Final Reflection

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 13 weeks! Time really flies by when you are enjoying yourself. I think this course is the only one class that I didn’t feel like I had to drag myself to attend. This of course, is due to the interesting content of the course and more importantly, the awesome people I met in this course!

One of the most important things I learnt in this module is how to craft a good cover letter and a resume. I became aware of the guidelines to follow in written communication (7C’s). The mock interviews we had gave me a taste of how a real life job interview could be.(And also how a S.O.B is like, thanks to JH’s supreme acting skills, haha!) I believe what I learnt would be very useful when I venture out into the working world.

In addition, this course helped me to hone my presentation skills. I did not have much experience in presenting during my 3 years in university, but through the peer teaching activity and OP, I realized that I am able to do it, and it wasn’t as daunting as I initially thought it would be. I am very grateful for all the feedback such that I am able to further improve my skills.

Lastly, I would like to thank Brad for being such a wonderful and inspiring teacher. And also good luck to those having exams next week and all the best to those who are graduating this semester! It’s been a pleasure meeting, knowing and learning from all of you! :)

Till next time!

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Now that the oral presentation is over, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and thank god that everything went smoothly. Phew~

Our powerpoint presentation is one of things I like most about this research project. I have to thank HweeTeng for creating such an attractive and professional looking visual aid.

With regards to my oral presentation, I have made an effort to slow down my pace of speech, as I've been told that I speak too fast in previous dry runs. I think the main reason why I speak so fast is due to my anxiety to get the presentation over and done with, lest I somehow make a fool of myself, perhaps by pronouncing certain words wrongly, or worse, forgetting what I was supposed to say. To overcome this, I spent quite some time practicing what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it, until this knowledge is “internalized”.

Furthermore, in an attempt not to be too monotonous, I also consciously reminded myself to inject emphasis on certain words and phrases. I thought I did, but looking at the video I realized I couldn’t actually hear the emphasis that well myself?

As for non-verbal cues, I think I did not have a lot of gestures (I kept my hands close to my body because I was actually too nervous to gesture naturally). But I believe I managed to maintain good eye contact with the audience.

If you guys have any feedback for me on how to further improve my presentation skills, please feel free to comment. Thanks!

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Rick was invited for dinner at his girlfriend’s house that evening. He was very nervous, as it was his first time meeting Mary’s parents. He knew that Mary’s parents are conservative Chinese, and he wondered how they would feel about Mary having a Caucasian boyfriend.

When the pair reached Mary’s house, Mary’s mother was still cooking. Determined to be of use, Rick offered to set the table. Mrs. Tan smiled and gestured towards the counter.

“Okay Rick, just grab the chopsticks and the bowls of rice over there. Mary, you bring out the dishes to the dining room.”

Rick was struck with an idea when he saw the bowls of rice and chopsticks. He stuck a pair of chopsticks in each bowl of rice vertically and brought out the four bowls at one go. “Efficiency at its best!” he thought to himself.

When both women came out from the kitchen and saw Rick’s “handiwork”, both gasped and hurried forward to pluck out the chopsticks from each bowl.

“Oh luckily your father wasn’t around to see that, he will surely be angry,” exclaimed Mrs. Tan.

Seeing Rick’s confusion, Mary explained, “Never stick chopsticks vertically straight into the rice bowl as this a sign of ancestor worship and spells yin spirit formation, bringing bad luck. My father is superstitious about this kind of things. I got a horrible tongue lashing when I was ten because I did the same thing.”

Rick nodded in understanding. At that moment, the door opened and in walked Mr. Tan.

“Ah, just in time for dinner!” he smiled jovially. Rick could only smile weakly at him, thankful that Mr. Tan entered the door few minutes later and not before.

