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How To Present A Cheese Board

There are many ways to serve a cheese board to get the best of your cheese selection.

Obviously the first thing to do is to choose a few cheeses that go well together. It’s probably best to group them by theme such as region of origin or milk type. Don’t forget that the weather can influence the sort of cheese that people want to eat – warmer weather lends itself to fresh tastes such as goats cheese and colder weather lends itself more to mature flavours such as strong cheddar and blue cheeses.

Once you have a selection you will need a cheese board to present them on. There are many materials that the board can be made from slate to wood and marble to glass. They come in all shapes and sizes so choose something that you will be happy using time and time again and make sure that the board has enough room when filled for guests to cut the cheese.

Wood is great to serve on because it looks beautiful with the pattern of the grain, and the natural oil content of the wood kills bacteria. Each board is unique because each piece of wood is unique.

Slate is nice to use because you can write the name of each cheese using chalk so that your guests can find out what they are eating. One downside is that the noise of cutlery scraping on it is very unpleasant to some people.

Don’t put the cheese on the board too late. Get it out of the fridge about 2 hours before you want to serve it. This allows the process of aromatisation to occur which brings out the fullest flavour.

You can have fun with the way you arrange the cheese. It’s a good idea to put crumbly cheeses in the middle though. Consider turning wedges up on their end because it creates a dramatic impression. Make sure that you keep the cheese separate from each other though to avoid the flavours contaminating each other.

Depending on how you have cut the cheese you will need different cutlery. a block will need a knife to cut it but slices will need a fork or tongs. Spoons are a good idea for very soft cheeses.

To accompany the cheese on the board you will need a few crackers or some bread. also consider adding some fresh or dried fruit and some nuts.

However you choose to serve you cheese board you are sure to enjoy the flavour, textures and aromas that the cheese has to offer.

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Negotiation Skills – Importance & Techniques

Negotiation is an important tool, that all of us use at different times, at different phase of our life, to achieve different goals. The first time probably we negotiated in our life, when as a child we kept shouting for mother’s milk. The negotiations are typically tagged with a price, which may or not be expressed in monetary term. For example a marital negotiation has a typical price line of social status, whereas a negotiation in the job interview the price line is clearly money. There can be more than one one price line also, provided there are different areas involved in the negotiation. For example in a union-management negotiation apart form salary, there can be price lines involving working conditions and industrial relations.

To negotiate effectively one must do a proper hoe work on the self strength and weaknesses vis-a-vis the strength and weaknesses of the other side. In the negotiation table, it will all depend upon how one can keep up with the nerve. Thus, it is very important to know the bottom-line of the price where the negotiator can settle. The body language is also extremely important in negotiation.
The price may be social recognition, peer recognition and many others. A negotiation may take place either on 1 to 1 or may involve more than two parties.

It all depends on how well one has prepared about the background and strength areas of the other side. It is also important to know the dynamics of the power game.
To know more about it click here [http://www.homejob.in/stories/self_improvement/negotiation__a_tool_to_change_your_lifestyle.html].

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How To Stay Present When You Start Your Day

When we wake up in the morning, where do our thoughts go? Do they run to the things we have to do? Are they filled with memories of yesterday and worries for tomorrow? How we think and feel when we wake up has a lot to do with how we will perceive the day. If we can relax our mind in those waking moments, we will give ourselves time to wake up in a more natural way. If we forgo the thoughts of moments passed and those to come, we will remain present as we wake up. For before we get up, as we are still lying in bed, we have the ability to set the tone of our day with our thoughts and our emotions. All too often, our day is controlled by how we interact with ourselves in those waking moments.

Before you rise, imagine nothing, think of nothing, just lie there and be awake. Enjoy the feeling of nothing to do, only transitioning between sleep and wakefulness. This moment, the one we are given before the day starts, is yours alone to set the pace and the momentum for the day. Take a few deep breaths; relish the new day and all that it has to bring. Do not think of what you need to do, will do, or anything else. Leave your mind blank, just for those few moments. Now in this space, accept where you are in life. Open yourself up to everything around you. Imagine no separateness between you and the rest of the world; feel the connection between the moment you are in and all that is to come. Let go of the thoughts and emotions of yesterday. Let go of tomorrow and what you imagine or feel about it. Instead, be in the moment you are in as you wake up.

Breathe deep and let go; let your body and mind stay relaxed before you pull yourself out of bed. Do not let your mind or your emotions control how you will feel as you start the day. Instead, let yourself be empty; let the day itself be a reflection of how you feel and think. With no thoughts already controlling your mood and no emotions controlling your movements, you can be as you really are. When you do this, not only are you present, but you give yourself the chance to experience the day as it really is. You do not interact with it in the same way as you did yesterday. You do not interact with the day based on thoughts or emotions of the future. You are simply in the moment, free of any control. This intention from the very beginning will help you to stay present throughout the rest of your day. Your body, mind, and emotions will feel relaxed because they are not based on anything yet; you are open and present, free to welcome whatever may be.

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