Blog Post #4: Final Reflection on Learning

Initially, when Jolene introduced ES2007 to me, I was quite deterred from taking it due to its relatively heavy workload. Nevertheless, I eventually took up this module because I felt that it could provide me with additional skills that would be useful for the workplace. I am glad that my hunch was right as this module really helped develop my communication, interpersonal and oral presentation skills.

Before ES2007, I was relatively awkward with oral presentations. Most of the time, I was not familiar with the topic I was presenting on and thus, just read off the slides or cue cards during my presentations. As a result, I probably sounded unconvincing and even boring. From this module, I learnt that presenting should be done in an engaging and interactive manner. Intonation, voice projection, appropriate hand gestures and most importantly, eye-contact should be established to convince the audience of the presentation.

Additionally, the basis of writing effective job resumes and application letters were also covered in this module. This is relevant to me since I initially possessed little of such knowledge. Thus, it was very useful for me to learn the 7C’s of writing which would hopefully, help me in future job applications. The mock interviews we had in class also allowed me to pick up useful tips on how to ace a job interview. Before this module, I was not confident on areas such as where to place my hands, how I should sit and how I should answer the questions during interviews. The tips we learnt in class not only helped to improve my knowledge on such areas, but also introduced to me the use of NVCs during such interviews.

All in all, I really enjoyed taking ES2007 as it really provided me with skills that are not only applicable to the workplace but also for day-to-day communication. Each lesson was engaging and filled with many insightful class discussions. I liked that our class size was relatively small as this allowed us to interact easily and to get to know each other better. Thank you Dr Radhika for sharing with us your knowledge and experiences in professional communication, and to my classmates for making this a memorable module to take. I hope to see all of you again in the near future! (:

 

Blog Post #3: Reflection on Team-Based Research Project Proposal

To be honest, completing a proposal amidst my other schoolwork in 7 weeks has been both a challenging and tiring task. Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile experience working together with Evelyn and Soon Siang. We started the proposal late but I’m glad we managed to pull through in collecting all our information and completing our proposal on time. In particular, I felt that the peer review of the proposal drafts was the tipping factor in improving our proposal. For example, we noted that our proposal lacked in statistics and this motivated us to source for more.

What worked for our group proposal was that we were able to come out with solutions to our problem within a short time. We did this by working on and developing unconventional teaching methods that were already popular in other countries but not yet in Singapore. Nonetheless, there were areas in which our group could have worked better in. For one, we did not have a mini-timeline set while doing the proposal. If we did, we might have had more time in improving the quality of our proposal. Additionally, we did not managed to interview any of the relevant parties regarding the feasibility of our proposal. Had we done so, perhaps our primary findings and even our proposed solutions might have become more credible.

One of the takeaways of this group project would be the experience of working with people of different working styles. Certainly, Evelyn, Soon Siang and I each have different ways of doing things. Most of the time, we did the proposal online through Google Drive/Dropbox but the timing in which each of us are working on it is usually different. Evelyn usually works on it during the day, Soon Siang at night and myself after midnight. Hence, we rarely had discussions together online. Instead, we leave messages and information for each other on the document itself or through WhatsApp. It eventually came down to whether all of us agreed on the ideas that were suggested. Thankfully, all three of us are able to get along well. I definitely feel that such an experience would be useful in the future workplace. This group project has also taught me the importance of planning beforehand and the importance of time-management. All these skills would undoubtedly come in handy in future.

Overall, I am satisfied with the finalized proposal as each of us had really spent time and effort in doing it up.

 

Blog Post #2: Intercultural Conflict

Intercultural communication is a form of communication that shares information across groups of individuals with different ethnic, social, religious or educational backgrounds. As Singapore becomes more cosmopolitan, it is important for us to learn and understand the backgrounds of these different groups. Certain actions or behaviors may be considered sacred to one group but to others, they may be considered as strange. Hence, it is important for each individual to stay open-minded and be tolerant to different cultures and their practices.

