Post #6

791 points

You must be wondering why I put my title as 791 points instead of my final reflection. I shall clarify myself now. I spent 791 points bidding for this module while others got it for 1 point (source: Priscilla). Initially, my perception of ES2007S then was that it was a course mainly for resume and cover letter writing. I thought to myself that the main take-away from this course should be how to write a good resume and cover letter.

However, over the course of 13 weeks, this course made me learnt more important and useful lessons apart from writing good cover letter and resume. Personally, there are 3 things that I learnt from ES2007S.

Firstly, it is being sensitive to your audience. I think we need to know clearly who our audiences are and what cultural or social background they come from before we can communicate with them effectively. There is no one perfect solution to communicate effectively. Communication is not like a math problem, one plus one may not necessarily be equal to two. This is where being aware of how intercultural and interpersonal conflict occurs can help to minimize miscommunication.

Secondly, it is about being aware of what is our weakness and try to improve on it. The first time I learnt about this was from the resume writing. This is because the first resume I did (which I was sending for internship for the past 2 years) was actually full of flaws. Thanks to Bokai and the others who were assigned to assess my resume, you guys really gave me a very critical and constructive feedback. I really appreciate it. Also, I learnt more weakness from my presentations in class (peer teaching as well as the proposal presentation). My weakness of filler words, ‘looking upwards’ and poor eye contact are made clear to me. Although I am still not completely free of these weaknesses, I am still glad because at least I am aware of it now. I will slowly work on it and I believe I will succeed one day J

Last and the most important take-away from this course is all of YOU. I really enjoyed the setting of our class very much. This is the only course I took in NUS that I can be glad to be part of it.  This is the most worthwhile course I ever took (which definitely justify my 791 bid points). I like it that everyone is not extremely competitive (but surely as efficient and professional) like I seen in my past years in NUS. Ultimately, it’s not the grade that is going to matter the most at the end of the day. I really thank all of you for being sincere and genuine in our weekly interaction. Specially, I want to thank Brad for facilitating in our class discussion and providing us with very useful advice and tips. It’s really heartwarming to be part of this class. Of course, I will miss working with my wonderful group mates, Priya and Bokai (Jimmy aka Bob aka Raymond), I really liked working with you all. I wish everyone the best in your future. Stay happy and positive. Cheers! 

Post #5

Reflection on Oral Presentation 

Hi everyone, I would like to thank all of you for your attention and insights on our presentation today.
I will break down my reflection on the oral presentation into the following two components.

Presentation:

We decided to make our slides simple and abstract because we want our audience to keep their focus on our presentation instead of being distracted by the slides. Furthermore, we do not want to load them with large amount of information. Instead we chose to leave them with a few key points like the problem of overcrowding and bunching and our key solutions. We told a story through a 3^rd person (Jimmy) and used him to further emphasize our point. We thought that would be an innovative way to capture the audience attention. Also, we took relevant photos to fit our storyline which we hoped to help our audience relate better to the story. Personally, I do not think that we oversimplified our slides. The only drawback to this approach is our inability to fully internalize our content and to cope under pressure.   

Delivery:

I am glad that I was able to present the content I aimed to deliver to my audience. Despite going through the main framework of my content for so many times, thinking that I had internalized the content, I still stumbled over one point (when I was discussing the implication of the overcrowding problem). I almost panicked because I did not prepare any proper notes ahead of the presentation and my slides do not provide me any “clues”. Thankfully, I managed to carry on and finish my presentation. While I was presenting, this is the very first time I was trying to be aware of what I was saying and looking (trying to prevent any filler words and maintain eye-contact). Most of the time, I am focusing on the right side of the audience (Zhi Qin’s area). However, I may not be effective enough to engage their attention fully as they are looking at my slides instead of me. As for the left side, I gave a very partial eye contact which I feel I should improve on that. Furthermore, I tried not to “look up” but I still made that mistake. I am a little disheartened because I think these areas could have been improved.  Despite this, I think there is no point crying over spilt milk. There is nothing I can do about my delivery in the presentation at this moment. All I can think of is how I am going to improve and rectify these flaws in my delivery the next time round. As long as I keep trying and don’t give up, I believe I will succeed one day.

Thank you for your time reading this! Have a good rest everyone J

Post #4

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

I would like to share my inter-cultural experience with everyone. It was a Sunday afternoon during the recess week and I was doing my revision at home the whole afternoon. I received a text message from my neighbor, Tracie. Her text was, “Is your elder sister still together with her boyfriend? ". 

