a signal to another person that you listen and hear.  If you look at your watch or avoid eye contact when someone speaks to you, you make employees or clients uncomfortable.

People in the U.S. have a mindset to act and this makes listening difficult, Mary Jo Asmus notes. 

Why? Because listening isn’t considered something that gets results. Our workplaces (understandably) are geared toward taking action to achieve results.

So we’re constantly in motion, taking action because it’s what we (think) we get paid to do. Our days are filled with meetings, phone calls, email, fixing things. We talk TO and AT others and think we’ve accomplished something.

Productive listening does not occur naturally. It requires work and practice.  Tom Lewis and Gerald Graham list these 7 tips for effective listening 

1. Concentrate on what others say
2.  Send nonverval message that you listen and hear
3. Avoid early evaluations
4. Refrain from getting defensive
5.  Practice paraphrasing
6.  Listen and observe for feelings
7.  Ask questions

You can test yourself by giving a peer Lewis and Graham's Listening Quiz.  How do you rate?

1. During the past two weeks, can you recall an incident where you thought I was not listening to you?

2. When you are talking to me, do you feel relaxed at least 90 percent of the time?

3. When you are talking to me, do I maintain eye contact with you most of the time?

4. Do I get defensive when you tell me things with which I disagree?

5. When talking to me, do I often ask questions to clarify what you are saying?

6. In a conversation, do I sometimes overreact to information?

7. Do I ever jump in and finish what you are saying?

8. Do I often change my opinion after talking something over with you?

9. When you are trying to communicate something to me, do I often do too much of the talking?

10. When you are talking to me, do I often play with a pen, pencil, my keys, or something else on my desk?

When you feel like you really connect with someone, you might say you are on the same wavelength. As you focus on the ideas or questions of another person, your brain filters out distracting thoughts to help you focus. But it's your choice.

Listening is a gift you give to others.  Others gain respect and confidence that when they speak, they also feel heard.  You can see how critical the other side of questioning is.  What will you change in the way you listen?

Joy of ChoosingToys

Ever wonder why toys seem so segregated in stores? 'Pink and blue aisles" line most stores and there's no middle ground. Strict segregation separates boys' aisles from girls'. What if a girl wants a spaceship or a boy desires a kitchen set?

On the heels of hearing an NPR radio broadcast in which Dads raising families discussed the separation of toys in stores by pink and blue and the clear division between the two, I went into Hobby House Toys to purchase a card game for one of my grandsons. A wonderful integration of toys and games stimulates your senses - toys that you just do not see in the big stores, such as marble runs, games and toys from abroad. How refreshing!

All of this sparked memories and curiosity about toys and play as they impact learning and careers.

When I first came to the U.S. as a child, I admired electric trains on miniature tracks, rolling under Christmas trees. No doubt my trip across the United States by train, when I first arrived here as a child, stimulated this fascination for trains. Luckily my parents were not so restrictive that they told me these were "boy" toys, when I announced I wanted a train for Christmas. I do not think I was more pleased than when I received this gift... I know I played with it for hours on end, if I wasn't reading. My dolls found themselves on shelves because they seemed boring and I did not want to "mess them up" since they always looked so beautiful.

When one of my grandsons was about three, I asked what he wanted for Christmas. He told me that he wanted a doll so he could feed it a bottle of milk. When I considered his request, I thought it would not hurt for this little boy to be a "nurturer." His parents told me such a gift was fine with them. Someday, I expect he'll make a fine, loving Dad. Today he enjoys Star Wars computer games and playing t-ball. Another grandson told me he liked to play in the kitchen at his pre-school. He also loves Cars toys and puzzles. Seems like children who have a variety of toys will be more well-rounded as people? What are your thoughts?

Not too surprisingly, learning preferences in school connect to toys and play. Early toy preferences may point to later preferences in school achievement and ultimately professional choices, Becky Francis, professor of education at Roehampton University, London, says. "Girls tend not to enjoy traditionally masculine subjects, particularly science; boys still tend to outperform girls at higher-level maths," she writes. "I might suggest that if girls are inculcated into construction and technology via their play, as a form of entertainment, they may be inclined to feel these curriculum areas more familiar and less daunting/challenging."

But preferences for toys and play may be hard wired. "These early play preferences may not only be the result of socialization and marketing, however. A 2005 study looking at the play of young primates, by psychologist Professor Melissa Hines of Cambridge University, found that when offered a variety of toys, female monkeys tended to gravitate towards dolls and soft toys, while males chose toy cars."

Fellow blogger, Amy Jussel, is concerned about ways media shapes youth. She focuses on ways media to be used more as a tool for positive change.

What do you think about all this? How much do the toys we play with when young, guide our career choices or the kind of person we are today?

