Final Reflections, but Communications for Life!

In just a blink of an eye, yet another semester has just flown by. Although the ES2007S lasted a mere 13 weeks, however, the skills learnt from this module will indeed last a lifetime! Indeed the skills learnt in this module are transferable, and will be very beneficial regardless of the field that I intend to work in after graduation. Although the workload for this module was indeed very heavy, I have no regrets taking this module.

Reflecting back, this module has given me the opportunity to teach a class on an allocated topic, write effective application letters and resumes, prepare for interviews, craft a proposal, as well as to give persuasive oral presentations. Indeed, this module has made me realize that possessing effective communication skills are necessary! The module has also made me realize that it is not just achieving good grades that will allow us to attain our dream job, but also how well we sell ourselves. It was also through ES2007S that I was exposed to various online communication platforms. The platforms include that of blogs, google docs, google wave other wikis like NUS wiki.

Although I have heard of these online communication tools before, it was only when I learnt of how to use these platforms for communication, did I realize the actual usefulness of such platforms. Using google wave in combination with google docs and skype not only made group project meetings unique, but also allowed our group to get the task done in the fastest and most effective way possible. This was especially convenient, given our tight schedules. As such, the module not only exposed and equipped me with the necessary communication skills, but also to fully utilize online communication platforms to the fullest, and this I feel will carry me a long way, especially in the workplace in the future!

What I particularly enjoyed in this module was the interactive nature in which lessons were conducted. Unlike most of the other modules offered in NUS where the class size is usually big (big to the extent where you will never get to know all your classmates), the small class size has allowed for more interaction in class. It was also one of the rare moments where I got to know everyone personally in class, which made attending lessons more fun and meaningful.

Lastly, I will also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Lim for being such a wonderful and dedicated tutor, and everyone in class for making this module such a wonderful experience! I hope that all of us will be able to keep in touch long after this module has ended. All the best in your future endeavours! =)

Oral Presentation Reflection

Finally the oral presentation is over! There were two major presentations this semester, one being peer teaching, and followed by this oral presentation. However, I feel that the oral presentation was a lot more challenging. Unlike the peer teaching experience where we were supposed to a research on a given topic and present it to the class, the oral presentation involved persuading the audience which made it all the more nerve-wrecking! Well this may be subjective, but I’m glad it’s over nonetheless!

I must say that the oral presentation went better than expected. Although we had only a week to prepare for the presentation, not including the numerous other test and assignments that we had to do for our other modules, I felt our group performed very well, given the circumstances. We still managed to dedicate 2 to 3 practice sessions to refine both the slides and the presentation. Putting ourselves in the shoes of the audience also helped us better prepare for the Question & Answer session, which in my opinion is the most difficult part of every presentation. However, I thought that our group did reasonably well in churning out appropriate answers for most of the questions asked.

Personally, I was surprised that I how much calmer I was compared to when we had our first peer teaching presentation. At least I was not as overwhelmed from having to give yet another big presentation on the big stage. This time I made a much more concerted effort to speak slower, so I hope that translated well. This time, more focus was placed on time management, so I did not try to squeeze in that much information within a short period of time, which I hope, allowed the audience to follow the presentation better. Much more time was also put in for slide designing, like for instance, adding appropriate pictures that suit the theme of the presentation. This, I thought was much better than the last peer teaching experience, where I had chosen to use plain slides, which may not be a source of distraction for the audience, but on the other hand, may have made the presentation a little boring.

What surprised me most during this presentation was that I was able to present without looking at my cue cards! (Or once rather, to state the definition of what I meant by “conservation biology”) This, I felt, was the main aspect of my presentation that I have improved tremendously. However, I still feel that in everything there’s always room for improvement. For instance, I feel that I can further improve on my use of gestures, which I thought was lacking during the presentation. As such I may have come across as a little stiff during the presentation. I guess this will come with practice, so I hope that I will have more opportunities to work on giving public presentations. =)

I hope that you enjoyed the presentation as much I did presenting it to all of you. Looking forward to reading all of your comments! Thank you! =)

Importance of Intercultural Competency

Intercultural competency is of particular importance today. This is indeed relevant in today’s context. Singapore is a place where intercultural competency has to be exercised, given that we are a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. The world is also a much smaller place now than it ever was. “Global Village”, “Globalization”, “Global Markets” are now new buzz words. Travelling is now so common and the number of people settling and working in foreign countries has also increased tremendously.

