Critical reflection on learning in the course(Blog Post #4)

It has been a long 13 weeks since the start of this module and the journey was a challenging and yet fulfilling one. Since the start of this module, my objectives were to improve my presentation skills and pronunciation of certain words. Although I practiced a lot before my presentations, I have yet to get rid of my stage fright. However, I feel more confident during my presentations now than I did in the past.

Besides the objectives that I have set for myself, I also learnt a lot more about communication during this 13 weeks. My favorite topics were “conflict management” and “relationships in the workplace” where leadership played a part in the latter. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument(TKI) helped me to learn that there are 5 conflict management modes which I think, would help me a lot in the future as I would most likely be working in teams and conflicts between team members are inevitable.

“Relationships in the workplace” also taught me that how having an effective leader in a company can affect the whole company in a positive way and lead the company to success. An example of this would be the South-West Airlines Case Study where effective organizational practices created an environment where the employees are happy and this led to the company’s success. My group took interest in this case study and wanted to find out exactly how effective leadership would affect a team or an organization.

Through this team project, my team has learnt the qualities of an effective leader and more importantly, how to develop these qualities so that we can each become effective leaders in the future. Although I was short of an effective leader in this group project, I will try and develop effective leadership qualities so that I can be an effective leader in the future.

Overall, this module has taught me a lot of communication skills and has better prepared me for the future that lies beyond SIT. I have become a better communicator and I hope to work with my classmates again.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict(Blog Post #3)

This conflict occurred last year during one of my classes. It was the week after our mid-term examinations and the tension in class was high as the lecturer was returning us our exam scripts. As the lecturer returned our scripts, I observed my classmates’ expressions varied from smiles to looks of disappointment.There was also a heavy discussion of results between different cliques in the class. Suddenly, there was a conflict between two of my classmates. For convenience sake, I will address them as Tom and Jerry.

Tom, who scored well on his exam, had asked jerry about his results. Jerry then raised his voice and said: “Why do you want to know?”. Tom was taken aback by jerry’s reaction to his question and said: “I was just asking, why are you so angry?”. Jerry flared up and claimed that Tom was asking because he had good results and wanted to show off. Tom was angered by the accusation and said that he was just asking out of concern for jerry. Upon hearing this, Jerry just stormed out of the class. From then on, the friendship between tom and jerry had turned sour.

From the scenario above, we can tell that the conflict occurred due to a misunderstanding on jerry’s part. Tom had asked jerry about his results out of goodwill because he was concerned for his classmate and could offer help if he needed it. On the other hand, jerry did not score well and felt embarrassed about his results which had caused him to become defensive and accuse tom of showing off.  In my opinion, jerry should not have become defensive as tom was just concerned about jerry’s results. If jerry had put aside his ego and apologized to tom, he could have salvaged their friendship.

After reading this scenario, what would you have done if you were in the same situation as jerry? 

Evaluating listening skills and non-verbal behaviour(Blog Post #2)

Recently, I observed an intriguing conversation between my brother and my parents. We were having lunch and my parents had asked my brother about his army experiences. My brother responded excitedly as he shared his army experiences with my parents and using hand gestures to describe how his training went. For example, he held his hands up with one hand like a hand gun, and the other hand cupped, to imitate himself holding a rifle. I observed that my parents had maintained eye contact with my brother and had leaned forward to listen to him.They also gave occasional nods to show that they understood what my brother was saying and that they were in the conversation.

Halfway through the conversation, my brother began to use his phone and started playing his favourite mobile game. Although my parents were still asking my brother questions, I could tell that he was already uninterested in the conversation as his gaze was fixated on his phone. He took a while  to reply the questions that my parents had asked and had turned his back towards  my parents. He also gave uninterested replies such as "um" or "ya" which I thought was rude of my brother to do so. After a while, my parents sensed that my brother was not interested in the conversation anymore and left the dining table looking disappointed.

Due to the technological revolution, the world is becoming more closely connected through the internet. It has placed a greater divide between generations. In the generation culture of today,children are raised around technology and are closely connected with their friends and family. Parents are now more protective of their child and will defend their child even if he or she is in the wrong. This leads the child to believe that everything he or she does is correct as they have their parent's support. This is why my brother thinks it is okay to be rude to my parents as my parents have always defended him from young.

