Final Reflection

There's a thin line between love and hate.

The line above sums up my feelings towards the module ES2007S, until our very last lesson on Thursday, 14/4.

In the first few weeks of the semester, my feelings towards the module were very mixed. Slowly, as the semester entered the mid-term phase, the scale started tipping towards 'hate'. Balancing CCA commitments, the rest of my schoolwork with the work of the module was taxing, especially when all of the above were not going very well. However, it was too late to drop the module and I remembered a senior who took this module last semester along with his UROPS research and 5 other modules.

I persevered. It paid off. We entered our proposal and oral presentation phase which was undoubtedly one of my favourite parts of the module. I got to learn so much from Ms Lim, my fellow classmates and especially Team Planet. It is hard to express in so many words how understanding you were towards my schedule and how accepting you were of my suggestions. I don't know how I'll find another group with such awesome team dynamics; you guys were the best.

On that note, I have two other key take-backs from ES2007S. One is the importance of effective communication and how it is a tool that everyone can take to its full potential. Somehow, most of us have not realised this until now; I've wondered whether that's because effective communication takes time and effort, something we're not willing to spend. Having had the opportunity to learn these skills, I will definitely apply them to other parts of my life.

My other take-back is that we influence each other. I never thought it would be possible for a teacher to get in my head but it happened; I started hearing Ms Lim's reminders: "Is this concrete enough?" "Are you smiling?" "How will this appear to URA?" "Is this concise enough?" I thought I was going crazy until I found that my teammates were having the same experience. I had other people in my head too:

Peizi - the systematic one

Ikhsan - the resourceful one

Jeremy - the one who always goes, "I know! What about this!"

Zab - the playful but professional presenter

Thomas - the laidback one

Vee Nee - the cheerful, motherly one

Peh Joo - the realistic and meticulous one

Tommy - the joker who always offers me Eclipse mints

Cai Jie - the 'cool' one who is also an ah-beng

Keefe - the friendly one

Thank you for populating my head classmates! Haha. But the close-knit nature of our small class has shown me that I can always learn from others; similarly, I hope I can transfer the skills I've learnt to my peers.

Finally, our last lesson was a very special one as it showed all that is different about ES2007S: it is one of the few, non-core, intensive modules that we still like at the end of the day. I think it also brought up up how Ms Lim embodies the spirit of teaching beyond the lesson content, especially with our last exercise. On that note, I'd like to thank Ms Lim for making my journey in professional communication such an interesting and fulfilling one.

After that last session, the scales tipped toward 'love'. Taking this module has truly been an unforgettable experience.

Oral Presentation Reflection

It's over!

5 weeks of late meetings debating over what URA might think, editing documents over Google Doc, spending hours checking the tiniest details to make sure everything is perfect and it all came down to one presentation to sell our efforts to URA a.k.a. Ms Lim on Thursday, 7 April 2011.

I don't think my own part was so smooth though, hence the following evaluation:

Preparation: 3/10

Having to write a speech text was a first for me; as with all firsts they are hard to accept. I didn't think it was that important to prepare a speech text as all my presentations until now have been based on elaborating the points on my slides. As they have gone fine so far, I didn't think anything was wrong with them, but writing a speech text and submitting them to critique has taught me otherwise. It has also forced me to make sure my speech is smoother and clearer than it was in the past.

However, I succumbed to my laziness as I definitely could have practised more in the days leading up to the oral presentation. I was too confident that I had practised enough to not use any cue cards; this decision turned around to bite me when I stumbled several times in my delivery, struggling to remember cue phrases that should have been ingrained in my memory by then. No doubt, we rehearsed several times as a team, meeting on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the presentation. However, I definitely could have practised more in my own time.

Delivery: 2/10

Starting with the the good points first, I think I improved in terms of spreading my eye contact and showing my enthusiasm by smiling. However, I didn't keep these efforts up throughout my presentation, primarily because I started stumbling, panicking and finally choking towards the end of my presentation (I now know how important preparations can be). I also slouched despite advice not to do so by my teammates in rehearsals prior.

I don't know why, but I think I wasted the chance to impress and show URA a.k.a. Ms Lim how much thought and effort our team, Team Planet, has put into this project; on a more personal level, I felt I could have shown more how much I've learnt from Ms Lim's feedback on my presentation skills.

Use of slideware: 7/10

One redeeming factor (I hope) is that we used a Flash application, Prezi, for our presentation. It was, as Jeremy said, a gamble as it's unconventional and not everyone might take to it (Peizi commented that the 'rollercoaster ride' might make people dizzy). We also changed our slides to this the day before our presentation, which definitely instilled nervousness and questions about whether it would all be worth the effort. However, I think it really set us apart and made our presentation memorable.

