In communicating with others, nobody is perfect. People make mistakes, emotions mar judgement, and even though we may have learnt in class the proper thing to do or the politically correct thing to say, real-time communication doesn't always allow us to give the ideal reaction. Reflection, however, can bring us closer to what we expect of ourselves. In learning, it is essential that we reflect and correct ourselves, so we don't commit the same mistake again.
That was just my take on communication and reflection.
On the value of effective communication skills, my understanding of it hasn't changed: never underestimate it. They say behind every successful man is a woman; I say they missed out the part on how they all have powerful communication skills too. I simply believe.
To me, for this module, the past 12 weeks have been a journey. We wrote minutes, business letters, pieced a report together - complete with a survey, worked on our cover letters and CVs, now we even have our own E-portfolio. What I appreciated most about this course, was the writing practice we were given. And it was good that it came in chunks, not 1500 or 3000 word essays. Oh, we have subconsciously been reading quite a lot too. Haha. It kind of felt like growth, and I know that this journey will not end with this course.
In response to my first post(s), I feel better prepared to "take on the world". Haha. Yes, I am better prepared for my job interview (to come in summer 2010) and I will continue preparing myself for it. I find going through my own CV and cover letter a real bonus in this course. I have also learnt more about other cultures - I believe I have learnt more about them the past 3 months than I have in all the years before! Thank you Brad, for being our teacher. I have no regrets reading this module.
I'd also like to thank all of you, my friends, for being part of this experience. I have learnt much from you.
Edited 15 April 2009 - Grammer
3 weeks ago
Hey Roy,
ReplyDeleteIts great to see that you have learnt so much from the course. I have indeed learnt many useful skills too. Additionally, I've got to know nice friends in ES2007S and that definitely includes you.( my ME senior!!)
I totally agree with you that nobody is perfect in this world and we do make mistakes. What is important is that we learn and reflect on our mistakes. It is through mistakes that we try to improve to become a better person.
cheer:)
Dear Roy,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your take on communication and reflection. Many a times, people just do not reflect and thus repeating their mistake over and over again. By reflecting, it will help to make the person grow to be a better man, improving day by day, instead of just remaining at the same place after years has past.
Just like you, I am really thankful that this module requires us to write constantly. Else, I will never write this much, I presume. Being a person whom does not practice reading or writing often, blogging was really a chore to me at the start. I had to put in extra effort to ensure that my post was ‘free’ from expression and language problems, which took up a lot of my time. However, looking back, I am glad that I was forced to write. I suppose that even after the semester ends, I will still try to practice writing and reading as much as I can.
This is really a great module and if given a chance, I will definitely recommend it to my juniors! Hope everyone feels the same too!
Cheers!
Hi Roy!
ReplyDelete"Mistakes", a word I'm too familiar with and this is probably because I'm quite a careless and clumsy person. You raised a very good point about reflection, and in life it's important that we do reflect on our mistakes and avoid repeating it.
I am glad that we managed to learn all these writing skills together and gave each other valuable feedbacks. Thank you for reading through my group's report, resume and cover letter.
Being able to communicate effectively is defnitly a skill which everyone should possess because it would bring you one step closer to achieve what you want.
Hello Roy,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that reflection does bring one closer to our expectation. I can't remember how many times have I had to commit a mistake and reflect upon it, before I don't repeat the same mistake. Thats why I am really grateful for this reflection post.
We all have learned alot throughout this 4 months and it was great learning together. Furthermore, I am grateful to have known you as a friend and a Mech-Engine senior. Please do keep in contact. Good luck for your upcoming FYP and everything else!
Cheers,
Keldren
Thanks, Roy, for this honest reflection. I'm glad you have no regrets for taking the course. In fact, I sense quite a bit of satisfaction in what you have written, and I have seen lots of development. You've been a very important member of the class, offering your views and insights, questioning when things needed questioned. I appreciate that sort of effort. It's been my pleasure to work with you in the course.
ReplyDeleteAll the best, Roy, as you move toward your final year at NUS. Good luck in your future as well!
Hey Roy,
ReplyDeletenobody is perfect! That's one thing for sure! I feel that this was one of the reasons which made this module so special. Because we were able to target and identify our weak points and try to improve them such that we will try to stop making the same mistakes.
