Join me on a short journey to my young life where we will see several common idioms in action that make use of the verb 'to hit'.

A Stone's Throw Podcast

A Snapshot From My Childhood

Vidéo complète avec images et sous titres bilingues ici: 
https://youtu.be/TfUitPI_E7Q?si=nCay-Gc2slazf2_l

French Stories For All

Histoire de ma Chaîne

A brief history of Venezuelan food called: Hallaca. It is very common to eat it at Christmas in the Caribbean country. The hallaca is very similar to the tamale, so many times people confuse them, but their preparation and origins may be somewhat different.

Narrated with a Venezuelan accent.*

Spanish Audio bites

Hallaca o tamal

Il conte Gastaldi è sicuro che uno dei suoi quattro domestici è una spia e che la sua vita è in pericolo. Toccherà all' ispettore Malvisi sventare la minaccia e assicurare il colpevole alla giustizia.

Se io fossi Sherlock Holmes

Caccia alla spia per l'ispettore Malvisi

Сначала прочитайте эти слова, они будут в подкасте: 
Детеныш – a joey 
Свидание – a date 
Быть на грани исчезновения – To be on the verge of extinction
Экономика – Economy
Принадлежать – Belong
Аренда – Rent
Дарить в знак уважения – To give as a sign of respect
Содержать – To support 
По слухам – Rumor has it

Listen to the podcast and answer the questions to see if you understood the audio well.

Русский с Валентиной

Новости. Панда родила детёныша

Staying healthy can be difficult — it might mean we don't always get to eat and drink the things we want.

Sometimes we have to sacrifice some sweet things because we know they're not such a good idea!

But how far would you go to make sure you have a healthy diet?

A new survey has found that almost a quarter of people in the UK don't enjoy their meals because they put health before taste.

That means they're choosing to eat meals they don't like just because they're healthy.

However, the survey, by a bread company called Warburtons, also found that 74% of people aged between 25 and 44 aren't quite sure how to eat a balanced diet.

So it's perhaps not a surprise that people are eating meals they don't enjoy!

It's true that foods full of sugar, salt and butter can taste good, but experts say that healthy meals can taste great too.

And we can still enjoy some tasty things as part of a healthy diet.

In fact, some experts say that we shouldn't think of foods as "good" or "bad" — we should be able to enjoy everything in moderation.

This is something that older adults are better at, according to the survey, which included 2,000 people in the UK.

Adults over the age of 65 were most likely to put their enjoyment first when making food. Younger people admitted to eating meals in front of others to look like they're healthy — even if they don't like the food.

English Conversation/Dialogue

Survey: Young Adults Sacrifice Taste for Health in Meals

Habit stacking, a concept popularized by James Clear in his book “Atomic Habits,” can be a powerful tool in business negotiations. It involves pairing a new habit with an existing one to create a sequence of behaviors that lead to a desired outcome. With practice, habit stacking can help negotiations become more natural and impactful.

Identify Core Habits: Start by pinpointing habits that are already part of your negotiation routine, such as reviewing key documents like contracts or setting clear meeting agendas in advance of discussions. These foundational habits form the base of your negotiation process.

Stack New Behaviors: Attach new habits that enhance negotiation skills, like practicing active listening techniques or rehearsing persuasive yet empathetic language with a colleague, to these core habits. Layering in complementary behaviors builds negotiation acumen over time.

Create Triggers: Use the completion of one habit as the trigger or cue to smoothly start the next habit in the sequence. For instance, after reviewing all pertinent documents, you might then take 10 minutes to practice delivering your opening pitch out loud.

Maintain Consistency: Repeat this full habit stack sequence consistently, whether daily or weekly, to solidify the new negotiation habits. Performing the behaviors together and over time will make them almost automatic. Over several months, this approach can lead to more effective, impactful and confident negotiations.

By using habit stacking to systematically improve your negotiation techniques, you can achieve better outcomes and build stronger long-term business relationships. With practice, your negotiations will become more natural and impactful.

Mail Bag coming on Monday!