#6 Final reflection on learning

Alas we have come to the end of this module and although I am feeling pretty relieved that everything is now over ( no more deadlines, no more blog posts, no more presentations, etc.) , I am feeling quite sad too. Truth is, I have really really learnt a lot of stuffs from this module and also from all the wonderful friends that I have made in the class. Like what I have mentioned, I was not planning to take up this module as I am not really a language person. However, after hearing positive reviews from one of my hall mates and also since Edward they all are taking too, I thought I should use this chance to improvise myself. Since secondary school, I seldom have the chance to present my ideas in front of other people and being a science student, our focus is more on report writing than on communicating with other people and doing presentations. Hence I was determined to brush up on my communication skills and also to learn a few techniques on writing application letter and resume.

During these 13 weeks, we have 2 formal and 2 informal/impromptu presentations. I have always thought that during oral presentation, all we have to do is to present/ talk about the content from our written report and then we are done with it. Actually, there are still much more than that! For example, we have to also take note of our own non verbal cues, position and hand gestures. It is only through this module that I learnt why presenters always stand at the right side of the screen ( cause we read from right to left and thus it would be easier for us to refer to the slides! ). Furthermore, I have also never realized before that I don’t smile when I am presenting. It is a pity though that I only realized about this after my last presentation. However, I will take note about it in future presentations! :)

Through this course, I have also realized how nervous I can get before and also during the presentation. It could be due to my inexperience in presenting my ideas in front of other people and also the fact that I came from a Chinese speaking family. Hence, I am always stuttering ( especially during impromptu sessions), taking a long time to search for the right word. However, I have figured out that rehearsals before the actual day really help in calming me down and prepare myself for any unforeseen circumstances. For my case, I need a lot lot lot of practices so that I can familiarize myself with the flow of the presentation and also to let my mind know that I am prepared for the presentation and hence, calm myself down a bit.
Furthermore, this module is also different in a sense that after each presentation, we will be given feedbacks from Ms Lim and the other classmates. I really look forward to receive all the comments! Though I know my feedbacks would not be as great as the rest of them, I still love receiving them as I find them really useful for my next presentation and it lets me know how well I fared for that certain presentation. And all the encouragements and suggestions from the wonderful people, really thanks a lot for that!! :)

At the end of this module, I know that I still have a long way to go to communicate effectively with other people, but I am really happy that I have taken this one step and I believe that all the skills that we have learned would be put to good use especially after we graduate from university.

Finally, I would like to thank all of my other classmates as I have really learnt a lot from them especially when they are presenting and also for being so supportive every time. And last but not least, thank you Ms Lim for being such a wonderful tutor! :)

#5 Reflections on oral presentation

Finally, the oral presentation has ended! Even though it was just a mere 5 minutes for my part and around 20 minutes for my whole group’s presentation, the amount of work and effort that we had put in were indeed a lot. I have started preparing for the slides and presentation text a few days before the day itself.

After we were each done with our slides, May compiled everything together and we then reviewed and commented on each other’s slides to check for consistency and mistakes. For our slides, we didn’t go for fancy and elaborative layout. What we did was to keep them simple and have less words on them but more graphs/ animations so that our audience could understand us better and easy for them to digest the content. Once we were done with the slides, we then met up together and rehearsed a few times. In fact, I think we had quite a lot of rehearsals. I even practiced secretly when my roommate was asleep! These rehearsals helped me to prepare well for my part and familiarize myself with the flow of our presentation. After all the rehearsals, I felt pretty much confident! :)

* Jeng jeng jeng * Then comes the day of the presentation! As usual, I was very nervous, especially after the impressive presentation from Team RZY. However, this time I could feel something different. I felt a bit more confident compared to the peer teaching session even though I was still very nervous. I have tried to appear less nervous but I am not too sure whether I have done a good job of that or not. Maybe you guys can give me your opinions on that or I will go and watch the video! :) I have also prepared cue cards as I tend to forget what I am supposed to say when I am standing in front of an audience and all their attentions are on me. Sometimes, I do wonder whether I have stage fright and as much as I want to keep my nervousness at bay and tried not to refer to the cue cards, I got especially nervous when Sam waved at me ( signaling that my time was almost up). Immediately at that instance I forgot what I wanted to say and referred a lot to the cue cards. However, I was quite happy because our presentation was quite a smooth one and there were no major hiccups even though I think I could have fared better during the Q & A session. I knew how to answer those questions just that during that moment, when all eyes were staring at me, my mind just couldn’t work! :( Hence, I am thankful for my supportive teammates!

