Final Reflection

It’s the end of the semester and I should be feeling happy (*forget the exams..:P*) but for once in my 3 years of NUS life I am actually feeling sad for not being able to continue with a module… ES2007S was a very fun and enriching module unlike the boring engin core modules that I am destined to take for my next 3 semesters :(

The Beginning
When I was choosing modules for this semester I accidently chanced upon ES2007S and I asked my seniors if the module was beneficial, but no one had ever heard of it, but I was still interested. The most attractive aspect of the module I thought was the BLOG!! Though I wanted to learn how to write a good resume etc but the fact that blogging was given 30% marks was really interesting (I actually thought it was going to be easy…haizzz – how wrong I was)

Coming to ES2007S class for the first time, I really liked the concept of learning by interacting with others, presenting etc. Though I had to change class I actually feel it was for the better since I got to meet all of you :)

The Learning Process
The major skill set I have learnt from this module is the communications skills set (for obvious reasons) – verbal and non-verbal.

Written - Non-Verbal
To be honest, I have not felt majorly apprehensive during presentations or when talking in a large group and my writing skills has been above average as well, so I have always thought that continuing the way I am is just fine, but I realized how wrong I was. During these 3 months I found that I had many flaws, especially in the non-verbal aspect of communication. I noticed this when I received my feedback for the blog and the resume/cover letter that I lacked organization in my writing :( After rectifying the errors pointed out by Ms. Happy and looking back at my past personal statements, resume etc. made me understand the importance of structuring a written statement. Looking back at my 1st resume, it was a complete mess with information practically everywhere but now I feel my resume is so much better and has more relevant information in it.

7C's of Communication
Another aspect I feel I benefited from is the 7C’s of communication. Although all of us have, to some extent, good communication skills I feel that knowing the theory behind effective communication gives us an added advantage over others. I believe most of us developed our communication skills through practical interaction with others but what we have learnt through experience may not give us a complete picture. I really felt a difference in my communication skills after knowing the 7C’s. In a way, the 7C’s has given me a basis from which I can compare to see if I have done well in terms of communicating my message and by doing so I feel I can identify my mistakes more effectively and learn from it.

Presentations
Though it is common sense to most that there are many different ways in which presentations can be made, I actually never knew the ‘real’ (the distinguishing factor) difference between the different kinds of presentation. Even after presenting for the peer teaching session and the final OP I still didn’t realize this difference until Ms. Happy pointed it out. Though the differences are rather subtle, by knowing these differences one can identify which aspect they should concentrate on for that particular presentation which will eventually make it a more effective presentation.

My BIG Thanks :)

After these 3 months, I can see a big difference in my communication skills, thanks to Ms. Happy, my group members – Wei Xiong, Xin Wei and Luigi ‘Louie’ and to the whole class for helping me realize my flaws and improve my skills set. A very BIG thank you to everyone and another BIG thank you to Ms. Happy for being such a wonderful tutor and for making this module very enjoyable. Thank you :)


Cheerios,
Keerth ^^

PS: Sorry for this super long post…

Reflection on Oral Presentation

The picture speaks for itself. I feel it is very important to stay composed under any circumstances. If we are clam and collected we can at least think about what we can do next to rectify the problem :)

Finally the OP is over…yay! Though it was tiring to prepare the slides and rehearse for the OP it was a wonderful experience to learn how to present properly and an even better experience when we were able to learn and rectify our errors. I feel that the effort of me and my group (Wei Xiong and Xin Wei) had paid off and I would like to thank them both for being very helpful and accommodative throughout the process of the project. :D

Preparation:
My group worked well together to prepare for the slides and the presentation. Our presentation slides were simple, and we used key notes to emphasize our points better. I feel this made our presentation easier to understand, in addition we also added pictures and quotes to make the presentation more interesting and I feel the effort has paid off.

Delivery:
Considering that we only finalized our slides after coming to class, I feel we did well. However, I could have slowed down and since I was nervous I forgot to mention some points and I think I pronounced ‘Mao Zedong’ wrong as well! Considering the 7Cs of communication I feel I missed out on the points of clarity and completeness. Having rushed through the presentation I think it must have been a little difficult to understand what I was saying and since I forgot to mention some points I think I missed out on the ‘completeness’ factor as well. For the other aspects such as courtesy, correctness, conciseness and coherence I think I managed fulfill their requirements to some extent. All in all I think my group did a good job in bringing our message across and it is was an enriching experience drafting the proposal and presenting.

As for the question and answer session, I think we managed to answer appropriately for the questions asked.


Cheers,
Keerth :D