It's a Wrap!

In a blink of an eye, this semester has come close to an end and so has this module. I must say, that when I first decided to take this course, I did not expect the workload to be so heavy. Throughout the weeks, I found that this course demanded quite a fair bit of hard work, effort and time. Also, in some way, it challenged me to put in more effort when my other classmates seemed to be going all out for this module. One of the things I liked best in this module was the fact that the work we were required to do, actually made it such that we had to practice what we had learnt about effective communication. Be it working in a group, speaking aloud in class or even effective writing over the internet, it was definitely good exposure and an insightful experience for me personally.

Taking this module with very little expectation initially made this module an even bigger eye opener. Why you may ask? This is because it was not just communication skills which I was able to slowly grasp, but also the essential life skills picked up when it came to working with others. Take the project for example, it was not easy to come up with all the ideas during such a short span of time, especially where results of discussions were expected to be seen every week. Working with new people was also a big challenge as it thrust me out of my comfort zone, and taught me how different people have different working styles. Thus, I would like to thank my blogging buddy Sze! For always taking time to remind me of deadlines, and also helping me keep up with the workload. (:

I believe that a good many of us in class, felt that this was a brilliant opportunity to learn and make mistakes. Something I took away from the class which I found most valuable, was how to write job application letters and Resumes. I want to thank Brad for offering so much advice on how to improve and make it better! Thank you for being encouraging all the time. I am especially thankful to Grace, Priya and Jingyang for reading through my Resume, to help me perfect it. Here’s a shout out to Grace! You’ve given me a lot of motivation to improve my resume in the best way possible with her clear and to-the-point advice.  Thank you for being so excited when I asked you to read through my final piece before submission too!

One thing I really hoped for from this module was to actually have more critical writing, such that most of this writings would be “perfect”. But up till now, I wouldn't say that I can write fantastic or much better. But I've learnt to be more conscious about my sentence structure and the way I phrase my sentences.  I’m not sure if I make sense, but I enjoyed receiving comments from Brad such that I could constantly identify more of my problem areas. It became a challenge to hand in every piece of assignment perfect and I've found that I want to know more, and find out more about how to improve myself better. After taking this module, I just get more excited each time I get back a new piece of work.

However, have I learnt just about everything of the 7Cs? I wouldn’t say that I’ve learnt everything that I could from this module, ES2007S. Afterall, learning is a never ending process. In the same way, communication is likewise too. There is no hard and fast method in learning to communicate effectively just by head knowledge. It's got to be applied, to know where mistakes need to be corrected. One example would be like the oral presentation, which helped me learn the weak areas I need to overcome.  I needed to be more confident, speak slower and also control my emotions. The latter is something I have always had difficulty with, especially when there's a lot of pressure. I know that the oral presentation has left a deep impression on me, to be more conscious about the way my emotions are displayed, and how I am to handle them. As always, learning to identify one's problem areas is a step closer to improving one's self.

In fact, I will continue to try to put it into practice and learn as much as I can before I graduate. In short, perhaps this module was a little too short to “correct” all our mistakes, or help us overcome all our problems.  But I’m glad that I still had a chance to identify the little problems that with my writing and communication. Which brings me to my first entry, I’m sure I have learnt more skills to help me work better not only in the future, but everyday life.

This brings me back to the title of my blog. Is communication an art? After taking this module, I've realised that communication isn't an art. I've actually discovered and learnt so much more about myself and the people around me just by meeting the same classmate twice each week and hearing them share their opinions while I do the same. Communication is actually part of you, of your every day life. It's like the guide, to just about surviving in today's world. It can be practiced, but mastering it, will be an ongoing process; it can never be complete, but it can at least be close to perfect. 

To my classmates and Brad! Thank you for making all the lessons so much more enjoyable. It's been quite a journey, learning together. (:

Oral Presentation

Truth be told, I was very nervous for my oral presentation. Coming to school, I felt like I wasn't quite prepared for it, except for the few rehearsals I had with the mirror at home, in a vain attempt to do it without any notes or help. 

I had initially wanted to speak go up there presenting with my little scribbles just a few minutes before the actual presentation. However, upon seeing how the group before had gone up with absolutely nothing, I told myself, I'll just rely on my notes just in case. It was also worrying since the group before had done such a good job.

So I got up there when it was my turn in hope that things would go well. The more I wanted to peep at my notes, the more it made me nervous. I fumbled over my words and I spoke far too quickly. I even mispronounced some words in my nervous-ness. It was then that I decided to do away with my little scribbles and rely on the rehearsing from the night before. 

