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.   

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.