Friday, 19 April 2013

Traveling down Memory Lane


As I sat for our very first lesson, 13 weeks ago, I recall doubtful questions racing through my mind as I thought about the course. Would I be able to handle the workload? I got it at 1 point, how could it be possible to get a “no finals” module at one point? Could it be because it is really difficult and no one wants to take it? Peer teaching, report, resume and application letter writing, oral presentation, 6 blog posts and commenting on other friend’s blog posts, and more, can I handle it? Should I drop the module? As I walked out with Sean and Tiza, new friends that I made, they encouraged me that ES2007S is doable and I should not think of dropping it. Looking back now, I am indebted to them for those golden words of advice. ES2007S has been the most practical, applicable and useful module in my NUS academic endeavour thus far. It is the first module where I could really map a growth and difference in me from the start and the end of the module.

Prior to this module, I had never really considered the difficulties of communication with regards to the professional world, blinded by my naivety that it’s just communication; I could talk to friends, how hard could it be?  Embarking on this course however, it has opened my eyes to some probable problems that I am likely to face in the near future and provided me with food for thoughts and advice to deal with these issues. Through the course it has offered me “hands on” opportunities developing me as an individual and grooming me to be a good professional communicator.

Resume and Application  Letter Writing


Capturing the attention of and using the words on the resume and application letter to convince and persuade the future employers is one of the greatest written communication challenges that one has to overcome as we embark on our working life. Through my attempt of writing these two important documents, I have learnt the importance of being selective in what I write. Rather than simply throwing all the skills that I have at the employer, I have to choose which are the ones most applicable. Previously, I have always held the preconception that the more I write, means the more I possess and thus the more likely employers will be in employing me. This course has effectively removed this thought. At first, this was a great challenge for me, someone who tends to write lengthily believing in “the more the merrier”. Nonetheless, I have successfully overcome this through researching on the company and the requirements of the job. By doing so, it allows my resume and application letter to be more focused on showcasing that I fulfil the job requirements. Furthermore, I have also been equipped with the 7Cs to enhance any writings that I would have to do in the future. My skills for this 7Cs has also been heighten by practice, via the writing of 6 blog posts.    

Assertiveness


Reflecting on my life, I had always been a submissive friend, giving in to the demands of friends so as not to offend them. This practice however, as we have learnt from the lesson of assertiveness, may not be the best way to go in the long run. Through the lesson, I have learnt how to be assertive and yet not cross the fine line to aggressiveness. For instance, should I be met with a superior who does not really listen, one way which I could assert myself is through repetition of my point.

Presentation


Through this whole course, one of the greatest take away is presentation. When I say presentation, I mean the overall presentation of self, be it in an interview, the way we write official documents and e-mails or standing in front of a group of individuals and presenting ideas to them. One always has to take into consideration the cultural context which they are embedded in so as to prevent misunderstandings and allow for more effective communication. Similarly, in any situation, one has to be conscious of both the non-verbal and verbal aspects of communication, ensuring that we are able to convey our ideas across effectively. For example, in order to be persuasive in a presentation, the non-verbal cues that one sends out have to be coherent with their verbal cues. Personally, what is equally important is confidence. Having gone through two presentations and the mock interview, I have noticed that confidence of an individual becomes prevalent through our non-verbal messages, the way we stand, our pacing and more.

I have indeed harvested a great amount of professional communication skills through this module, something that can never be fully contained within a single blog post. Some say, every goodbye makes the next hello closer, and this is my true wish for our class. It is my sincere hope that these friendships would not depart like the passing breeze and rather that we continue to be in contact and hold onto the friendships forged.

To Dr Radhika, thank you for being such a kind, humorous, understanding and friendly instructor. The relationship forged between you and the class, between instructor and students, is not something that can be easily found in NUS and is something ever so precious!:) Thank you for your guidance and insights throughout our whole journey, you have indeed made it a fruitful and memorable one.   

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Reflection on Oral Presentation


 
Preparation:
With the awareness rose from peer teaching that I was likely to fall into the trap of speaking too fast, my preparation was focused on making the extra effort to counter this. Firstly, I ensured that I did not squeeze too much information into the presentation such that I have to rush to cover everything that I had in mind. Secondly, when going through my script, I consciously slowed down my pacing. At any point when I started to speed up, I would stop and try that sentence again and continue speaking slowly. This directed preparation to counter my shortcoming is the strength of my preparations which had effectively prevented me from speaking too fast during the actual delivery.  

