Just want to share this video with everyone as my friend shared it with me.
"Little imperfections that made them perfect"
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April 14, 2009
April 12, 2009
It's the beginning of the 'end'!
What is ES2007S Professional Communication? I took this module with the intention of learning how to write a good resume for my future. I'm a practical person, I must say. To my surprise, there are more to this module!
I learnt of the importance of effective communication skills in life. Who are the people we want to communicate with, what it means to communicate effectively, when it is appropriate to speak and when to listen, how effective communication helps in our lives and why we need to develop these skills. (Who, What, When, How and Why)
I still strongly believe that these skills aid greatly in our lives, among our families and friends and also in our workplace. These skills have helped in reducing unnecessary miscommunication and also allow one to build good relationships with others.
For instance, my family is currently going through some rough time. The usual me who is spoilt and always taking my family for granted is now changing for the better I hope. I used to assume that my family will always be taking care of me as I'm the youngest at home, but now, I got to be there for them and contribute as well. As I stay on campus, I take effort to call home more often now, which previously I only waited for calls from home and get annoyed if my Mom nags too much. Nowadays, I want to let my family knows I'm fine in school and that I still care for them by calling home regularly, asking if they have eaten. Communication works two-way. We need the initiative and effort to make it work and the willingness to work along with others. The good communication efforts from each member of my family have helped to bond us further.
One thing that I find difficult is the controlling of emotions. I let out my emotions easily. I cry, get annoyed, angry and irritable easily. These things are hindering the 'perfect' communication but they're hard to control. I often say harsh things to the beloved people around me when I am angry, even though in my mind at that point of time I know of the consequences, I still do it. The skills we learnt from this course are just theories or guidelines that we can put into our lives. We need determination and perseverance to work towards effective communication, not just by knowing what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Nothing can be gained easily without hard work.
The group project in this course has tested on our communication skills. The advantage of team work is that things can be done more efficiently but the disadvantage would be having different views. It gets difficult when all or some of us has different opinions on how things should be done. I learnt that we must try to compromise with one another and be clear with our points made to prevent miscommunications. Another thing is the written report. The correct words need to be use to bring across the intended ideas. Written communication can be a challenge as we can't see the audience's facial expression to know if he/she understood what we're trying to deliver. I tried to put myself as the person who have no knowledge of the topic and if I understood what was written.
What I failed to achieve in this course is being more expressive in class. I don't express my opinions, feeling scared to say things that may sound stupid. I am shy? I have low self-confidence? I guess all these ought to be overcome for the better. I'm glad the people I met in this class are high energy and cheerful, making lessons interesting and enjoyable. Although the workload is really high, I'm glad I've pulled through!
The journey to effective communication is never ending!
I learnt of the importance of effective communication skills in life. Who are the people we want to communicate with, what it means to communicate effectively, when it is appropriate to speak and when to listen, how effective communication helps in our lives and why we need to develop these skills. (Who, What, When, How and Why)
I still strongly believe that these skills aid greatly in our lives, among our families and friends and also in our workplace. These skills have helped in reducing unnecessary miscommunication and also allow one to build good relationships with others.
For instance, my family is currently going through some rough time. The usual me who is spoilt and always taking my family for granted is now changing for the better I hope. I used to assume that my family will always be taking care of me as I'm the youngest at home, but now, I got to be there for them and contribute as well. As I stay on campus, I take effort to call home more often now, which previously I only waited for calls from home and get annoyed if my Mom nags too much. Nowadays, I want to let my family knows I'm fine in school and that I still care for them by calling home regularly, asking if they have eaten. Communication works two-way. We need the initiative and effort to make it work and the willingness to work along with others. The good communication efforts from each member of my family have helped to bond us further.
One thing that I find difficult is the controlling of emotions. I let out my emotions easily. I cry, get annoyed, angry and irritable easily. These things are hindering the 'perfect' communication but they're hard to control. I often say harsh things to the beloved people around me when I am angry, even though in my mind at that point of time I know of the consequences, I still do it. The skills we learnt from this course are just theories or guidelines that we can put into our lives. We need determination and perseverance to work towards effective communication, not just by knowing what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Nothing can be gained easily without hard work.