All in all, I have an interesting and fun time working with my teammates for this oral presentation. I believe that I have done better compared to my peer teaching session but I know that there is still much room for improvement. Not to forget also, I would also like to sincerely thank all my teammates! You guys are the best teammates that one can get! :)

#4 – Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Coming from a foreign country to study in Singapore, I could not help but to notice a few differences in the culture practiced back in my country and also in Singapore.

When I first stepped into NUS, I must admit that I was quite surprised to see that the first girl that I met was wearing just a pair of shorts and a singlet. For us Malaysians, this attire is an ultimate no- no in our local universities. Students are not allowed to wear shorts on campus even if they are not attending lectures. For guys, it might still be acceptable in some cases, but for ladies, it is a compulsory rule to wear long pants or skirts that are well below their knees, even in hostels. The students are also not allowed to wear sleeveless shirts in any occasion on campus.

Before I came into NUS, I thought that the rules in Singapore would be similar to Malaysia, and thus, I packed all my long pants and jeans into my luggage and brought only 2 pairs of shorts that I thought I would wear in my room. Imagine my surprise when I reached my hall, and almost everyone was in shorts. I felt quite awkward and out of place when I had to wear my jeans in the hall since the shorts that I have brought over here were obviously not sufficient. After attending my very first lecture in Singapore, only did I realized that we are allowed to wear shorts/skirts that are not way too short and we could even wear sleeveless shirts to school. In Malaysia, the students must wear covered shoes when attending lectures. However, in Singapore, one of the most common footwear that I see around campus is slippers. Furthermore, I have also noticed that some of the students here tend to dress up very nicely whenever they go for lecture and have a better sense of fashion. Students in Malaysia are always in the usual jeans and shirts attire.

This is probably why, when we Malaysians first came over to Singapore, the locals here would be able to guess correctly where we came from. It must be the way we dress ourselves up and the boring (!) fashion sense that we have :P Needless to say, when I went back to Malaysia for my first recess week, I bought many pairs of shorts. My twin sister who is studying in Malaysia was so envious of me because of this and the fact that it is kind of hot to wear long pants all day long when they are attending lectures. I guess there is nothing that can be done for her case since Malaysia is a pretty conservative country where we have to respect the Malays over there who make up the majority of Malaysian populations.

#3- Application Letter Draft

Applied Sciences Group

Division:     Forensic Science Division

Position:     Scientist, Forensic Chemistry & Physics Laboratory

Responsibilities:

You will work with a team of Scientists and Laboratory officers to provide reliable, error-free and timely forensic examinations and consultancies covering a comprehensive range of multidiscipline crime scene physical evidence.

You will be required to evaluate, interpret and consolidate the scientific data generated from a wide range of instruments and produce an accurate and objective report that can withstand court scrutiny. In addition, you will also assist the Laboratory Director in the management of the laboratory and participate in quality assurance activities and research and development projects.

Requirements:

·         Bachelor of Science (Hons), 2^nd Class Upper Division in Chemistry/Material Science or above

·         Experience with GC/MS, HPLC, FT-IR, Raman and/or SEM/EDX is desirable.

·         Excellent written and spoken English with good oral presentation skills

·         Ability to multi-task and handle stress, pressure and tight deadlines.

·         Good team-player

·         Strong nerves to withstand gory scenes.

·         Good character reference

King Edward VII Hall

1A Kent Ridge Road

Singapore 119224

(+65) 94874526         

cuishanchia@nus.edu.sg

8 September 2011

Director, Human Capital Management

Health Sciences Authority

11 Outram Road

Singapore 169078

Email: hsa_hr@hsa.gov.sg

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for the position of Scientist in the Forensic Chemical and Physics Lab

As regard to above, I am writing to apply for the position of scientist as listed on the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) website on 26^th August 2011. I have an avid interest in the job scope of a forensic scientist and I believe I have the passion and possess the skills required to fulfil your company’s expectation of a forensic scientist as well as contribute to the HSA’s aim of attaining world class status for scientific and regulatory expertise in Health Sciences.

