Reflection

Brad, I know you'll be reading this.  I'm not sure if you remember but last semester there was a student who emailed you, asking if she could join ES2007S when she was a freshman.  That was me!  I wanted to bid for this module and thought I qualified because it was stated on the CORS website that 'New' students are eligible to attend the classes.  After calling CORS helpdesk several times, it turned out that CORS was refering to the year 1 students from polytechnics!  Disappointed, I was.  I was adamant to get into the class this time.  Never have I regretted my decision these months.  I won't dare say that I have picked up many skills.  Nevertheless, I'm definitely more aware of the importance of these skills.  I think it is good enough if I can consistently practise one or two of them.  

The main focus of this course is to enable one to communicate more effectively, in term of listening, speaking and writing. Without being critical in one's thoughts and actions, one cannot communicate effectively without causing unnecessary misunderstanding, which could mount to some serious conflicts.  I have learnt a lot and practised critical thinking from writing blog posts.  Mainly because it has given me a chance to reflect on my actions in the past and analyse them impartially.  I did reflect upon some of the communication breakdown I had.  They are mostly caused by the assumptions I made on my part and not listening actively.  I've always had the bad habit of passing judgements in my head every time someone makes a statement, thus not giving full attention and being biased right from the start.   I'm now more  aware of the possible consequences of my speech, actions and thoughts.  I would make a conscious effort to deliver my messages unambiguously, listen actively before judging and not to give misleading non-verbal cues, now that I realise how influential they are (I'm sure we all know after doing oral presentations).  Hopefully, I'll remember these for a long long time.  

This blog will stay put as a reminder to myself of what I once learned in ES2007S with my fellow comrades :)

Thank you for a more than pleasant semester.

Oral Presentation Reflection

First of all, I enjoyed the process of preparing for the oral presentation more than the actual thing itself.  For this, I have to thank Klara and Dave for being absolutely wonderful team mates to work with.  I can still vividly remember the jokes we shared and the good laughs over silly things that we did.  Team dynamics is an important element in making a team oral presentation a good one.  Simply because the transitions mustn't be abrupt and the content flow awkward.  These would require a group to be co-operative.  We had very productive discussion sessions, where ideas were flowing constantly and yet we were sure of the direction of our presentation.  We agreed unanimously that we wanted impactful presentation with minimal words on the slides.  We understood that less is more.  In short, we did not face any difficulty in preparing for the presentation.

In terms of delivery, I spoke faster than I expected.  This left me with limited time to go through the next point in my head before delivering it.  As such, the words coming out of my mouth were somewhat gibberish at times.  Apart from that, I found out (after watching the video) that my hand gestures were somewhat too 'lively' and distractive.

Moving on to the visual aids, I realised that I was rather nervous in the beginning.  It didn't start off as well as I thought it would be.  Nevertheless, I gained composure after some time.  I pin this down to over dependence on visual aid, where I had to constantly refer to them.  After the mock interview, I felt that I could do better with having the skeletal ideas in my mind and delivering them with minimal visual aids.  Through the video, I realised that I had the tendency to look at the slides more often than I needed to.  As such, I should have prepared less slides and put up only pictures that would help me explain myself.

In a nutshell, these 2 months have been a very positive learning experience for me, not only in terms of writing proposals and doing oral presentation but also in working with a team.  I enjoyed every bit of the time spent.  Thanks, Klara and Dave.  We shall go and have our hard earned ice cream next Tuesday :)

Einstein in the Making signing off.

Intercultural Communication

Malaysia is well known for her diverse racial groups and cultures, which attract many tourists each year to experience it for themselves.  Contrary to popular belief, despite the differences in cultural practices and values between these racial groups, most of the people live harmoniously.

As I came from a national stream secondary school,  I had Malays, Indians, Chinese and some other lesser known ethnic groups in my class.  This was a relatively large transition because I had only Chinese friends and teachers in my Chinese medium primary school.  Each year during the month of Ramadhan, the Muslims will fast during the day.  It was in my first year in secondary school that I saw my Muslim friends not drinking water and they didn't join us for lunch or recess.  Having living in Malaysia my whole life, I understood what was going on.  It was just that I never had any first hand encounter before that.  What was astonishing that time was that all my friends of another racial group refrained from drinking water in front of them and we had our packed food outside the classroom.  It was a gesture of respect and understanding that we didn't deliberately tempt them with the food.  We weren't taught by anyone to do so.  It was simply a common understanding that we all had.  It wasn't only practised a few of us.  I believe many people did the same.

In the setting of a multiracial community like Malaysia, intercultural communication and understanding are extremely important for the people to live harmoniously.  There have been events where blood was shed simply because people were being inconsiderate towards another race's cultural practices.  Very often, all it takes is just the initiative to be considerate and have respect to another man's cultural beliefs.

