Graduation [[Friends Forever]]- Vitamin C

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Graduation from ES2007S :)

~Click on VITAMIN C to view video & lyrics~

Goodbye ES2007S ! Although I bid adieus to you now, the things you have taught me have left an indelible mark in my view and understanding of what communication is.

I signed myself up for this module because a friend of mine recommended it, it was non-examinable, and the name of the module sounded really professional, for a lack of word! "Perhaps I'll be able to learn something that will help me in my Final Year Project presentation", I thought. I did learn more about the intricacies and subtle details of presentation skills, but it's not just that. 'Professional Communication' was not just about learning how to give an excellent presentation; for myself,  It has taught me how to communicate with my loved-ones, peers, and superiors more effectively.

Communication tools
The communication tools discussed in class, ranging from written communication i.e. the 7 C's, to non-verbal communication i.e. active listening, body language, form the basic of communication. Building on top of this foundation, I learnt how to be aware and sensitive of different cultural practices through the discussion on inter-cultural communication in class and the blogs of my peers. Using the tool of the 7C's, I had the chance of putting it into practical application through blogging, and writing of resumes, application letter, minutes, interview transcripts, and finally, the group proposal.

Blogging has given me an avenue of expressing my thoughts and feelings in an uninterrupted fashion. It has honed my language skills. and given me a chance to reflect on issues, structure my thoughts and finally, express them in a way that is coherent and understandable to my readers.

Learning on the Job
In my first post of my blog, I mentioned that effective communication is important because misunderstandings always arise due to the lack of it. Working together in a same group with people of different personalities, I have learnt to be more flexible, learnt to accommodate and adapt myself to different individuals' working styles, and learnt NOT to make assumptions and to always clarify.

Having experienced it first-hand, I have observed that the working dynamics of a team can be quite amazing - both in my peer teaching group as well as in Dandelion Student Impact Team. Developing rapport with fellow team members can be developed through spending time together, talking about subjects other than our assignment, and bantering with each other. Then somewhere in the beginning and in between, respect and empathy comes into the picture to further strengthen this bond. I am thankful to have the chance Yong Chean, Yong Xin, and You Sheng (Y.Y.Y.D), who are all very capable students in their own right.

Learning in Class 
My lecturer (Mr. Blackstone) created a learning environment that stimulates students to express their honest thoughts/feedback, and this has prodded me to be more honest with mine - be it my opinions or emotions i.e. frustration, stress, euphoria. As a result, I have learnt to better articulate my opinions and to manage my emotions for the purpose of communicating more effectively and hence, build better interpersonal relationships with my loved-ones, peers and superiors. As a future teacher, I am inspired to create a learning environment 'without walls', as my lecturer has successfully done so.

EDITED

My Oral Presentation Reflection

 The Dandelion Student Impact Team

                                                              Guess who's who!

Dear diary,
I guess I better write my reflections down first, before they all fly out of my head.

On Monday (1 Nov 2010), The Dandelion Student Impact Team gave an oral presentation. Before I start on how I thought I performed, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed working with my group members - Daniel, Yong Xin, You Sheng. They are a fun-loving, great bunch of people. Even though we've our differences, misunderstandings, other commitments and IPI, we enjoyed each other's company (well, most of the time we do). I have learnt a lot from each of them - learnt what it means to really listen, saw that a difference in opinions can be solved by negotiation and not merely brushed aside. The topic of our presentations is to convince the audience, who are supposedly representatives of the NUS Excellence Unit, to adopt our proposed solutions to improve RAG and Flag. RAG and Flag is a huge topic, with many intricacies and interconnected issue. Yet our team has strived to present as complete a picture to our audience, and that may have been too much for them.

Overall, in terms of work and effort, I'd dare say The Dandelion did an extensive amount of research. We surveyed the NUS population, as well as arranged meetings with Christopher Cheong, Zhen Yu, and gathered opinions and feedback from previous RAG directors. The experience of talking to the RAG organizers definitely shed light on the issue of RAG. The need for change was not just felt among the student population, but also the organizers.

