Final Reflection

Thinking back, the decision to step out of my comfort zone and bid for this module ES2007S was because of the desire to equip myself with practical skills, such as resume-writing and how to be a better communicator, which is definitely of use in the future.

13 weeks later, I am glad to say that this module, Professional Communication has, without a doubt, offered me the skills which I wanted to pick up as well as skills that I have never thought that I can pick up through this course, such as being an active listener and making critical and constructive comments.I believe these life-long skills which will certainly help me in different aspects of my life besides my career.

The main message that this course conveyed to me is that understanding the different aspects of communication (verbal and non-verbal) is very crucial to effectively convey a message, prevent any misunderstanding, resolve conflict, persuade or convince others. However, just understanding the communication skills is not sufficient, we have to integrate it into our daily lives and practice it for sometime before we can become good at it.

Importance of effective communication skills was emphasized in many activities and assignments involved in this module. In particular, the proposal requires effective communication between me and my group mates, Hazel and Jia Min. Through the process, we had some miscommunication but manage to resolve them. This clearly illustrates the importance of effective communication to prevent misunderstanding and also to resolve conflict.

In addition, working on the proposal has exposed me to the different ways that each unique individual works. The sacred combination of effective communication, mutual understanding and good cooperation will undeniably result in good team work.

The blogs certainly gave me an opportunity to learn and appreciate different styles of writings and view numerous perspectives for any one topic. This is especially so for topics on interpersonal conflicts and intercultural skills. I really enjoyed reading the solutions offered by the class for the various problems; some of the solutions did not even cross my mind. Thus, this certainly helped me to further improve my diplomatic skills.

Through the assignments, I had the opportunity to rectify my mistakes in drafting crucial professional documents such as my resume and application letters. If I had drafted these letters prior to the knowledge I have gathered from this module, I would have produced unimpressive letters which would make me lose several job opportunities!

Lastly, I would like to thank Brad for his guidance and the classmates for their active in-class interactions as well as for commenting on my blog. They made the journey through this module enjoyable and insightful. :)



Though the workload of this module is immense, we could all learn from this simple quote of John Alves: “The hard way is the right way.”

Oral presentation

Firstly, I would like to thank my team mates, Hazel and Jia Min for their time and effort placed in the proposal and oral presentation. Although we do have some miscommunications along the way, we managed to resolve them and got along pretty well. Overall, it was a great learning experience.

Being the last two teams to present wasn’t as easy as it seems. In fact, it was rather stressful as there were many expectations we had to meet, especially those from Brad. :x Being the last two teams, we had more time to “doll up” our slides and practice our speech; therefore, there is a need for us to perform better in order to score (the “kiasu” character”).

Having seen four presentations, our team decided to use white backgrounds and visual aids to enhance our presentation slides. We tried to include colours, mainly primary colours, to add an interesting touch to the slides and also to draw the audiences’ attention. We also had first half of the classroom’s lights dimmed so that the slides would stand out.

Before the presentation begins, I was surprisingly calm. So I thought maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be or perhaps the peer teaching experience did help me calm down. However, I was wrong. The nervousness and anxiety set in after the presentation started. As I watched Jia Min made her speech, my heartbeat increased.

My biggest fear for every oral presentation was the problem with fidgeting. I have this habit of pacing up and down or swaying when I’m standing. This “phenomena” would be exaggerated whenever I’m nervous or excited. Previously, Brad even commented that I was “dancing in front of the screen” during peer teaching. Hence I kept reminding myself not to move.

I thought I had little movement during my speech and was actually quite happy about it. However, according to the feedback I received from my peers, I had quite a lot of limb movements. This is something that I have to work on.

During the presentation, I made a blunder and stutter as I try to conclude the presentation. There was some distractions and I could not focus on my speech. I hope the stammering did not affect my performance or made me look as though I memorised my script. As discussed in class, such situations may arise and all of us should be mentally prepared for such circumstances. At that very moment, I had an embedded lesson which I failed.