Final Reflection

I am really glad I took this module, as I have learnt a lot from it. I picked up something new from every assignment, every discussion, every presentation. I used to be very shy when it comes to presentations, but having presented so many times this semester has definitely boosted my confidence. I also particularly liked that we constantly gave and received feedback from the class regarding our performance (peer teaching, mock interview, oral presentation). It was a good source of motivation as well as a good way to know which areas to improve on.

Even though the group proposal took up most of our time, I really enjoyed working with Jin Rou and Pauline. The initial brainstorming stage was a little difficult as we came up with numerous ideas but none were really feasible. We finally came up with a good idea after Jin Rou told us about her experience when she went for her exchange programme. From then, everything else went smoothly.

It was easy working as a group. We split the work among ourselves, we set our own group deadlines and kept strictly to it. I think what made us an effective team was helping each other even though we were assigned a certain part of the proposal. Both Jin Rou and Pauline were extremely helpful and responsible throughout the whole time, and I could not ask for better group members. I definitely would not have rather done the proposal all by myself. It would be too much to handle alone, and I would not be able to submit a proposal like the one we submitted as a team.

The only thing I did not quite like with regards to this proposal was the use of the wiki. Although it was my first time using the platform, we learnt about it during the peer teaching session which was extremely helpful. However, the system was down for maintenance quite often, especially on weekends when we had more time to spare. We ended up doing our group work on Google Documents instead, and copied them over to the wiki every once in a while. If I did not take this module, I would not have known that such a platform existed! I must say though, that it is quite user-friendly and would be an excellent choice for collaboration if not for the frequent maintenance. Other than the use of the wiki and Gdocs, we communicated via e-mails, SMS and MSN messenger as well which were very convenient.

All in all, this module has been a great learning experience for me. Classes were never boring, and I have picked up many essential skills along the way. Who said learning is boring? Dr Radhika and awesome classmates made this module even more enjoyable. Here’s a big THANK YOU to everyone for the fun semester! 🙂

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Our oral presentation is finally over and it is time to reflect on how it went for me.

The dry run we had one week before the actual presentation was a good learning experience. I have never had my own presentations recorded before, and hence it was good that I could watch myself, though it was extremely weird watching yourself on video! Knowing your presentation style allows you to know which areas need improvements. From the video, I felt that I was a little fidgety and I kept fiddling with my notes.

Preparations wise, if I were to be honest, I did not do much for the dry run. I had my main points typed out but I did not rehearse or even think about my speech. However, for the actual presentation, I had my speech typed out properly, I recited it, and I kept reading them so I could familiarize myself with the content as much as possible. I did not want to be overly reliant on my cue cards, but I also did not want to memorize my speech.

I would say I felt relatively calm, until it was my turn to present. My heart was racing and I felt very nervous! But I calmed myself down, thinking, “Hey, I’ve presented twice in this class already. What’s there to be scared of?” As I stood in front of the class and delivered my parts, I felt better. I stayed focused, I asked questions to engage the class, and I maintained eye contact.

From the feedback given, I felt I did pretty alright. However, as Dr Radhika pointed out, I could have included more hand gestures to emphasize on certain points.

Even though this was a formal presentation, I felt comfortable. Perhaps it was because I prepared enough, or perhaps it was because we were presenting to our peers. (I’d probably not feel the same if i were presenting to the URA for real!) We have done two presentations for this module and I really appreciate the opportunity to learn and improve on my presentation skills.

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

During the holidays, my friends and I went to Batam for a short getaway. Before taking the ferry back to Singapore, we stopped by a mall for lunch and to get our nails done. We were pleased with the good deal we found as the prices were much lower than what we can find back home. None of us can speak Indonesian, but with some hand gestures and broken English, we got along well enough.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion coming from where my friend was seated. The manicurist was panicking and went to get an antiseptic spray. My friend’s finger was bleeding profusely and she was in a lot of pain. The cutter that the manicurist used was brand new and hence very sharp. Instead of cleaning up her cuticles, she accidentally cut her finger quite deeply. The manicurist told her boss what happened. The both of them used the antiseptic spray and an iodine solution, applied pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. They did not realize that it was very painful for my friend. She kept saying, “pain! Pain! Pain!”. They did not understand her, so she sat there suffering but luckily the bleeding eventually stopped.

