#Blog 6 Never say goodbye to Professional Communication

I am really lucky to take ES2007S in my last semester in NUS. I have learnt more than expected. After going through the whole module, I would like to say I have got the strategies to play well in three roles in the future-an active listener; an effective presenter; a win-win negotiator. Why do I say so? Let us briefly go through what I have learnt in this module.

Firstly, I got a whole picture in mind-communication actually is not only the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded by the listeners, but also you  can correctly interpret others' information and feedback. The main problem is to eliminate sources of confusion in communication such as cultural issues, mistaken assumptions and improper gestures or verbal choices.

We have many channels to realize communication. Face-to-face meeting, telephones and video conferencing are main verbal communication channels. In terms of  written communication channels, it consists of emails, letters, reports etc.  For verbal communication, proper body and facial language will make great contributions and good writing skills and formal structures are very important for written communication.

Through the tutorials and presentations,  I find that eye contact and facial expressions as well as gestures in communication are the three main parts we need to pay attention to. Eye is an direct and most expressive part of our body. Direct eye contact shows confidence. Smile conveys the most part of facial expression.
Besides, we would send numerous messages by the way we walk, talk, stand and sit.

In terms of written skills, I think I benefit a lot from 7C's and I will apply it all the way in the future. The spirit of teamwork and leadership are another two important things I learnt from my group members though the
proposal project and peer teaching.

The time I spent with my ES2007S family is valuable. The memory will last forever. I wish to thank Ms. Fazilah for her great help and time to share her experience and knowledge with us. I am also grateful to my group members-Zu Rong, Greg and Kitty, who always support me and kindly provide me with many useful suggestions.

#Blog 5 Oral presenation review

To make a good oral presentation, it involves great attention to the needs of our audience, careful preparation, and the way to delivery. It is a kind of art equipped with visual aids and computer presentation software as well as presentation skills.

There is some space for me to improve myself, although I made great progress by trials and errors.

My first oral presentation this semester was about Surveys and Interviews-Setting Questions. Some basic questions I asked to myself are:

1. Who will I be speaking to?
2. What do they know about my topic already?
3. What will they want to know about my topic?
4. What do I want them to know by the end of my talk?

By answering these questions, I made sure that I was in tune with my audience. The most important thing is not what I want to say about my topic, but what my audience wants to hear about it.

Besides, to make an effective presentation, I tried to adjust the content and structure to the medium of speech. I found that a presentation could become a failure if the content is too complex for the audience to follow or the structure is over complicated, so I made the difficult points easier to understand. For example, I tried to use some common choices of phrases and vocabulary to define Survey and Interview. Also, I tried to illustrate enough examples to explain the difficult points.

In addition, to give my presentation a simple and logical structure, it always began with an introduction to highlight the main points I was going to cover and ended with a conclusion in which I reaffirmed the important points.

I have to admit that people vary in their ability to speak confidently in public. It is easy for me to get nervous and cannot help myself to show my nervousness. How to improve my presentation skills has always been bothering me. Here are some tips I learned from past experiences and related materials.

In peer teaching presentation, Kitty and I made rehearsals by ourselves. It helped. We pointed out each other’s shortcomings like voice quality which involves attention to volume, speed and fluency. Maybe next time we can ask some friends to take a video tape for me, I can find more unproper places, such as clarity and pronunciations as well as facial expressions.

Visual aids and some interaction parts in oral presentation always help to make it more lively. I think it is also the part I am most satisfied with in peer teaching presentation.

Blog #4 Cultural Conflict

I experienced a true story about cultural conflict. It happened when I exchanged to the University of Waterloo in Canada. I had to adapt myself to dealing independently with the challenges outside a support familiar network. I settled down at a rent house outside campus and shared it with two other Canadian girls. They were very war-hearted and taught me how to use each facility. To build a strong neighbor-ship with them and good networking, I was always being considerable to them and treated them as my friends. Every time after I went to the supermarket nearby, they would always get a small gift from me. To be frank, we really got on well with each other. I liked the direct way they behaved. However, I felt very uncomfortable after they asked me to pay them for the toilet paper they bought. Oh, my god! I shouted out loudly in my heart. I bought them gifts and treated them as my friends but they were calculating and unwilling to make the smallest sacrifice.My face showed disappointment obviously, which made them confused. I said nothing and gave two bulks to them.

However, what happened later made me even frustrated. Sometimes, they were too busy with school that they left the plates for breakfast in the basin and washed them after school at night. Although it really caused much inconvenience to me as I had to cook lunch for myself sometimes, I never told them a single word. I washed and dried the dishes for them two or three times a week without any words for thanks from them. I did not want to bother about this and pretended everything was fine. Of course, I did clean everything after cooking. One day, I rushed to school for my mid-term exam and left the plates for my lunch in the basin. After exams, I went out for dinner and shopping, totally forgot the dirty plates. When I got home, it was already 11pm. I suddenly realized I did not wash the dishes. The basin was empty but a tiny piece of white appeared on my door saying “Hi, Ashley. Could you please do not leave the dishes in the basin till night? We have to cook dinner every night as you see. Thank you.” Tears came out of my eyes. I did not understand. I felt they never treated me as friends while I did so. I helped them thousands of times without mentioning and they complained when they did only once for me.

