Reflecting back on my first post, I regarded effective communication as a useful tool in conveying messages and in expressing one’s feelings in order to prevent any unnecessary embarrassments and conflicts.
My viewpoints were written in such a way that only the conveyer needs to practice the skills of effective communication, but not the receiver. However, after going through 12 weeks of professional communication “training”, it made me realized that it was also important for the receiver to practice these effective communication skills in order for effective communication to take place. I would not say that my understanding of the values of effective communication skills have changed, but rather, I have gained deeper insights of the various effective communication skills and how they play important roles not only in our daily lives but also in the working world. Moreover, these skills will definitely come in handy for undergraduates like us who will soon be stepping into the working world.
With the acquisition of verbal and non-verbal communication skills during this course, I’m glad to say that I have become a better communicator, or at least, I am getting less of the sort of response that was mentioned in my first post. (:
Although the workload for this module had been rather heavy, nonetheless, it was no doubt a great experience taking this module with the ever so nice and approachable Prof Brad, the very encouraging and positive Carolyn and Thomas, my blog posts editor Huiling, the ever so funny Travis, and last but not least, the very wonderful YOU.
Hereby, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for making this module such an enjoyable and memorable one! (:
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Mi-shel
I’m an Applied Mathematics major in NUS, currently in my third year of study. The courses in this field have trained me into an analytical and logical individual, with good reasoning and problem solving skills. Equipped with these skills and being one who is positive, determined, organized and responsible, I’m competent of completing challenging and critical tasks with confidence. As a dedicated learner and a passionate entity, I took up dance classes and other course like Pilates during the first two years of my university life and it was definitely a fun experience.
My notion is: “Work hard and play hard”.
My notion is: “Work hard and play hard”.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Everyone deserves a pat on their shoulders.
Writing a research report is definitely not an easy job. From the coming up of the research topic all the way to writing the final report, it was definitely sheer hard work. I believe that everyone have put in their fullest effort in coming up with this final piece of written report and thus, everyone deserves a pat on their shoulders.
Frankly speaking, I’ve never really written a research report before (other than the Project Work (PW) that we did in our Junior Colleges). I believe that through this research process, I have gotten a slight preview of how it is like to do academic research. I’ve also gained insights on how to go about writing a literature review, transmittal letter and what should be included in a full academic report. It was definitely a good exposure.
Effective communication skills are definitely required in a research team. Especially with the advance technologies, communication is no longer restricted to face to face communication. Through emails and short message services (sms-es), messages can be conveyed easily without meeting up with the other parties. However, using web conversations have their disadvantages too, especially for someone who is absent-minded like me.
Last Saturday, our group decided to meet up in school to finish our draft for the project. The initial time to meet was 9.30am, however, as Carolyn had something on in the morning, she can only meet us at 12pm and so I messaged Thomas to ask if he wanted to change the timing to 12pm instead. The conversation was as follows:
Thomas: “Up to you, I’ll be in school at 9.30am”
Apparently, my reply was like that:
Frankly speaking, I’ve never really written a research report before (other than the Project Work (PW) that we did in our Junior Colleges). I believe that through this research process, I have gotten a slight preview of how it is like to do academic research. I’ve also gained insights on how to go about writing a literature review, transmittal letter and what should be included in a full academic report. It was definitely a good exposure.
Effective communication skills are definitely required in a research team. Especially with the advance technologies, communication is no longer restricted to face to face communication. Through emails and short message services (sms-es), messages can be conveyed easily without meeting up with the other parties. However, using web conversations have their disadvantages too, especially for someone who is absent-minded like me.
Last Saturday, our group decided to meet up in school to finish our draft for the project. The initial time to meet was 9.30am, however, as Carolyn had something on in the morning, she can only meet us at 12pm and so I messaged Thomas to ask if he wanted to change the timing to 12pm instead. The conversation was as follows:
Thomas: “Up to you, I’ll be in school at 9.30am”
Apparently, my reply was like that:
“I think I’ll be in school at 9.30am.”