Application Letter Draft 2

11 February 2011

Temasek Hall

National University of Singapore

12 Kent Ridge Drive

Singapore 119243

HP: 94259264

Email: stella.t@nus.edu.sg

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)

Singapore Land Tower #08-00

50 Raffles Place

Singapore 048623

Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: Application for Finance Analyst (Summer Internship Programme)

I am writing in response to the position of a Finance Analyst for the Summer Internship Programme in 2011. I am a motivated individual with a strong interest in the investment banking and finance industry. RBS has a prestigious track record and I would be honored to contribute my talents and skills to the achievement of the firm’s goals.

I am currently in my penultimate year of my undergraduate studies as a Statistics major in National University of Singapore (NUS). Majoring in statistics has given me strong numerical background as well as developed my analytical skills. In addition, I have rigorous training in statistical modeling and programming which can be useful for research-based job scopes.

Furthermore, I am one of the production managers of the ExxonMobil Campus Concerts (EMCC) in NUS. Being a production manager has honed my leadership and time management skills. I also had the chance to interact and work with a diverse group of undergraduates. In addition, I was involved in organizing hall events, such as Cultural Night, and these experiences further developed my interpersonal and communication skills.

During the summer of 2010, I participated in a 2-week China Immersion Programme. This programme gave me an opportunity to explore the local lifestyle and culture. It taught me to be independent in a foreign country, to be adaptable in an unfamiliar environment, to keep an open mind and be sensitive to people who are from different cultural backgrounds.

I believe these are portable skills that I can bring to RBS as a Finance Analyst. Attached is my resume for your perusal. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours truly,

Stella Ting Hai Yin

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

John had been staying in a single room on campus for most of his university life. However, during his last semester he was allocated to a double room and was told that his roommate would be an Indian male student. Initially he was sure that he would get along with his roommate very well. They were from the same faculty, and he thought that would make them bond more easily.

When John first started sharing a room with Kumar, he felt that he couldn’t have asked for a better roommate. Kumar was funny and charismatic. He even helped John to collect hall meals on several occasions when John had classes.

But after a week, John began to feel strained. Being an orderly person, he could not stand Kumar cluttering the room with his stuffs. Furthermore, Kumar had a bad habit of slamming the door loudly. It did not help that Kumar was a nocturnal person. Many times John was startled awake in the middle of the night by the sound of door slamming.

Soon after, John’s sleeping quality deteriorated. He was having troubles focusing in class and always felt tense when he returned to their messy room. Even though he tidied up the room every now and then, Kumar always managed to mess up the room again later. Also, he couldn’t help but feel that perhaps Kumar was taking advantage of his willingness to clean the room.

Fed up, John confronted Kumar one day. To which Kumar responded flippantly, “Relax dude, you are such a neat freak!” He also insisted that he didn’t slam the door and that John was silly to get startled so easily. John was so angry that he walked out on him.

If you were John, what would you have done?

Effective Communication

One of my friends once told me that I am sometimes “expressionless”. I think she meant I am unsmiling (“expressionless” made me sound like some plastic mannequin!) which led her to think that I was annoyed at her. I suppose it didn’t help that I didn’t talk with her. The thing is sometimes I’m just so lost in my own thoughts that I wasn’t aware that I am giving off a “negative” aura. Now I realized even if there isn’t any verbal exchange, communication is still going on. I guess this is an example of error in encoding and decoding the message. There’s so much more to communication than just the oral conveying of messages!

To me, effective communication means to be able to share one’s thoughts and feelings clearly without conflicts, misunderstandings and errors. People come from all walks of life, and we are all different in how we perceive the world. Hence, to be able to communicate effectively is really an essential skill to be successful in work, relationship and life.

And that is the reason I am taking this module. I want to be able to interact confidently with strangers without feeling apprehensive. I haven’t had much chance to give oral presentations or do research projects in university (some might consider it a blessing :p). Now that graduation is looming I have no idea how to write an application letter. ES2007S provides me the opportunity to learn just how. I hope by the end of this semester, my head will be fuller with new knowledge, and my heart will be fuller with new friendships.