Brand Logos Powerfully Influence Your Thinking

Marketers hit the bull's eye when they advise folks to select a logo with much thought. Here's why... "even the briefest exposure to the Apple logo may make you behave more creatively," according to an article just published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Interestingly, even the briefest exposure to well-known brand logos can cause people to behave in ways that mirror those brands’ traits.

“Each of us is exposed to thousands of brand images every day, most of which are not related to paid advertising,” explains Gavan Fitzsimons, Duke University Researcher. “We assume that incidental brand exposures do not affect us, but our work demonstrates that even fleeting glimpses of logos can affect us quite dramatically.”

Can you see implications this has for your marketing? Here's what the researchers suggest:

“Instead of spending the majority of their money on traditional print and television advertising, companies with established brand associations such as Apple may want to give serious consideration to shifting more marketing resources to product placement opportunities and other forms of outreach that emphasize brief brand exposures,” Gavan Fitzsimons said.

And consumers should be aware that they are susceptible to influences they may not detect and use this knowledge to their advantage. “If you know you need to perform well on some task, say something athletic, you may want to surround yourself with images and brand logos that represent success in athletics,” Gráinne Fitzsimons said.

Knowing how even a brief glimpse powerfully influences the mind, what might you do differently with your own brand logo?

Color Your Banner - Color Your Brain!

What led you to settle for your final choice of color for your banner? Hmmm... Color gives an impression about you... and your brand when folks visit.

"Color is so amazingly powerful," according to psychologist Joerg Bose, "that it is no surprise people throughout centuries have sought to connect it with something meaningful beyond the experience, itself." In fact recent research shows that the color of a drink can influence how we think it tastes. In fact, color was more of an influence on how taste was perceived than quality or price information.

Interestingly, the color red can affect how people function: Red means danger and commands us to stop in traffic. Red can actually prevent us from performing our best on tests, according to University of Rochester researchers.

Colors powerfully impact people!

Marshall Sponder offers helpful tips to select the right color for your blog:

the right colors can trigger positive emotions which motivate visitors

bright bold colors tend to stir us up, while softer pastel colors calm and relax us

strong bold colors tend to target men while women generally prefer pastels - consider your audience

limit the colors to two or three and no more

make sure the colors work well together and do not clash

Here are colors blogger friends chose for their banners:

Blue Confidence, travel, freedom, truth, professionalism, wealth and power. Also tranquility, dependable, acceptance, patience, understanding, cooperation, comfort, loyalty and security. It is one of the most calming colors and is associated with the sky and the sea, intelligence, reassurance, and trust.

Chris at Branding and Marketing

David at David Airey

Frank at Know HR

Galba at Tune Up Your EQ

Liz at Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Maria at Customers Are Always

Mike at Own Your Brand

Jeanne at Writer's Notes Blog

Arun at Arun Rajagopal

White Purity, peace, perfection, fresh, easy, cleanliness, goodness, and spirituality. Worth noting here, white represents life and marriage in Western cultures, but it represents death and sorrow in Eastern cultures.

Angela at Angela Maiers

C.B. at Flooring the Consumer

Bob at One Reader at a Time

Darren at PROBLOGGER

Elizabeth at Woolgathering

Sandee at Comedy Plus

Terry at Ramblings from a Glass Half Full

Tom at QA QnA

Purple personifies power, royalty, and richness. Dignity, sophistication, creativity, spirituality and mystery. Deep purple is associated with royalty and richness, while lavender is associated with romance and nostalgia.

Rita at Rita Perea Enterprises

Rosa at Joyful, Jubilant Learning

Sandy at Purple Wren

Greens symbolizes new growth, and, as the most energizing color, increases our sense of well-being when we wear it. Money, wealth, prosperity, calm, health, food, nature, hope, growth, freshness, soothing, sharing, and responsiveness. Green symbolizes spring, renewal, and fertility.

Drew at Drew's Marketing Minute

Mack at The Viral Garden

Tammy at Mediator Tech

Olive works well for resturants - and Coffee Houses like StarBucks... a not so drab summery green that may have military overtones for some people.

Ben at Instigator Blog

Cool Greys and blues help people unwind. A conservative color, symbolizing security, maturity and reliability.

Cord at Marketing Hipster

Dan at Idea Sellers

David at Logic + Emotion

Ellen at Brain Based Business

GL at What Would Dad Say?

Marc at My Fitness Hut

Black Space, night, authority, dramatic, classy, committed, serious, power, elegance, and sophistication.

Jon or Liz Strauss, upcoming new owner of Smart Wealthy Rich

Mark at Unconventional Thinking Blog

Red stirs life and stimulates both the appetite and brain... Action, energy, strength, passion, fire, heat, power, attention-getting. Can also mean love and romance. A strong masculine color. Red is a good color for a call-to-action. Red is cheerfulness, excitement, and warmth.

Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand

J.D. at Black in Business

Jay at The Marketing Spot

Yellow adds warmth and happiness

Seth at Seth's Blog is unique with a small "banner" at the side between yellow and orange.

Orange makes us feel energized - hence the number of fast-food restaurants that use it in their decor. Health and vitality, autumn, youthfulness, fire, steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, cheerfulness, warmth, excitement and energy. Has been known to stimulate the appetite. Vibrant and warm, orange is associated with autumn and the earth.

Ian at Phoenix from the Ashes

Jackie at Jackie Cameron Awareness Choices Change

Lisa at Design Your Writing Life

Mike at Converstations

Robert at Middle Zone Musings and browns are included, too.

Steve at All Things Workplace

Valeria at Converstation Agent

Brown Credibility, stability, the hearth, home, the earth, wood, comfort and strength. Brown can be used as a neutral or a warm color.

Dauwd at Dauwd Miracle

Priscilla at Priscilla Palmer.com

Gavin at Servant of Chaos

Thoughts...

Images Sway Attitude and Choice

A picture paints a thousand words...

Why is it that pictures express ideas so well? "Images in contemporary consumer culture are an emergent form of writing," according to Linda Scott (Oxford University) and Patric Vargas (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign). Scott and Vargas suggest that "mass communications technology has created a cultural classroom in which the world's first democratic pictography has developed." Have you wondered why graphics grab your mind and influence your thoughts?

We're living in exciting times... we have many choices to express ideas. Consider million dollar visually oriented Super Bowl ads... Check these "winners" out and see how images without words affect you...


See how the NIKE commercial makes you feel...


Interestingly both commercials evoked an emotional response for me... you? It's because more of your brain is engaged than with words alone. Researchers discovered that images influence attitudinal judgments. Specifically, an ad containing a picture of a product stimulates vivid visual imagery processing more effectively.

Pictures favorably influence attitude toward an ad and brand more than ads with impressionistic images or one without an image according to an article in the Journal of Advertising by Laurie Babin and Alfred Burns.

Why so? Some researchers believe a "positivity bias" is associated with imagery because people are not inclined to fantasize about negative outcomes. They took note that imagery processing most frequently connects to pleasant emotional or affective elements of the stimulus.

Lest you think words are not as important as pictures, Babin and Burns also find that text

...containing instructions to imagine also stimulated vivid and elaborate visual imagery processing and enhanced attitudes. Tests for mediation indicate that mental imagery processing explains all or some of the direct effects of the two imagery-eliciting strategies' influence on attitudes.

Visual information tends to be remembered over words because pictures presumably activate a visual as well as a verbal encoding process. In an advertising context, use of pictures in print advertisements has been found to lead to more favorable ad attitude.

Thinking of new mediums to communicate purpose as you blog, build a brand or make sales pitches?

Decide in a Snap!

Do you rely on your gut or consider several options for your major decisions? While many folks agonize, others make quick choices that work for and not against them. Deadlines influence people's outcomes and here's how...

Latest research shows that snap decisions generally work best because you're forced to process quickly. Snap decisions build on intelligence stored our unconscious mind. In his recent book, Gut Feelings, Gerd Gigerenzer pinpoints why intuition trumps reason when putting together stocks for a portfolio...

Interestingly, the less financial knowledge behind choices the better. For instance, women queried by the Gigrenzer's German research team recognized fewer stocks than men, but when they created a portfolio based on familiar companies, they earned more than an equivalent group chosen by the men.

Snap decisions go awry with too much information...

Intuition, it seems, is not some sort of mystical chemical reaction but a neurologically based behavior that evolved to ensure that we humans respond quickly when faced with a dilemma. Too much data throws a monkey wrench into the process. The more variables we consider, the harder it is to make the "right" decision--as anyone who has faced an aisle full of shampoos knows.

And, Malcolm Gladwell author of Blink points out snap decision-making's fragile and easily disrupted.

Gladwell discovered, when asked to rank brands of strawberry jams from best- to worst-tasting without looking at the labels, most people give the same answers. However, when asked to describe what each jam tasted like, these line-ups vary dramatically, and lower-quality jams could be ranked higher.

So wisdom's boosted by frugality.

Are there strategies we can use to get around this? To try and trick yourself into 'snap' judgement?

Or do we just allow the processes to keep rolling in the background - without giving it undue focus - trusting that we'll make the decision when the time's right? From what Gladwell and Gigrenzer discoverd, we'll have to prevent mulling it over too much!

So, here's a tactic...

Imagine your best answer as the red dot on a target board. You mentally throw a dart at that target. No delay. No distractions. No doubts.

Simply throw the dart from the talent pools already existent in your mind and enjoy the results. And then, don't look back. Just trust it. The secret's in just letting go!

Joanna Young queried how to make a snap decision when your deadline's at the end of the week... So we'll be looking for results...