Like you, I was also really glad for the many chances to write and improve and practice everything in bits, rather than a whole essay of 1500- 3000 words. I'm sure we have all learnt alot from this module! Because at the end of the day, it's not what we've been taught, but how much we incoporate what we've learnt to our daily lives
All the best yup!
Hey Qiying,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to hear you have learnt many useful skills too. In the beginning, I wasn't so sure as to whether I should've read this module next year, in time for graduation. As we progressed, I found there was something for everybody to learn, regardless of age and level.
Thanks for your comments! Cheers!
Dear Michelle,
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with you that reflection helps a person grow and to become a better man. I suppose that after the semester ends, I will also be trying to read and write more often (the keyword here is "trying"). If only there were a sequel to this course.
Thanks for your comments! Cheers!
Hi Hui Xia,
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, and thank you too, for vetting my cover letter and CV. I don't remember which group read my group report though, if you did, thank you once again. Yes, I agree with you that possessing effective communication skills should bring you closer to your goals.
Thank you once more for the comments! Cheers!
Hello Keldren,
ReplyDeleteIt was heartwarming to hear that you liked this post. Yes, it was great to have you as a learning companion too. Do come to me if you need help or anything at all. We will be keeping in touch (I see you in studying in school all the time!).
Thanks for your well wishes and your comments. Cheers!
Dear Brad,
ReplyDeleteThe pleasure is mine, really. It's difficult to imagine your workload for this course. For several posts, I tried going through all our classmates blogs, and when it came to commenting, I stopped at (insert random number below ten here). It must've taken a tremendous amount of effort to do that for 3 classes of students, and to keep at it all along.
It is rare to actually say something like "I've gotten to know my Prof. better throughout the duration of the course" in NUS. But I did. I can feel your passion for teaching and I know you enjoy what you do.
Continue inspiring kids like us and best wishes to you and your family. Thank you for your well wishes. Cheers!
Hey Jane,
ReplyDeleteYes, I could not agree more on that. In other modules they simply mark us down on our mistakes and most of the time we don't even know it!
And I agree with you, again, on how practical this course is for all of us. The skills or ideas we learn can be simply applied on our everyday interaction with people.
Thanks for the comments, Jane. Cheers!
Hey Roy
ReplyDeleteYour comment about every successful man having a woman and communication skills was very interesting! It really brought a smile to my face as I thought ‘How true this is!’
Yes! With all the invaluable inputs and first hand experience from everyone, I definitely did learn much about other cultures in just one short semester. In fact, hearing so much about the world outside, it really makes me feel like going out of my own comfort zone in Singapore to explore the world and meet people of different races and culture!
Thanks for you and your group’s feedback when you looked at the first draft of our report! You all pointed out our strengths and weakness in our report for us to take note and improve on. If I am not wrong, you also helped in vetting my cover letter and resume so thanks for the pointers!
Oh yes! Something very minor but I really appreciate it. Remember my biodata post? When I was walking with you on the bus-stop, you told me that instead of using hate, I could use others words as hate was a bit too strong. You mentioned that you did not comment on my blog as you were afraid that you would sound too negative and you were glad that you told me personally so I would not take it the wrong way. I think that was very sweet of you as it showed that you are sensitive to the feelings of others! :)
Have a great time in NUS and enjoy every bit of it as time always seems to fly so fast!!! Take care!
Hey Roy,
ReplyDeleteVery creative title! Being your blogging buddy I have seen the immense improvement you have made especially in your blogging. Your blog posts have expressed creativeness, humor and when necessary seriousness.
I have to agree on the part of reading! If writing is a part of communication I think reading should also be included. After all, it is a tool used to understand written articles.
Thank you very much for all the help! Especially when my emails reach at odd times of the day! Keep up that humor. Stay in touch!
Btw You played an awesome bad cop. That I was hoping you'd play the bad cop longer so that I can pick some skills at it!
ReplyDeleteHey Shu Juan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I learnt much in going through your research report and vetting your cover letter and CV.
All the best in your future endeavours.
Cheers!
Hey Priya,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I thought nobody noticed, haha. I have you to thank for the editing of most of my posts. And you're welcome! That's what blogging buddies are for. Yup!
Cheers!