However, being absent-minded and being slow in my thinking process, my mind was still focused on the “Up to you” message. Thus, I had this mindset that I should be in school at 12pm. The next morning, when I received Thomas’s message and to my horror, I realized that I was supposed to be in school by 9.30am. Immediately, my face turned green.
However, being absent-minded and being slow in my thinking process, my mind was still focused on the “Up to you” message. Thus, I had this mindset that I should be in school at 12pm. The next morning, when I received Thomas’s message and to my horror, I realized that I was supposed to be in school by 9.30am. Immediately, my face turned green.
From the above incident, we can see that effective communication is definitely important. And I'm sure that I've learnt my lesson.
I have to say that I had fun working with Carolyn and Thomas. Everything went well. Everyone did their part for the project and there were no major disputes or conflicts within the team. Other than working on the project, I have also gained insights on how to operate certain computer programme. (=
Saturday, September 27, 2008
That joke was not funny at all
Living in a multicultural and multiracial society like Singapore, we must be extra sensitive and careful with our usage of words towards the other ethnic groups. This is to prevent any racial conflicts in order to maintain peace and harmony in Singapore.
I was at a fast food restaurant enjoying my lunch with a few of my friends when I overheard the conversation of a group of people which consisted of both Malays and Chinese sitting right next to us. They were on the topic of the F1 races and the following was part of their conversation:
A: How I wished I could catch the F1 race “live” at the grandstand. But the tickets are way too expensive!
B: Why not? I think you can just join the crowd outside the race circuit if you want to watch the race without tickets.
A: I don’t think that is possible. I’m sure there will be a lot of CISCO auxiliary police officers standing on guard to prevent the crowd from watching the race in order to protect the interest of those have bought the tickets.
B: If that is the case, carry one big piece of roast pork with you when you are approaching the block out area!
(For clarification with regards to the joke that B has made:
Muslims are not supposed to consume or even touch pork. What B actually meant was that if you were to carry one big piece of roast pork and were to approach the CISCO auxiliary police officers, they would shun away, in the sense, making way for you to watch the F1 race.) ** Note: In general, most of the CISCO auxiliary police officers are Malays**
On hearing that, almost everyone burst into laughter except their Malay friends. Their Malay friends looked really offended and one of them even commented that the joke that B made was not funny at all. Shortly after, B realized that he had made an offensive comment and thus, he quickly apologized and attempted to change to another topic.
Understanding cultural norms and values of the various ethnic groups here in Singapore is especially important as Singapore is a nation made up of many different ethnic groups of different cultures and religion. Being well-informed of the different cultures and values of the various ethnic groups will not only allows us to prevent conflicts between racial groups but also allows us to communicate effectively with other people of different racial groups.
I was at a fast food restaurant enjoying my lunch with a few of my friends when I overheard the conversation of a group of people which consisted of both Malays and Chinese sitting right next to us. They were on the topic of the F1 races and the following was part of their conversation:
A: How I wished I could catch the F1 race “live” at the grandstand. But the tickets are way too expensive!
B: Why not? I think you can just join the crowd outside the race circuit if you want to watch the race without tickets.
A: I don’t think that is possible. I’m sure there will be a lot of CISCO auxiliary police officers standing on guard to prevent the crowd from watching the race in order to protect the interest of those have bought the tickets.
B: If that is the case, carry one big piece of roast pork with you when you are approaching the block out area!
(For clarification with regards to the joke that B has made:
Muslims are not supposed to consume or even touch pork. What B actually meant was that if you were to carry one big piece of roast pork and were to approach the CISCO auxiliary police officers, they would shun away, in the sense, making way for you to watch the F1 race.) ** Note: In general, most of the CISCO auxiliary police officers are Malays**
On hearing that, almost everyone burst into laughter except their Malay friends. Their Malay friends looked really offended and one of them even commented that the joke that B made was not funny at all. Shortly after, B realized that he had made an offensive comment and thus, he quickly apologized and attempted to change to another topic.