It was much easier to just look at the audience who were already our friends. Warm smiles and small nods here and there made it easier to speak naturally and pace myself. I want to thank Nadiah for always smiling back! Such warm gestures definitely made the oral presentation less tensed! I also learnt that it was easier to relate to the audience with questions asked, such that the audience could be involved in the presentation. 

This oral presentation taught me the importance of rehearsing, not just by yourself, but as a group to be prepared together. In times when I got extra panicky, I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down before proceeding with what I had to say next. I believe that this oral presentation was a good chance to know which skills are in need of sharpening and more practice such as pace of speech, clarity and confidence. It has also taught me how to overcome challenges on the spot and the need to think quickly and decisively when answering questions.

Though I may not have fared as well as I had expected or wanted myself to do so, I'm glad I had this opportunity to learn here first, before I start presenting when I start work in the real world, under much worst conditions. Every challenge now, will be a chance to improve myself before the real thing. This to me, was thus a valuable experience.

Biodata

My name is Jane. I am currently a second year Statistics major in the National University of Singapore (NUS). I decided to major in Statistics because of my love for numbers and wanting to know how I could apply this in the financial world. I have always loved solving algorithms and facing new challenges of any kind. To me, studying Statistics is not only a new challenge but also an avenue for me to sharpen my critical thinking and analytical skills. I hope to see myself working in the finance industry either in the Risk Analyst field or in an actuarial firm, as I enjoy not only dealing with numbers but also the thrill of each new challenge everyday. Because of NUS’ rigorous education, where expectations and benchmarks are set high above average, I believe that this process of sharpening will prove to be useful in the future and help me prepare for bigger challenges next time. 

Apart from dealing with the rigorous course of school, I have also taken up a leadership position as the Dinner and Dance Director in NUS Students’ Science Club. This club is main student organization in the Faculty of Science which attends to students’ needs and also organizes events for the students. Taking up such a role is no easy feat; managing not only my studies but also running a committee at the same time. A lot of planning goes into preparation for the annual Science Pageant and Manhunt Preview Bash as well as the annual Dinner and Dance such as liaising with big sponsors and clinching big marketing deals and sponsorships. This experience has also helped me enhance my interpersonal skills while having to speak to people of higher authority than myself and has also taught me how to put my ideas across in a clear succinct manner.

However, above all these, I have actually learnt much more from this experience. I have often remembered my Mother’s wise advice, that a leader is not just  a person who leads his/her members well, but is also one who is able to mould and build up new leaders from his/her committee. While leading my team, I have kept this in mind, and have learnt to work better with my committee members, seeing them not only as an equal, where their opinions matter, but also helping them achieve their potentials in their current areas of specialization. I believe that this experience as a leader will further enhance my ability to work in a team with my colleagues and be a good team player. This is highly essential in the work place, as no man is an island. More often than not, I believe a workplace requires people to not only co-exist peacefully but also have good working relationships. I would thus be able to tap on my experience in my committee and assimilate easily into a group.

Sure enough, school work and school activities are not the only things that occupy my time. School aside, I am actively serving in Church. On Sundays I play the piano for the Junior Sunday School and also teach in the Sunday School. I find doing so very rewarding personally because I love interacting with children and find it a joy to be part of their moulding years. Being a musician in church really taught me to play by ear instead of the traditional, classical way of playing the piano by sight reading. This has also further inspired me to play on the piano whenever I feel down or when I find a tune catchy and memorable. It has also helped me compose tunes easily whenever I feel like it and further motivate me to find my own type of style of playing and of composing my own renditions of certain songs. Serving in the music team in this freestyle manner has not only increased my creative ability but has also helped me to be more meticulous to small details to perfect a piece of work. 

In my other spare time, I love spending time with my family, having nice sumptuous meals and playing with my beloved family dog, Dong. I believe that no matter how busy one is, time still needs to be portion out for family time. In our fast paced society, balance is definitely key in juggling one's career and private life. Like a proverb Dr James Dobson once read, there is a time and season for everything. 

/edited 25 March/

As I felt that I did not specify as clearly what I hoped to do in the future or how my skills are relevant to what I want to do.

There's still hope!

I have always found that effective communication is something that is very difficult to do. First of all, it not only takes two people to listen to each other, but also for both parties to choose the right words and to say it at the appropriate time.