Delivery:
Personally, my greatest satisfaction of my delivery was my confidence and ability to control my emotions. Standing in front of a crowd, has never failed to make me nervous which translated into fast pacing and repeating points because I lose my train of thoughts. This time however, I managed to control these emotions. On one hand this could be due to the confidence that came with the countless preparation prior to the presentation. On the other hand, I personally think that my group had a part to play as well. Being the last speaker, I was able to view the performance of my whole team, and seeing each of them excelling beyond our practices, it gave me the motivation and encouragement that as the last speaker I had to do well and not let them down. When I took the step and began my presentation, I was glad that I was not overwhelmed by fear but rather, confidence built after each successful sentence. In the midst of presenting and connecting with the audience, I was also able to be conscious of elements that make a good presenter, noting my intonations, my formal tone, pacing and other non-verbal signs. These were detected by the audience, who eventually awarded me with heartening comments that gave me the satisfaction that all the efforts were worth it.

Nonetheless, I noticed that in the midst of my delivery, subconsciously, I began to use “so” as a filler for approximately 3 consecutive sentences. Thankfully, I became aware of this tendency and started to actively vet what I was going to vocalize next to prevent my presentation from being overly flooded with fillers.  On several occasions too, I stumbled and had to repeat certain things which I had said, this continues to be something for me to work on and I believe would be overcame by practice.

Use of PowerPoint slides and Visual Aids:
In my opinion, I think that my group had an effective use of PowerPoint slides. The slides were appropriately used to aid the presenter in getting their points across, where we ensured that not too much content are on it such that it overpowers the presenter and take the audience’s attention away from the verbal message.

For my section of the presentation, what worked really well was the use of pictures of students’ common behaviours in lecture to support the point that I wanted to drive across. The audience were able to relate to it and that definitely caught their attention and elevated the overall mood as I concluded the whole presentation.  

Conclusion:
Through this whole experience, I realised that being a good presenter is not an easy task. When presenting, one has to balance between being conscious not to make common personal mistakes, in my case pacing and the tendency of repetition, and at the same time, maintaining a connection with the audience through eye contact and presence.

As seen from the picture above, my greatest takeaway was the experience of working with my group. From our report to the final presentation, I would say that the oral presentation was truly the fruits of the labour that each and every one of us had planted into this project.  

Sunday, 10 March 2013

Blog Post 4: MISSunderstanding


This happened about a year ago when a new Filipino helper came into my household.

One night, she had completed washing the clothes and decided to hang it out to air. My grandmother, seeing this however, was furious and immediately reprimanded the helper saying “You evil women!”. To my grandmother, a conservative, traditional Chinese, such behaviors cannot be condoned. For many generations, Chinese have held the belief that the night is the time when spirits roam around looking for a place to settle. By hanging your clothes out at night it is said to attract the spirits to reside within these clothes. This means that when the clothes are worn, the person would then run the risk of misfortune or being possessed. This thought hence caused my grandmother to see the helper’s actions as an act of bringing harm to the family. Conversely, the helper felt that her actions were perfectly fine and did not understand why it garnered such a response. To her, it seems logical to air the clothes after washing. This issue was later resolved by my father’s explanation and from then on, the helper adapted and never hung the clothes out at night again.

This calls to mind one of the 10 commandments to foster effective intercultural interaction - being aware of differing social values. Across different societies, different values, beliefs and norms are injected into individuals as they are assimilated into their societies. Therefore, when different cultures meet, one has to be conscious of these possible differences that can exist. As seen in the illustration above, my grandmother’s assumption that everyone shares a common cultural knowledge resulted her to read the helper’s actions in a very negative light, creating misunderstanding and preventing effective interaction.

Communication is one way that can assist us in learning another culture’s values and keeping misunderstandings minimal. As seen above, by our communication with the helper, it granted her the understanding of our Chinese culture, providing her the opportunity to adapt and prevent history from repeating itself.

As our nation continues to open its doors to foreigners, chances of coming into contact with someone from a foreign culture are high; we could even expect to be living with someone who is culturally different; in such instances when we hire a helper. Hence, being active in fostering effective intercultural communication and becoming more socially aware and adaptable would become valuable skills to possess.  