Conquer Overthinking in Decisions

Can't make a decision? Got a major problem at work you need to solve? When critical matters weigh heavily, many folks tend to overthink, Ap Dijksterhuis at the University of Amsterdam discovered. Thinking hard about a complex decision, that rests on multiple factors, can bamboozle the conscious mind and lead to final choices that aren't satisfactory.

Joanna Young requested some tips to get past overthinking. Here's how to launch...

1. Trust your instincts - You're more likely to perform well if you do not think too hard and just trust your intuition. Snap decisions are more reliable in many cases, according to a University College London study, than decisions made using higher-level cognitive processes.

Dr Li Zhaoping, of the UCL Department of Psychology, said: "This finding seems counter-intuitive. You would expect people to make more accurate decisions when given the time to look properly. Instead they performed better when given almost no time to think. The conscious or top-level function of the brain, when active, vetoes our initial subconscious decision -- even when it is correct -- leaving us unaware or distrustful of our instincts and at an immediate disadvantage. Falling back on our inbuilt, involuntary subconscious processes for certain tasks is actually more effective than using our higher-level cognitive functions."

If you've ever second guessed yourself on a test, you'll see the wisdom in this.

2. Keep expectations in mind - Know what's expected and what you want to see or what your company expects as a result. Your target is clear then.

3. Ask a two-footed question A two-footed question, links your personal interests to the best car to buy or which new hire candidate will best do the job, leads to more satisfactory results. And if you want to engage more of your mind in the whole decision, ask the question when you put your head on the pillow at night. The question directs your mind during sleep.

4. Sleep on it -- while you're sleeping, your unconscious mind appears able to ponder all the information and produce a decision that most people remain satisfied with. You'll awake with the best choice...and it will be apparent.

If you've tended to get bogged down in decision making, why not give these a try?

Your Brain Has Brakes!

Is it the civilized mind that allows us to choose as opposed to react? Lisa Gates wonders... Hmmm... I've seen a golfer hit the ground hard with his club when he flubbed a shot, whereas other players calmly pick up former pace to drive the next shots down the fairway. And once a golfer flubs, seems his next balls land in the pond, in the trees and deep grass. What is it that helps us make choices rather than reacting? Great question you asked, Lisa, for the Question Train on Mind and Brain series. Recent research on the brain sheds new light on answers...

Braking System The human brain has a neural braking network that kicks in just long enough for people to make a quick decisions according to researchers at University of California, San Diego... As study participants planned an action, listened for a stop signal and made a quick choice to continue or to stop, researchers tracked MRI's to observe brain activity. They discovered

One of the connected regions was the subthalamic nucleus, within the deep-seated midbrain, which is an interface with the motor system and can be considered a 'stop button' or the brake itself. A second region was in the right inferior frontal cortex, a region near the temple, where the control signal to put on the brakes probably comes from.

How does that translate to everyday life?

Just enough time to choose! "We've known for some time about key brain areas involved in controlling behavior," Adam Aaron, lead researcher, explains, "and now we're learning how they're connected and how it is that the information can get from one place to the other really fast." So the brain's neural braking network gives humans just a few milliseconds to make a decision. That's just enough time to react by throwing a golf club to the ground or stop and make a choice to forget it and move calmly to the next shot!

Genes may play a part Aaron theorizes that "Variability in the density and thickness of the 'cable' connections is probably influenced by genes." Further research will show us more.

Researcher Read Montague of Baylor University, claims in Why Choose this Book? that our brains evolved computational programs to evaluate choices in terms of their value and efficiency: "Those that accurately estimate the costs and the long term benefits of choices will be more efficient that those who don't."

By using MRI's, Montague found brands such as Coke, "change dopamine delivery to various brain regains through their effect on reward prediction circuitry." Interestingly, Coke's "flavor" is distinguished in the brain's prefrontal cortex, a region essential for making choices. That sheds light on why we develop favorite brands!

Choosing, not reacting Remember how people advised us to count to ten before "reacting?" If you're like me and sometimes feel like throwing a golf club into the pond after bad shots, there's good news... Because of the brain's plasticity, you can rewire it to stop before you react. Sometimes that means counting to ten or instantly recalling a happy tune or whatever it takes to move you out of an initial emotion. The more times you consciously stop to put on the brakes, the more dendrites you'll build for time to choose! That gives you space to use good tone both during golf and in the workplace that Ellen Weber describes.

Lisa, in the second part of your question you note, "Perhaps what I'm asking is the difference between neo-cortex, limbic, reptilian, all of that, and how it relates to us civilized humans trying to choose in our everyday life." Since the human brain is more complex than that of animals, we can make choices whereas an animal reacts more from instinct.

What an intriguing question to answer, Lisa!

Any more thoughts on this?