In terms of my own preparation for the presentation, it wasn't enough. It would have been better if the details of the presentation were finalized earlier i.e. focus, direction etc, and that I had spent more time rehearsing the script instead of trying to fine-tune it to perfection. I felt on my part that I had focused too much on preparing the content of the speech for my part, that I did not see the bigger picture of my role as the first speaker. Also, unfortunately, I did not manage to internalize my speech, and the effect was reflected during the actual presentation itself. A lack of sleep was a definite no-no on hindsight. I was ironing my speech until very early of the presentation date, and did not have sufficient sleep. I thought I could still handle that, but my mind couldn't. What was good about the preparation was that, ideas were discussed and incorporated, such as the usage of videos in the introduction part.

In terms of delivery, more rehearsals would have chased the nervousness away. The points were in my head before the actual presentation, yet during the real deal, the points began to melt into each other like snow. What was once clear become blurred and I panicked. It probably showed. I felt I started well. And I noticed Brad looked down at his computer immediately after saying we could began. I figured that he wanted us to do something to catch his attention and make him look up. From my side, I thought my voice was loud enough already, but it apparently wasn't. 'Use the diaphragm' someone suggested. I will keep that in mind the next time I present. That will take some practise, and getting used to my voice being loud. (Maybe I should start practising with friends...:D ) In my bid to sound ' professional' and remember my content, I forgot to engage my audience! And did not manage to show my passion for this subject. "Be more aggressive", someone suggested. Note taken! Then again, I think being aggressive is not always key to an effective presentation, but maybe it is essential in a business proposal presentation. I guess what my friend suggested was to show more passion.

In this aspect, if I were more confident with my script, which would come with more rehearsals, I would have been able to allow my emotions flow through much more naturally. Memorizing from a script will be the first step to killing the connection with audience. Even though I did not physically hold a paper in my hand, I probably held it in my mind. Just as bad, if not worse. Because if I had held my script in my hand, I may have been more assured and less jittery. That being said, it will still not be wise to hold a paper in my hand, because it would have looked less professional. As much as I'd like to think that I am passed the stage of relying on a script, I have to confess that I am not totally out of it, but definitely progressing out of it!

A good take-away was that I was clear and deliberate in my speech and diction, and am glad Miao could understand what I was saying.

In terms of using visual aid, there were good comments about us showing the video for the introduction. It was a pity the projector screen did not do the video nor our slides justice. The quality of the video was good, and the slides looked sleek from the Macbook. In future, it would be good to go and check out the presentation venue, be familiarized with the equipment and to know whether it has the required resolution and components needed.

I must thank the audience for all their good-intentioned comments and constructive feedback about my presentation and my group's. It was a great learning experience. At the end of the day, I hope the audience would be moved and motivated, if not by our presentation then by my shout-out, to support the idea to make changes to RAG. And I sincerely hope that SOMETHING will be done to improve the current NUS RAG day. Because well, it is not as well as it should be. :]

Signing off ~

On Death

"Death is the best invention of Life" - Steve Jobs in his speech at Stanford University

You know how almost everyone knows about the famous speech Steve Jobs made at Stanford University? I had a vague memory of listening to it, but I couldn't quite remember what made it memorable. Then I chanced upon his speech while browsing through www.ted.com. The line above stuck in my head- how simple yet profound. It is the knowledge that I do not have an eternity to live out my life, that forces me to treasure each and every single moment of it. Yet so often, I forgot. During lunch the next day, I happened to mention this to a friend, who then shared with me an article "Five regrets of the Dying", by Bronnie Ware. A worthwhile read!

Of Chairman Hao, Mr. McConnell and Eels

Eel dish

Is it always polite to finish the food on our table? :) It depends on who whether your host is a Chinese or Japanese. Do not be fooled by their similar appearances. Below is a description of a scenario that warrants this conclusion.