Blog Post 1: Reflective writing: The Strengths and Challenges of communicating and the objectives I want to achieve(Revised)

Communication plays an important part in our everyday lives. It is a way for us to express our emotions and ideas which allow our friends and families to understand us better. There are three types of communication; verbal (face to face) and non-verbal(body language, hand gestures) and written(e-mails or text messages). Intimacy and intonation varies with each type of communication. For example, verbal communication can have a higher level of intimacy and a friendlier tone as compared to written communication. *When we talk to our friends/ family members face to face, it gives an immediate feedback on what is being said, from their facial expressions and intonations.Whereas, for written communication, we are unable to see how our friends interpret our message and could only base on the written tone which may lead to misunderstandings as our friends can interpret it wrongly than what is being intended.*(Revised)

*A strength that I have in communication is I am able to engage the audience easily. During my presentations, I project my voice well so that my audience will be able to hear me clearly. This ensures that I have their attention which will lead to an effective presentation. For the challenges I have is that I tend to pronounce certain words incorrectly which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings during conversations with friends and could affect the quality of my presentation too. I also need improvement in my command of English as I often make grammatical errors.*(Revised)

Two objectives I want to achieve in this course are that I want to be able to communicate effectively and confidently in front of a large group of people as I have stage fright which causes me to stutter in between presentations. I also want to learn about the correct and proper pronunciation of words as I always pronounce words wrongly. One way to achieve my objectives is by participating actively in class and group discussions. I will also practice in front of my friends before presentations and get constructive feedback from them to improve my presentation and communication skills. 

Blog Post 1: Reflective writing: The Strengths and Challenges of communicating and the objectives I want to achieve

Communication plays an important part in our everyday lives. It is a way for us to express our emotions and ideas which allow our friends and families to understand us better. There are four types of communication; verbal (face to face), physical (Hand gestures), non-physical(body language) and written(e-mails or text messages). Intimacy and intonation varies with each type of communication. For example, verbal communication can have a higher level of intimacy and a friendlier tone as compared to written communication.

Communication has its strengths and challenges. One of the strengths of communication is that it gives camaraderie. Countries have gathered together to negotiate peace treaties and understand each other and thus, preventing wars and the loss of innocent lives. People also talk about common topics such as their likes and dislikes or discussions about family or schoolwork which helps them to understand each other better and hence improving relationships between friends and family.   However, communication also has its challenges. Bad communication skills can lead to misunderstandings between friends and family, eventually resulting in a disagreement. Thus, it is important for us to have effective communication skills. However, effective communication is not inborn and everybody has their own strengths and challenges in communicating.

Two objectives I want to achieve in this course are that I want to be able to communicate effectively and confidently in front of a large group of people as I have stage fright which causes me to stutter in between presentations. I also want to learn about the correct and proper pronunciation of words as I always pronounce words wrongly. One way to achieve my objectives is by participating actively in class and group discussions. I will also practice in front of my friends before presentations and get constructive feedback from them to improve my presentation and communication skills. 

Setting my own objectives

How important is it for you to develop effective communication skills?

I personally feel that it is very important to develop effective communication skills because it is beneficial in the long run. For example, it will give a good expression when you go for a job interview in the future. Being a good communicator can also help us to express ourselves and our ideas more effectively and can boost your self-esteem. Effective communication skills are also an important factor in teamwork. If a team member is good communicator, he or she can help to bring the team together and present the group's idea clearly and effectively.

What might you do in this course to help yourself develop as an effective interpersonal communicator?

What i might do is that i would participate more actively in group discussions. I would also get tips from youtube or my lecturers to help me become a good communicator. With the tips i have gotten, I will practice with my classmates so that we can all become an effective interpersonal communicator.

My groupmate's blogs:
Fitri: http://onefivezero-feed.blogspot.sg/
Jing Guang: http://eportfolio-jg.blogspot.sg/
Wazir: http://nicewazir93.blogspot.sg