There were other things that made our presentation memorable. Thanks to Peizi's awesome presentation skills, we started off with a strong, solid introduction that enticed the audience to know more about our idea. Ikhsan introduced us to Prezi and undertook the tough task of transferring our whole presentation to this Flash platform. Jeremy left the audience wanting more through our thoughtful conclusion (Imagine a Singapore that is no longer dependent on landfill).

How did all this happen? I have awesome teammates (:

I really want to thank Jeremy, Ikhsan and Peizi for always making suggestions for Team Planet to improve, for accommodating my anal rants towards aspects of the project that "just don't feel right", for agreeing unanimously on having so many rehearsals before the presentation, for staying up till 1am outside LT25 to make sure everything is right. I have never had a better experience working on a project, simply because I have never had a better team (: Thank you Team Planet!

Intercultural Communication

There is definitely a great diversity of cultures present in our food, schools and work, many of which need some time to adapt to. An example that can illustrate this can be seen from my mother’s experiences at her new workplace.

My mother is currently working at a shipping company with many international expatriates. She recalls one Norwegian international in his late fifties called Olaf who stands out in my mother’s memory due to his boisterous and fatherly nature. He works on the same floor as my mother but in separate departments; however, on my mother’s second day, he took the trouble to approach my mother personally at her desk to say hello and introduce himself. He also always smiles and greets my mother by name when he sees her.

Another incident that illustrates Olaf’s thoughtfulness happened when my mother was zapping documents at the office’s photocopying machine. Olaf had sent documents for printing to the machine and was queuing behind my mother. Afraid that my mother would get a shock or bump into him when she turned around, Olaf pre-empted her by placing his hands on her shoulders gently but firmly and warmly greeting her by name.

I found my mother’s re-enactments of her experiences at work extremely amusing at first, but realized they would not seem strange at all to people of the same culture after sitting through the ES2007S class on intercultural communication. Such practices might not be acceptable to all Singaporeans too; we are obviously less friendly to new acquaintances and might shirk away from the close contact Olaf exhibited. Perhaps Olaf and his other countrymen measure their personal space differently and are more open than us; that is definitely something we can learn from.

Interpersonal conflicts: just misunderstandings?

Interpersonal conflicts are an integral and inevitable part of our lives; as such I feel that it is imperative that we learn how to resolve such conflicts. This would enhance not only our living, social but working environments. I quote one situation from personal experience which could have ended differently had the conflict been resolved appropriately.

In an internship stint at a private hospital, I was assisting a team of 14 doctors and nurses in a specialist clinic. One day, one of the doctors (Dr. Z) buzzed me into his office and asked for his nurse (Nurse Z) to perform a neurology test on one of his patients. I replied that Nurse Z had already left for the day as it was nearing closing hours and she had applied to leave early prior. Dr. Z insisted that I either call Nurse Z back to the clinic or engage the services of another nurse whom he had worked with before.

I was stuck in a rather bad place. I personally found it unreasonable to call Nurse Z back and the other nurse Dr. Z suggested was engaged in another procedure and could not be called away. Furthermore, she served primarily under another division of the hospital so her priorities did not lie with us. I consulted with the senior nurse (Nurse A) who suggested explaining the circumstances to Dr. Z and asking him to perform the procedure on his own. Dr. Z refused to accept this explanation and insisted again that Nurse Z return to the clinic. Eventually, after much shouting and an intervention by Nurse A, Dr. Z performed the test on his own.

On hindsight, I believe this entire matter stemmed from miscommunication between Dr. Z and me. We also failed to understand the motivations behind the other party’s demands: Dr. Z required the services of Nurse Z as he had other duties to perform; it was not only unreasonable, but impossible for me to call Nurse Z back as I had no knowledge of her whereabouts and she could not be contacted by phone.

How would you resolve this situation had you been in the position of Dr. Z, me or Nurse A? (:

Application Letter

Project Executive

Category: Operation / Project Management

Type: Full Time

Location: MCI Singapore, Singapore

Your Mission

You will be working with the headquarters of our association clients and their Asia Pacific Committees/Councils to achieve their regional objectives.

The main role of the Project Executive is to act as the primary management, operational and administrative support for their client Associations’ subgroups (Chapters, Councils, Committees etc.) in the Asia Pacific region. The Project Executive will provide these groups with value added support on volunteer, financial, general management and governance issues.