I empathized with my friend. She was in pain but could not do anything about it. She tried brushing their hands off but their main concern was to stop the bleeding. It was an accident but I have never witnessed something like that before. At that moment, I remember thinking to myself, “things like this will only happen in a place like this”. They felt apologetic though and did their best to make her feel better.

From the broken English we communicated by, I think they said that it had happened numerous times before. It happens when the cutter is new. They were therefore experienced enough to know what to do in such a situation. For hygiene reasons, they have to change their cutters. They can try to be as careful as possible but sometimes accidents cannot be avoided.

In Singapore, if something like that happened, the company would not be let off that easily. However, the major difference was that Indonesians are known to be very friendly people and I can vouch for that. They treated us well and apologized countless times. We felt comfortable enough around them despite what happened. I found Indonesians to be very genuine when treating people.

People from different cultures behave differently and it was nice to be exposed to such kindness in a foreign country.

Application Letter

Hi everyone,

This is a link to the job that I chose: Job Link

And below is my cover letter. (I have left out my personal details.)

Melissa Ho

13 February 2011

To Whom It May Concern

Personal Bankers / Senior Personal Bankers, Ref. JSG400003000334095

I am enclosing my resume in response to your advertisement for the position which appeared on Jobs DB website on 8 February 2011.

As you will see, I am expected to graduate in July this year from the National University of Singapore (NUS), with a Bachelor of Science (Applied Mathematics). I consider the study of Applied Mathematics particularly appropriate for the abovementioned post. I enjoy crunching numbers, and I possess strong logical and analytical skills. I took a module, Basic Financial Mathematics, which taught basic financial calculations that are applicable to the banking industry.

I have been studying full-time for the past three years, as well as tutoring two students during my spare time.  I feel that this demonstrates my dedication, motivation and enthusiasm over a long-term. In addition, balancing my studies with tuition has definitely honed my time-management and organisational skills. Not only do I get along well with my students, I am results-oriented and strive for the best for myself and them. I also enjoy meeting people of all ages, which is why I would find this job very rewarding.

During the summer holidays last year, I worked as a temporary staff at ___________. The working environment was very hectic and fast-paced, and it trained me to be extremely responsible and meticulous with my own work. I was assigned, on a daily basis, to prepare key documents like bank drafts and insurance certificates for their supply chain operations. I like working independently, but at the same time, being part of a team encouraged me to perform better. I am able to work well under pressure, which makes me suitable for the banking industry.

I would find the post of a Personal Banker very challenging and worthwhile, and I do hope that you will look favourably at my application. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Melissa Ho

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

During the Summer Holidays last year, I worked as a Temporary Staff in a company. My daily tasks were to prepare important documents for their supply chain network. My colleagues were generally friendly. However, there was one lady, whom I felt I couldn’t get along well with.

An interpersonal conflict is described as “a situation in which one or both persons in a relationship are experiencing difficulty in working or living with each other”. This lady, let’s call her J, was nice to me on the first day. Unfamiliar with the place and their field of work, she said I could look for her should I have any questions.  However as the days passed, I found it increasingly difficult to prepare her documents. J was extremely fussy over the slightest details.  She would check through my work to make sure they were done according to HER way. She would use a pencil to tick every single detail. Sometimes, certain documents were prepared weeks before, so she would cancel the date and write today’s date and ask me to reprint it again. It really upset me because I felt she was being ridiculous and I also felt she did not trust me. In addition, I disliked the condescending tone that she used whenever she spoke to me, which made me even more frustrated than I already was. I felt underappreciated.

