Final reflection

Looking back at the past 13 weeks, I believe that I had made the right choice to take up this module despite the heavy commitment. Afterall, “no pain, no gain”.

Unlike other modules which require us to memorise concepts and regurgitate them during examinations, this module teaches me life skills which can benefit me throughout my whole life if I am able to practice them well in daily interactions.

No man is an island. It is therefore important that we learn to communicate effectively to avoid miscommunication which could sour relationship. In addition, we ought to practise active listening so that we do not decode the message from the speaker incorrectly.

I remember vividly the blog entry on resolving interpersonal conflicts where we were supposed to propose solutions on Ms Happy Goh’s blog. I realize that a message may not be explicitly conveyed and hence, it becomes exceptionally important for the receiver to decode the encoded message carefully. In this way, interpersonal conflicts which could be sparked off by miscommunication could be averted.

Subsequently, it is also vital for us to use the 3 approaches: know yourself, choose yourself and give yourself to improve our EQ so as to maintain or salvage relationship.

This course has helped me to improve on my writing skills. I have not only learnt the essence of incorporating the 7Cs in my writing but also to be mindful of the tone I adopt so as to ensure that my message is accurately put across. Additionally, I believe that the 2 presentations in this module are good learning experiences for me to hone on my presentation skills and to better prepare myself for future presentations.

Finally, I am glad that the constant classroom interactions have not only allowed me to practise my communication skills with my classmates but also enabled me to develop a better understanding of them in the course of it. Hence, it is not surprising that this class is closely knitted which is in contrast with the tutorial classes I have attended for other elective modules.

Reflection on oral presentation

Prior to the actual presentation, I believed that I was sufficiently prepared given that I had rehearsed with my own script for many times. However, during the actual presentation, I was rather nervous as this is my first formal presentation in my course of study in NUS. Additionally, with the unexpectedly tensed atmosphere, video recording and with the audience looking intently at my group mates and I, this gave me jitters. As such, there were some pauses in the delivery of my presentation. This is in contrast to the previous presentation for peer teaching which is more informal.

In spite of this, it is worthy to note that I was not reliant on my script as I had done adequate preparation and hence, more familiar with the content.

As a team, I believe we had exhibit good rapport as we tried to back up each other during the question and answer session. In addition, all our team members were capable of answering the questions posed confidently which goes to show our familiarity with the content.

However, in view of the limited presentation time and the amount of content we would like to present, we were unable to include visual aids like video which is effective in attracting the audience’s attention.

Through this presentation, I have learnt the importance of maintaining a calm composure in spite of unexpected elements that arise during presentation and the importance of good teamwork to ensure an effective and smooth presentation. Additionally, I have also picked up good presentation skills from my peers. Overall, I must say that this is a good learning experience for me.