I was in mood in the following week. One of my classmates, who was also a new Canadian-Chinese friend made in Canada, noticed that and asked. After a conversation with her, I realized that there exist differences in the cultural understanding between the two people in question. In traditional Chinese culture, selfless dedication is an important value while the western culture’s value emphasizes self-centered consciousness and a strong sense of independence. It includes responsibility for selves. Everyone’s way of life and quality of life will depend on their ability, so everyone must fight themselves and their personal interests first. Thus, taking the initiative to help others or accept help others in the West is often very embarrassing because to accept help only proves inability while helping others would be considered interference in other people's private affairs. The individual value of Chinese is reflected in the dedication. In China, the active concern for others, giving great care and thoughtfulness is a virtue. Therefore, no matter what ages they are, Chinese are willing to take the initiative to care about the family affair, which in the West would be regarded as "regard your own business"

Obviously, what happened between my housemates and I proved this. It did not mean they did not treat me friends. It is just the differences of cultural value.

BLOG #3 Application Letter Critique

Details of the job I apply for:
http://careers-gov-jobs.jobstreet.com.sg/Jobs/jobdesc.asp?aid=1&jid=91016634&did=15&gf=0

Responsibilities As a member of statistics team, you will be responsible for the collection and compilation of statistics  in one or more specific fields, conduct statistical research and analysis, develop new systems and indicators to support users' statistical requirements. You will participate in and work with a wide spectrum of statistical data to assist in decision- and policy-making. You are comfortable working both alone and as a member of a team. Requirements - At least a good honours degree in Economics, Mathematics, Statistics or other related disciplines  and subjects with substantial quantitative content. Eg. Accountancy, Information Technology which are relevant for specific jobs. - Possess strong analytical and quantitative skills with the ability to learn and apply computer packages  for statistical work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KE 7 Hall Residence 1A, Kent Ridge Road Singapore 119224 anniewang1988@hotmail.com Feb 13, 2011 HR Officer Department of Statistics 100 High Street #05-01 The Treasury Singapore 179434   Dear HR Officer, This is WANG AI from National University of Singapore. I will graduate in May of 2011 with a bachelor honors degree (CAP 4.2/5) in Statistics and Applied Probability (specialization in finance and business Statistics). With a strong mathematical and statistical background, I am professional in the design of surveys; the collection, processing, and analysis of data; the interpretation of the results; and decision making in the face of uncertainty. It has been a privilege to have experienced four-year statistical training with computer tools. I am keen on an analyst position in the Department of Statistics. Let me highlight some of my transferable skill sets: A high level of quantitative and analytical skills: I participated in International Olympiad Mathematics Competition special training program for 3 yeas, which helped me build a good sense of critical and analytical thinking. Besides, I had several chances to apply my professional knowledge in practice to solve real problems. As such, I drafted out an effective data evaluation report during the internship in Bingo Ventures PTE.LTD; I developed an innovative way of special sequence number summation and constructed the proof; I constructed good models for the number of international passengers monthly of a U.S. Airline and made reasonable forecast. Well-adopted and open-minded to multi-culture environment: I accepted Chinese-style education in China during my first 17 years of life and then had higher education in the National University of Singapore which combines Eastern and Western elements. As an exchange student, I studied in the University of Waterloo in Canada for half a year and experienced western-style cultures. Besides, I participated in Work&Travel program and worked in U.S. for 3 months. Facing the different environments, I successfully adapted myself to the changing and get on well with people from different cultural background. Effective interpersonal communication skills and good team work spirit: Through my working experience and active participation in school project and activities, I am now adept in building relationships, consensus and a shared sense of purpose. For example, I shoulder the responsibility of a liaison officer mainly in charge of the business development in China during the internship at Raffles International. As a team leader, I contacted closely with my group members to raise the working efficiency; assigned responsibilities to individuals; organized meetings to discuss and tried to reach consensus before made a decision. As familiar with the business culture of China, I communicated well with the Chinese companies, clearly presented the strength of Raffles International and persuaded them to cooperate with us. With all my efforts, our team successfully expanded the market and built a good network with the education consultation companies in China. With my strong mathematical and statistical background, the transferable skill sets, and my positive attitude to learn new  things, I believe I have great potentials in this field. Hope you can give me a chance.    Sincerely, WANG AI

ES2007S-Blog #1 Effective Communication

In ES2007S, we will mainly go through the following topics:

1. Communication skills, the Process, Models&Chnnnels
2. Developing Listening, Telling&Questioning Skills
3. Interpreting Nonverbal Communication
4. Build Interpersonal Communication Skills
5.Adopt the 7C's in Writing
6. Effective E-mails/letters
7.Good News and Bad News Messages
8.Discovering self&Researching the Positions and Organizations
9. Creating Resumes-Application Letters-Personal Statement
10. Research Project Proposal-Disccusion and Oral Presentation
11.Conducting a Meeting:Preparation, Agenda and Minutes
12.Using Wikis for Collaborative Project Work
13.Designing Survey Questions:Questionnaires and Interviews
14.Fostering Intercultural Communication
15.Oral Presentation

Question: Why effective communication is important to me?

Study shows 'People in organizations typically spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation'. As a student in graduating year, how to perform well and get on well with workmates in the workplace becomes a serious issue I need to think over. Effective communication do will make contribution. No matter what roles I will play-team player, group leader or division direction etc., effective communication can make my meanings, feelings, ideas and attitudes truly understood by others. I would learn through working with others. At the same time, other's feedback is the motivation for me to have reflection and improve my performance. Besides, effective communication help me to build strong relationship with people. As I have an understanding of moods and emotions of other people, I can empathize with them and take interest in discussions .

Effective communication is also important in study. As an undergradtuate, studying is not our whole life. We try to perform well not only academically but also in CCA's. However, time is limited. Effective communication can help us to save time and achieve more goals in a unit of time.

Besides, relations with neighbors, friends and relatives will be harmonious as conflicts and debates are reduced due to effective communication. I will be in light-hearted mood everyday.

That's all of my opinion. Welcome to make comments!

Ashely January 21th, 2011