Reference (Images):
https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1441&bih=646&q=maid+scolded&oq=maid+scolded&gs_l=img.3...1856.4872.0.5419.12.12.0.0.0.0.107.981.9j3.12.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.5fS-Gcr5hBU#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=shocked+look&oq=shocked+look&gs_l=img.3..0l5j0i24l2.7689.12535.11.12740.14.12.1.0.0.0.146.1322.5j7.12.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.GvPv3Znyr1w&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43287494,d.bmk&fp=8470039fad555f73&biw=1441&bih=646&imgrc=k2z0GqmtNyL4-M%3A%3B-QS3ai6RIg1D8M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.christineranck.com%252Fblog%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2010%252F10%252Fshocked_woman-700490.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.christineranck.com%252Fjust-a-spoonful-of-sugar-the-placebo-effect%252F%3B414%3B600

https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1441&bih=646&q=maid+scolded&oq=maid+scolded&gs_l=img.3...1856.4872.0.5419.12.12.0.0.0.0.107.981.9j3.12.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.5fS-Gcr5hBU#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=old+grandma+scolding&oq=old+grandma+scolding&gs_l=img.3...5574.13163.0.13339.28.23.3.0.0.0.225.2494.12j10j1.23.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.MP3EI00UQXk&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=8470039fad555f73&biw=1441&bih=646&imgrc=1TBMpv91avsNGM%3A%3B2Z5_9tfVIxFTrM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-bzNYceJYUuQ%252FTpGXBaKLEGI%252FAAAAAAAABa8%252FIyzLcMZBm04%252Fs640%252F7571.scolding%2525252520grandma%2525252520610.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.lifeatwildberrycottage.com%252F2011%252F10%252Fmoms-proverbs-continued.html%3B610%3B436

Monday, 18 February 2013

Application Letter Draft 1


16th February 2013

143 ABC Street
#11-222 Singapore 123456
(+65) 9123-4567

 
Ms Genevieve Loh
Senior Executive, Human Resources
Swissôtel The Stamford
2 Stamford Road
Singapore 178882


Dear Ms Loh


Application for Internship position at Swissôtel The Stamford


I am writing this letter to express my interest in joining Swissôtel The Stamford for an internship during the period of May 2013 to July 2013. I am currently an undergraduate in the National University of Singapore (NUS) undertaking the course of Sociology. Having always been passionate about the industry of tourism, hospitality and hotel management, I am hoping to obtain an internship position to understand the functioning of this distinguished hotel so as to better be able to contribute to this field upon my graduation. My purpose of internship is to learn more about the industry and hence any jobs offered to me, would provide the learning experience that I desire. I too, am eager to apply my knowledge and skills to contribute to the hotel in whatever ways possible.

Integral to working in the hotel industry, I possess interpersonal communication skills which have been greatly honed by my undertaking of two communication modules in NUS namely The Dynamics of Interpersonal Communication and Professional Communication: Principles and Practice. These modules have not only provided me with an understanding of the communication theories but also given me a platform for putting it into practice through class presentations and group projects. Armed with these skills I would be able to communicate effectively, building good relations and being better able to serve the guests of Swissôtel, doing my part in sustaining the company’s good reputation. Having organized a school carnival and assisted in the execution of the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association (PECERA) conference 2012, I demonstrated my ability to organize and manage major events, working meticulously under pressure and pressing deadlines. During these events, I liaised with various caterers, companies and organizations such as National Institute of Singapore and The Cocoa Trees, discussing budget, location details and program outlines. Using these skills, I hope to assist in the hotel’s events planning and management, bringing fresh ideas to any of Swissôtel’s endeavour.

As a sociology major, I possess an analytical mind, being able to investigate issues from a variety of perspectives which will greatly assist me in the process of problem solving and decision making. My understanding of major societal systems and various human phenomena would allow me to provide appropriate planning that caters and appeals to the interests of the people that the hotel serves.

My keen interest in this field has driven my aspiration to gain a foothold in this industry and there is no better place to start than the well established Swissôtel. Internship with the hotel will allow me to gain valuable first-hand experience with the work, people, values, and culture of the industry. With my combined interpersonal skills, leadership skills, management, organization and sociological knowledge I hope to be given the opportunity to pursue a career with the Swissôtel and do my part for the hotel.

Enclosed with this letter is my resume for your evaluation. Should any additional information be required, I would be contactable at (+65) 9123-4567 or at steph.koh@gmail.com. Thank you for your time and kind consideration. I look forward to an interview with you.

 

Yours sincerely,
(Signature)

Koh Shiqi Stephanie (Ms)

 

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

The Conflict Tunnel that seems to find no end


Interpersonal conflict is disagreement among connected individuals.[1] As we walk through life, we each have our experience of conflicts, be it among family, friends or partners. Here, I would be illustrating a conflict which occurred in the context of a boy-girl relationship.

