I’ve never thought about what effective communication meant to me. I mean, I can speak and I can hear. How is that ineffective? Do we need another sensory feedback facility? Somehow, throughout my life, I’ve never thought further than my tertiary education. With two more years left in NUS, I guess now is as good a time as any to start thinking about my future. Regardless of whether it lies in graduate school or in the workplace, being able to communicate well with others will definitely help me to progress in life.
I’ve never been much of a group project kind of person, or a presentation kind of person either. I’d very much prefer to work alone compared to working with others. Also, I’d cringe whenever I have to give presentations. These things are such a big deal to me that I avoid modules with projects or presentations at all costs. I think I’ve always worried about the conflicts that might arise due to clashing personalities or group members submitting sub-standard work or even about whether I can get my ideas across to my audience precisely. Wow, reflecting on that, I think I would benefit lots by equipping myself with solid communication skills. Just the ability to share my thoughts more accurately with others as well as the ability to communicate and deal with people better would help me tremendously. I believe that being able to connect well with people, being able to perform well during interviews and being able to write informative and impressive applications will prepare me for the world when I leave school. It would even benefit me when I start on my final year project next year.
This blog post sort of functioned as a platform for self-reflection. I started out (yeah, this whole post took me about 3 hours to type out) not having a clue what effective communication meant to me. Yet now I see that even in school, I need to have a good grasp of communication skills so that tasks like group projects, presentations and SEP application become smooth and painless processes. It’ll be even more important out in the real world (that’s not to say that while in NUS, we’re living in some Sims-like virtual world) when we get to interact with a more diverse group of people—people from different races, backgrounds, religion, social status; I still want to get my message across clearly and I still want to be able to speak and share confidently.
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That's a powerful reflection Pei En! Sometimes we take communication for granted, we don't actually realise it plays such a big role in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI'm much like you, someone who's not into "group projects" kind of person. When I'm trusted into such situations, I often take a backseat and see how things pane out. Wrong Attitude! It's time to take more initiative and be more vocal, because ultimately if things go bad, I would often blame myself for not speaking up at appropriate times.
But that's not to say we should just blabber off too much, because that would also tip the scale towards the other extreme, which I think is more irritating in a group scenario. :)
Hello Pei En,
ReplyDeleteI think effective communication skills not only benefit us when we enter the workforce, in fact, it affects our everyday life. I too do not prefer project work; I very much prefer working on my own. However, as I reflected upon your post, I wondered how often in life am I able/allowed to live "on my own"? More often than not, we are required to socialize, work in teams, attend meetings etc.. So while working with a group of people may not be what we like, it does teach us (and force us) to compromise, practice tolerance and communicate effectively. Let us both work on our "people" skills and communication skills to our benefit. :)
Hey Pei En!
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing up the fact that you like to work alone because I definitely would not have guessed from your rather outgoing personality! :D Then again, we all have the other side of us don't we?
That aside, I used to be like you. I used to be afraid of taking modules alone and/or taking modules which requires me to join a project group. And I prefered to do certain things alone. But as I went along, I decided to take on a personal challenge to take a module alone and to my surprise it has benefitted me quite a lot.
It has helped me not only in expanding my social circle (Taking EC1301 alone was how I got to know you!), but it has also enabled me to brush up on my interpersonal skills such that to a certain extent I can deal with people much more easily now. And studying with a friend or two, I realised, has also helped me, especially when I have doubts about lectures to clear.
Therefore, I'm sure as we go along this course, someday you'd cruise through all your future presentations and we'll always be looking forward to trying out new modules, and prepared to face new people with an open heart and mind! (:
Hi Pei En,
ReplyDeleteYou just said what I want to say! I'm also very nervous when doing presentations, and I don't like to do projects with strangers. I can't believe that I would take ES2007S this semester, as I should have avoided this kind of modules which require lots of interactions with others. However, just as you mentioned that we could benefit a lot through effective communication skills, and thus we must improve it. Gladly, we make a good start through attending this course. Let's keep on practicing!^_^
This is an effective reflection, Pei En. I can sense as I move from the intro to the conclusion that you have used the process as a sort of guiding light into unknown territory. In that way, I appreciate both your response and your willingness to embark on the journey.
ReplyDeleteActually, I also think ES2007S might just be the perfect place for you now as well. We will do all the things you seem to fear: work in groups, do a project, present in front of others. Confronting such "demons" should be a good way for you to develop strengths that you didn't know you have. It will also prepare you for your future.
At the same time, you will be able to share of yourself, just like you have in this finely written post. That can be a boost for your own confidence, I think, and inspiration for others.
Thank you!
I'm the same way when it comes to projects. I do like getting help if I need it, but I dislike having to discuss with others when working on something. That was one of the reasons I signed up for this class. Like you, I hoped that learning to communicate well would make me dislike group work a little less.
ReplyDelete