Final Reflection on Learning (Post #4)

After 12 weeks of ES2007S lesson, we have come to the end of the semester. I believed that what many of us have learnt from this module will prove to be useful for our remaining time in NUS as well as when we join the workforce in the near future.

Effective communication is a skill that is applicable for all situations. In fact, I had employed quite a number of the skills taught in my recent internship applications- cover letter writing, resume writing etc. For one of the interviews that I went, I was asked to make a presentation as part of the interview process. That was when I began to appreciate the lessons taught in class and put them into practice.  Regardless of the results of the interviews (which will be revealed at the end of this week), I am now more confident of myself and definitely not that nervous when preparing for an interview or presentation.

In addition, I learnt that the most important component of effective communication is not just about expressing our ideas clearly but also ensuring that we are able to correctly interpret the intentions of the people we are conversing with. Essentially, effective communication does not just deal with the concept of speaking but also understanding. With that, I have learnt to understand people not just from their words (verbally) but also to observe the non-verbal cues. Using the example of the interview I went to, I may have come prepared with a presentation but when the interviewer started to show signs of disinterest such as glancing elsewhere, I must adapt to the circumstance- i.e. abandon the script and mention something interesting on the spot so as to catch the interviewer’s attention.

It is also good to learn that an effective communicator is never due to his/her innate talent but that practice is the determining factor. That should provide encouragement to some of us here who are not very confident of our communication skills. The series of activities- peer teaching, cover letter writing, mock interviews and eventually a proposal presentation allowed me to be exposed to some of the basic elements of effective communication which I am very grateful to. 

Thank you Mdm Fazilah and my classmates for the wonderful experience! 

Reflection on Team-based Research Project Proposal (Post #3)

I am glad that I was able to work with very wonderful team mates and at the end of the day, all of us were very proud of our Happisnap solution. Here are some of the takeaways I have gained from the project:

1.       

      1. Everyone was too cordial with each other

In the first meeting, which was a brainstorming session, many ideas surfaced. However, the team was rather indecisive in filtering the topics. This may be because no one really voiced out what they liked or disliked about a particular plan. With everyone saying that they were flexible with any topic, it made it hard to proceed with the project at the initial stage. Fortunately, this situation did not last for long as everyone began to know each other better and was more willing to raise their concerns

This is actually a common situation that many of us will face in the workplace. At times, colleagues may be reticent about voicing any problems lest it incur the wrath of the counterparty. When conversing with superiors, we may also be hesitant in pointing out any errors or inadequacies. However, the most appropriate course of action is actually to be frank to each other. This will help to build trust and minimise occurrences of misunderstanding. To mitigate the possibility of coming across as too blunt, we could try to phrase our concerns in a more tactful manner. With better understanding of each other, work progress will be more efficient and productivity can be raised.

2.     2. Team members have different commitments

There were instances when some people may not have the same level of commitments throughout the duration of the project.

Our team was able to manage this very well as everyone was comfortable with the idea of everyone contributing different amount throughout the process.  This is a very useful approach in the workplace but it would also depend on the circumstances. Some companies may have very conservative corporate work culture that do not allow their employees to adjust their level of commitments flexibly.

Nonetheless, it is still ideal if one can deliver sustained performance throughout the process. Having unpredictable performance may give the wrong impression that you are not that reliable and consistent in your work.

3.     3. The need to constantly reviewing project progress

Initially, the team had selected the solution of promoting work-life balance amongst other initiatives to help promote happiness. It was only much later that the team realised that the solution was too banal and that the focus group (everyone from young to old) was actually too huge to tackle. The main reason why all of us overlooked this problem was due to the lack of constantly reviewing the project progress and checking whether it fulfilled our intention which was to target the secondary school age group.

This is frequently observed in the work environment too. At times, some of us may be too engrossed in our project that we often forgot the real intention of what the project aims to solve. For instance, when designing a phone for the elderly, some of us may be too pre-occupied with the idea of adding many features to the phone. The correct approach would be to understand what the elderly needs and how the product fulfils the requirements, which in most cases should be issues of readability and volume control.