We Only Part to Meet Again!

As they say, all good things must come to an end. This class has ended but I take away many cherished memories from it- the lessons learned as well as the friendships forged. I still remember the first day I visited the CORS website and was contemplating on the modules that I wanted to take, I came across this module, and instantly, this was one of my top choices. Just by the module name itself, I felt that this module was very real, very practical. I thought it was a mini stage for the challenges that we all have to face-and soon, the working world. Furthermore, I heard that students will have to make many presentations in NUS and felt that this will be definitely giving me a head start.

I mentioned in my first post that communication is the basis of human interactions and I joined this class to better understand myself in the way I communicate and also to learn skills needed to be an effective communicator. Fast forward 13 weeks and I definitely have no regrets about the choice I made, this course has been so much more than I had expected. I would not say that I have become an effective communicator-nowhere near it, but I am really proud and happy with the improvements that I have made and would hope to continue improving in the learning journey called life.

For me, one of the highlights of this module was the constant emphasis on verbal and non-verbal cues for presentations. The world is a stage and we are constantly presenting to people, whether it is a simple conversation or a professional presentation. I never really took these cues seriously before stepping into this class. In fact, I didn’t even know much about them. The only thing I remember I knew was voice projection. Every time we had a presentation in class in the past, the emphasis was on making sure the person at the back of the class could hear what you are saying. Tone, gestures, emphasis on certain words etc were totally alien to me. I definitely take away a lot from this class in terms of being able to present in front of a crowd. I still feel nervous everytime I speak in front of a crowd but I think have become more confident now.

I would like to thank Brad for all the comments, the good and the bad. They have definitely allowed me to grow and try to improve myself. I would also like to thank Desmond, one of my first few friends in this class and also my peer teaching group mate for all the help, ES2007S or for my other modules. Megha and Rami for being really awesome group mates for the research proposal; it was really fun working with you guys. I would also like to thank the class because each and every one of you left an impact in my life and made this journey a very memorable one. I also got to learn a lot from you guys; about life, about university, about you. So a huge Thank You for giving me this opportunity.

ES2007S was more than just a school module; it was a lesson on life. Keep in touch :)  

Reflections on Oral Presentation

I must say this was a real journey, one of sweat, joy and frustrations that lasted for almost 6 weeks and we pulled through. It was a very interesting journey these 6 weeks and especially so this past week when we started to prepare for the final presentation. Nonetheless, the whole experience will leave me with many fond memories for years to come.

Preparation

Personally, I feel that we put in more effort on writing the proposal than for the oral presentation itself. It was difficult to meet up at times because of the different schedules that we all had. The 3 of us are very passionate about this proposal, thus, we had a clear idea of the things that we were going to be saying on the actual presentation itself. We managed to have a practise session together on the night prior to the actual presentation. Before we knew it, D-Day arrived. On my bus ride to school, I was actually running through my presentation in my head, from the slides to the way that I was going to execute the delivery. I tried to picture the faces of the audience so that I was mentally prepared for the big one. I must say that this actually helped to ease off some of the pressure that I put upon myself. Before the presentation itself, Rami, Megha and I were still joking about things to help ease out the pressure upon ourselves (Thanks guys).

Delivery

For delivery, I felt that I projected my voice well and also established eye contact throughout the presentation. I tried to use some hand gestures during the presentation itself. However, I feel that I did not use hand gestures as effectively as I hoped to. During the peer teaching exercise, I did not use much emphasis on words that I should have emphasised on and I tried to do so for this presentation, to make it more impactful. Looking back, I feel that I could have used more emphasis though.

Slides

We opted for the use of PowerPoint because we wanted to make it look simple and be the main focus of the presentation. We also minimised the words on each of our slides. I personally learned from my peer teaching experience that having to many words on slides can actually stray the audience to some extent because they would concentrate more on the slides. We also added more pictures to our slides- pictures that supported the idea that we were trying to propose.  

In conclusion, I realised that I missed out 1 or 2 sentences that would have made the presentation look more seamless. As they rightly say, there are always 3 presentations, the one you prepared for, the one you gave and the one you wished you gave. Overall, I really enjoyed the entire experience, from writing the proposal to doing the oral presentation. It has been a learning journey and I definitely and more aware of the way I present myself as compared to the start of the term.

Lifes' experiences (Editted 9/10)

In one of many working stints in a broadcast firm, I had the pleasure of meeting a Japanese person, called Shimpei. Having studied in Singapore schools all of my life; it was very uncommon for me to meet and get to know Japanese people. Shimpei is a very quiet and reserved man and you hardly hear him raise his voice even when he is angry. This was extremely puzzling because in most parts of the world people tend to use vulgarities or at least raise their voice when they get angry. Hence, I found this really strange but I found out that it was part of their culture.