The group project in this course has tested on our communication skills. The advantage of team work is that things can be done more efficiently but the disadvantage would be having different views. It gets difficult when all or some of us has different opinions on how things should be done. I learnt that we must try to compromise with one another and be clear with our points made to prevent miscommunications. Another thing is the written report. The correct words need to be use to bring across the intended ideas. Written communication can be a challenge as we can't see the audience's facial expression to know if he/she understood what we're trying to deliver. I tried to put myself as the person who have no knowledge of the topic and if I understood what was written.
What I failed to achieve in this course is being more expressive in class. I don't express my opinions, feeling scared to say things that may sound stupid. I am shy? I have low self-confidence? I guess all these ought to be overcome for the better. I'm glad the people I met in this class are high energy and cheerful, making lessons interesting and enjoyable. Although the workload is really high, I'm glad I've pulled through!
The journey to effective communication is never ending!
April 07, 2009
My Oral Presentation
It was my first oral presentation in NUS, 6 April 2009.
I can't deny I fared badly on that fateful Monday, at least failing my own expectation.
I looked through the slides the night before, tried to formulate my speech in my mind, wrote down how to deliver my points and rehearsed with my group members on that fateful Monday morning. What exactly went wrong?
I thought I was prepared. I don't have to memorise my script word by word, I just have to try to deliver my points smoothly. I faced the audiences with some courage, started with a 'Good Morning' and a smile. In the midst, I started to stumble with my words and panicked when one of the slides moved ahead of me. All eyes looked at me and many gave me the 'OH NO' look. I ended it tragically.
I hope that I was clear overall even though I struggled to present my points. I might not have been very effective in delivering as I carried a straight face after I got nervous and occasionally used fragmented sentences, with probably many grammar mistakes. I had in mind which words I want to stress on to create an impact of my presentation, but I was overwhelmed by my nervousness.
I have no problem with speaking out loud. I might have spoke too quickly when I panicked. I faced the audiences with my head up, trying to look confident even though I was really nervous! I had some appropriate gestures to aid in my presentation. I hope most of the audiences understood what I was trying to deliver.
In life, I always panic and get struck by unforeseen circumstances. I am not open-minded to changes, rigid, always sticking to the plans I have in mind, accepting only the things that I expect, running away when things 'go wrong' or 'are different'. This is one big area where I have to improve on. I have to be adaptive and confident, no matter how prepared I might have felt. This presentation has made me realise the urgency of improving some of my greatest weaknesses.
I can't deny I fared badly on that fateful Monday, at least failing my own expectation.
I looked through the slides the night before, tried to formulate my speech in my mind, wrote down how to deliver my points and rehearsed with my group members on that fateful Monday morning. What exactly went wrong?
I thought I was prepared. I don't have to memorise my script word by word, I just have to try to deliver my points smoothly. I faced the audiences with some courage, started with a 'Good Morning' and a smile. In the midst, I started to stumble with my words and panicked when one of the slides moved ahead of me. All eyes looked at me and many gave me the 'OH NO' look. I ended it tragically.
I hope that I was clear overall even though I struggled to present my points. I might not have been very effective in delivering as I carried a straight face after I got nervous and occasionally used fragmented sentences, with probably many grammar mistakes. I had in mind which words I want to stress on to create an impact of my presentation, but I was overwhelmed by my nervousness.
I have no problem with speaking out loud. I might have spoke too quickly when I panicked. I faced the audiences with my head up, trying to look confident even though I was really nervous! I had some appropriate gestures to aid in my presentation. I hope most of the audiences understood what I was trying to deliver.
In life, I always panic and get struck by unforeseen circumstances. I am not open-minded to changes, rigid, always sticking to the plans I have in mind, accepting only the things that I expect, running away when things 'go wrong' or 'are different'. This is one big area where I have to improve on. I have to be adaptive and confident, no matter how prepared I might have felt. This presentation has made me realise the urgency of improving some of my greatest weaknesses.
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