Blog Post #6: Is this a waste of time?

As I sat down to write my reflection on the module ES2007S, the first question that came into my mind was how the module was relevant to me?

No doubt the skills that we learnt are relevant. However, don’t all of you agree that the module may seem to facilitate us in transition to the corporate world (ie. interviews, proposals, presentations) rather than our intended future?  For a budding biologist/conservationist, how was this module relevant? 

Or was 13 weeks of class a waste of time? My answer is a firm no.

It was through the mock interview that I understood myself in terms of personality and it was through the job application assignment that I started to find out what are the roles of being a conservationist.

Bring a conservationist does not entails in just protecting the natural heritage that we have, but on a more noble note, to get the mass population to appreciate what nature has to offer. This could only be done through effective communication! 

Blogging through ES2007S has introduced to me an avenue for knowledge sharing. In the past, I was conformed to the idea that blogs was only meant for individuals who wanted to keep like a personal diary but albeit one to show case to the public what their daily lives were. The purpose of a blog has not changed. It is still used as a platform for individuals to share their insights on issues. In this module, it was meant to discuss the different aspects of communicating. Theories and concepts that were inculcated to us during sectional teachings have made me weary of how content should be organised and presented to attract the prospective readers of my blog, who most of the time has a really short attention span. 

The need to seek attention within a short time frame has moulded me to be more clear and concise in the things I communicate in. The ‘elevator’ test and project discussion were good platforms for me to practice what had been learned. In the conservationist point of view, such skills are important. In my life science curriculum structure, we were often put into scenarios where we had to present data to pitch for the government to conserve a particular habitat. However, we are made to write things in a scientific manner which may not gain the understanding of decision makers who are not trained in similar fields. 

The building of skills was not just limited to assignments that were completed in class. Social interactions were encouraged in and out of class too. This helped in building my confidence when speaking in a group (cross reference to Blog Post #5). The interactions made discussions insightful as often we get diversification of knowledge due to differences in ideologies, culture and even sexes on the same topic. Collaborations in groups have also exposed me to a different set of skills not commonly exercised in my core modules. Respecting individual differences, the close working relationships between my group members have allowed me to get along well with others. Coupled with the varying individual schedules, I have learned to effectively managed, planned and organise key meet-ups to allow the team to progress effectively in the tasks that were assigned. 

The sensitivity I have gained in respecting the differences in individuals have allowed me to be more cautious about the information I would like to convey. Looking at past events, effective communication for the wildlife in Singapore was at its pinnacle during the fight to conserve Chek Jawa in Pulau Ubin (Wild Singapore). The use of blogs, public guided site tours, proposals and presentations to key government officials have led to the continual existence of Chek Jawa for all to appreciate.

This has further allowed me to be appreciative of what the module has to offer. The streamlined and strategic activities that I was “forced” to undergo were all catered to what I would eventually need to do. Just to put what I have practiced to my field of study, I made a poster to educate the general public about the diversity found in Punggol Beach. The skills that I have learned about communicating effectively were put into the assignment of my life science module. 

Ecological Poster for LSM3254 (Educational Poster for the General Public)

 

Even if one day I do not end up as a conservationist, I do believe that the skills that I have gained are still useful to my daily encounters. 

Is ES2007S a waste of my time? 

Definitely not! Period.

Blog Post #5: A Jouney - Reflections of Oral Presenation

It all started with an idea to change orientation in NUS which ultimately led to a presentation that could possibly make an impact in someone's life. The journey towards the oral presentation was a unique and memorable one. A personal journey that is worth to reflect upon:

Preparation

I personally felt that the key to a successful presentation would be to focus your content into one main objective.  Hence, during the group's preparation phase, the constant reminder that we are "selling a product" was the analogy I adopted to steer every group member into a common direction.

While preparing for the presentation, I had in mind different ideas to present my section, such as having a mini game, quiz and even a rap. The availability of options gave me more freedom in choosing my style of presenting instead of being confined to a "standard protocol" of presentation.

As much as the unique choice of mode of presentation would add fluff and excitement to the audience, the main "attention seeker" would indefinitely be ME. Being naturally shy, the need to build self-confidence when speaking to a crowd was a gradual process. I started by speaking more to my hall friends on random occasions and this gradually evolved to speaking to groups of people in a more casual setting to build my confidence in public speaking. In addition, the familiarity of content was an added advantage in building self-confidence for the presentation.

Having been through a formal assessment on presentation during the peer teaching, I took note on the pointers for improvements that were given to me and reminded myself to be cautious about it.

On the note of improvement, I felt that individually and as a group, we could have planned our timeline to prepare for our presentation better. I felt that the group could have allocated more time for rehearsal which would lead to better cohesiveness in the presentation.

Delivery

During the day of presentation, I felt that my greatest achievement was the self-confidence I had managed to exude to the audience. Although this was partially given away by my extraordinary quick paced of speaking, I was satisfied that I did not shy away from establishing eye-contacts with individuals of the audience or "seek refuge" by constantly looking at the screen.