One of the key changes that this has triggered is the need to communicate effectively with people of different cultures. Knowing the language spoken by another race is an asset but is still insufficient for integrating and communicating effectively in with people of a different culture. Concentrating on structures and forms of language is not enough to genuinely help people communicate in the world today. Intercultural awareness is also a must to avoid any potential misunderstandings or conflicts!

Personally I have not had any personal encounters of cultural conflicts, but I have been faced with situations where I have felt uncomfortable or made others feel uncomfortable due to my lack of understanding of their cultural background or practices. I will just elaborate on one of them.

I still recall a visit to one of friend’s place during Hari Raya last year. I visited his house together with a few other friends. We visited at an hour where a lot people were making their entrance as well. There were a group of females who were just in front of us and they received a very warm welcome. Handshakes and hugs were exchanged. My friend was not back yet, so his mother was at the door to receive us instead. I greeted her very warmly and this was reciprocated. However, when I reached out my hand to shake hers, she did not shake mine and merely smiled. I thought she did not see me reach out my hand for a handshake and did it one more time. She smiled again. However, she looked a little uneasy and merely shifted her focus to one of my other friends after that.

I was a little puzzled. I was attempting to be polite by trying to shake her hand but she did not shake mine in return. When I entered the house, I was greeted by three of my friend’s sisters. I similarly reached out my hand to shake theirs but received a similar response experienced earlier. There was no handshake in return and they had the same uneasy look on their faces! It overwhelmed me a little and I did feel a little hurt, as well as out of place. I got the feeling that I was not welcomed. When my friends and I set down and talked, we realized that we all received similar responses.

Thank goodness my friend showed up soon after and our spirits were lightened. On the quiet, we asked him about the “queer” responses that we received earlier. It was only then that we realized that in the Muslim culture, it was inappropriate for a woman to have physical contact with a man whom they have no blood relations with. However, it is alright for a woman to shake hands with another woman.

It was through this encounter that I was further enlightened of the Muslim culture. All the uneasiness and unnecessary discomfort could have been avoided if I had asked my friend about the customs that they practice before going over.

This experience has reiterated to me the importance of understanding one another’s culture. This will be particular important for all of us be it in the workplace, in school or maybe overseas on a holiday. Cultural taboos can thus be avoided. Therefore intercultural competency is important. =)

Application Letter Critique

Hey everyone,

I'm writing an application letter for a post as a product specialist at Achema Pte Ltd. The details of the advertisement can be found above. My application letter can be found below. Thanks!


---------------------Sample Application Letter------------------------

Adam Tan
34 Bouganville Green
Singapore 456123

4th February 2010

Mr. Charles Tan
Human Resource Manager
Achema Pte Ltd
Foo Wah Industrial Building #03-03
45 Jalan Pemimpin
Singapore 577197

Dear Mr Tan,

RE: Application for position as Product Specialist at Achema Pte Ltd

I should like to be considered for the post as a Product Specialist (Life Science) with Achema Pte Ltd, as currently advertised in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Career Centre website. I am a fresh graduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in life sciences. I enclose a CV which gives full details of my educational history and qualifications to date. The following are the salient points supporting my application.

Being a life science major allows me to be very familiar with laboratory equipment, consumables and software. This will allow me to effectively manage the sales of these products and in handling the equipment. My internship stint at the Temasek Life Science Laboratory has allowed me to fully utilize the equipment that is available to a researcher. I was also in charge of stock-taking during my stint there, and it has made me aware of the necessities that a research institute will need in general to run its labs. This gives me the added knowledge when it comes to selling these products to top-end research institutes.

Having headed a team of 9 in a life science research competition during my college days has given me the necessary exposure for carrying out a large scale project as well as giving public presentations. This will put me in good stead when carrying out my duties in marketing projects.

I have also been on a summer exchange programme to the University of California as an undergraduate. I was also given adequate lab experience over there. I hope to use the knowledge and exposure gained to help the company expand its market overseas, like the United States. I hope to be able to translate my passion and desire to give the company a boost in this respect.

I am available to discuss the post in person and perhaps go through my credentials in more detail. Thank you for your time.

Yours Sincerely,

Adam

Are interpersonal conflicts avoidable?