Understanding cultural norms and values of the various ethnic groups here in Singapore is especially important as Singapore is a nation made up of many different ethnic groups of different cultures and religion. Being well-informed of the different cultures and values of the various ethnic groups will not only allows us to prevent conflicts between racial groups but also allows us to communicate effectively with other people of different racial groups.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Green Roofs (edited)
Rapid urbanization has brought about many environmental problems to the world and “Urban Heat Island effect” is one of them. With the increase in usage of concrete and steel surfaces due to land developments, our environment trapped and released more heat into the atmosphere. This not only raised the temperature of the surroundings, but also increased our energy consumption. One possible solution to this “Urban Heat Island effect” is to increase the amount of greenery in our environment. As we all know, land is scarce in Singapore. Thus, I think it will be a more rational decision to integrate greenery into our building structures rather than planting trees on land. This in turn suggests that green roofs may be the answer to our problem.
The green roof technology is a lightweight garden that emphasizes on creating self-sustaining communities. It does not require intensive maintenance and is relatively low in cost. Moreover, it fits nicely on the roofs in Singapore. In fact, a pilot green roof project was carried out in 2005 (in Punggol) and the study showed that the green roof has helped to lower the temperature, save energy, remove carbon dioxide in the environment and improve air pollution. Since the green roof proved to have many benefits, the chances of it being implemented over every roof in Singapore are rather high. Therefore, it is worth investigating on the possible problems that may occur due to the green roof.
A survey will be necessary to investigate people’s attitude towards the green roof – do they support the idea of creating a green roof over every roof in Singapore or are they against this idea. Furthermore, this survey may aid us in determining whether the possible problems that may arise from the installation of the green roof are the reasons why they oppose the idea.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research Question:
Are NUS students for or against the idea of having green roofs over every roof in Singapore?
Hypothesis:
Students in NUS are against the idea of having green roofs over every roof in Singapore because of the possible problems that may occur due to the installation of green roofs.
Problem Statement:
The objective of this research study is to determine NUS students' opinions on the installation of green roofs in Singapore and indirectly find out the possible problems that may occur due to these installations.
Purpose statement:
The objective of this report is to alert the authorities involved in the green roof project about the possible problems that may occur and provide them with some suggestions to enhance the development of the green roof technology.
The green roof technology is a lightweight garden that emphasizes on creating self-sustaining communities. It does not require intensive maintenance and is relatively low in cost. Moreover, it fits nicely on the roofs in Singapore. In fact, a pilot green roof project was carried out in 2005 (in Punggol) and the study showed that the green roof has helped to lower the temperature, save energy, remove carbon dioxide in the environment and improve air pollution. Since the green roof proved to have many benefits, the chances of it being implemented over every roof in Singapore are rather high. Therefore, it is worth investigating on the possible problems that may occur due to the green roof.
A survey will be necessary to investigate people’s attitude towards the green roof – do they support the idea of creating a green roof over every roof in Singapore or are they against this idea. Furthermore, this survey may aid us in determining whether the possible problems that may arise from the installation of the green roof are the reasons why they oppose the idea.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research Question:
Are NUS students for or against the idea of having green roofs over every roof in Singapore?
Hypothesis:
Students in NUS are against the idea of having green roofs over every roof in Singapore because of the possible problems that may occur due to the installation of green roofs.
Problem Statement:
The objective of this research study is to determine NUS students' opinions on the installation of green roofs in Singapore and indirectly find out the possible problems that may occur due to these installations.
Purpose statement:
The objective of this report is to alert the authorities involved in the green roof project about the possible problems that may occur and provide them with some suggestions to enhance the development of the green roof technology.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The avoiding game
Oranges and carrots can be said to be the best of friends in the world of fruits. They make a great glass of orange-carrot fruit juice when blended together in the juicer. But what if one day, the oranges were replaced by grapefruits (which appear to look exactly like oranges but taste bitter and sour)?
