Looking back in time at my first blog post, my understanding of effective communication skills has not changed much. To me, it is still about how we convey our ideas appropriately and productively through writing, speaking and interaction with other people. However, I have come to understand my strength and weakness in communication more clearly through this course.
One of the most useful writing skills I learnt is the 7Cs theory. It served as a good guideline to writing anything and it has helped me developed a better writing habit. I was a clumsy and terrible writer who hardly read and double-checks on my writings. This module has cultivated me a good habit to always check through what I have written based on the 7C guideline. It saved me from embarrassments and from appearing unprofessional.
As for my presentation skills, I have learnt that presentation is not just about the content, but how I present and organize the content, based on my audience’s anticipation. Keeping the slides simple and making the speech is easy to understand are important points to note.
Lastly, another important lesson I learnt is to be confident and prepared for what is to come, whether it is a presentation or an interview. As this module comes to an end, I would like to Ms Happy for sharing her knowledge and everyone’s enthusiasm during the class. Not forgetting my two lovable teammates, thank you for all effort put into for the project and for making it enjoyable!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Blog post #6: Biodata
Hui Xin is currently a Year 3 undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS). She is due to graduate with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Life Sciences with concentration in Biology, in July 2009.
Being actively involved in co-curriculum activities in Junior College (JC) and in the University, she had demonstrated various capabilities by having held various leadership positions and also planned and managed different events. She was the President for Outdoor Adventure Club in her JC years and had led and planned many expeditions to mountain in Malaysia. In NUS, she was the marketing-in-charge for NUS mountaineering club. She has spearheaded fund raising events and managed to raise $10 000 for the club.
Besides being an avid adventurer, Hui Xin also has a heart for the nature. She was with the Singapore Zoological Gardens as an Education Camp Facilitator, whose job involved educating the public about conservation. Having a passion for nature, she truly wishes to pursue a career in wildlife or energy conservation work in the future.
Being actively involved in co-curriculum activities in Junior College (JC) and in the University, she had demonstrated various capabilities by having held various leadership positions and also planned and managed different events. She was the President for Outdoor Adventure Club in her JC years and had led and planned many expeditions to mountain in Malaysia. In NUS, she was the marketing-in-charge for NUS mountaineering club. She has spearheaded fund raising events and managed to raise $10 000 for the club.
Besides being an avid adventurer, Hui Xin also has a heart for the nature. She was with the Singapore Zoological Gardens as an Education Camp Facilitator, whose job involved educating the public about conservation. Having a passion for nature, she truly wishes to pursue a career in wildlife or energy conservation work in the future.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Blog post #5: Oral presentation
Have you ever experienced a stage fright during a presentation? I am always pretty anxious before presentation, especially if it is a formal presentation. Therefore, I have dedicated this post to how we can deal with nervousness experienced during presentation.
A good presentation is about how well we capitalize on our voice quality and verbal and non-verbal cues. If the presenter gets nervous, the voice quality like volume and pitch of the voice will be affected and non-verbal cues would only show his/her anxiety. Hence, it is important to know how to keep calm during presentation.
The first trick is to be very well prepared by practicing the speech many times, rehearsal the presentation out loud exactly how it will be delivered and in front of the mirror. By doing this, one can also observe whether their non-verbal cues are appropriate. It is not enough to just type out a speech. As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect”.
It’s common for people to tell you to breathe deep and slow to relax. That actually has a scientific explanation! As stage fright is caused by a biochemical reaction when body release hormone adrenaline to deal with stressful situation. By breathing deep and slow, you are actually capable to suppress the nervous system reaction to stress.
Lastly, the presenter has to take things easy and be CONFIDENT. It is important to not have overly high expectation for our presentation and understand that we cannot possibly please everyone’s expectations.
Do you have any other ways to deal with stage fright?
A good presentation is about how well we capitalize on our voice quality and verbal and non-verbal cues. If the presenter gets nervous, the voice quality like volume and pitch of the voice will be affected and non-verbal cues would only show his/her anxiety. Hence, it is important to know how to keep calm during presentation.
The first trick is to be very well prepared by practicing the speech many times, rehearsal the presentation out loud exactly how it will be delivered and in front of the mirror. By doing this, one can also observe whether their non-verbal cues are appropriate. It is not enough to just type out a speech. As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect”.
It’s common for people to tell you to breathe deep and slow to relax. That actually has a scientific explanation! As stage fright is caused by a biochemical reaction when body release hormone adrenaline to deal with stressful situation. By breathing deep and slow, you are actually capable to suppress the nervous system reaction to stress.
Lastly, the presenter has to take things easy and be CONFIDENT. It is important to not have overly high expectation for our presentation and understand that we cannot possibly please everyone’s expectations.
Do you have any other ways to deal with stage fright?
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