Compared to my supervisor and another colleague who were way friendlier and easy-going, they would directly submit the documents after I have prepared them. I have the habit of checking my own work to make sure everything is in order. This way, I felt they trusted me more than J did.

I remember dreading going to work because I did not want to do anything for J. I avoided going into the elevator with her. Every day, I wished so badly that my supervisor would assign me something before J did.

What made me finally realize that maybe she was not bossing me around with her tone, was a department lunch we had two weeks before my contract ended. During the lunch, J talked about one of her favorite food, using that exact same tone she did when I thought she was ‘bossing’ me around! I thought, hey maybe that’s just her normal way of speaking, and she probably did not mean anything like what I thought.

My perspective towards her changed, and it was much easier to work for her from then onwards. I told myself, she is probably asking me to help her so I can ease her workload (she stays till very late everyday). All she has to do is to check that everything is in order according to the way she wants it.

On my last day, she gave me a box of Royce chocolates, thanking me for my help. That was the final moment I felt she was not as mean as I put her out to be at first, and she did appreciate my work.

The main problem stemmed from misinterpretation of body language and tone. She assumed that I was familiar with their documents and supply-chain, whereas I had no clue at all. I am willing to learn, but she left me figuring out many things on my own. When they were not right, I felt bad that I could not get it done properly, and her tone made me feel worse. When I felt she dumped the intimidating stacks of documents on my desk to make my life miserable, she was probably asking me to help her with it so she could do other things.

Oftentimes, we talk about how tone can be misinterpreted in written language. This time, however, I misinterpreted her tone even in face to face conversations. This can cause relationships to be very strained.

The best way to resolve conflicts is of course to speak to the person involved about it. But I, being one who keeps everything to herself, did not have the guts to do so. Furthermore, being only a temporary staff, I felt I would be out of line to voice how I felt.

Where then, do we draw the line between bottling our feelings and voicing them to best resolve a conflict?

Why are effective communication skills important for me?

Over a year ago, a video featuring a ditzy young lady circulated the Internet. She is none other than Ris Low, Miss Singapore World 2009. She was publicly criticized for her mispronounced words and lack of communication skills. “Leopard preens bigini”, anyone? Jokes aside, there is something that we can learn from her. It is crucial to have effective communication skills.

Everyone possesses communication skills but some are more effective at communicating than others.  People are often required to interpret the messages that they receive and these are often subject to misunderstanding. To be effective in communicating is to be able to eliminate the possibility of misinterpretation of words.

Wrong choices of words and misinterpretation of the tone, are some examples of ineffective communication. In such ambiguous situations, it can result in confusion, disagreements or even conflict between the parties involved. This is something I would like to avoid whenever possible.

Effective communication skills are vital because it reflects who one is, as an individual. They are crucial during the formation of first impressions. For instance, one who is articulate comes across as someone with confidence, but someone who constantly stutters does not leave a good impression on others. In the corporate world where networking is key, it is of utmost importance to carry oneself off well. You never know when someone you’ve met might present you with an opportunity!

Using Ris Low as an example again, she did not carry herself off well during the interview, with her slew of mispronounced words and inarticulacy. As a result, she was terribly made fun of and people generally did not take her seriously despite her being crowned Miss Singapore World.

In my opinion, having to repeat a message in an alternative way is a waste of time and effort. The key to being effective is to get the message across the first time with clear and concise language, and to speak with confidence to be able to persuade others in all seriousness. As I enter the corporate world in a few months’ time, it is vital to be an effective communicator as it plays a huge role in interpersonal relationships. I would like to be taken seriously, yet at the same time, to come across as someone approachable. Bearing what this module has taught in mind, nonverbal actions play an important role, which include looking at someone in their eyes when speaking to them, to actively listen to them when they speak, and the list goes on. When you treat someone with respect, it is likely to be reciprocated. In turn, it is easier to communicate and relationships are improved.