Finally, this hectic semester has to an end and it is time to do some self evaluation. I must say that apart from my core modules, I have gained a lot of useful knowledge and skills from ES2007S. Although it has been an extremely taxing module, I feel that I did not make the wrong choice for spending few hundreds of bid points on it.
My understanding of the importance of effective communication skills has increased after completing this module. Twelve weeks ago, effective communication skills to me is just simply conveying the intended message with good verbal skills and also receiving the intended message with active listening skills. As for now, I realized that effective communication skills comprised of not only just that. I have learnt that non verbal cues play an equally important role as verbal cues and it is important to take note of the intercultural differences before communicating.
In my first post, I wrote that effective communication will be important for me when I am looking for jobs as I will be required to give impressive interviews or presentations. I am glad to say that I have developed skills of not just giving good interviews and presentations, but also writing convincing application letter, resume, minutes and research report.
Although doing the research project has taken up much of time, I feel that I have learnt the most through this process. This is the first module that I have taken which has graded presentation and thus, I have developed presentation skills like using attention grabbers, simple slides and meaningful gestures in order to appeal more to the audience. Furthermore, I have learnt to adopt a formal language and the 7Cs when writing the research report. Also, being a good team player and an effective communicator have allowed me to gain a enriching and fulfilling experience with my team members.
Lastly, I would like to thank Ms Goh for the help and comments she gave us to improve on our project. Many thanks to Madeline and Derek for being so irritating and fun and of course, to all my classmates who have given me a wonderful learning experience
About Me
- mongshi-ES2007S
- I am Mongshi and is currently a year 3 NUS undergraduate pursuing my Bachelor of Science, major in Life Science with concentration in Biomedical Science. Since young, my favorite subject was Biology and this was why I chose to take up biomedical Science in NUS. I hope I can use what I have learnt to contribute to Singapore’s healthcare sector when I start working. I also enjoy outdoor activities and I was the marketing Director of NUS Netball Club in which I worked with my team to organize activities and tackling any problems that came along. I picked up leadership and communication skills through the process. Furthermore, I love traveling because I am passionate to know more about the cultures, people and landscapes of different countries.
2 comments:
Hi Mongshi,
I believed that most of us have gained tremendously from taking this course, effective communication is more than just the verbal component involved. Many non-verbal cues and other considerations, which I termed as “intangibles” in my blog spot, would determine how communication would turn out. And like you, I only have limited and surface understanding on how effective communication works. Before the course, I thought that it is solely about sending and receiving a message and nothing else. But that simple interpretation of communication has proved to be inadequate by what we have learnt in the module. The form of communication can take on many facet and this needs to be understood before we can truly label ourselves as an effective communicator.
Apart from that, the various assignments have also help us understood the different aspects of communication. For example from resume, application letter and project report writing, we have learnt what should be included and what should be emphasized in these formal submissions. It is through this course, that I also understood the importance of formality, there are times when communication should be informal and there are also times when it should be strictly formal and to ensure strict formality there are many things to be taken note of with regards to the adherence to many unannounced codes and ethics.
Hi Mongshi,
I agree with you that effective communication is not just about active listening, but also conveying the intended message properly. As a matter of fact, this was the first lesson I learnt from ES2007S and I remember being so amazed by the fact that something so intangible like communication can be broken down and analysed like a science topic. It is as though communication is a scientific procedure like photosynthesis. The chart from the textbook confirmed my "fears" that I was in for a hard science module. Add to the fact that this was a science module with the course title "The Science of Effective Communication in the Workplace" and I was ready to withdraw from the module although I used like 1000 bid points.
However, It turned out to be a false alarm, because we went on to learn so much about writing effectively and talking persuasively. On hindsight, that we could break down (pun intended) the communication barriers into science theories made the module even more interesting.
Regards,
Derek
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