Overall Reflection of ES2007S

ES2007S is the best module that I have taken so far in my 2 years in NUS. I am able to learn many practical skills in communication in the professional realm and to apply these skills real time in the various platforms of the course. The following are some important aspects of this module that I would like to highlight:

Communication

I have learnt to systematically manage my own communication in both written and real time communication (verbal & non-verbal) and the 7 Cs brought a very clear picture as I evaluate my own communication methods. Ultimately, the manner I bring my ideas across is as important as the ideas themselves.

Project Management

The heavy work load of the project (proposal + oral discussion + oral presentation = 40%) is worth the amount of experience that I got. I have revisited the basics of holding a meeting, building the team dynamics, liaising with external agencies, proposal writing and presentation management. It is very rewarding to synthesize a project that could really worked in the actual cooperate environment.

Leadership & Self-management

While others associate leadership with leaders, I believe everyone is a leader in a form or another. Emotional management, time planning, goal setting and resource organization are essential to both the individual and team. Through this module, I have gained insights to my own personal flaws that would hinder my career in the future. I am grateful that I can work on these flaws before stepping into the workforce.

In conclusion, ES2007S provided me the highest quantity and quality of these soft skills per module as compared to others. I really recommend this module to students who are seeking skills to bring out the best of themselves and to get a head-start as they step into the corporate world.

Oral Presentation Reflection

I am proud of the whole team as the oral presentation was done at a higher standard than I initially expected. The efforts that all individuals of the team were excellent as we all have outdone ourselves and improved as compared to the beginning of the team’s formation.

The Slides:

As the coordinator of the team, I was in charge of the compiling of the slides. I was greatly inspired by Brad’s ‘clean & simple’ style and I tried the ‘simple is better’ and ‘picture story’ methods together for the first time in my life. Pictures and words leverage on the pictorial and audio method of input into the human brain while stories leave an impression in episodic memory of the audience. Therefore, I am delighted to witness the effectiveness of the ‘new’ slide design and I will continue to use and refine it.

The Play Making:

The effectiveness of a team depends on the synergy rather than summation of individual strength of the members. We are able cover the weakness of one another during the presentation and the Q&A section. It is almost impossible to know every detail of the project but it is vital to know who has the details at the ‘back of his/her hand’. I am very happy to see the way we developed each other’s persuasion during the Q&A in a ‘fluid’ manner where the ‘transition’ is smooth.

I also anticipated the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of our presentation, which is the weak relevance with URA. Therefore, we laid ‘ground works’ like defining the roles and details of various civil service departments for each team and gave out hand outs to explain their roles. We also gave URA a more advisory role rather than the operational role in the proposed project in order to keep URA’s linkage to the presentation. This argument was weak but we managed with the ‘smoke screen’ effect of our ground works.

My Delivery of Presentation:

I am very much a Mandarin speaking person and most of my stage experience is with the Chinese language. For years, I have been borrowing my Chinese experience into the English field. In recent 2 years, I am able to speak and think with both language separated and independently. However, I know my command of my English vocals still has much to improve. Thus, I only use simple words and avoid complex words that I will most likely stumble. I think I should sing more English songs rather than Chinese ones on my Karaoke sessions =)

Presentation Videos:

• Part 1 of 3 : http://youtu.be/zRVjmeGg1Oo
• Part 2 of 3 : http://youtu.be/VWXKcYHw8YY
• Part 3 of 3 : http://youtu.be/RFV8XFhqsQI