My mother used to tell me that if you didn’t say something loud enough, it was as good as not saying at all. This to me, is very true. How are you suppose to know what time to meet your friend if he said so in his softest, most inaudible voice.

However, over the weekend, I learnt something else different. There is a great need for one to speak clearly and pronounce his words properly. My elder brother was sharing the other day, of how he had visited Macdonalds. The old lady at the counter had first welcomed him with a bright smile and had taken down his order. Before cashing in the final order, she asked “Your cock want upsize?” My elder brother was shocked for words. Thinking that he could have heard wrongly he had asked her to repeat herself. Again, she went “Your cock want upsize”. After some quick thinking, he realized that she was really asking was “Your coke want upsize?”

It sure takes more time to process what someone is trying to say when the person did not make himself clear isn’t it? For the example above, my brother was really tickled at what the old lady had said even though  she had not intended for it to be so, nor was she aware of what she was saying. After sharing this with my family members, a few of them also pointed out that they had been in similar occasions. Of course, some of them did mention that they could hardly keep their laughter within them when they were caught in that situation. This meant that the old lady, or any other person in her place, was usually embarrassed after the outburst, or for the lucky ones; did not even realize what was wrong.

This really got me thinking over the next few days because I know that I’ve been Ms. Old lady before. I recently completed by 4 year stance of braces wearing, and am currently on retainers. My dentist has instructed me to wear it daily and this does not come without the difficulty of pronouncing words right. When I first started, it took a lot of getting used to and I always fumbled over my letters. But, I always made it a point to repeat myself if I knew that I was unclear. I guess such a practice is a first step to discovering and helping your weak points. Because I was constantly aware of my diction, I became even more conscious, and this I believe, has helped me improved and gotten used to speaking with my retainers on.

As mentioned in my opening line, effective communication is not easy to do. Every day is a chance to practice and perfect this art of communication. It might not be innate for all of us to be able to speak well or fluently or clearly. But it gives me great comfort, that such a skill can be cultivated.  

Chinese, only on the inside.

I grew up in an English speaking family all my life. I can say that my Mandarin speaking and writing skills were close to… zilch until I reached Secondary school. Here’s a little background information for you. I started Chinese tuition early in Primary school, and I cannot tell you how much I loathed having to speak Mandarin or even dragging myself to the tuition centre. I hated when the people around me spoke Mandarin, and I always saw them as different. As I was from St. Hilda’s Primary School, a co-ed, multi-racial school, it seemed only normal that everyone conversed in English.

However, one would not understand the culture shock I got upon entering Secondary school. Having not fared too well in my PSLE, I ended up in Chung Cheng High (Branch). This school was actually a neighbourhood school with a nicer sounding name located at Guiliemard Road. The first person I spoke to while lining up before class, said “Hi, my name is Sylvia”, to me in Mandarin. On top of that, our uniform was white with metal studded buttons. All the boys regardless of age wore short pants and all the girls kept short hair. Our entire school attire practically screamed COMMUNIST! I could not help but feel that my entire being was placed in the wrong school, in fact, the wrong Cheena[1] school.  An Ah Lian[2], also spoke to me in Hokkien[3] on the first day of school saying “Diao si mi diao”, which literally translates to “Stare what Stare” in a bid to question why I was staring at her. This actually left me stumped, without a reply for the girl because I did not understand what she had said until a friend pointed it out to me.

So after settling into class, I tried to make some other new friends, while trying to get by in my poor Mandarin. At that point in time, I was at my wits end, and had decided to use the “When in France, be like the French” method to assimilate my way in until I met person A. Upon hearing how broken and incoherent my Mandarin was, person A exclaimed, “Eh, your Chinese is horrible, stop trying to speak Chinese when you can’t!” It was then that I thanked my lucky stars that I had finally found someone who was willing to converse in English, and up till today, is still a close friend of mine.

I did continue to speak English, but at the same time, I also tried my best to converse in Mandarin whenever possible. This “bilingual-ness”, proved to be useful throughout my entire time in Chung Cheng as it allowed me to get to know others from different family backgrounds, and also help me improve my Mandarin. It also taught me to interact with others different from me and at the same time, allowed me to enjoy my Secondary School education as I slowly caught on to their jokes and learnt to appreciate their nuances.