I am currently a 3^rd year undergraduate in National University of Singapore and am pursuing Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences with a specialisation in Biomedical Science. Being at NUS has broadened my view in the field of science and my area of study has equipped me with analytical and strong observational skills required in a laboratory. Besides that, I have the relevant knowledge in various chromatographic methods such as gas chromatography and high pressure liquid chromatography. The experimental module that I have taken during my course of study in NUS has also provided me with the skills of evaluating and interpreting scientific data that will be valuable for this position. I have also taken a course on professional communication that has greatly improved my skills in oral presentation and sharpen my interpersonal communication skills which will be useful when communicating with different people on the job.

Being actively involved in many activities during my stay in one of the Halls of Residences in NUS while maintaining my studies at the same time has greatly increased my ability to multitask and handle stress, pressure and deadlines. My commitment in various committees in my hall that work closely in a team has honed me to become a good team player and thus is able work well with other people. I have also developed good organizational and leadership skills through an event management workshop organized by my hallmaster who is an associate professor and vice dean of the NUS Business School.

As an upcoming fresh graduate, I sincerely believe that I have the advantage to stay committed and giving my all in every aspect related to the job. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate it if I can be granted an interview slot to further elaborate more on my eligibility and how I can make a valuable contribution to HSA. Please feel free to contact me at 94874526 or cuishanchia@nus.edu.sg

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Chia Cui Shan

#2- Interpersonal Conflict

Alyssa and Erica were roommates in their university’s hostel and had been friends for quite some time.

One day, Alyssa came back to the room and found that someone had eaten up her noodles. She questioned Erica about it and Erica answered that she didn’t know what had happened to the noodles and suggested sarcastically that it could have probably been eaten by her friend who had just visited her and thought the noodles was hers when Erica was out at some point of the visit. Erica then offered to buy something back for Alyssa. Alyssa did not seem very happy with the apology and just kept quiet.

A short while later, Patrick, Alyssa’s boyfriend came into the room and Alyssa began to tell loudly to Patrick what had just transpired. She wasn’t very courteous of her words and her words seemed to be directed to Erica instead. After Patrick left the room, they had a big tiff and it ended with Alyssa storming off the room. Erica thought that her friend’s incident was a small incident and thus was shocked that Alyssa reacted in such a way.

Later, Alyssa came back and started to ignore Erica. Erica thought that she had already tried to patch things up with Alyssa by suggesting that she bought back the noodles for her and when she saw Alyssa’s attitude, she couldn’t care less too.

After a few days, their friends knew what happened and tried to mediate but to no avail. Later, Erica knew that Alyssa had actually been tolerating her behavior for quite some time and was in a bad mood that eventful morning. Thus, when Alyssa sarcastically answered her questions, she felt offended and this could have been what sparked off the entire tiff. Erica wondered why Alyssa never confronted her about her unhappiness and their friends told her, Alyssa mentioned she did but it was no use. Their friends suggested that maybe Alyssa did give subtle hints but Erica did not notice it.

Both was not willing to end the “war” and their friends were stuck in the middle, not knowing how to help them anymore.

What should Alyssa, Erica or their friends do in this situation?

#1- The importance of effective communication skills.

3 years ago, I attended a seminar/camp that touches something close to my heart. Prior to that event, I was feeling very excited and was looking very forward to making lots of friends over there. However, on the first day, I found out that most of them have already known each other before hand and thus, were already in “cliques”. I tried to make friends with them but due to my nature (I am very shy around strangers!) and my inability to effectively communicate with them, I felt alienated throughout the whole event though the knowledge gained from the seminar was invaluable.

Furthermore, coming from a Chinese- speaking family, I was inadequately exposed to English and have always admired my friends who are able to present their ideas to many people and speak very well on the spot. I feel jittery standing in front of so many people and my presentation will always be punctuated with lots of redundant pauses and ermm. Don’t they feel nervous standing in front of so many people with so many pairs of eyes staring back at them? How could they be able to articulate clearly and organise their ideas so well if given a topic on the spot?

Hence, I was determined to take a module that can improve my communication skills during my Uni years as I can see the importance of effective communication skills especially when we step into the working life. The ability to “sell” ourselves to the interviewers in order to get the job and once we get the job, we will still need to communicate effectively with our colleagues of different cultural backgrounds and presenting ideas to them. Moreover, effective communication is not only much needed at work, it is also equally important at home or between friends as I believe to be able to communicate effectively is a life long skill that each of us should practice.

It’s time for me to step out of my comfort zone and I know I still have a long way to go, but I really hope after this 13 weeks, I will be able master this skill. Let’s do this together! J