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?
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Blog Post #4 Evaluating Intercultural Behavior- Singaporean experience in HK cafe
Different people, depending on their cultural background, can interpret culture of a society from different angles. This post is based my intercultural experience as a Singaporean in HK café.
I stepped into a typical HK cafe during lunch hour in Hong Kong. It was packed with people and the queue was pretty long to get a seat. Surprisingly, I did not have to wait long to get seats. Inside the café, I saw working-class HK people in suits were either engrossed with eating their food or busy talking on the phone or doing something. Though I did not expect a feast, the food on the menu were mostly fast-cooked food like Maggie mee with luncheon and egg, western set meals, sandwiches. From the kitchen, about ten plates of food were churned out every few minutes. Food was served and plates were cleared really fast. It is definitely not a place for chitchat or relaxation at lunch hour.
I felt that struggling to finish my food faster to keep up with the pace in the café. I wonder how HK people can take such mad-rush lunch everyday. In a competitive HK society, people feel that time is precious and cannot afford to lose any minute. The café and its food reflect the pace of life in HK city- fast and efficient. The menu has an interesting mix of the east and west, which also reflect HK as cosmopolitan. Though Singapore and HK is similar, most Singaporeans, at least for me, would not be keen on such stressful lunch.
I stepped into a typical HK cafe during lunch hour in Hong Kong. It was packed with people and the queue was pretty long to get a seat. Surprisingly, I did not have to wait long to get seats. Inside the café, I saw working-class HK people in suits were either engrossed with eating their food or busy talking on the phone or doing something. Though I did not expect a feast, the food on the menu were mostly fast-cooked food like Maggie mee with luncheon and egg, western set meals, sandwiches. From the kitchen, about ten plates of food were churned out every few minutes. Food was served and plates were cleared really fast. It is definitely not a place for chitchat or relaxation at lunch hour.
I felt that struggling to finish my food faster to keep up with the pace in the café. I wonder how HK people can take such mad-rush lunch everyday. In a competitive HK society, people feel that time is precious and cannot afford to lose any minute. The café and its food reflect the pace of life in HK city- fast and efficient. The menu has an interesting mix of the east and west, which also reflect HK as cosmopolitan. Though Singapore and HK is similar, most Singaporeans, at least for me, would not be keen on such stressful lunch.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Blog post #3 Critique of a business letter
A letter sent by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is attached together with this post. MOM was requesting graduate in the workforce to help the ministry do a survey.
First, format of the letter is incorrect- it is a mixture of the block and modified block format. If modified block format is used, signature block should be aligned to the right. As for punctuation use, complimentary close and date should not have any punctuation. Mixed punctuation can be used-both complimentary and salutation having comma.
As mentioned, this letter is to persuade working professionals to do a survey. The drafter is not courteous judging from the tone. It is unclear if the letter is a warning or persuasive letter. For example, usage of the pink paper and the word ‘REMINDER’ in subject line being bold and underlined. The letter is not concise with much buffering in the first paragraph without a proper introduction about the objective of the survey being stated. That does not establish MOM credibility well. It should go straight to the point that the participation rate is low and explain the purpose statement of the study.
On the contrary, the drafter does have the audience interest and desire in mind as the potential benefits of winning a lucky was mentioned, though, without the details.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Resolving Interpersonal Conflict
In Your Marketing Solutions Pte Ltd, Jane holds a junior position as the new Marketing executive who reports to Anne, the senior marketing executive. Whilst, Marcus oversees them as the Marketing Manager.
After a few months Jane entered the company, she and Marcus were seen coming and leaving the office together and also eating lunch together. Some even saw them on a date catching a movie together.
Anne felt that Jane’s performance was pretty good for the first few months as she was hardworking and willing to learning. Recently, after been rumoured to be dating the manager, Jane’s work has become sloppy and incomplete. Anne advised her to improve her work on several occasions but her words fell on deaf ears. There were rumours that Jane's change in attitude was because she had her boyfriend/boss to back her up. One day, Jane offended a client with her sloppy attitude and lack of pre-meeting preparation, resulting in loss of a business deal.
When Anne feedback to Marcus about Jane’s recent working attitude and mistakes, he blamed Anne for not guiding her well instead. Anne felt frustrated because of her current powerless position. She can only suffer Jane’s sloppy attitude, increased workload and accusation in silence.
Does Anne really have to suffer in silence?
After a few months Jane entered the company, she and Marcus were seen coming and leaving the office together and also eating lunch together. Some even saw them on a date catching a movie together.
Anne felt that Jane’s performance was pretty good for the first few months as she was hardworking and willing to learning. Recently, after been rumoured to be dating the manager, Jane’s work has become sloppy and incomplete. Anne advised her to improve her work on several occasions but her words fell on deaf ears. There were rumours that Jane's change in attitude was because she had her boyfriend/boss to back her up. One day, Jane offended a client with her sloppy attitude and lack of pre-meeting preparation, resulting in loss of a business deal.
When Anne feedback to Marcus about Jane’s recent working attitude and mistakes, he blamed Anne for not guiding her well instead. Anne felt frustrated because of her current powerless position. She can only suffer Jane’s sloppy attitude, increased workload and accusation in silence.
Does Anne really have to suffer in silence?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Developing effective communication skills
The definition of professional communication, as taken from the wikipedia, is “written, oral, and visual communication within a workplace context”. To be successful in our careers, it is no longer sufficient to be just competent but also how we maintain professional relationships through effective communication. Similarly in our life, communicating efficiently is important for our roles as a friend, family member or spouse.
There are two aspects of professional communication skill that I wish to improve on- presentation and written skill.
I believe that presentation skill is the most important communication tool that one should be proficient in. It is through presentation that ideas are being conveyed. As akin to an innovative product without good marketing, no matter how fantastic an idea is, without good and convincing presentation, it can be easily be disregarded. Sadly, I am terribly weak at the verbal component of it! Even with adequate preparation, I would get very nervous in a formal setting.
Secondly, I am not competent in the written skills used in formal context. I am comfortable with writing scientific reports, which I have been doing for the past years. As we have just learnt, effective communication in workplace is essential to avoid misunderstandings, potential conflict and unhappiness. One good trick we learnt is to use 7Cs as a guideline- clear, complete, concise, considerate, correct, credible and creative.
Frankly, my primary motive for choosing es2007s was to create an impressive resume and because it has no examinations. After two lessons, I realised I’ve taken communication in workplace too lightly and there're much more for me to learn. Hopefully, I will learn to become a good communicator, allowing me to adapt better in the working world.
There are two aspects of professional communication skill that I wish to improve on- presentation and written skill.
I believe that presentation skill is the most important communication tool that one should be proficient in. It is through presentation that ideas are being conveyed. As akin to an innovative product without good marketing, no matter how fantastic an idea is, without good and convincing presentation, it can be easily be disregarded. Sadly, I am terribly weak at the verbal component of it! Even with adequate preparation, I would get very nervous in a formal setting.
Secondly, I am not competent in the written skills used in formal context. I am comfortable with writing scientific reports, which I have been doing for the past years. As we have just learnt, effective communication in workplace is essential to avoid misunderstandings, potential conflict and unhappiness. One good trick we learnt is to use 7Cs as a guideline- clear, complete, concise, considerate, correct, credible and creative.
Frankly, my primary motive for choosing es2007s was to create an impressive resume and because it has no examinations. After two lessons, I realised I’ve taken communication in workplace too lightly and there're much more for me to learn. Hopefully, I will learn to become a good communicator, allowing me to adapt better in the working world.
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