Thinking back, I would probably not have made many friends or had as much fun if I had chosen to just continue speaking in English while the majority spoke in Chinese. This really shows the importance of being willing to understand and learn a culture of any kind, even if its School culture. Without a good understanding of the norms of a culture which one wants to fit into, he or she would actually stick out more instead and have even more difficulty fitting in. Therefore, I am proud to say that, I survived the culture shock, but don’t expect me to rattle on in Mandarin after having left my Secondary School for so long. (:

 

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[1]  A local slang word meaning “Very Chinese”

[2]  A local slang for a female delinquent

[3] A Chinese Dialect

Correspondence Critique

From:   XXX on behalf of SCI Events  Sent:   Tue 8/26/2008 10:19 AM  To:     Cc:     Subject:   Science CBLC Recruitment    Attachments:  View As Web Page

Hi!   Looking for a place where you could make friends that will last a lifetime? Or perhaps a place for you to destress after a hectic day in school? Science CBLC (Computer Based Learning Centre) is the club for you. We are having our recruitment drive (only for FoS and SoC students though) till this fri (29/08). Interviews will start at 6pm everyday till 8pm. Don't worry! Interviews are just a way for us to know you better! So come down quickly to our center at s10 level 2, just directly above LT23. Don't hesitate to drop by our booth in our very own IT fair iTCh'08 (25/08-27/08) should you have any queries or doubts. Bring a friend along! Be a member of our family where we treasure bond and team spirit - one club, one heart!    Cheers, ZZZ YYY (zzyys@hotmail.com) President Sci CBLC XXst Management Committee

 

The opening line and the use of language was courteous and friendly as this was an email sent to fellow students in the Faculty of Science.  

I felt that this letter was not informative enough. Firstly, the subject showed that it was about recruiting members for the CBLC Club. However, it instead went on to tell details about the Recruitment Drive that was going to be held, it did not state what the exact duties of a member in the CBLC were, the expectations of a club member, nor did it even state what the CBLC is for and why people should want to join it apart from making friends.  This meant that the email was not complete.

Also, the flow of the information given to the reader was not cohesive. The email merely jumped from saying that they were having a recruitment drive to the next sentence which explained that interviews were ongoing everyday as well. This would have left others confused about whether it was a recruitment drive or an interview cum recruitment drive. I think what it was trying to say was that people could sign up at their booth for interview slots which were on going on the same days of the Recruitment Drive. This would have improved the coherence of the letter if they had phrased it this way instead.

Secondly, I felt that the presentation of the email was not clear; everything was lumped together in a paragraph. Such an email should have been properly paragraphed as it would have caused the reader to lose interest upon reading such a cluttered message. The date and venue of a recruitment drive should have been in another paragraph after the introduction. Details of the person to contact if there were interested interviewees should have been in the following paragraph alongside the venue, date and time of the interview place.

However, despite all of the above comments, I did feel that they brought across a very light hearted message with regards to recruiting their new members while trying their best to entice students to join their club. Basically, the email presented above would have been sufficient, concise and complete had the subject matter been about the Recruitment Drive instead of plain recruiting.

The problem with blogging

Jill and Sarah have been friends since their matriculation into the same faculty in university. Upon starting a new semester, Sarah has decided to run for the Chairman position in their faculty’s student group. After successfully attaining that position, Sarah decided to recruit Jill into her committee, along with their other peers to work on an event together.

Just two months before the actual occasion, there were many changes taking place in the committee. A few members left because they could not commit to the call of duty, while others were sighed upon for atrocious attitude. However, even with people dropping out, no replacements were found and this only meant one thing – everyone else’s workload increased tremendously, along with their job scope, overlapping from one subcommittee to the other. One day, in the midst of expediting the completion of a couple of designs for Sarah which was to be due at the end of the day, Jill unintentionally lashed out at Sarah, after hearing her ask the same question three times repeatedly in a span of two hours. Jill had not only answered her question the first time, but also taken time to type out a long message to Sarah to explain and clarify every misunderstanding. And yet during that moment when Jill was so busy, Sarah came at the inappropriate juncture. So this was what happened:

Jill yelled, “I’ve already told you what!”

Sarah snapped, “Ya, don’t have to be so fierce right!!!!”

After seeing Sarah’s reply, Jill realised that she had flared at her. She apologised immediately.

“Sorry about that, I’ve just been too overwhelmed with work,” Jill said remorsefully.

Sarah replied, “It’s ok, I understand.”