Crystal and Elaine were the best of friends whom hit off really well, just like oranges and carrots. However, after Crystal got appointed as the band major (one with the most authority in the band other than the teachers and instructors), Elaine could sense changes in Crystal. Crystal became aloof. In fact, when Elaine had something to discuss or share with Crystal, she always gave the nonchalant attitude. As time goes by, Elaine started to feel uncomfortable and became tongue-tied whenever she is with Crystal. Thus, whenever they had the opportunity to be with each other, Elaine will come up with an excuse to make a move in other to avoid the awkwardness between them. Furthermore, Elaine started to feel inferior, especially during band practices. This is mainly because she only holds a small position in the band whereas her used-to-be best friend was the band major.
This made life difficult for Elaine, but she did not make any effort to salvage this friendship. She chose to play the “avoiding” game. If you were her friends or in her shoes, what will you do? Play the “avoiding” game or make an effort to clarify the matter with Crystal?
Crystal and Elaine were the best of friends whom hit off really well, just like oranges and carrots. However, after Crystal got appointed as the band major (one with the most authority in the band other than the teachers and instructors), Elaine could sense changes in Crystal. Crystal became aloof. In fact, when Elaine had something to discuss or share with Crystal, she always gave the nonchalant attitude. As time goes by, Elaine started to feel uncomfortable and became tongue-tied whenever she is with Crystal. Thus, whenever they had the opportunity to be with each other, Elaine will come up with an excuse to make a move in other to avoid the awkwardness between them. Furthermore, Elaine started to feel inferior, especially during band practices. This is mainly because she only holds a small position in the band whereas her used-to-be best friend was the band major.
This made life difficult for Elaine, but she did not make any effort to salvage this friendship. She chose to play the “avoiding” game. If you were her friends or in her shoes, what will you do? Play the “avoiding” game or make an effort to clarify the matter with Crystal?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The art that we need to master
“Oh, you’ve finished what you wanted to say?" “So?”
These two replies often appear (in fact they appeared too often) in my conversations with others. This clearly shows that the other party did not get what I wanted to convey. Not being able to put across my messages concisely and precisely is one BIG problem I face when communicating with others. Sometimes, even my mum says that I should sign up for some communication classes to improve on the way I express myself. I guess this is one of the reasons why developing effective communication skills are important to me.
The existence of communication has been there in our daily lives knowing and unknowingly. It is through this channel that we are able to put across our messages, love, anger or even frustrations. Having good communication skills like the proper gestures, facial expressions, or even silence at appropriate times not only prevents misunderstandings but also embarrassment. It also shows a form of respect to parties in the conversations or situations. Hence, it is no doubt important for us to develop effective communication skills. As we all know, being misunderstood or embarrassed is never a pleasant experience.
Effective communication is much needed at home, at work, between friends or in a relationship. It is not only an essential tool that prevents us from getting into conflicts between family members or friends. It is also an indispensable weapon that we need to arm ourselves with to protect us from losing our jobs. Thus, effective communication is an important art that we need to learn and master.
These two replies often appear (in fact they appeared too often) in my conversations with others. This clearly shows that the other party did not get what I wanted to convey. Not being able to put across my messages concisely and precisely is one BIG problem I face when communicating with others. Sometimes, even my mum says that I should sign up for some communication classes to improve on the way I express myself. I guess this is one of the reasons why developing effective communication skills are important to me.
The existence of communication has been there in our daily lives knowing and unknowingly. It is through this channel that we are able to put across our messages, love, anger or even frustrations. Having good communication skills like the proper gestures, facial expressions, or even silence at appropriate times not only prevents misunderstandings but also embarrassment. It also shows a form of respect to parties in the conversations or situations. Hence, it is no doubt important for us to develop effective communication skills. As we all know, being misunderstood or embarrassed is never a pleasant experience.
Effective communication is much needed at home, at work, between friends or in a relationship. It is not only an essential tool that prevents us from getting into conflicts between family members or friends. It is also an indispensable weapon that we need to arm ourselves with to protect us from losing our jobs. Thus, effective communication is an important art that we need to learn and master.
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