Essential Responsibilities

Provide project management support for specific projects for our Association clients

· Act as a liaison between client Associations’ subgroups (Chapters, Councils, Committees etc.) and Association Head quarters

· Follow-up with staff team of client Associations to expedite work completion and ensure it adheres to pre-specified budget and specifications

· Collate and analyse information and produce regular updates and status reports

· Meticulous and efficient in all correspondence and financial processes

· Provide statistical reports on membership and chapters

· Working with membership service dept to ensure adequate response to queries.

· Conduct surveys, evaluations and needs assessments

· Pull mailings lists for conference promotions, membership drives or other mass mailings

Maintain first-rate customer service as front-line client/member contact.

· Develop and maintain good client relationships to enhance Association support and service, responding to client needs in a timely and efficient manner

· Ensure that clients are communicated to in a clear, consistent and effective manner utilising strong written and verbal skills to address the Associations needs

Make a positive contribution to MCI’s business.

· Seek out methods to improve self-performance and/or the efficiency of an operation or task.

Reporting:

Direct reporting line is to the Project Manager and by extension, to the Client Director.

Your Profile

Candidate Profile:

· Well rounded individuals with business, marketing or general liberal arts type degrees prove to be suitable educational backgrounds for this type of role

· Superior verbal and written communication skills are essential as success is dependent upon developing positive relationships and communicating with a wide variety of stakeholders related to the association

· Experience within the service sector is always a plus and the ability to adapt to changing needs and demands of key stakeholders/membership is important

· Great customer mindset and proactive disposition

· Well developed organisational and leadership skills

· Database management experience is beneficial

· Proficient in Microsoft Office applications

Contact: Singaporejobs@mci-group.com

____________________________________________________________________________________

111 Sunshine Avenue

#11-88

472111

Singapore, Singapore

February 10, 2011

Ms Jacqueline Choy

Human Resource Contact

MCI Group Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

73 Bukit Timah Road

#04-01 Rex House

229832

Singapore, Singapore

Dear Ms Choy,

This letter is written in response to the position of Project Executive as listed on the MCI website under 'Job Opportunities'. Attached is the resume for your perusal.

I am currently reading Life Sciences as an undergraduate in the National University of SIngapore. This course has trained me to continuously ask questions and be meticulous in my work. University life has taught me to multi-task, prioritize and handle the pressure of deadlines. In addition to being a team player, I am capable of initiating projects when needed.

Acting as Vice-Chairperson (Development) in Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE), the primary environmental club in NUS, gave me many skills in public relations, project management and communication. Superior communication skills were necessary in developing healthy relations with partners, both long-term and potential. Conceptualizing the branding of SAVE as a professional organisation taught me about marketing and unifying different components of a group. Finally, I gained a bird's eye view of the organisation's operations but also advised on individual project planning. All of these skills have bolstered my interest in project management and communication; I believe this position will allow me to develop these skills while utilizing them to contribute to MCI.

My internship at Raffles Hospital was a very valuable experience in customer service. It taught me about consumers' needs and wants and how to maintain positive relations with them. The work environment gave me a better understanding of team dynamics and the requirements in customer service which will be very useful in this position.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss my qualifications and be assessed in person. I can be contacted at 91234567 and limsiewhong@gmail.com, and will be contacting your office in 2 weeks to inquire on my application process. I hope to hear from you favourably.

Yours Sincerely,

Lim Siew Hong

91234567

limsiewhong@gmail.com

Enclosure

Why should we practise effective communication?

Communication is very important as it allows us to connect with others and share our ideas. However, the act of imparting our ideas only seals half of the deal; both speaker and listener must practice effective communication for the message to be successfully transferred.

I believe that effective communication is an extremely valuable skill for many reasons. It’s used every day as long as there’s interaction with other people and is applicable in any kind of setting. An effective communicator is also able to form good first impressions as he/she can identify how best to communicate with any person. It is then a simple matter of delivering messages in an appropriate manner and practicing active listening skills, which make the opposing party feel comfortable and appreciated.

As easy as it sounds, I also know that effective communication is difficult to master. This is primarily because one has to take on the role of both the speaker and listener in the period of a conversation. Many a time, the dynamic nature of conversing makes it hard for me to keep up since I have to formulate ideas in my head while listening attentively at the same time. It’s as if there are a thousand voices struggling for attention up there and you have to differentiate between yours and that of the other speaker; has anyone experienced this before? (:

Obviously I’m not an effective communicator (yet), but I hope to be, simply because it’s the first step towards forging great relationships with others.