Reflection of ES2007S(Final Post)

Reflecting upon this module, I find time passed very quickly whenever I attend this class. Perhaps this is due to the class being highly interactive, especially through the various activities that we need to participate. This class enabled me to widen my social circle and sharpen my communication skills. In addition, the small class size allowed the tutor to follow up and help us improve individually.

Firstly, my communication skills were enhanced through this module. It allowed me to gain insights on how to communicate with others as well as observing and interpretation of other’s responses. I also understood that communication is not just about talking but also about whether the message is translated across correctly and accurately. In addition, non-verbal cues are also important in communication, e.g. facial expressions are reflective of the person’s thoughts and responses. .

Secondly, this module also enhanced teamwork collaboration. Class activities were conducted by having four members in a group and rotated every week to ensure that everyone have a chance to work with everyone else. Furthermore, these activities help built up interpersonal relationships through supporting and encouraging each other during the process. We were also assigned projects to do which required us to plan ahead of time and cater to constraints of our group members. This kind of collaboration is reflective of the real world where teams are often formed to get specific tasks done.

Thirdly, I was exposed to the 7Cs in writing in this module. It sharpened my writing skills which are useful when I enter the workforce upon graduation. Through this module, I learnt to be more complete, concise, clarity, correct, concrete, coherent, and exhibit courtesy in my writings. It also taught me how to write a good resume and personal bio-data. In addition, I was also able to express my thoughts in the blog clearly and comment on other classmate’s blog post in a friendly and courtesy manner by not using strong words on them.

Fourthly, my confidence had increased since the reading of this module especially through oral presentation and peer teaching. Although, my stage fright was not completely overcome, it had improved significantly. The module had provided me with an opportunity to face my weakness and improved on it.

In conclusion, I had gained valuable lessons from this module. Although I am quiet and soft spoken, I enjoyed interacting with my classmates during class. All these experience gradually built up my confidence level and communication skills when facing other people.

Reflection on OP

The final presentation is finally over and I would like to take the chance to thank my group members, Wang Ting and Jessica for giving me support and encouragement during the entire process.

With regards to my performance during oral presentation, I was a bit disappointed with my performance because I felt that I could have done better. I evaluated myself based on the following:

Preparation

In preparation for the presentation, the group met up several times for rehearsals. Through these rehearsals, we seek to improve by feedbacking on each other’s performance.. We also timed ourselves to manage our time better. During the rehearsals, I made many mistakes, such as constantly looking at my cue cards and the screen, which I tried to rectify and I saw improvements in my performance. However, I felt that there was still room for improvements.

Delivery of speech and Use of slide ware

Considering some of the 7Cs, I was courteous during my presentation and had greeted everyone and thanked the three “invited guest”. However, my introduction of them could have been warmer and with more enthusiasm. In addition, I should have thanked the audience before passing on to the next speaker.

For “Clarity”, I managed to speak loudly and clearly in my presentation. However, I felt that I was not engaging enough. Being the first speaker, my role was to “sell” our proposed website, hence I felt that I should have tried to engage the audiences more and stir up interest for the idea. In addition, even though I consciously tried to intonate my voice, my tone was still monotonous.

In addition, with regards to the non-verbal cues, I felt that my eye contact was not sufficient. Firstly, I had difficulty in proceeding onto the next slide as I was not familiar with the slide controller. This made it difficult for me to use the laser pointer to refer to where I am talking about. Secondly, it was difficult to hold onto the controller and my cue cards while speaking, and ensuring that my slides were in the correct order while I was speaking, I felt that my coordination was lacking. As such, it caused me to lose eye contact with the audience as I constantly needed to look at my slides to make sure that they were correct and also refer to cue cards when I lose track of what I was saying. But overall, I managed to engage myself with the three “invited guest”.

I felt that I had done my best during the oral presentation, though I was disappointed and felt that with more preparation and less nervousness, I could have done better. However, it was a valuable experience and from it, I know what I can improve on in the future.