(Names used are purely for illustration purposes only)

“You are late again!” was how Carol greeted James as he arrived for their date. Being upset, Carol scolded James for his lack of punctuality which recently has become common. Furthermore, Carol equated James’ lack of concern for arriving on time as a sign of dwindling love and her becoming less significant to him. These thoughts escalated each time James was late, making Carol increasingly insecure.

James was annoyed as he felt that he had only been late for few occasions. To him, Carol was overreacting and he was disappointed in the frequent fights that they have been having.

When we initially look at this situation, the main problem seems to be James’ lack of punctuality and Carol’s over-reaction to the situation. However, when one delves deeper, we are able to get a sense that this is perhaps only looking at a superficial level. What could perhaps be causing their relationship problem is Carol’s insecurity and James’ lack of information of what the true issue was.

This situation was aggravated by how both had decided to deal with it. Carol was unwilling to share her insecurity with James, however her insecurity shown through as she started accounting any small actions or words of James as signs of lack of love. James, on the other hand, was getting annoyed by how Carol is always so ready to find fault in the minor details. In an attempt to avoid fighting, James kept communications with Carol to the minimum and suppressed any unhappiness that he experienced. James’ silence was however misinterpreted by Carol as a sign of distancing, increasing her fear for losing James.

In this spiral of misunderstandings, conflict persists. How do you think this relationship can be salvaged?

 

 



[1] Joseph A. DeVito. “The interpersonal communication book”.

Saturday, 26 January 2013

Post 1: Effective communication


This is not what effective communication looks like
Prior to the consideration of the importance of effective communication skills, we must first understand what possession of these skills entail. To me, these skills are the key to effective communication. Effective communication is when the sender and receiver share the same message and thus keeping misunderstandings at bay.[1]
 
In my opinion, having effective communication skills are important because communication plays a significant role in our everyday life! Even when we think we are not communicating, we actually are. We communicate not only through verbal means, but in actual fact even things such as the way we dress is a form of non-verbal communication. Communication, being an integral part of life, influences my profile, emotions, educational endeavour and relationships. For example, communicating effectively would assist me in sustaining and developing satisfying relationships. This has been proven in many researches such as one conducted by Malcolm Kahn who found a relationship between marital satisfaction and accuracy of non-verbal communication.[2] Hence the understanding and the management of effective communication skills is of great importance.
Effective communication skills will also be important for my future occupation. Having the skills to communicate effectively would give me an edge in both the acquisition of a job and moving up the corporate ladder.[3] These skills are especially applicable for my intended field of tourism and hospitality. In this field, collaborations with others (different companies, departments, etc) are frequent and the ability to communicate ideas accurately would greatly reduce misunderstandings and lapses of information. Teamwork is also common in this job and effective communication skills would allow me to not only be able to clearly give instructions and assign work to my team but also through my communication I would be able to encourage, motivate and reduce friction with my fellow members, building an efficient and cohesive team working together towards a common goal. Furthermore, working in this sector, perhaps more than any others would require me to interact with people from all over the world. In this globalized world today, where traveling has been made convenient by airplanes, encountering individuals from different cultural background and societies has become a commonality. For an effective interpersonal communication with culturally different individuals, I need to be conscious of such differences, know how cultures differ and understand how these differences would influence communication. Hence, possession of communication skills such as cultural sensitivity would be essential.
Upon reflection of Thursday’s session, one of the skills that I have to refine is my ability to “brand” myself and communicate to my employers about myself through the resume. Personally, the difficulty that I face is in translating some of the skills I have into words and illustrating them in a convincing manner. In my opinion, words can sometimes have a limiting quality to it and it is not easy to describe and conjure up words to illustrate the point that I would like to drive across to my potential employer. In addition to this, the difficulty also comes when I have to strike a balance between letting the employer know my abilities and being perceived as arrogant. I would need to be tactful in how I sell myself and I believe that the upcoming activities for the course of ES2007S, such as the application letter and resume, would enable me to obtain valuable feedbacks and hone my skills in this area.
All in all, effective communication skills play an important role in all my communication endeavours, personal or professional and therefore the acquiring of these skills is of immense importance. This road of acquisition is not merely confined within the classroom, but also putting what I learn into action in my everyday life. I shall thus embark on this learning journey of endless possibilities.


[1] Mindtools. “Introduction to Communication Skills: Why communication skills are so important” Retrieved January 27, 2013. (http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm)
[2] Malcolm Kahn. 1970. “Non-Verbal Communication and Marital Satisfaction” Family Process 9(4). Retrieved January 25, 2013. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/doi/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1970.00449.x/pdf)