Application Letter

PNG NING (Ms.)

King Edward VII Hall,

XX XXXX XXXXX XXXX, Singapore XXX XXX

8^th September 2011

Manager,

Human Resource Department ,
Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory Limited, 
1 Research Link National University of Singapore 117 604 

Application for Undergraduate Internship Programme

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing to apply for the internship position advertised in your official website.  As requested, I am enclosing my resume for your reference.

I am currently a year 2 Life Sciences undergraduate in National University of Singapore.  My strong tertiary education, relevant laboratory experience and enthusiasm will make me a very competitive candidate for this position. 

Last August, I participated in the Open House programme organised by your company.  I am particularly interested in the BioForest research project headed by Dr. Naweed Naqvi.  The technology used and her scientific approach in maximising the potential of laboratory grown seedlings captivate my attention.  I hope to be able to join her team for this internship.

I believe that I would an asset to your program as I am most willing to learn the necessary skills. This internship would provide me with the ideal opportunity to assist at your organization and to expand my research skills.

I can be reached via email at pngning@gmail.com or mobile at +(65)85056298.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to receiving your favourable reply.

Yours sincerely,

Png Ning

Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

I have always thought that I am a forgiving person because I can’t seem to recall most unhappy events.  However, after reading several articles on interpersonal conflicts recently, I believe that I never really confront them.  I simply choose to ignore.  The incident described below happened between me and a friend.  I am glad to say that we have truly reconciled.

Ailey and I were school mates during high school.  Although we weren’t in the same class, the rivalry between us was evident to all.  She singled me out as her sole competitor.  I never knew her reasons for doing so although I suspect it had to do with my close relationships with my teachers and peers.  She was always checking out my results from the teachers and would declare her challenge to score better than me openly to everyone we knew.  It didn’t help that our classes were small where everyone knew one another, even when we weren’t from the same class.  Naturally, news travelled fast.  When it reached me, I was appalled.  Nonetheless, I remained nonchalant.  I only started reacting to her challenges when she belittled some of my friends who were also her classmates.  She would scoff at people who scored lower or those who didn’t have the answers to every question.  Both of us never had a relationship to begin with.  Moreover, due to her attitude, I sort of held some resentment towards her.  Although I didn’t do anything mean to her, I never showed her any kindness either.  On hindsight, I think it was pride that made me act cool towards her and never greeted her even when we occasionally met along the corridor.  I was obsessed with winning.  I didn’t want her to challenge my status.  It was simply because of that resentment and pride, we filled ourselves with revulsion and never so much as looked into one another’s eyes even after graduation.

It was just three months ago when a teacher from my meditation class asked me to make peace with someone I haven’t talked to for many years.  After a long struggle, I decided to send her a message on Facebook to find out how she was doing.  Luckily for me, she replied and we have been contacting each other occasionally ever since.

It was extremely awkward to initiate a connection, especially when we did not begin on a friendly note but I figured that there wasn’t anything to lose.  Now, I feel grateful for making a new friend and ending this ridiculous rivalry.  It all happened because I was too proud to let her win.  I could have avoided it should I acted more rationally. 

So, I personally think that I let my pride got the better of me.  What would you have done if you were in the same situation?

Effective Communication: Why is it important to me?

Effective communication is not restricted to only a full comprehension of the encoded and decoded messages one receives or transmits.  It is also very much related to the environment and culture of the community.  The short encounter below illustrates my experience in ineffective communication.

Previously when I was still studying in my home country, Malaysia, I did not encounter, or rather, was unaware of any instances where there was a communication breakdown.  I was completely at ease interacting with different people, albeit living in a multiracial community.  However, when I first came to Singapore, I thought I wouldn't have many problems either, given that both countries have rather similar cultural backgrounds.  The confidence was largely due to the fact that I am competent in the English language, which happens to be the primary language used.  Nevertheless, although I do not face any problem in understanding my lectures or any academic related materials, I have quite a few problems with the people I meet and live with in hall.  Living in a community with residents hailing from various countries, effective communication is crucial to avoid misunderstandings.

During the last summer vacation, I headed the hall freshmen orientation programmes department and had to work with a large committee.  We did not have difficulties understanding instructions, but we had troubles working harmoniously at times.  This is because we have very different principles.  I was insistent in not being frivolous while working, but some were more at ease taking things easily and enjoying frequent breaks in between work.  I was very frustrated at the progress of our work.  In the end, we simply had to compromise to make things work.  Luckily enough, the programmes went smoothly.

What I learnt from this experience is that people adopt different principles.  We simply have to respect that and find a common ground to work things out.  Communication is not just transferring and receiving data, but also taking into account the different backgrounds.

King Edward VII Hall Welcoming and Orientation Committee