When this semester first started, I was very keen to know more about this module and how the previous batches of students managed their blogs (as this is the first time I have ever blog). I have read many interesting blog posts by previous students. I could still remember some mentioning that the next thing they know, it is the end of the module and they have really learnt a lot of things despite the module workload being heavy. I think it is very true now that I have reached the end of the semester for this module. I suppose ‘time flies when you enjoy it’. It is the one phrase that I keep telling and reminding myself every semester in NUS, so as to stay positive and upbeat about life especially when the going gets tough.

From the start, the one thing that I wanted to learn, experience and take away from this module is interpersonal communication skills. With the ending of this module, I conclude that the course outcome has exceeded my expectations. In the process of doing the peer teaching and project proposal, it requires a lot of communication with my team mates and to manage our expectations along the way. I really enjoy class discussion where I can speak freely during the allocated time slot.

Finally, I would like to thank my dedicated tutor: Ms Lim Lay Hoon for being so punctual and helpful throughout the whole course, and being open to extending deadlines for us who have many other deadlines for our core modules! Next, a big thank you to all my beloved classmates for putting in effort in coming every Monday and Thursday 8am to learn and share their ideas with me in class. Next, I’ll mention my peer teaching buddy Govin who is very accommodating when we can only meet during the weekends (Sunday), as well as guiding me through the preparation of presentation itself. Next it’s my proposal group mates from team T-Ace, who have put in tremendous amount of work diligently. I am very thankful to everyone for being patient with me especially when I started losing my cool at times.

From my previous peer teaching on job interview, I have learnt a lot about myself regarding oral presentation. One key observation by my peers, tutor and myself is that I stammered at the start of the presentation. This may come as a surprise to many who know me, as I come across as someone who is very vocal, expressive and interactive in daily life. I guess it is related to me having stage fright since young. Whenever I was made to stand in front of a group of people, especially to present academic materials, it gives me the cold sweat. Now that I know what my weakness is, I see the need to improve my presentation skills by having more practices to increase my confidence level. This is one major improvement I have made from the previous peer teaching.

During the preparation phase, I would practice my presentation in front of the mirror daily, many times during each session. The key point I want to drill into myself is that I need to be very confident, or at least perceived to be confident in front of the audience for my presentation to be effective.

During the actual day of presentation, I’m able to present and communicate my ideas with the audience (and not merely regurgitate out what I have memorized from my speech text). I feel more at ease during this presentation, and I am able to stand confidently (without feeling too sacred and slouched as with my peer teaching session). This is the proposal project that my team has been working very hard on for the past few weeks and I really hope that it will convince the audience that it is feasible. This time round, I am able to smile and enjoy myself throughout the whole presentation. I supposed it boils down to practice! Quoting from my presentation “Oral presentation is really a skill where one needs to constantly gather visual and audio feedback of the audience to ensure that they are following, and to adjust one’s volume and tone where necessary to engage them.” It is not something that one can be good at just by learning from others’ mistakes and from lessons. It is a set of skills that needs ample practice for it to be perfect. I am glad that this module gave me the chance to learn from my peers (through peer reviews and their presentations), and myself. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all my peers and tutor for being so attentive, responsive and supportive during my presentation.

Cheers!

I am from NUS cheerleading team, and we had an exchange student from Germany one and a half year ago. Benjamin Stahl was a Master Student doing his final year thesis in NUS, and he used to be a gymnastic coach back in Germany. He came down for our training at the start of the academic year, and decided that he liked the sport and to join us for the year’s Nationals competition.

In this intercultural situation, it happened during the Chinese New Year (CNY) and we had a team gathering at someone’s house. First he came visiting with a pair of ‘Sunkist’ oranges and those present had a good laugh. We found it funny because it was certainly the first time most of us (locals) had encountered. Ben was oblivious that there was a difference between mandarin orange and the normal orange. We explained to him light-heartedly about this festival (CNY) without wanting to make him feel bad about his ‘mistake’. He was very receptive to the cultural exchange and we continued with the celebration.

The above scenario is certainly not awkward because most of us are appreciative that the foreign student had made some effort in trying to understand the local culture and festival. This has definitely shed some lights into the fact that not everyone from all over the world understands other’s local culture as well; and if there really is any misunderstanding, we need to give the benefit of doubts to the foreigners and be patient in explaining the culture instead of feeling offended.