And you might have thought that the whole matter ended. Later that night, Jill logged into Sarah’s blog and to her astonishment found that Sarah had pinpointed and singled her out on her blog amongst others. Attaching to every person whom she had mentioned on her blog, were her thoughts and judgment she had to that person. Sarah had also written nasty comments and criticised their attitudes and commitments mercilessly. These people were her very own friends, whom she had recruited into the committee.

Jill was devastated, as well as distraught about the matter. She felt that Sarah had been hypocritical about the apology she had made. She could not understand why Sarah was unable to be candid with her and share as friends would whenever they faced difficulties or frustrations. Her other friends in the committee also expressed their discouragement. This kept them on their toes all the time, to the extent that they have to put on fake masks to please Sarah. Sarah on the other hand, who was probably disillusioned and indignant most of the time, felt that she had the right to post the inflammatory remarks. She also stated that her blogging space was hers to keep and that it didn’t matter what she wrote or who it affected.

This situation left the committee – Jill included – wanting to get over the event as soon as possible, while dealing with Sarah in a less amicable manner and trying ways and means to get someone else to liaise with her if they weren’t on her blogging black list. Jill distanced herself from Sarah and tried as much as possible to avoid her. Sarah continued as if nothing ever happened, occasionally frowning upon Jill’s aloofness. They had as little contact as possible, unless there was a need for communication, purely on a work basis.

Isn’t it a pity that these friends aren’t on talking terms anymore? This happened because both of them chose not to speak to each other when they were upset with the other party. Should Jill have expressed how she felt towards Sarah’s actions? Or should Sarah have apologised and be more cautious and learn how to filter what she says over the internet despite feeling adamant that it’s her personal space? Was Jill lesser to blame than Sarah? I doubt so. I believe that there was a better way to handle the situation by both parties and that they could have salvaged the friendship. What would you have done if you were either of them?

/edited 2nd paragraph on the 8th of feb/

Effective Communication = Essential

Effective Communication… Necessary? Essential, definitely.  Effective communication should not be limited to the four walls of a workplace, or for us students, in school. In fact, it is absolutely integral in our everyday situations. Why you may ask? Simply because to be able to communicate effectively means to be able to put across what you want to say in a clear concise manner, and also to be able to understand gestures, convey the right gestures and much more. Such communication encompasses just about everything in a two way conversation between two people. I believe that when one is able to effectively communicate, it opens up more opportunities for himself / herself in a workplace, school, and even when it comes to dealing with others who speak a different language or have different accents from yourself.

Take for example couples who come from two different ethnic groups that have little or poor command of English. How do such couples then learn to grow and understand each other after so many years, or even learn to live with each other in the early years? They were able to communicate effectively nonetheless despite the language barrier, because for 1) they sought to understand  and listen and 2) they sought to find other ways to make each other clearer to the other party. This thus prove that the idea of a “duck talking to a chicken” actually can happen in real life, if they can to communicate effectively.

Also, in a workplace or school environment, a student who can always explain herself better in a clear, understandable way in her writing always gains in any class situation or examination. A person who is applying for a job, definitely scores in an interview if she can present herself as one who can communicate effectively and confidently. My ex-boss at Citibank used to exclaim of how much SMU students were in demand because of the way they were able to carry themselves and speak well. And when such comparisons are made against other local varsity students, it does at times, make me  feel that they are somewhat at an advantage in the real world. This, in a sense, really does show how important communication is as it determines your future path in life as well.

It is therefore essential to be equipped with effective communication skills if you want to be successful in just about anything. That is of course subjective to all of us, be it in love, academically or at work or anything under the sun. Hopefully, the end of this course would mean that I'd be able to communicate better in every aspect possible and ready me for more challenges ahead!

/edited/ 1 feb 

I would actually hope to improve my communication with others so that I can be understood better! Many a times, I find myself stumbling over words, and being unsure how to phrase what I have to say properly. I also often find myself being overly nervous and speaking too quickly when I'm afraid as Jing Yang had pointed out in our activity in class where I had to recount the story to Nadiah. I was therefore very encouraged when I saw that this module also helped in writing a winning formula for cover letters or resume writing which would be highly essential when work starts. As I have already mentioned in my pre-edited post, it is often that SMU Students are in demand, because they are able to impress the wow the panel of interviewers and articulate their ideas well. Knowing that the workforce will be a highly competitive environment in the future, I want to be sure that I would have, by then, cultivated the necessary skills for effective communication so that I will not be on the losing end! Afterall, though being able to communicated effectively might not be innate for all of us, I am sure it can be nurtured! (: