This is Tip #2 in a series of 10 relationship building reminders.

Maintain eye contact.

This non-verbal behavioral tip happens to be one of my pet peeves. It sounds so obviously simple, and virtually everybody feels that they are good at it. News Flash! They are not. In fact, most people are very poor at it, including…

Deserts are areas of intensely dry terrain where very little precipitation falls during the course of the year and the environment can be extremely hostile to plant and animal life not specifically adapted to the living conditions. Chile’s Atacama Desert exemplifies the concept in a most extraordinary manner. Situated between the two mountain chains of the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range, the area is one of the driest regions on earth, as the mountains form a near perfect rain shadow.

Thanks to Marnella Tours, the supplier sponsor of this column, you can use this 60-Second Geography article in your own travel agency’s newsletters and websites.…

The largest amphibious invasion in history took place on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Allied forces from the United States, Canada, Britain and France waded ashore that day to establish a beachhead in the north of France. Sailing from bases on the southern coast of England, the forces landed on five French beaches with the codenames Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah. The successful invasion paved the way for the eventual victory of Allied forces in Europe and the end of World War II.

American Cemetery in Normandy

Today, those same beaches on the coast of France are still known by their D-Day code names. Throughout the…