#6 FINAL REFELCTION )':

13 weeks of classes have gone pass in a flash. I vividly remember being late on the first day of class. When I got in, everyone was doing the bingo sheet and I was lost. Aster was the first person to approach me and explain what was going on. I slowly opened up to the rest and got to know more about the people in class. If I remembered clearly, it was Jie Ying who won the ultimate prize.

After a few weeks, I was tasked to present a peer teaching lesson together with Aster. Our topic was on resume writing and cover letters. That was one of the reasons why I chose to enrol in this course. I know nothing about writing a resume or cover letter. Luckily, Aster was a graduating student and she thought me most of the stuff. From someone who knows nothing about writing resumes and cover letters, I am proud to say that I am able to write an effective cover letter and a resume now. I think the concept of peer teaching was rather effective. Not only did it allow students to internalise useful materials such as survey methods, resume writing, it also gave students a platform to present what they have learn at the same time. Albert Einstein once said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. I guess my classmates have done a very good job with regards to peer teaching as everyone was able to deliver their materials in a simple and concise way, which I enjoy learning from.

The next milestone event was the time where we had to assume multiple roles and react during a given situation. I guess that was the point where everyone agreed that I have a talent for acting. I was so into my character that my partner thought I was really angry with her. I soon became the actor of the class. Whenever there was a need for a character, like a principal, I was first on their mind. I hope that cheered the class up and made everyone’s time in class more memorable.

The last highlight of the course was the oral presentation and proposal writing. Personally, I enjoyed the whole process from the start to the very end. It was as I completed an actual project and sealed the deal.

This course not only taught me how to speak confidently in front of crowds in all sorts of situations, but also taught me how to craft documents that are important for my career in the future. Personally, I am someone who is keen towards learning things that are beneficial and applicable in the future. I feel that education now tend to focus more on academic performance rather than important skills like communication and interaction. What is the point of having a near to perfect score when all you can do is regurgitate and memorise textbook answers?  A computer can easily do that. Something that cannot be replaced is the element of personal touch. Imagine you are a boss and you are to choose between two proposals - one has been communicated to you via email because the guy is inadequate in face to face interactions, while the other is constantly physically present to explain and clarify your doubts on the spot.  If I were you, I would definitely choose the latter for his sincerity. Furthermore, any queries will be addressed immediately compared to the first person using email.

I might have digressed a little but what I am trying to say here is that, effective communication allows ideas to be communicated easily and effectively. My biggest take away from this course is that I am now more confident of presenting in an organized, structured and effective manner in front of crowds in any context.

Anyway, this last part of the post is dedicated to Brad. Thank you for being such a wonderful teacher. You are the coolest teacher I have ever met in NUS. I really enjoyed myself during the whole duration of the course. Your feedback help me improved tremendously since day 1. It is a bitter sweet feeling knowing this coming friday will be your last ES2007 class. Sad because the course has ended and no more lively lessons. Happy because I was fortunate to be taught under you. I am sure everyone in class will agree with me that this is one of the most fulfilling class that they ever enjoyed. I hope that the class have gave you many fond memories that you will remember. With that, I end my post with a big shout out to everyone! A very big thank you to all of you for making me look forward to Tuesdays and Fridays despite them being my long day! All the best to those who are graduating and good luck to those who are still studying! ((;

Reflection On oral presentation

Last Friday, my group was tasked to give a sales pitch on the project that we have been working on. It was titled Project umbrella. It is a one stop umbrella rental service which aims to solve the unpreparedness of the NUS population in times of rain.

I had experiences in giving briefings, lessons and self- introductions, but never have I given a sales pitch. I was very nervous but excited at the same time. A small prep work that I had done on my part is going online to watch a few presentations on Ted.com and reading a couple of articles with regards to presentation on Garr Reynolds website. I realise that all the talks given on Ted.com were spontaneous with no script used by the speakers. This got me motivated to internalise all my content and practice spontaneous speech. I went around asking what constitutes a sales pitch. I had a unanimous answer saying that it should be one that is persuasive and convincing because what I want to achieve at the end of the day is to convince my client. They told me that in order to do that I will have to first convince myself before I could convince others. I began practicing in front of a mirror and also to one of my close friend. She really help me a lot in terms of giving tips like speaking slowly, and how I should go about engaging the audience. I also applied the power point tips I got from Garr Reynolds. For example, our group chose to express survey results with percentage figures rather than pie chart and our slides were succinct with high resolution pictures.

I was very confident of the content that I was presenting, and together with the prep work I have done, I was all set. I chose to use an informal tone while trying to relate and engage my fellow classmate because I feel that this will allow me to build a connection with them easily. After my whole group was done, I felt relieved and was pleased with my performance. My classmates’ feedback was also very encouraging. They told me that overall my presentation was persuasive and my use of non verbal cues was good. They also told me that I should be more mindful of my language as it might hamper me from expressing my ideas clearly.

Other than that, they were pleased to have seen me improve since peer teaching.

I remember that during peer teaching, I was constantly referring to the slides and using fillers like “okay” and “next”. During the final oral presentation, I cut down on that and was really pleased with what I have achieved thus far. All these would not have been possible without the help of Brad for his constructive feedback and my group members for their critique to make my presentation better.

Last but not the least, everyone in class has taught me something. Their constructive feedback allowed me to adapt and shape the best presentation technique for myself. Thank you everyone!