I felt that the transitions of the slides were smooth. Due to the mental preparation I had on the sequence of appearance for animation, there was minimal need for me to turn my head to look what appeared on the screen and thus allowing me to constantly focus my attention on the audience.

The mental visualisation of the orientation of the venue setting allowed me to select the position I would like to take when presenting. This led to a much better stance as compared to the experience I had during peer teaching and thus not compromising on the audience's attention on the speaker and the screen.

In the verbal aspect of the delivery, I felt that the use of rhetorical questions at the start of my section was a good approach to capture the attention of my audience as my section was rather factual and informative. However, I do have to concede that I did repeat the word "itself" excessively and was having a hard time to control my "habit". My tone and volume of speech was not too intimidating and hopefully friendly enough to establish a rapport with the audience I am communicating with.

One major mistake that I made during the presentation was to let the audience wait. I once again sincerely apologise for the delay to the start of the presentation.

Use of Slide ware



I felt that I had fully utilised the functions that I am familiar with PowerPoint for this presentation. This is in terms of animations and the use of contrasting colour to enhance the point that I am trying to focus on.

  

Use of Colour Contrast to highlight points

The use of SmartArt and pictures I had for orientation greatly facilitated my other group member's presentation.  

SmartArt used in Presentation Slide to enhance understanding of concept



Use of Orientation Photos to enhance presentation experience


However, I felt that I could further improve on the aesthetic aspect of the design of the PowerPoint slides. This would definitely take time as I would have to further enhance on my individual technical capabilities.

I had presented a one year proposed timeline in the form of a modified Gantt Chart. I have to admit that the diagram may be too small for viewing, but till date, I have no idea how to better present the diagram other than to print it on a bigger paper size. Any suggestions?

Concluding Statement

I thank you for reading the small snippet of thoughts I had with regards to the oral presentation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my group mates, Wee Boon and Yitong, for going through this journey with me as fellow friends.

Wee Boon - Thank you for being accommodating despite being a busy pharmacist-to-be and supportive of the presentation ideas we had.

Yitong - Thank you for being the jovial and bubbly individual for the group, constantly making the meeting enjoyable and fun to be in.

Lastly, a BIG thank you to Brad and the rest of the class for being such wonderful audiences. I was so afraid that no one would ask our group questions due to the proximity to the end of class, hence I was very appreciative that each of you had feedback and queries for us. (:

Just a Little Feedback Will Do (:

Hello to the wonderful class of ES2007S (Group 4),

As my proposal group (Drug Inc) has just ended our presentation on improving the participation rate of NUS orientation. I was hoping that we could use this particular opportunity to garner feedback on our concept of our proposal and group presentation.

Of course, feedback on my individual presentation section would be greatly appreciated.

Blog Post #4: Inter-cultural Conflicts

"Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another."

 - Hofstede, G.

We have often relate cultural differences to individuals from different countries whom had different life experiences. I would, however, like to challenge this motion that cultural differences can also be seen in the local setting, at times even in the nuclear family.

The events that I am about to relate happened to me during my term as a relief teacher in one of the schools in Singapore.

To tackle disciplinary problems seemed to be the bulk of a teacher's responsibility rather than the primary role of imparting academic knowledge. As a relief teacher, one would be often warned of the few notorious individuals who are out just to make your day look dull.

Nigel (not the individual's real identity) was one of them. Nigel does not outwardly disrupts the class, but creates attention from the teachers by vandalising school properties and not fulfilling his academic responsibilities. Due to his unnormal behaviour, Nigel would be scheduled to undergo some counselling with the school counsellor.

I happened to be observing one of the counselling session that Nigel underwent as I was then one of his subject teachers. Nigel was an outspoken individual, but during the session he was unusually quiet. Upon closer observation, I realised that the counsellor did not directly communicated with Nigel. Instead of talking with the student, she was asking questions similar to that of a survey without understanding the psychological mindset of the student at that point in time.

Upon reflection of the whole session, I started reflecting of how the student would have felt that the session was a waste of time. Firstly, there was a breakdown in the mutual understanding of what both parties expect out of each other. During the counselling session, the counsellor was trying to dictate the child that academic excellence and going through university is the only route to succeed. However, Nigel knew what he wanted to achieve after graduating from secondary school; which is to pursue a career in music, in which he has a talent in the field of creative arts. With an intial clash in ideologies, the effectiveness of communication was thus conpromised.

As mentioned in the quote earlier, culture distinguishes one category of people from another. For the counsellor, academic excellence was the route to being successful. As for Nigel, pursuing his passion was what motivates him to live each day.

A clash in culture within a local community? You decide.

(EDITED)

Blog Post #3: Application Letter - Draft 1

Application for NUS NOC Programme: http://www.overseas.nus.edu.sg/forStudents_applyForTheProgram.htm

Tiong Fang Han, Jonathan
967xxxxx
tioxxxxxxxx@gmail.com

2 September 2010

NUS Overseas Colleges
21 Heng Mui Keng Terrace
Level 5, Singapore 119613.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for the NUS Overseas College Programme

I am enclosing my resume in response to your call for application for the NUS Overseas College (NOC) Programme which appeared in your website.