For one of the projects at work, which was a live broadcast of a local football game, I was assigned to work with Shimpei. I was excited and also anxious at the same time about working with Shimpei. I had heard that it was quite difficult to understand the way he did things. However, I felt that this was a good learning lesson for me. After all the initial discussions, I was to meet with Shimpei on the morning of 14 May at one of the local stadiums to discuss the positions of the cameras and the need for scaffolds for the broadcast of the game there.  It was a morning that I would not forget any time soon. It was raining heavily that morning and due to poor visibility, there was a vehicle breakdown on the Pan Island Expressway. The vehicles were slowly inching forward but as time passed by, it seemed as if the bus I was on had hardly covered any more distance. I was getting panicky as even though there were still 30 minutes before I was to meet Shimpei, I had this bad feeling that I was going to be late. I tried calling Shimpei on his mobile but to no avail. Hence, I decided to jus drop Shimpei a SMS to inform him that I may be reaching late because of the torrential downpour. Traffic was still moving really slowly, annoying almost everybody on the bus, which was also evident from the motorists, some of whom were perpetually blaring their horns. Finally, I reached my destination and hurriedly got off the bus. By now, I was about 10 minutes late. I rushed to the stadium only to find that Shimpei was not there yet and I was quite relieved. After running to the stadium, I decided to take a seat and wait for Shimpei. Minutes were passing by and there was still no sign of Shimpei. Finally after waiting for 15 minutes, I decided to call him and ask him where he was. This time, he picked up his phone and in a rather agitated tone, he told me that he had left the stadium because he thought I was not coming. I told him that I tried calling him and even messaged him about the situation that I was in but he was having none of it. After hanging up the phone, I was quite puzzled and perturbed by his behaviour as I had messaged him that I was going to be late and that it was raining really heavily. I made my way back to the office and told some of the staff what had happened at the stadium. It was then that I learned that Japanese people are extremely particular about punctuality and having them to wait for you is a cardinal sin in their culture. I apologised to Shimpei after the incident and it was back to work as usual after that incident.

 I had never known about this cultural norm as the culture in Singapore is a lot different. In Singapore, the other party usually waits for you and buying lunch or drinks always help alleviate the problem.From this experience alone, I realised that the Japanese have a very different culture compared to many of the other counties in our region. I learned more about the Japanese culture from this and also one of the important life lessons was that if you have a scheduled appointment, do not be late and try to leave a lot earlier then necessary. I could not have foreseen the weather on that day but I certainly could have left my home earlier and planned ahead for the unexpected change in weather.

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Call Of Duty

It was in the dead of the night. There was pin drop silence-the calm before the storm. The Marines were all geared up for combat. Leading from the forefront were Captain Dave and his subordinate, Lieutenant King. This was a Mission and there were no second chances- you either killed or got killed. The marines then stormed into the house believed to be housing the terrorists. Sounds of gunshots broke the silence. The terrorists were not prepared for such an attack. It was not before long that the Marines took full control of the situation. After the initial burst of fire, there suddenly seemed to be an unusual quietness. There were cries of pain and shuffling of the feet which occasionally broke the silence. The Marines came out of their cover but still on high alert and realised that the coast was clear. The terrorists were downed and it was time to survey the place for any lives.

Out of the corner of his eye, Captain Dave saw a couple of children. They were clutching onto a body which was splattered with blood. Presumably, that man-whom the world labelled as a terrorist, was their father. Captain Dave raised his automatic rifle and pointed it in the direction of the children. He was ready to shoot when Lieutenant King shouted, “Sir, what are you trying to do? They are just kids.” To which Captain Dave replied, “Today they are kids, tomorrow they’ll be terrorists. They have witnessed enough bloodshed today and this hatred will stay with them from this day to the day that they die. Someday, they will come back and avenge for whatever that has happened today. The numbers of enemies you’ll have will keep increasing, so eliminate them whenever you can. Don’t let your emotions take over you King”. Before Lieutenant King could say anything more, Captain Dave shot at the two kids without any further thought. King went absolutely ballistic that Dave had committed such an act-a sin in most people’s eyes. However, due to his rank and the protocol, all he could do was just stand and watch. King never felt so helpless. He could never forgive himself after witnessing what had happened that night and resigned soon after.

Who was right/wrong in this particular instance, Dave or King? One of them wanted to be sure for the future while the other felt that children have no hand in the terrorist activities. Both of them had their reasons for their viewpoints and both of them perceived that they were correct. Many a times, people are victims of hierarchy. This is especially so in the military. It is these ranks and positions that may give rise to conflicts. In the above example, King could not do anything about the situation because he was the Junior Officer. I feel that another reason which can lead to conflicts is perception. Perception can be in the form of thinking, values, beliefs etc. As long as perceptions differ, there would always be conflicts.

Why effective communication skills are important to me

Communication is the basis of human interactions. The paradox of communications is that it unites as well as divides people in the world. Words and actions can be misconstrued either deliberately or unintentionally which can incite hatred among different groups of people. This does not only happen within the human community but also the animal kingdom at large. Hence, effective communications is one of the most basic yet vital trait that people should try and hone.

I for once never really understood or appreciated the importance of effective communication until recently-two and a half years ago. Two and a half years ago, I was called up to serve my country and during that period, I met many people with diverse backgrounds-race, religion, education etc. I realised that people had to be treated differently; there was no one-size-fits-all style of communication. Some needed more motivation than the others, while those who missed home just needed a listening ear-the act of listening in itself was a way of communication, showing your support and care. I realised that it was the little things, which we take for granted so much in our fast paced lives that matter. Listening and just being there for somebody when they are down and out.

After my national service, I had a very long vacation and moved on to work at Prada as a sales assistant and then as a media representative in a sport firm. I realised another important aspect of communication during my time at these organisations. Most of the people I was working with were substantially older than me and I learned the importance of tone. I felt it awkward to ask my colleagues to help me do certain things at first but overcame this by varying my tone. I made sure I was respectful and my colleagues were always more than willing to help me.

There are so many aspects to effective communication and I joined this class to better understand myself and also learn the skills needed to be an effective communicator.