I pondered for awhile, thinking what made her ask this question before answering her, "Yes, she is still together with her boyfriend. Why is it regarding?”

She then told me that she was out with her friends at Lucky Plaza & they saw my sister's boyfriend kissing another woman. I was very shocked and I was thinking what I should do at that time. Well, my fellow readers, you must be wondering how this scenario has got anything to do with inter-cultural behavior. Fret not, I am not writing my journal :p 

So let me cut the story short, it was a misunderstanding after all. What happen was my sister's boyfriend is an Indonesian and he was having dinner with his family that Sunday. The woman he kissed was actually his brother's wife. I was told by my sister that it is his family culture to greet each other with two kisses on the cheeks. Thus, it is very common and normal for him to be kissing her as a form of greeting. In the end, I was made the villain.

Back to the point when I was told of this incident, I had mixed feelings about it. I tried to keep calm and tell myself that I should only do my job as an effective messenger to convey the information to my sister. However, it was really difficult to not judge the situation at first. To me, kissing another girl in the public is a very clear signal for me to make a judgment. I fail to consider the cultural differences we may have. From this experience, it makes me realize that we should always try to give others a benefit of doubt. Things may not turn out to be actually what we perceived as. We should always try to be open-minded about matters. Furthermore, in order to communicate effectively, we should be more aware of our audience and be receptive to their behaviors due to the cultural differences we may have.      

Here are some pictures depicting inter-cultural misunderstandings. Hope you like it!

Thanks for your time reading :)

Post #3

Post #2

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Having conflict between people is a fact of life and it is not always a bad thing. In fact, a relationship with conflict may be better than one with no observable conflict. When conflict happens, it might strengthen or weaken the relationship. Therefore, this is why conflict plays a critical role in the course of any relationship.

Consider the following scenario:

Jim and Robin were my best friends in my secondary school clique. Due to a misunderstanding caused by a third party, they had been waging a cold war with each other for 2 years. This had been a big problem for our clique when arranging for meetings and outings.

Jim, in particular, was more persistent in the cold war. He would insist that he would not turn up for any meeting whenever Robin was present. On the other hand, Robin was more willing in trying to make this friendship between Jim and him to work out. However, there was very little Robin could do as Jim would rather shut him out whenever he tries to start a conversation with him.

Two more years had passed and we decided to go on a trip together as a clique (consisting of 6). We think that this would be a good time for both of them to bond together. We thought that with more people around, it would be less awkward for the two to start talking directly to each other.  Thankfully, Jim was much more receptive this time round and he agreed to come for this trip together after our persuasions.

However, at the last moment before we set off, the other 2 of my friends were unable to make it for this trip. That leaves only me and my other friend, Chris to be on the trip with Jim and Robin.

This puts me in a dilemma. As the leader of the clique and the organizer of this trip, what should I do to make sure this trip is enjoyable for all? How can I create some chances for Robin and Jim to interact again? And how can I possibly minimize any misunderstanding that could be generated in the course of this upcoming trip?

Post #1

Why Effective Communication is Important for me.

To me, effective communication is vital in establishing a good relationship with people. People relationships are the most valuable asset to lead a satisfying life. Be it, work or family related, communication is the key to success in these areas. For instance, in a relationship between a parent and child, words of concern are often regarded as a nuisance to the child. The consequence is that it might lead to fewer interactions. The child is no longer comfortable sharing information with his or her parents as they may appear to be discouraging or strict. Gradually no communication would be present between the two; they would rather go to their peers for opinions. Thus, with a more effective way of communicating, it would be able to eliminate this problem.       

Effective communication is important because it helps to avoid misunderstanding. Without it, messages might not be conveyed accurately and it might be misinterpreted, causing unnecessary mistakes and distress. As everyone may have a different perspective due to our difference in socialization, experiences, beliefs and cultural differences, it is important not to be ethnocentric. We should not judge others by our own yardstick. To prevent misunderstanding, it is important that we have to consider the specific audiences while preparing our message to them. For example, my new domestic worker is a foreigner, she is not aware of the culture practices that most Chinese families do not sweep their floors on Chinese New Year as it might sweep away all the ‘fortune and luck’. I had personally explained and instructed her on this issue to prevent any unnecessary misunderstanding in my family.  

To lead a fruitful and harmonious life, effective communication is very important to me.