Blog Post #6 Final Reflection on Learning

The end to a fulfilling journey!

As I deliberate what I want to write for this post, a lot of classroom experiences come to my mind. My entire post will refer to these experiences as part of my journey! Each one of them has contributed to my abilities and polished my professional communication skills. Time has passed rather quickly and this post officially marks the end of this insightful journey.

I believe something that kept me interested in the module was that it was very different from the conventional lecture style modules (you enter class and the first screen is Facebook). I interacted with different sets of people, made good friends and understood the depth of inter cultural differences. There was something other than numbers (that I usually see in my other modules) and this module sometimes served as a stress buster for me. Though it was a core module for my major and I had bid for it with the same intention (I have to do it), I guess ES2007S is one of the best modules I have done as part of my undergraduate studies in NUS. It has made me more aware, more confident and expanded my social network. I think the appreciation for the module stems from the fact that it was enjoyable and yet we learned a lot from it. I think Brad has played an important role in shaping the entire course of our journey and making it memorable. I remember when I was bidding for this module, one of my seniors told me, "do take ES2007S, but remember to take it under Brad". I think this is very true. Through this post I would like to thank Brad and all my classmates to have made this a memorable experience for me and helped me improve my professional communication and interpersonal skills.

My focus area for this post would be the research proposal. This was the first time I had engaged in writing a research proposal unlike presentations which I have done before. I think this is an essential workplace skill and I am glad I had an opportunity to enhance it through ES2007S. It involved a subtle sense of maturity and professional approach. I learned how important it is to design effective survey questions that are directed to get the right answers from your respondents. It is also very important to conduct interviews in a very dignified and courteous manner especially because it involves important personnel. Professional communication is indispensable to get your idea across. The various key requirements of writing a research proposal ranging from the letter of authorization to the cover letter, executive summary, problems and solutions, have made me appreciate the importance of formal writing. It feels great to have been successful in this endeavor and having the proposal sent to Ms Karen Wong. This was something novel from me and I have garnered a lot of useful feedback and experience from this which will help me writing effective proposals later in life.

I think ES2007S was not only a journey of learning and improving but also of self-discovery. I have learnt more about myself than anybody else. Being subject to different difficult situations, for example, the interview process, elevator pitch and oral presentation, I have realized how I act in different situations and identified the scope for improvement in each one. I have learnt to work in a team with very diverse and culturally different people. I have tried to be more courteous in my negotiations with others. I have also made myself more capable of handling both positive and negative feedback.

In my first post I had mentioned about my expectations from this module and my perspective of professional communication. This post serves to close the loop and highlight the useful life lessons I have learnt as part of this module. Apart from the usual skills of effective presentation, professional and semi-formal writing there are a lot of indirect experiences:

1) Inter cultural awareness is prime to effective communication and courtesy.

2) Friends can be great facilitators and teachers

3) Diversity contributes to individuality

4) Empathy can make communication effective by adding a personal touch

5) Fake it till you become it!

The last class had some honest confessions to make and a time to share useful life experiences. I am glad we got time outside the class and fostered stronger bonds. Since this is the last time I am writing as part of this module, I would like to thank each one of you for your timely and useful feedback and effortless comments on my posts. It was great to share the same class with you. You all directly and indirectly have taught me something that is valuable and will help me in future.

Here is wishing you, all the best for your future endeavors and let us keep in touch!

Blog Post #5 - Reflection on OP

Your heart speaks!! 

I believe expressing your ideas in front of a crowd is an art. An art that can be polished and developed by practice and determination. From sweaty palms to cracking voices, speaking publicly can really be terrifying, but it is an essential skill in today's competitive world.

ES2007s oral presentation was an excellent platform for me to polish my presentation skills and learn valuable lessons on public speaking. It was overwhelming to receive good response from classmates and satisfying to know that they liked our group's presentation. I would like to thank my group mates for their commendable work and effortless feedback. I believe their feedback helped shape my presentation the way it did. The presence of Ms Karen Wong added a sense of passion and seriousness to our delivery. I was really obliged that she made it to our presentation. I think every presenter and each presentation which was delivered involved weeks of discussion, meetings and efforts.  All of us really wanted to give it our best and we did.

Personally, I enjoy sharing and pitching my ideas to others. Being part of declamation and debate competitions I have developed my skills to make myself more competitive and less terrified on stage. However, presenting an idea or a proposal is very different from a debate and involves a subtle sense of maturity and intelligence. The only thing I wanted to do was to convince my listeners and make sure they have something to think about once they leave this (in that context) room. Since, I was beginning the presentation it was important to capture my audience's attention and convince them that a problem indeed exists. This was very important for the rest of the presentation to flow smoothly. Thanks to our group's multiple practices, I had good control over the content and the slides.  I am satisfied with my delivery and happy to have undergone this experience.

I have also learnt some great points about effective delivery. Though I made a conscious effort to keep my pace slow, I guess this is somewhere I can still work on. I should keep my tone and pace relative to the audience I am addressing. I also feel knowing and believing in your content is very important. If my group and I had done a bit more research about the how the scheme was implemented in the past, it would have strengthened our case. Nevertheless, this was an enriching experience and I learned a lot from it.

My mantra to successful delivery is to speak from your heart, to believe in what you say and convince others that there is worth to what you are saying.