Chairman Hao is the CEO of a wealthy business conglomerate in China. Having just signed a deal for a joint venture with a British business company, W.S.Y.N (We Serve Your Needs), Chairman Hao was ready to celebrate the successful business collaboration by holding a feast. He invited a group of his fellow Chinese business associates to dine with him and Mr. McConnell, a representative of W.S.Y.N, was his special guest of the night. Both of them sat at opposite ends of the table. Then, Chairman Hao proceeded to request the restaurant’s signature dish: Steamed Eel.


When the dish was served, Mr. McConnell looked queerly at the flaccid-looking steamed eel, and only the slight furrow of his forehead revealed his discomfort. Remembering the common dining table etiquette, he proceeded to eat the steamed eel only after his host invited him to proceed, making sure to finish it down to the very last morsel, and even made a slurping sound as he drank down the soup. This, he thought, demonstrated his immense satisfaction with the dish, as what his Japanese friend had taught him.


Chairman Hao also ate his steamed eel, but the difference was that he did not finish the dish. Glancing over at Mr. McConnell’s side, he seemed slightly astonished to see that his guest’s bowl was empty. He then gestured to the waiter, who came back a few minutes later to set another dish in front of Mr. McConnell. It was an eel that was even fatter and juicier than before. In fact, it was double the portion of the first. Mr. McConnell looked ill, but picked up his chopsticks and proceeded to eat. He took great pride in clearing the bowl a second time.


Chairman Hao, upon seeing the second empty bowl of steamed eel, looked upset and signalled once more to the waiter. This time he gave specific instructions. The waiter, bobbing his head furiously, proceeded behind the kitchen doors and murmured to the head chef.


A few minutes later, the waiter emerged with the largest eel yet, still alive and squirming, that both Mr. McConnell had ever seen. Chairman Hao, gesturing to his English guest then to the eel, asked Mr. McConnell if he were satisfied with this one. A puzzled and bewildered Mr. McConnell stared first at the eel, then at Chairman Hao’s upset face.

If I were an observer with no knowledge of the cultural practices and norms in the business world, I would think that Chairman Hao was not paying enough attention to Mr. Connell’s non-verbal cues. It seemed obvious the latter was having a hard time finishing the steamed eel, yet the former kept serving him the exact same dish. I would also wonder why Mr. McConnell chose to finish every last morsel of his dish when his host did not. As a famous saying goes, ‘In Rome, do as the Romans do.”

In fact, Mr. McConnell should not have cleared the contents of his bowl. Although a Japanese host would be delighted with the English guest for doing so, a Chinese host might have completely different sentiments. Initially, Chairman Hao thought Mr. McConnell hasn’t had his fill, but when he repeated the act, the host took offense and interpreted that the guest was questioning his generosity. Finally, it was Mr. McConnell’s ignorance to assume that Japanese and Chinese, with their similar oriental asian features, have similar cultural practices as well. How far from the truth he was!



 

Dear readers, the above scenario was inspired by a HSBC commericial, which is accessible here! Enjoy!

May I See Your Boss?

Job Overview:
Our client, a statutory board under the Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office is seeking suitable candidates to join their dynamic team as a Graphic Designer - Buona Vista (Temp 3-6 mths).

Responsibilities:
Create designs on posters, brochures and training material
Ad-hoc admin support.

Requirements:Good Working Knowledge of Photoshop, Adobe, Freehand, Power point, Plus PC and Mac Corporate design experience.
Able to commit for 3-6 months period
Start work from Oct 10 till Jan 11. (Subjected to extension till April 11)
Fresh Graduates are welcomed!

Working hours:
$7 / hr
5 days work week
Mon- Thurs (830am - 6pm)
Fri (830am - 530pm)

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No more green grass and dandelions

I have changed my blog skin ! Many people seemed to like green grass and dandelions, so whilst that has not changed for me, but my former blog skin has to go. I love colour pencils; I often use them when I was a child to colour, draw, and doodle. There are still a few boxes' worth of colour pencils stashed away in my house - some with tips badly chipped, others broken into two with a length that is quite impossible to use - but I can't bear to throw any of them away because it is like a memento of my childhood. I never knew Singapore had dandelions, but there's plenty of grass in Marina Barage.

Peer Teaching Assignment: Drop your feedback now!

Hi friends,

On behalf of my group members, Yong Chean and You Sheng, we want to say a big ' Thank You!' for being such an attentive audience and for 'lending us your ears'. You have made our first teaching assignment an enjoyable and enriching one.

Having said so, we are very sure there are still many areas of improvement for us. Please feel free to share with us the areas we can keep, stop and improve on. We value your precious feedback in improving our oral communication and presentation!

Do post your lesson feedback as comments to this post. Thank you!
Warmest regards,
Steph :) 


PS: Unfortunately, we have run out of mint chocolates ;)

Giving Someone A Piece of my Mind

" Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach".  Tom Robbins (American Novelist. b.1936)

Although interpersonal conflicts may be common to some, it is rare for a non-confrontational person like myself, who’d prefer to avoid a contention than to face one. I attribute this partly to my upbringing, where tolerance and forbearance are encouraged. However, one particular incident gave me reason to reconsider my approach towards resolving such conflicts.

In secondary school, I was tasked to lead a squad in the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) with a fellow cadet, ‘A’. We each had very different personalities and unfortunately, her dislike for me was palpable right from the start of our partnership. I did not understand why she treated me with such hostility, but never did approach her. As a result, our working relationship was filled with much tension, and often misinterpreted each other’s meanings.

My pent-up frustration culminated to a head when one day (6 months after we took over the mantle of leadership), while performing a post-camp logistics check-out, the recess bell rang, signally the end of our break. As I prepared to leave, ‘A’ remarked loudly to a fellow cadet, ‘B’, that I was being irresponsible for abandoning my duties.  Right in that musty shed, that groundless accusation broke my last thread of restraint. ‘I was in no way being irresponsible!’  I thought.  In a span of a few milliseconds, I had to make a choice: swallow my anger and walk away, or confront her and demand an explanation.

If I chose to walk away, it would have been an expected response given my non-confrontational personality and things will remain as status quo – they will neither get better or worse; If I stand up to her accusations, it will most definitely trigger an argument, our working relationship may be jeopardized, but I may finally know the root cause of her hostility.

 

Dear readers, do you walk away or stand up to her accusation? 

EDITED BLOG POST #2

Why Is Effective Communication Important to Me

I have learnt that in a gist, 'Effective Communication' happens when a message sent out by a person gets understood clearly and correctly by his/her audience. Don't we all want to lessen misunderstandings in our communication? I definitely do. There are countless instances in my life when attempts at expressing my intentions, thoughts and feelings fell short of its intended purpose because I was feeling frustrated, fearful or nervous. This inevitably created misunderstandings and the friendship soured.

The above scenarios are as much due to my psyche, as they are due to a lack of practice and perhaps, confidence. Hence, having effective communication with others can keep most social or personal relationship in good condition, like the oiling of a rusty mechanism. Being able to minimize misunderstandings and barriers saves time and decreases anxiety on both parties as well. I know the saying "No man is an island", and because having fulfilling relationships is an important aspect of life, effective communication is vital.

Projecting myself as a wannabe- teacher, I hope to be able to communicate effectively with my students, colleagues and supervisors on a personal and/or professional level. With the advent of technology, more communication channels, such as skype, emailing, video-conferencing are available. Knowing which communication channels to use will be most helpful when I step out into the work force, because such skills and the ability to discern the best form of communication channel(s) for various situations are essential to making meaningful relationships with people around me.

My first blog after a long time

The green grass and dandelions remind me of nature, which I love to appreciate.