I am currently a 3rd year undergraduate student pursuing the Bachelor of Science, majoring in Life Sciences, with a strong interest in entrepreneurial activities and in hope of one day be involved in materialising my very own start-up business.

An entrepreneur is not born overnight, but is nurtured through various opportunities. In the past 4 years, I have constantly exposed myself in diverse working environment to build on my soft skills such as management, creativity and confidence as an individual. In addition, my working experiences have also gave me the opportunity to deal with conflicts that might possibly arise from people of different nationalities, cultures and even physical disabilities. All of these could be essential skills if I were to be selected to be part of the NOC programme.

Although I do not have any direct involvement in formulating a new product, I do however believe I possess the traits of an entrepreneur. Currently a 3rd year hall resident in one of the 6 halls of residence in NUS, I have managed to secure a place in my choice of hall for 3 consecutive years despite the retention rate being 50% of the current residency population. Being able to thrive in a highly competitive environment, my ability to converse fluently in both English and Chinese has proved to be advantageous, especially in my tenure as Stage Manager of Kent Ridge Hall Production, where I had to manage a crew of 150 from different nationalities and background. In addition, being involved in an original musical production, I had no previous manuals in which I could fall back on, and often had to make decisions based on calculated risks.

Learning from the experiences of past participants of the NOC programme, I am assured that your well structured programme has not only allowed graduates of the programme a lasting memory but has also witnessed numerous successful start-ups throughout the years. I would hope to be given the opportunity to be part of this privilege programme and like the rest, share my personal conviction to inspire others. I look forward to your favourable reply.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Tiong (Mr)

Blog Post #2: Can Martians and Venusians Communicate?

“Men just don’t get it”

A quote taken from a campaign marketing a credit card specially catered for ladies aptly describes how at times women are just frustrated when men do not understand their intentions.

Are men that dumb to not know the intentions? Or are men and women not meant to be understood by the opposite gender?

*************

Sarah's account

I had just given birth to my very first daughter, Michelle, a few weeks ago. Not only was I completely exhausted, but I was also in extreme pain from the after birth. My husband, Walter, returned to work after taking care of me for five days. While he was away, I ran out of painkillers.

I did not want to disturb him from his day job and called my visiting friend to purchase some painkillers along the way, but when she arrived, she had no pills with her. Consequently, I spend the whole day in pain while taking care of the newborn.

When Walter returned home, I did not understand why he didn’t show me concern, neither did he sensed that I was upset. When I sounded out to him that my painkillers were gone and that nobody cared. He complained that I could have called him and headed for the door.

*************

Walter’s account

Being a new father was not easy. Not only do you have to provide emotional comfort to your newborn and the new mother, you also have to ensure that you are able to provide for both of them financially. I could only take a few days of leave to take care of Sarah, after which I had to return back to work.

I came back home one day and saw that Sarah was not her usual self. Thinking that Michelle might have given Sarah some trouble, I decided to check on our baby girl and she was sleeping soundly in the crib. When I went back to look for Sarah, she started complaining about nobody cared for her. I knew that she was tired, but so was I. I made sure that Michelle was safe before attending to her, was Sarah being jealous because of my actions?

Sarah then complained about her painkillers being out of supply. Sensing that she was trying to be picky on small little issues, I headed for the door to break the emotional outpour.

*************

Who do you think is at wrong?

(I apologise for the late posting, ths post was saved as a draft and was not published s:)

Blog Post #1: Why Effective Communication is Important to Me?

Since young, my language teachers have always reminded me constantly that language is a powerful tool. During the period of my early teens, I did not understand that the usage of language was influential, but I was definitely awed by how school debaters could craft an illogical concept into something convincing to the listener.

My involvement in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games (YOG) has allowed me to interact with athletes and coaches of various nationalities. During the period of involvement, I realised that though some of us may share the same native language (English), there were still instances where both me and the athlete did not know what each other was talking about.

Hence, the art of communication is indeed crucial to bring across the message. An individual may exude the confidence when he/she speaks. However, the pertaining issue is how the communication can be effective.
Living in a fast paced society, listeners have only a few minutes to hear about your proposal. Time being a factor, effective communication would allow the speaker to bring across the message clearly. Having the intention interpretated clearly by the listener, one would not need to spend extra effort in re-phrasing the initial structure of the phrase or sentence.

As much as we do not want to waste our efforts in trying to bring across messages accurately, we have to realise that communication is a mutual exchange of ideas within a group of individuals.
I have always enjoyed interacting with people of different nationalities and listen to the ideas that they bring forth from their countries. Hence, effective communication would allow such cultural and ideology exchanges to be made. In the process, we learn from one another and enrich ourselves through the use of communication.

I have always dream of being the school debater that gains the admiration of his/her listeners, but more importantly, effective communication would mean to me getting ideas clearly intepretated and being able to enjoy the cultural and ideology exchanges that effective communication would facilitate.