Interpersonal and intercultural communication are closely related. For example, gestures are a form of non-verbal communication and understanding such NVCs would help in developing good interpersonal skills. However, some gestures may have different interpretations in different cultures. From a short Youtube video that I watched, I picked out a few different interpretations of NVCs in different cultures. For example, beckoning using your finger to a local in the Philippines is considered to be rude and is deemed punishable by arrest. To a Singaporean, beckoning to someone using your finger might simply be a harmless gesture to call someone over to you. However, to a Filipino, it is considered an act deemed suitable only for dogs and he or she might feel insulted if you were to use such gestures on him or her. Lack of understanding of someone else’s culture may then lead to conflict.

Sometimes, not having adequate knowledge of another’s culture may not only lead to conflicts but also to awkward or embarrassing situations. For example, if you pay your Arabic friend a compliment on his new sofa, he might take it seriously and feel awkwardly obliged in giving you the sofa due to his cultural beliefs. To you, a Singaporean, a compliment might be made out of goodwill or politeness but to an Arab, he might think that you actually loved the sofa so much that you wanted to own it.

As described above, it is very important to research on a country’s culture before you travel in order to avoid any conflicts or awkward situations. It can also help us develop our interpersonal communication. This is because culture plays a part in developing our personality. If we understand someone else’s culture, we can understand why he or she behaves in a certain way and therefore, improve our EQ skills. Below is an interesting video that I found on Youtube and might be useful should you travel to any of the countries stated. If you have encountered any conflicts or situations in other countries due to lack of understanding of their cultures, do comment below. (:

Blog Post #1: Interpersonal Conflict

Often in our everyday lives, we would have encountered or experienced many interpersonal conflicts. By understanding our own emotions along with that of others, we would probably be able to handle such situations better. In this blog post, I will be sharing about a hypothetical interpersonal conflict. Consider the following scenario:

Jane is a young woman who takes the MRT train to work every morning. On one occasion, she was sitting on the ‘Reserved’ seat. As she was too engrossed with the show she was watching on her iPad, she did not notice a middle-aged woman with an injured leg, entering the train. The woman started to get annoyed as she was not offered any seat. She then exclaimed loudly to the other commuters, “Young people these days, have no courtesy. There is an injured person standing in front of her. Yet she pretends not to know and continues to sit down. She obviously does not know what the purpose of the ‘Reserved’ seat is.” Jane was miffed by the comment. However, she stood to offer up her seat to the woman, without saying a word. After the woman sat down, she continued glaring at Jane and made nasty remarks about her. These remarks angered and embarrassed Jane. As she could not contain her emotions any longer, she retaliated verbally and this started a heated argument between her and the middle-aged woman.

In my opinion, this conflict could have been easily avoided if the woman had asked Jane for the seat more politely. While she was entitled to sit on the ‘Reserved’ seat, her tone seemed to come across as demanding and authoritative. She could have been too self-centered by thinking only of herself and not what Jane would have felt after hearing those sensitive comments. If she had placed herself in Jane’s situation, she would have understood that perhaps it was an honest mistake to not notice her and her injured leg. She probably could have said instead, “Excuse me Miss, do you mind if you give up your seat to me because I’ve an injured leg?”

Even after she sat down, she should not have continued giving nasty remarks. She could have taken Jane’s silence as a signal to say, “Okay. I’ve given up my seat to you so please don’t comment any further.” However, Jane could also have apologized and remarked politely that she did not noticed the woman earlier on. This probably could have calmed the woman down and made her think twice before giving further comments. If it was impossible for Jane to communicate with the woman in a gentle manner, she could have moved to another section of the train to avoid the verbal conflict. However, I admit that sometimes it would be difficult to contain your emotions, especially after receiving nasty remarks or insults. It would be best though to try to avoid any conflict in the beginning, instead of starting one and thinking of how to resolve it later on.

What would you have done to resolve this conflict if you were Jane? Feel free to give any comments.