(please click on image for clearer view)

I supposed all of us experiences conflicts everyday. I have my fair share and I would like to share this conflict I had with my ex-captain from my NUS cheerleading team, where I’m holding the position of welfare and logistic IC. We do external performances for prices ranging from $500-$1400, and the executive committee (exco) had previously agreed that participating members can keep 80% of the paycheck, with the remaining 20% contributing to team fund. I was part of the team of 8 cheerleaders scheduled to perform at suntec convention centre late last year.

What shock me was that the captain made a decision (without any formal announcement and discussion with the team exco) that the performance money will be fully contributed to team fund because it is ‘running low’. I fell out with the captain and decided to pull out of the performance the night before the actual performance. My stand being it is fundamentally wrong for the team captain to make changes to exco’s decisions on his own, especially when money is involved. Many performers signed up for the performance thinking that they will have 80% of the paycheck which amounts to about $80 per person per day. Well, what I did not take into account is that I’m being irresponsible by pulling out of the external performance as we might end up being unable to perform due to lack of performers and it will reflect very badly on the team’s image.

I understand that more efforts could have been spent resolving our differences without having to go to the extremes. Well, if I were to go for the performance, it will mean that I agree to the new decision that it will be full contribution to team fund, which I find unjustified and unfair. How could I have done better in resolving this case?

Please help me understand this conflict from different perspectives. Thank you.

Cheers

Chris

Effective communications are very important to me in my everyday life-from family, to school, to CCAs, to work and internship. I firmly believe that this ES2007S professional communication class will be fruitful and will be able to contribute to my holistic development as an undergraduate.

In NUS, I feel that the 3 best modules which I have taken so far is GEK1006 (Dynamics of Interpersonal Relational), HR2002 (Human Capital Resource) and PL1101E (Introduction to Psycology). This is because I find that these modules helped me in various ways to understand human behavior, and they inculcate me with some of good habits that contribute to effective communications. I really enjoyed and benefited from these 3 modules in dealing with daily challenges and conflicts, and highly recommend to all NUS students regardless of the faculty they are in.

In the context of CCAs, I have participate in many different activities since secondary school and one fundamental lesson I have learnt is that effective interpersonal communication is essential in dealing with conflicts and the management of expectations. Just a short introduction about myself: I was in National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) and dragon dance in secondary school; canoeing, dragon boating and canoe polo in junior college. I was also previously from Officer Cadet School (OCS), Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA) dragon boat team, National Team for canoeing and dragon boating during the two years which I have served in the army. Currently, I am a cheerleader in NUS cheerleading team. Through involvement in these CCAs, I constantly seek to challenge myself physically, mentally and emotionally, as I am required to work purposefully with unique people from all walks of life. Without effective communications, I am positive that I will not be able to work well in any of the teams.

In my everyday life, I love to interact with people and always seek to be the strongest in my field with the intention that I can be of help and service to others. However, this pure willingness to help is sometimes being misinterpreted as negative hidden agendas by some. I believe that by having strong and effective communication skills, misunderstanding of my intentions can be lessened. That being said, I recognize that it is also not possible to completely remove all negative interpretation by everyone I work with because there are bound to be dissimilar opinions and biases that exist between humans. Ultimately, I believe it is how I deal with these ever-present skeptics that will make me a stronger and better follower and leader. I truly enjoy overcoming these challenges involved in interpersonal communication. I have undoubtedly benefited from all the different obstacles in CCAs, academic and everyday life.

I understand that for effective communications to occur, one must first understand the essences of it. In addition to this, to constantly and consistently practice the good habits which then will be reflected upon one’s action. Personally, I hope that this class will further enhance and equip me with the right set of skills and mindset, to embrace future endeavors with more courage and confidence. I wish to work more effectively and efficiently with as many people across different fields as possible for the betterment of my country. My ultimate aim is to be a better person for my family and my country.

Hi everybody, thank you for making the class memorable. Even though it is a 8am lesson, we are all very lively and enthusiastic. Looking forward to learning from each and everyone of you! Please feel free to comment on my blog post in the future so that I can see things from your perspective!=)