It never fails to amaze me how frequently conflicts come about. Conflicts appear to be a fact of life. Look at how frequently conflicts arise today. You see it happening amongst neighbours, where small matters can actually balloon to become big issues. (I have encountered two neighbours of mine who were arguing over a flower pot that was placed in the middle of the corridor!). You see write-ups on conflicts in the newspapers, where even a simple staring incident can lead to a major fight, leaving both parties severely hurt or even killed! Conflicts even take place when it comes to countries stating claims over territories, such as the Pedra Branca issue.

So we must ask ourselves, since conflicts can potentially take place anywhere and everywhere, are they avoidable? This is a question that I constantly ask myself especially when I get into the occasional quarrel, with parents for instance. (I’m sure most of you if not all can relate to this.)

I will now like to relate an interpersonal conflict that happened during my National Service (NS) days that just proves once again how easily conflicts can occur. The thought of having to go through two years of NS was already something that made me feel very uneasy and getting into a conflict was the last thing I envisioned. However, this was not meant to be…

NS has exposed me to people of very different backgrounds. I got to meet a wide spectrum of people, from those who were high-flyers, to those who were involved in gangs and secret societies. In my army unit, I was made to be in charge of the platoon when we were on a course. Under my charge was a guy who was very notorious. He was once part of a gang and had been involved in numerous fights. I tried to be nice and diplomatic to the platoon in general, but this did not prevent me from having a clash with him.

One day, he approached me in the bunk and told me in hokkien that he did not like the way I handled things in the platoon. I could sense the aggressiveness in his tone. Sensing a potential conflict or even a fight, I did not dare to even look at him and merely answered him politely, telling him that I did not want any problems. Instead, he grabbed me by the collar and before I knew it, there was a struggle. Fortunately, an officer happened to walk pass the bunk and he broke up the tussle. If not who knows what would have happened to me!

The irony here was that my reluctance to face or get involved in the conflict actually got me into a conflict, which ended up with him trying to beat me up! Was it my refusing to face him when he showed up my bunk, portray my arrogance and disrespect for him instead? (Although I answered him politely) Or was it already his intention to beat me up regardless of how I was to react?

Could something have been done differently in this case to avoid the conflict? Or was the conflict in this case really unavoidable? I still ask myself these questions today although I managed to get out of it unscathed.

Thank you for reading this long post and I look forward to reading your responses! =)

Effective Communication: Something not to be overlooked!

Communication is something that is all around us, something that we use every day over a vast spectrum of mediums. These include carrying out a normal conversation, sending an email to a friend or fellow colleague, as well as writing business letters, just to list a few. Although it is something that we use every day, so much that it becomes second nature, its importance is often undermined or overlooked. Communicating is one thing, but how to do it effectively is another. Sad to say most of us are rather poor when it comes to communicating effectively.

Having effective communication skills allow us to be clearly understood, thus avoiding potential disputes or conflicts that may arise due to misunderstanding. Among family members or close friends, poor communication skills may cause a complete breakdown in communication. It can potentially make or sever long forged friendships. On an even broader perspective, effective communication skills are not only a stepping stone to a successful career, but also the foundation for a satisfying life.

We more often than not have the wrong perceptions of how communication actually works. Take into account a simple scenario where we have two people are having a conversation. In this case, it may seem very intuitive to us that there is a sender (who is the one speaking) and a receiver (who is the one listening to what is being said) and that they take turns sending and receiving through the course of the conversation. However, what is often overlooked is the non-verbal aspect of conversation that more often than not distorts the information that is being sent and received, better known to most as body language. Body language can communicate agreement, disagreement, hurt feelings or anger. This can effectively distort the information that we are sending across to the other person, and it takes place constantly through the course of the conversation. As such the art of effective communication is more complex than we actually believe it to be!

Effective conversation in business letters, emails and good/bad new letters are also very important especially in the workplace as the wrong choice of word or tone used can result in huge misunderstanding. In the IT age that we are in today, knowing how to communicate using wikis and blogs (like what I’m doing now =P) is also very essential.

As such, we can see that communication involves every aspect of our life. Being effective in it can give us an edge in practically everything we do and ES2007s is extremely useful in helping make us more complete people!

Test Post

Hi everybody! Just testing the blog to see if it's ok. Our first lesson was really exciting and hilarious! See all of you soon! =)