Final Reflection on Learning (Blog Post #4)

After taking ES2007S “Professional Communication: Principles and Practices”, I would declare it as the most useful module I have taken in university so far. I have multiple takeaways from the module that I would like to share with my readers.

Though I have become more proficient through the various areas of communication skills, I felt that I gained the most in the area of tackling interviews. Prior to the mock interview, I had an interview with the Dean of Science for an opportunity to take part in the Student Exchange Programme (SEP). My interview was successful, as I was accepted for the SEP. However, one must not underestimate the amount of hard work it takes to prepare for an interview. I spent a week preparing for the interview, analyzing all possible questions that might appear. Unfortunately, the scenario for my mock interview for ES2007S was the direct opposite of my SEP interview. I came unprepared for the mock interview because I did not know my group was getting interviewed during that particular lesson. Though I panicked initially, I eventually decided to make the best use of the mock interview, and to experience attending an interview without any prior preparation. In the end, I did not fare so well. I could not give detailed and comprehensive answers to the questions the interviewers posed. This was because I had to think on the spot and ended up stumbling over my own words. This has reinforced my understanding that preparation is key when it comes to interviews. Though we are assessed on how we perform at the interview, it takes hours of hidden hard work in order to portray a confident self-image, and thus, aid us in accomplishing a successful interview.

Through the mock interview experience, I also realized that non-verbal cues play an important role. Non-verbal cues include posture, gesture, eye contact and facial expression. During the mock interview, I was unaware of myself swaying my legs back and forth till the observers pointed it out. Thus, the interviewers might have interpreted me as being nervous and unconfident. In his book Silent Messages, Albert Mehrabian discusses about his research on non-verbal communication. He attributes the success of a presentation to be 7% content spoken, and 93% non-verbal cues. Though this number might be a misinterpretation, I believe that his research contains an element of truth. The non-verbal cues we give off are as much, if not more important than the verbal cues. In the case when our verbal cues do not match our non-verbal cues, the other party would be more inclined to believe the non-verbal cues. Since the mock interview experience, I became more aware of the non-verbal cues that I give off. I believe that our non-verbal cues show our attitude, interest and respect for the person we are communicating with. Thus, it plays an integral role in effective communication.

A challenge I faced throughout this module was that I was uncertain of how to brand myself. This is largely because I was unsure of the career path I would like to pursue. Hence, this was a stumbling block during the time when the class learnt about cover letter and mock interviews. Firstly, I was uncertain regarding the type of company I should write to for my cover letter. Secondly, I did not know how to portray myself during the mock interview. I was unaware of my strengths that would value add to the company I was applying for. This was partly why I could not answer the interviewers’ questions. Though preparation is key in boosting our confidence during interviews, it is also crucial for us to be aware of our own personal branding. This realisation has encouraged me to seek advice from my faculty’s career advisors to enquire about future job prospects. Thus, an indirect takeaway for this module was that I am one step closer to discovering what career path I want to pursue in future. Hence, taking ES2007S was like a journey of self-discovery.

In conclusion, after taking ES2007S, I have learnt how to communicate effectively with people through various platforms, such as business letters, emails and memo writing. It has also given me the necessary expertise to brand myself through my resume and cover letter when I start looking for a job next year. The skills acquired through this module would also significantly accelerate my preparation process for any presentation or interview. I am now more confident of being a professional communicator in the workplace. I must remind myself to constantly practice and review the skills I have learnt through ES2007S so that I will never ever forget them.

Thank you all for being nice to me as your classmates. I really enjoyed the time getting to know so many friends in the class. Have a great learning experience for the rest of your years in NUS. I hope to see you all around NUS someday! And for those graduating, happy graduation! And lastly, thank you Madam Fazilah for being so patience and imparting your knowledge to us! :)

Reflection on Team-based Research Project Proposal (Blog Post #3)

I believe what distinguishes a successful project from a mediocre project is the conviction of the project members for the cause of the project. From the start, my teammates and I shared the same deep convictions about happiness in Singapore. Thus, we were able to work on the project effectively. 

A triumph for my team was that we had the foresight to start on the project proposal during recess week. It was the period of time when the workload was not overwhelming, thus, we had ample time to carry out detailed market research and evaluation. This has enabled me to understand the importance of starting a project as soon as it is assigned. It is crucial to set a timeline for the project, and to pace out the different phases over the given time limit for the project. This ensures that the team does not procrastinate and rush through the project at the last minute. I am sure this principle applies for both the workplace and our studies in university. In order to achieve excellence in our undertakings, we must be conscientious of the time taken for the project.

Though my team was consistent in the project proposal, the crunch time came during the preparation for oral presentation. The oral presentation was slated towards the end of the semester, when all of us were struggling due to the intense workload from all the modules. In addition, we had to juggle our workload with our commitment to our co-curricular activities. Thus, at this stage of the project, my team was not very efficient in work allocation. We were comparatively slower in our progress during the last stage of our project. Thankfully, my team pushed through, and we managed to finalise the presentation slides a day before the presentation. This gave us the opportunity to rehearse our presentation once through before the actual presentation.

This is a learning point here. In the working world, a team of professionals would manage a project. However, the people comprising the team would have other projects and responsibilities on hand. In this case, there are team members who might regard the project with lesser commitment as compared to their other projects on hand. It takes years of experience to learn how to split up time effectively among the different projects on hand.

Throughout the entire duration of the project, my group was committed enough to meet up for 3 face-to-face meetings, despite our busy schedules. However, most of the time, our group communicated through social networking platforms, such as Whatsapp and the chat function on Google drive. A triumph of my team is that we are very efficient and we ensure that our online discussions are productive. Thus, though we could not meet up face-to-face on several occasions, we were able to keep track of our project through online discussions. The use of advanced technology has helped facilitate our project process.

However, this is not realistic for project discussions at the workplace. In the university, the people that makes up the team come from different faculties with different timetables. It would be hard to accommodate to everyone’s schedule to have a meet up face-to-face. Thus, the team would have to rely on online platforms for group discussions. On the other hand, at the workplace, the people that make up the team would come from the same company. Thus, it would be easier to arrange face-to-face meetings. In addition, it is more formal in the workplace setting. Any communication that occurs outside meetings would be through emails or memos instead of messaging on social networks. Thus, the communication that occurs at the university is not a realistic portrayal of that of the workplace.

A possible improvement for my team’s project was the preparation of answers to the possible questions that could come up during the question and answer (QnA) session. Though my team came up with a few possible questions, we were overwhelmed by the questions that were brought up. Our classmates addressed limitations of our project that we have not thought of. Sometimes, we did not have a good response to some of the questions. This serves as a good reminder for my group and I to prepare well for future QnA sessions so that we would be able to present our proposal with greater clarity. This would ensure that all loopholes of our proposal would be thoroughly thought through.

All in all, our efforts for the project paid off when Madam Fazilah commended my team for being united in the delivery of our presentation. In addition, our classmates gave positive feedback on our project, which served as an encouragement for my team. Working on the project as a team was a really meaningful and memorable experience for me. Through this project, I had my first formal oral presentation in university. Thus, I worked really hard to prepare for the presentation. However, one of the greatest takeaways is getting to know my teammates as friends. This gave me the opportunity to hear about their unique experiences in NUS. Here, I want to express my thanks to all the group members I have worked with. I would be looking forward to more group projects in future :)